I meant to follow her to her room; but
I felt unable to control myself, and I went home. I was seated, deep in
melancholy reflections, when Saveliitch suddenly came and interrupted
me.
"Here, sir," said he, handing me a sheet of paper all covered with
writing, "see if I be a spy on my master, and if I try to sow discord
betwixt father and son."
I took the paper from his hand; it was Saveliitch's reply to the letter
he had received. Here it is word for word--
"My lord, Andrej Petrovitch, our gracious father, I have received your
gracious letter, in which you deign to be angered with me, your serf,
bidding me be ashamed of not obeying my master's orders. And I, who am
not an old dog, but your faithful servant, I do obey my master's orders,
and I have ever served you zealously, even unto white hairs. I did not
write to you about Petr' Andrejitch's wound in order not to frighten you
without cause, and now we hear that our mistress, our mother, Avdotia
Vassilieva is ill of fright, and I shall go and pray heaven for her
health. Petr' Andrejitch has been wounded in the chest, beneath the
right shoulder, under one rib, to the depth of a _verchok_[48] and a
half, and he has been taken care of in the Commandant's house, whither
we brought him from the river bank, and it was the barber here, Stepan
Paramonoff, who treated him; and now Petr' Andrejitch, thank God, is
going on well, and there is nothing but good to tell of him.
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