of course she might easily have heard the news from someone coming from town. all petersburg, if not all pavlofsk, knows it by now. look at the slyness of her observation about evgenie’s uniform! i mean, her remark that he had retired just in time! there’s a venomous hint for you, if you like! no, no! there’s no insanity there! of course i refuse to believe that evgenie pavlovitch could have known beforehand of the catastrophe; that is, that at such and such a day at seven o’clock, and all that; but he might well have had a presentiment of the truth. and i all of us prince s. and everybody, believed that he was to inherit a large fortune from this uncle. it’s dreadful, horrible! mind, i don’t suspect evgenie of anything, be quite clear on that point; but the thing is a little suspicious, nevertheless. prince s. can’t get over it.