"Yes, a clerk, it's aU the same. Ach, the brigands!"
The clerk consented to come when he learned that it was an invalid and aged countess, unable to come in, who was asking for him. Granny spent a long time loudly and angrily reproaching him for swindling her, and haggled with him in a mixture of Russian, French and German, while I came to the rescue in translating. The grave clerk listened to us in silence and shook his head. He looked at Granny with an intent stare that was hardly respectful; at last he began smiling.
"Well, get along with you," cried Granny. "Choke yourself with the money! Change it with him, AJexey Ivanovitch; there's no time to waste, or we would go elsewhere. . . ."
"The clerk says that other banks give even less."
I don't remember the sums exactly, but the banker's charges were terrible. I received close upon twelve thousand florins in gold and notes, took the account and carried it to Granny.
"Well, well, well, it's no use counting it," she said, with a wave of her hand. "Make haste, make haste, make haste!"
"I'll never stake again on that damned z6ro nor on the red either," she pronounced, as she was wheeled up to the Casino.
This time I did my very utmost to impress upon her the necessity of staking smaller sums, trying to persuade her that with the change of luck she would always be able to increase her stake. But she was so impatient that, though she agreed at first, it was impossible to restrain her when the play had begun; as soon as she had won a stake of ten, of twenty friedrichs d'ors
"There, you see, there, you see,' she would begin nudging
me; "there, you see, we've won; if only we had staked four thousand instead of ten, we should have won four thousand, but, as it is, what's the good? It's all your doing, all your doing 1"
And, vexed as I felt, watching her play, I made up my mind at last to keep quiet and to give no more advice.
Suddenly De Grieux skipped up.
The other two were close by; I noticed Mile. Blanche standing on one side with her mother, exchanging amenities with the Prince. The General was obviously out of favour, almost banished. Blanche would not even look at him, though he was doing his utmost to cajole her! The poor Genered! He flushed and grew pale by turns, trembled and could not even follow Granny's play. Blanche and the Prince finally went away; the General ran after them.
"Madame, ma,dame," De Grieux whispered in a honeyed voice to Granny, squeezing his way close up to her ear. "Madame, such stakes do not answer. . . . No, no, it's impossible . . ."he said, in broken Russian. "No!"
"How, then? Come, show me!" said Granny, turning to him.
De Grieux babbled something rapidly in French, began excitedly advising, said she must wait for a chance, began reckoning some numbers. . . . Granny did not understand a word. He kept turning to me, for me to translate; tapped the table with his fingers, pointed; finally took a pencil, and was about to reckon something on paper. At last Granny lost patience.
"Come, get away, get away! You keep talkmg nonsense! 'Madame, madame,' he doesn't understand it himself; go away."
"Mais, madame," De Grieux murmured, and he began once more showing and explaining.
"Well, stake once as he says," Granny said to me; "let us see: perhaps it really will answer."
All De Grieux wanted was to dissuade her from staking large sums; he suggested that she should stake on numbers, either individually or collectively. I staked as he directed, a friediich d'or on each of the odd numbers in the first twelve and five friedrichs d'or respectively on the groups of numbers from twelve to eighteen and from eighteen to twenty-four, staking in all sixteen friedrichs d'or.
The wheel turned.
"Z6ro," cried the croupier.
We had lost everything.
"You blockhead 1" cried Granny, addressing De Grieux. "You scoundrelly Frenchman! So this is how he advises, the monster. Go away, go away! He knows nothing about it and comes fussing round!"
Fearfully offended, De Grieux shrugged his shoulders, looked contemptuously at Graimy, and walked away. He felt ashamed of having interfered; he had been in too great a hurry.
An hour later, in spite of all our efforts, we had lost everything.
"Home," cried Granny.
She did not utter a single word till we got into the avenue. In the avenue and approaching the hotel she began to break into exclamations:
"What a fool! What a silly fool! You're an old fool, you are!"
As soon as we got to her apartments—
"Tea!" cried Grarmy. "Ajid pack up at once! We are going!"
"Where does your honour mean to go?" Marfa was begiiming.
"What has it to do with you? Mind your own business! Potapitch, pack up everything: all the luggage. We are going back to Moscow. I have thrown away fifteen thousand roubles!"
"Fifteen thousand, madame! My God!" Potapitch cried, flinging up his hands with deep feeling, probably meaning to humour her.
"Come, come, you fool! He is beginning to whimper! Hold your tongue! Pack up! The biU, make haste, make haste!"
"The next train goes at half-past nine. Granny," I said, to check her furore.
"And what is it now?"
"Half-past seven."
"How annoying! Well, it doesn't matter! Alexey Ivano-vitch, I haven't a farthing. Here are two more notes. Run there and change these for me too. Or I have nothing for the journey."
I set off. Returning to the hotel half an hour later, I found our whole party at Granny's. Learning that Granny was going off to Moscow, they seemed to be even more upset than by her losses. Even though her going might save her property, what
was to become of the General? Who would pay De Grieux? Mile. Blanche would, of course, decline to wait for Granny to die and would certainly now make up to the Prince or to somebody else. They were all standing before Granny, trying to console her and persuade her. Again Polina was not there. Granny was shouting at them furiously.
"Let me alone, you devils! What business is it of yours? Why does that goat's-beard come forcing himself upon me?" she cried at De Grieux; "and you, my fine bird?" she cried, addressing Mile. Blanche, "what are you after?"
"Diantre!" whispered Mile. Blanche, with an angry flash of her eyes, but suddenly she burst out laughing and went out of the room.
"Elle vivra cewt ans!" she called to the Genend, as she went out of the door.
"Ah, so you are reckoning on my death?" Granny yelled to the General. "Get away! Turn them all out, Alexey Ivano-vitch! What business is it of yours? I've fooled away my own money, not yours!"
Tlje General shrugged his shoulders, bowed and went out. De Grieux followed Mm.
"Call Praskovya," Granny told Marfa.
Five minutes later Marfa returned with Polina. All this time Polina had been sitting in her own room with the children, and I fancy had purposely made up her mind not to go out all day. Her face was serious, sad and anxious.
"Praskovya," began Granny, "is it true, as I learned by accident just now, that that fool, your stepfather, means to marry that silly feather-head of a Frenchwoman—an actress is she, or something worse? Tell me, is it true?"
"I don't know anything about it for certain. Granny," answered Polina, "but from the words of Mile. Blanche herself, who does not feel it necessary to conceal anything, I conclude . . ."
"Enough," Granny broke in vigorously, "I understand! I always reckoned that he was capable of it and I have always thought him a most foolish and feather-headed man. He thinks no end of himself, because he is a General (he was promoted from a Colonel on retiring), and he gives himself airs. I know, my good girl, how you kept sending telegram after telegram to Moscow, to ask if your old Granny would soon be laid out. They were on the look-out for my money; without money that nasty hussy, what's her name—de Cominges—wouldn't take
him for her footman, especially with his false teeth. She has a lot of money herself, they say, lends at interest, has made a lot. I am not blaming you, Praskovya, it wasn't you who sent the telegrams; and I don't want to remember the past, either. I know you've got a bad temper—a wasp! You can sting to hurt; but I'm sorry for you because I was fond of your mother, Katerina. Well, you throw up everjTthing here and come with me. You've nowhere to go, you know; and it's not fitting for you to be with them now. Stop!" cried Granny, as Polina was about to speak; "I've not finished. I ask nothing of you. As you know, I have in Moscow a palace; you can have a whole storey to yourself and not come and see me for weeks at a time ii my temper does not suit youl Well, will you or not?"