Lichonin,
arising, pressed the puffy hand extended to him, studded with
rings, and suddenly thought with aversion:
"The devil take it! If this vermin had a soul, if it were possible
to read this soul--then how many direct and indirect murders are
lurking hidden within it!"
It must be said, that in starting out for the Yamkas, Lichonin,
besides money, had fetched a revolver along with him; and on the
road, while walking, he had frequently shoved his hand into his
pocket and had there felt the chill contact of the metal. He
expected affront, violence, and was prepared to meet them in a
suitable manner. But, to his amazement, all that he had
presupposed and had feared proved a timorous, fantastic fiction.
The business was far more simple, more wearisome and more prosaic,
and at the same time more unpleasant.
"JA, MEIN HERR," said the housekeeper indifferently and somewhat
loftily, settling into a low chair and lighting a cigarette. "You
pay for one night and instead of that took already the girl for
one more night and one more day. ALSO, you owe twenty-five more
roubles yet.
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