XXI.
Before the Mazurka
"Oh, there will be some dancing here, I see," said Serézha, as he left the sitting-room, and took out of his pocket a new pair of kid gloves. "I must put on my gloves."
"What shall I do? We have no gloves," thought I, "and I must go up-stairs and look for some."
Although I rummaged through all the drawers, I found in one of them only our travelling mittens, and in another one kid glove, which could be of no use whatsoever to me: in the first place, because it was exceedingly old and dirty, in the second place, because it was entirely too large; and chiefly, because it lacked the middle finger, which had, no doubt, been cut off by Karl Ivánovich for some ailing hand, I put the remnant of a glove, however, on my hand, and attentively examined that spot on the middle finger which is always black with ink.
"Now, if Natálya Sávishna were here she certainly would find some gloves. I can't go down-stairs in this shape, because when they will ask me why I am not dancing, what am I to say? Neither can I remain here, because they will just as surely discover my absence. What am I to do?" said I, and waved my hands in despair.
"What are you doing here?" said Volódya, who had just run in, "Go, engage a lady, it will begin soon."
"Volódya," said I to him, showing him my hand with
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