again, but not for long; he came back, and went straight up to the hay-
loft. Night came on, a clear moonlight night. Gerasim lay breathing
heavily, and incessantly turning from side to side. Suddenly he felt
something pull at the skirt of his coat. He started, but did not raise
his head, and even shut his eyes tighter. But again there was a pull,
stronger than before; he jumped up before him, with an end of string
round her neck, was Mumu, twisting and turning. A prolonged cry of
delight broke from his speechless breast; he caught up Mumu, and hugged
her tight in his arms, she licked his nose and eyes, and beard and
moustache, all in one instant. . . . He stood a little, thought a minute,
crept cautiously down from the hay-loft, looked round, and having
satisfied himself that no one could see him, made his way successfully
to his garret. Gerasim had guessed before that his dog had not got lost
by her own doing, that she must have been taken away by the mistress's
orders; the servants had explained to him by signs that his Mumu had
snapped at her, and he determined to take his own measures. First he fed
Mumu with a bit of bread, fondled her, and put her to bed, then he fell
to meditating, and spent the whole night long in meditating how he could
best conceal her. At last he decided to leave her all day in the garret,
and only to come in now and then to see her, and to take her out at
night. The hole in the door he stopped up effectually with his old
overcoat, and almost before it was light he was already in the yard, as
though nothing had happened, even--innocent guile!--the same expression
of melancholy on his face. It did not even occur to the poor deaf man
that Mumu would betray herself by her whining; in reality, everyone in
the house was soon aware that the dumb man's dog had come back, and was
locked up in his garret, but from sympathy with him and with her, and
partly, perhaps, from dread of him, they did not let him know that they
had found out his secret. The steward scratched his head, and gave a
despairing wave of his head, as much as to say, "Well, well, God have