“Isticktoitbecauseifanything——Godforbid——happensto-nightdoyouhear？ifanythinghappensto-night，I’llgostraightoffto-morrowmorningtoFatherNikodimandtellhimallaboutit。’FatherNikodim，’Ishallsay，’graciouslyexcuseme，butsheisawitch。’’Whyso？’’H’m！doyouwanttoknowwhy？’’Certainly。’AndIshalltellhim。Andwoetoyou，woman！NotonlyatthedreadSeatofJudgment，butinyourearthlylifeyou’llbepunished，too！It’snotfornothingthereareprayersinthebreviaryagainstyourkind！“
Suddenlytherewasaknockatthewindow，soloudandunusualthatSavelyturnedpaleandalmostdroppedbackwardswithfright。
Hiswifejumpedup，andshe，too，turnedpale。
“ForGod’ssake，letuscomeinandgetwarm！“theyheardinatremblingdeepbass。“Wholiveshere？Formercy’ssake！We’velostourway。“
“Whoareyou？“askedRaissa，afraidtolookatthewindow。