ary of two worlds: his own intimate world, and that of his brother, which seemed extraordinarily vast and terrible at this moment. But he knew that he would be initiated into it, that his brother had come in order to tell him something extremely important. He was afraid of it. He was almost terrified of it; while he listened with microphonic attention to the hissing of the spirit-lamp and the wide roaring of the river.
Like a mother Vojtech brings the hot red tea to the table with the question—“Only tell me . . . do you want something to eat?”—at the same time bringing out bacon and cakes, asking his brother to eat, running round like a woman, like a sympathetic old woman. Karel only drank a little of the tea, and then it seemed that he had forgotten his thirst.
“You see,” he began, and was silent. He sits there with his face pressed into his palms, forgetting that he wanted to speak.
Suddenly he rose.
“Listen, Vojtech,” he began again, “I wanted to say this . . . Our quarrel was stupid. I beg of you, don’t think that I care about the money. Perhaps you did think so. It’s all the same to me, but it’s not true. I only wanted things put in order. And then . . . I haven’t such a great interest in money,” he shouted, excitedly, snapping his fingers. “Not such an interest. Nor, if it comes to that, in anything. I can do without the lot.”
Vojtech thawed at once. Deeply moved, he broke in, assuring him that he had not thought about the matter for a long time, that they had both made a mistake, and God knows what else. . . .
But Karel did not listen to him.
“Be quiet,” he said, “I don’t want to talk about it at all. It’s quite irrelevant, anyhow. I only wanted . . . to ask you,” he went on, somewhat irresolutely, “to do something for me. To tell my wife that I’ve resigned my position.”
“But why . . . why?” cried Vojtech, astonished. “Aren’t you going back to her?”
“Not just at this moment, do you understand? And perhaps not at all . . . oh, besides it does not matter. She can go to her parents if she’s unhappy. I only want peace. I must begin to do something. I have such a plan. But the details do not matter for the moment. The main thing is that I must be alone, do you understand?”
