Part 3 Chapter 16

SIMONSON SPEAKS TO NEKHLUDOFF.

The voices of officials sounded from the next room. All the prisoners were silent, and a sergeant, followed by two convoy soldiers, entered. The time of the inspection had come. The sergeant counted every one, and when Nekhludoff's turn came he addressed him with kindly familiarity.

"You must not stay any longer, Prince, after the inspection; you must go now."

Nekhludoff knew what this meant, went up to the sergeant and shoved a three-rouble note into his hand.

"Ah, well, what is one to do with you; stay a bit longer, if you like." The sergeant was about to go when another sergeant, followed by a convict, a spare man with a thin beard and a bruise under his eye, came in.

"It's about the girl I have come," said the convict.

"Here's daddy come," came the ringing accents of a child's voice, and a flaxen head appeared from behind Rintzeva, who, with Katusha's and Mary Pavlovna's help, was making a new garment for the child out of one of Rintzeva's own petticoats.

"Yes, daughter, it's me," Bousovkin, the prisoner, said softly.

"She is quite comfortable here," said Mary Pavlovna, looking with pity at Bousovkin's bruised face. "Leave her with us."

"The ladies are making me new clothes," said the girl, pointing to Rintzeva's sewing--"nice red ones," she went on, prattling.

"Do you wish to sleep with us?" asked Rintzeva, caressing the child.

"Yes, I wish. And daddy, too."

"No, daddy can't. Well, leave her then," she said, turning to the father.

"Yes, you may leave her," said the first sergeant, and went out with the other.

As soon as they were out of the room Nabatoff went up to Bousovkin, slapped him on the shoulder, and said: "I say, old fellow, is it true that Karmanoff wishes to exchange?"

Bousovkin's kindly, gentle face turned suddenly sad and a veil seemed to dim his eyes.

"We have heard nothing--hardly," he said, and with the same dimness still over his eyes he turned to the child.

"Well, Aksutka, it seems you're to make yourself comfortable with the ladies," and he hurried away.

"It's true about the exchange, and he knows it very well," said Nabatoff.

"What are you going to do?"

"I shall tell the authorities in the next town. I know both prisoners by sight," said Nekhludoff.

All were silent, fearing a recommencement of the dispute.

Simonson, who had been lying with his arms thrown back behind his head, and not speaking, rose, and determinately walked up to Nekhludoff, carefully passing round those who were sitting.

"Could you listen to me now?"

"Of course," and Nekhludoff rose and followed him.

Katusha looked up with an expression of suspense, and meeting Nekhludoff's eyes, she blushed and shook her head.

"What I want to speak to you about is this," Simonson began, when they had come out into the passage. In the passage the din of the criminal's voices and shouts sounded louder. Nekhludoff made a face, but Simonson did not seem to take any notice.

"Knowing of your relations to Katerina Maslova," he began seriously and frankly, with his kind eyes looking straight into Nekhludoff's face, "I consider it my duty"--He was obliged to stop because two voices were heard disputing and shouting, both at once, close to the door.

"I tell you, blockhead, they are not mine," one voice shouted.

"May you choke, you devil," snorted the other.

At this moment Mary Pavlovna came out into the passage.

"How can one talk here?" she said; "go in, Vera is alone there," and she went in at the second door, and entered a tiny room, evidently meant for a solitary cell, which was now placed at the disposal of the political women prisoners, Vera Doukhova lay covered up, head and all, on the bed.

"She has got a headache, and is asleep, so she cannot hear you, and I will go away," said Mary Pavlovna.

"On the contrary, stay here," said Simonson; "I have no secrets from any one, certainly none from you."

"All right," said Mary Pavlovna, and moving her whole body from side to side, like a child, so as to get farther back on to the bed, she settled down to listen, her beautiful hazel eyes seeming to look somewhere far away.

"Well, then, this is my business," Simonson repeated. "Knowing of your relations to Katerina Maslova, I consider myself bound to explain to you my relations to her."

Nekhludoff could not help admiring the simplicity and truthfulness with which Simonson spoke to him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I should like to marry Katerina Maslova--"

"How strange!" said Mary Pavlovna, fixing her eyes on Simonson.

"--And so I made up my mind to ask her to be my wife," Simonson continued.

"What can I do? It depends on her," said Nekhludoff.

"Yes; but she will not come to any decision without you."

"Why?"

"Because as long as your relations with her are unsettled she cannot make up her mind."

