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Updated: May 27, 2025
He was taciturn, somewhat clumsy, and not so good-looking as Sarudine. Tanaroff rattled his spurs in his turn, but said nothing. "Yes, you!" replied Sanine to his sister, gravely. "Why, of course I am pretty. You should have said indescribably pretty!" And, laughing gaily, Lida sank into a chair, glancing again at Sanine.
Von Deitz hesitated, but Tanaroff bowed in such an exaggerated way that for an instant Sanine caught sight of the closely cropped hair at the back of his neck. "How can I be of service to you?" continued Sanine, who had noticed Tanaroff's excessive politeness, and was surprised at the assurance with which he played his part in this absurd comedy.
"Good evening, Vladimir Petrovitch," said the elder, handsomer and fairer of the two officers, rigid, erect as a spirited stallion, while his spurs clinked noisily. Sanine knew him to be Sarudine, a captain of cavalry, one of Lida's most persistent admirers. The other was Lieutenant Tanaroff, who regarded Sarudine as the ideal soldier, and strove to copy everything he did.
"He's actually going to cry now!" he thought, with a certain malicious satisfaction. Sarudine's eyes were closed, and he lay quite still. Tanaroff drummed lightly on the window-sill with his fingers, twirled his moustache, looked round first, and then, out of the window, feeling selfishly eager to get away. "I can't very well, just yet," he thought. "What a damned bore!
His handsome face grew dark, and he drew himself up to his full height. Tanaroff laughed contemptuously. "That little jackanapes is still here," said Ivanoff, as be stared at Volochine. The latter had not noticed them, being so much interested in Sina, who walked first, that he turned round in passing to look at her. "So he is!" said Sanine, laughing.
They both felt that a gulf now lay between them that could never be bridged; in this world henceforth they could be nothing to each other. In the outer room Tanaroff breathed more freely. He had no regret that all was at end between himself and the man with whom for many years his life had been spent.
Just to drive on, drive on, anywhere, like that, with eyes closed! Tanaroff was horribly ashamed of this procession. Very red and confused, he looked straight in front of him, and strove to give onlookers the impression that he had nothing whatever to do with the affair.
"Lidia Petrovna would make anybody eloquent," said Tanaroff the silent, as he tried to help Lida to take off her hat, and in so doing ruffled her hair. She pretended to be vexed, laughing all the while. "What?" drawled Sanine. "Are you eloquent too?" "Oh! let them be!" whispered Novikoff, hypocritically, though secretly pleased.
"Our friend, Victor Sergejevitsch Sarudine has done us the honour of asking us to represent him in a certain matter which concerns you and himself." The sentence was delivered with automatic precision. "Oho!" said Sanine with comic gravity, as he opened his mouth wide. "Yes, sir," continued Tanaroff, frowning slightly. "He considers that your behaviour towards him was not er quite ..."
Tanaroff and Von Deitz were sitting in the drawing-room bolt upright, with their heads close together, as if in their white tunics and tight riding-breeches they felt extremely uncomfortable. As Sanine entered they both rose slowly and with some hesitation, apparently uncertain how to behave. "Good day, gentlemen," said Sanine in a loud voice, as he held out his hand.
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