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‘He’s ‘insulted’ his father, not only you,’ observed Ivan
with a forced smile.
‘I used to wash him in his tub. He’s insulted me,’ repeated
Grigory.
‘Damn it all, if I hadn’t pulled him away perhaps he’d
have murdered him. It wouldn’t take much to do for Aesop,
would it?’ whispered Ivan to Alyosha.
‘God forbid!’ cried Alyosha.
‘Why should He forbid?’ Ivan went on in the same whis-
per, with a malignant grimace. ‘One reptile will devour the
other. And serve them both right, too.’
Alyosha shuddered.
‘Of course I won’t let him be murdered as I didn’t just
now. Stay here, Alyosha, I’ll go for a turn in the yard. My
head’s begun to ache.’
Alyosha went to his father’s bedroom and sat by his
bedside behind the screen for about an hour. The old man
suddenly opened his eyes and gazed for a long while at Aly-
osha, evidently remembering and meditating. All at once
his face betrayed extraordinary excitement.
‘Alyosha,’ he whispered apprehensively, ‘where’s Ivan?’
‘In the yard. He’s got a headache. He’s on the watch.’
‘Give me that looking-glass. It stands over there. Give it
me.’
Alyosha gave him a little round folding looking-glass
which stood on the chest of drawers. The old man looked
at himself in it; his nose was considerably swollen, and on
the left side of his forehead there was a rather large crimson
bruise.