"As far as I am concerned, it is finally settled. I should like to do what I consider to be my duty and also to lighten her fate, but on no account would I wish to put any restraint on her."

"Yes, but she does not wish to accept your sacrifice."

"It is no sacrifice."

"And I know that this decision of hers is final."

"Well, then, there is no need to speak to me," said Nekhludoff.

"She wants you to acknowledge that you think as she does."

"How can I acknowledge that I must not do what I consider to be my duty? All I can say is that I am not free, but she is."

Simonson was silent; then, after thinking a little, he said: "Very well, then, I'll tell her. You must not think I am in love with her," he continued; "I love her as a splendid, unique, human being who has suffered much. I want nothing from her. I have only an awful longing to help her, to lighten her posi--"

Nekhludoff was surprised to hear the trembling in Simonson's voice.

"--To lighten her position," Simonson continued. "If she does not wish to accept your help, let her accept mine. If she consents, I shall ask to be sent to the place where she will be imprisoned. Four years are not an eternity. I would live near her, and perhaps might lighten her fate--" and he again stopped, too agitated to continue.

"What am I to say?" said Nekhludoff. "I am very glad she has found such a protector as you--"

"That's what I wanted to know," Simonson interrupted.

"I wanted to know if, loving her and wishing her happiness, you would consider it good for her to marry me?"

"Oh, yes," said Nekhludoff decidedly.

"It all depends on her; I only wish that this suffering soul should find rest," said Simonson, with such childlike tenderness as no one could have expected from so morose-looking a man.

Simonson rose, and stretching his lips out to Nekhludoff, smiled shyly and kissed him.

"So I shall tell her," and he went away.

隔壁牢房里传来长官的说话声。大家都安静下来，接着队长带着两名押解兵走进房间。这是来点名的。队长指着每一个人，计算着人数。他指到聂赫留朵夫时，就和颜悦色地赔笑说：

“公爵，现在点过名可不能再待着了。您得走了。”

聂赫留朵夫懂得这话的意思，走到他跟前，把事先准备好的三卢布钞票塞在他手里。

“嘿，拿您有什么办法呢！您就再坐一会儿吧。”

队长刚要出去，另外有个军士走进来，后面跟着一个又高又瘦的男犯。那男犯留着一把稀疏的一胡一子，一只眼睛底下有青伤。

“我是来看我那个小丫头的，”那个男犯说。

“啊，爸爸来了，”忽然响起了孩子响亮的声音，接着就有一个浅黄头发的小脑袋从艾米丽雅身后探出来。艾米丽雅正在跟谢基尼娜和玛丝洛娃一起用艾米丽雅捐出来的一条裙子给小女孩做新衣。

“是我，孩子，是我，”布卓夫金亲切地说。

“她在这儿挺好，”谢基尼娜说，同情地瞧着布卓夫金那张被打伤的脸。“把她留在我们这儿吧。”

“太太她们在给我做新衣裳呢，”女孩指给父亲看艾米丽雅手里的针线活，说。“可好看啦，真漂亮，”她含糊不清地说。

“你愿意在我们这儿过夜吗？”艾米丽雅抚一爱一着女孩说。

“愿意。爸爸也留下来。”

艾米丽雅脸上泛起笑容。

“爸爸可不行，”她说。“那么就把她留在这儿吧，”她转身对做父亲的说。

“好，那就留下吧，”站在门口的队长说，说完就跟军士一起走了出去。

等押解人员一出去，纳巴托夫就走到布卓夫金跟前，拍拍他的肩膀说：

“喂，老兄，你们那里的卡尔玛诺夫真的要同别人调包吗？”

布卓夫金和蔼可亲的脸容突然变得很忧郁，他的眼睛似乎蒙上了一层白翳。

“我们没听说。大概不会吧，”他说。说话的时候眼睛上仿佛仍旧蒙着一层白翳，接着又对女儿说：“哦，阿克秀特卡，你就跟太太她们一起在这儿享福吧，”说完就连忙走出去。

“这事他全知道，他们果然调包了，”纳巴托夫说。“那您现在怎么办呢？”

“我到城里去告诉长官。他们两个人的模样我都认得，”聂赫留朵夫说。

大家都不作声，显然担心再发生争吵。

西蒙松双手枕在脑后，一直默默地躺在角落里的板铺上。这会儿突然坐起来，下了一床一，小心翼翼地绕过坐着的人们，走到聂赫留朵夫跟前。

“现在您可以听我说几句吗？”

