The Brothers Karamazov

Chapter 3

The Schoolboy

B

UT Kolya did not hear her. At last he could go out. As he

went out at the gate he looked round him, shrugged up

his shoulders, and saying ‘It is freezing,’ went straight along

the street and turned off to the right towards the market-

place. When he reached the last house but one before the

market-place he stopped at the gate, pulled a whistle out of

his pocket, and whistled with all his might as though giv-

ing a signal. He had not to wait more than a minute before a

rosy-cheeked boy of about eleven, wearing a warm, neat and

even stylish coat, darted out to meet him. This was Smur-

ov, a boy in the preparatory class (two classes below Kolya

Krassotkin), son of a well-to-do official. Apparently he was

forbidden by his parents to associate with Krassotkin, who

was well known to be a desperately naughty boy, so Smurov

was obviously slipping out on the sly. He was — if the reader

has not forgotten one of the group of boys who two months

before had thrown stones at Ilusha. He was the one who told

Alyosha about Ilusha.

‘I’ve been waiting for you for the last hour, Krassotkin,’

said Smurov stolidly, and the boys strode towards the mar-