She would doubtless consume an unusual amount of time in the
preparation of his coffee, she would presumably tell him that the milkman
had not appeared punctually, and would probably assert that there were as
yet no rolls to be had. The immediate consequence of these spiteful
fictions would be that Fischelowitz would dress himself very leisurely,
swallowing the smoke of several cigarettes in the meanwhile, and that he
would hardly be clothed, fed and out of the house before eight in the
morning, instead of being on the way to the shop at seven as was his usual
practice.
But the Count was not at all disturbed by this. The persons whose coming
he expected were not of the class who pay visits at eight o'clock. It was
as pleasant to sit still and think of the glorious things in the future,
as to do anything else, until the great moment came. Here, at least, he
was undisturbed by the voices of men, unless Dumnoff's portentous snore
could be called a voice, and to this his ear had grown accustomed.
He sat down again, therefore, in his old position, crossed one knee over
the other and again produced the piece of crumpled newspaper which held
his tobacco. The supply was low, but he consoled himself with the belief
that Dumnoff probably had some about him, and rolled what remained of his
own for immediate consumption.
He was quite right in his surmises concerning his late employer and the
latter's wife. Akulina had in the first place let her husband sleep as
long as he pleased, and had allowed a considerable time to elapse before
informing him of the events of the previous evening.
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