The Brothers Karamazov
away. Then he stealthily led Mitya in, and put him in a cor-
ner in the dark, whence he could freely watch the company
without being seen. But Mitya did not look long, and, in-
deed, he could not see them; he saw her, his heart throbbed
violently, and all was dark before his eyes.
She was sitting sideways to the table in a low chair, and
beside her, on the sofa, was the pretty youth, Kalganov. She
was holding his hand and seemed to be laughing, while he,
seeming vexed and not looking at her, was saying something
in a loud voice to Maximov, who sat the other side of the ta-
ble, facing Grushenka. Maximov was laughing violently at
something. On the sofa sat he, and on a chair by the sofa
there was another stranger. The one on the sofa was lolling
backwards, smoking a pipe, and Mitya had an impression
of a stoutish, broad-faced, short little man, who was appar-
ently angry about something. His friend, the other stranger,
struck Mitya as extraordinarily tall, but he could make out
nothing more. He caught his breath. He could not bear it
for a minute, he put the pistol-case on a chest, and with a
throbbing heart he walked, feeling cold all over, straight
into the blue room to face the company.
‘Aie!’ shrieked Grushenka, the first to notice him.