"oh! he’s not dangerous there!" cried gania, laughing angrily. "however, i believe there is something of that sort in the air; he is very likely to be in love, for he is a mere boy. but he won’t write anonymous letters to the old lady; that would be too audacious a thing for him to attempt; but i dare swear the very first thing he did was to show me up to aglaya as a base deceiver and intriguer. i confess i was fool enough to attempt something through him at first. i thought he would throw himself into my service out of revengeful feelings towards the prince, the sly little beast! but i know him better now. as for the theft, he may have heard of it from the widow in petersburg, for if the old man committed himself to such an act, he can have done it for no other object but to give the money to her. hippolyte said to me, without any prelude, that the general had promised the widow four hundred roubles.