“当然可以，”聂赫留朵夫说着站起来，想跟他出去。

卡秋莎瞟了一眼聂赫留朵夫，眼睛同他的目光相遇，他顿时涨红了脸，仿佛摸不着头脑似地摇摇头。

“我有这样一件事要跟您谈谈，”聂赫留朵夫跟着西蒙松来到过道里，西蒙松开口说。在过道里，刑事犯那边的喧嚣和说话声听得特别清楚。聂赫留朵夫皱起眉头，西蒙松却毫不在意。“我知道您跟玛丝洛娃的关系，”他用他那双善良的眼睛留神地直盯着聂赫留朵夫的脸，继续说，“所以我认为有责任……”他说到这里不得不停下来，因为牢房门口有两个声音同时叫起来：

“我对你说，笨蛋，这不是我的！”一个声音嚷道。

“巴不得呛死你这魔鬼，”另一个沙哑的声音说。

这时候，谢基尼娜来到过道里。

“这里怎么能谈话呢？”她说，“你们到那间屋里去吧，那儿只有薇拉一个人。”她说着就在前面带路，把他们带到隔壁一个很小的、显然是单身牢房里，那房间如今专门拨给女政治犯住宿。薇拉躺在板铺上，头蒙在被子里。

“她害偏头痛，睡着了，听不见的，我走了！”谢基尼娜说。

“不，你别走！”西蒙松说，“我没有什么秘密要瞒着别人，更不要说瞒你了。”

“嗯，好吧，”谢基尼娜说，象孩子一般扭一动整个身一子，坐到板铺深处，准备听他们谈话。她那双羔羊般的美丽眼睛瞧着远处。

“我有这样一件事，”西蒙松重又说，“我知道您跟玛丝洛娃的关系，所以我认为有责任向您说明我对她的态度。”

“究竟是什么事啊？”聂赫留朵夫问，不由得很欣赏西蒙松跟他说话的那种坦率诚恳的态度。

“就是我想跟玛丝洛娃结婚……”

“真没想到！”谢基尼娜眼睛盯住西蒙松，说。

“……我决定要求她做我的妻子，”西蒙松继续说。

“我能帮什么忙呢？这事得由她自己作主，”聂赫留朵夫说。

“是的，不过这事她不得到您的同意是不能决定的。”

“为什么？”

“因为在您跟她的关系没有完全明确以前，她是不能作出什么选择的。”

“从我这方面说，事情早就明确了。我愿意做我认为应该做的事，同时减轻她的苦难，但我绝不希望使她受到什么约束。”

“对，可是她不愿接受您的牺牲。”

“根本谈不上牺牲。”

“不过我知道她这个主意是绝不动摇的。”

“哦，那么有什么必要找我谈这件事呢？”聂赫留朵夫说。

“她要您也同意这一点。”

“可是，我怎么能同意不做我应该做的事呢？我只能说一句：我是不自一由的，可她享有自一由。”

西蒙松沉思起来，不作声。

“好的，我就这样对她说。您别以为我迷上她了，”西蒙松继续说。“我一爱一她，因为她是个少见的好人，却受尽了折磨。

我对她一无所求，但我真想帮助她，减轻她的苦难……”

聂赫留朵夫听见西蒙松声音发一抖，不由得感到惊讶。

“……减轻她的苦难，”西蒙松继续说。“要是她不愿接受您的帮助，那就让她接受我的帮助吧。只要她同意，我就要求把我调到她监禁的地方去。四年又不是一辈子。我愿意待在她身边，这样也许可以减轻些她的苦难……”他又激动得说不下去。

“我还有什么话可说呢？”聂赫留朵夫说。“她能找到象您这样的保护人，我很高兴……”

“喏，这就是我所要知道的，”西蒙松继续说。“我想知道，既然您一爱一她，愿她幸福，您认为她跟我结婚会幸福吗？”

“一定会的，”聂赫留朵夫斩钉截铁地说。

“这事全得由她作主，我只希望这个受尽苦难的心灵能得到喘一息，”西蒙松说，带着孩子般天真的神情瞧着聂赫留朵夫。这样的神情出现在这个平时脸色一陰一沉的人的脸上，那是很意外的。

西蒙松站起来，抓住聂赫留朵夫的一只手，把脸凑到他跟前，羞怯地微笑着，吻了吻他。

“那我就这样去告诉她，”西蒙松说着走了。