“That means it’s the only one! I was sure of it …” cried Liputin. “I always knew it was the only one, I knew it all along.” And without waiting for any reply he turned and quickly vanished into the darkness.
Pyotr Stepanovitch pondered a little.
“No, no one will turn traitor,” he concluded with decision, “but the group must remain a group and obey, or I’ll … What a wretched set they are though!”
II
He first went home, and carefully, without haste, packed his trunk. At six o’clock in the morning there was a special train from the town. This early morning express only ran once a week, and was only a recent experiment. Though Pyotr Stepanovitch had told the members of the quintet that he was only going to be away for a short time in the neighbourhood, his intentions, as appeared later, we
