"I am not guilty of anything," she began rapidly. "As I said
before I say again, I did not take it--I did not take it; I did
not take anything, and the ring he gave me himself."
"You do not plead guilty of having stolen 2,500 roubles?" asked
the president.
"I've said I took nothing but the 40 roubles."
"Well, and do you plead guilty of having given the merchant
Smelkoff a powder in his drink?"
"Yes, that I did. Only I believed what they told me, that they
were sleeping powders, and that no harm could come of them. I
never thought, and never wished. . . God is my witness; I say, I
never meant this," she said.
"So you do not plead guilty of having stolen the money and the
ring from the merchant Smelkoff, but confess that you gave him
the powder?" said the president.
"Well, yes, I do confess this, but I thought they were sleeping
powders. I only gave them to make him sleep; I never meant and
never thought of worse."
"Very well," said the president, evidently satisfied with the
results gained. "Now tell us how it all happened," and he leaned
back in his chair and put his folded hands on the table. "Tell us
all about it. A free and full confession will be to your
advantage."
Maslova continued to look at the president in silence, and
blushing.
"Tell us how it happened."
"How it happened?" Maslova suddenly began, speaking quickly. "I
came to the lodging-house, and was shown into the room. He was
there, already very drunk." She pronounced the word _he_ with a
look of horror in her wide-open eyes. "I wished to go away, but
he would not let me." She stopped, as if having lost the thread,
or remembered some thing else.
"Well, and then?"
"Well, what then? I remained a bit, and went home again."
At this moment the public prosecutor raised himself a little,
leaning on one elbow in an awkward manner.
"You would like to put a question?" said the president, and
having received an answer in the affirmative, he made a gesture
inviting the public prosecutor to speak.
"I want to ask, was the prisoner previously acquainted with
Simeon Kartinkin?" said the public prosecutor, without looking at
Maslova, and, having put the question, he compressed his lips and
frowned.
The president repeated the question. Maslova stared at the public
prosecutor, with a frightened look.
"With Simeon? Yes," she said.
"I should like to know what the prisoner's acquaintance with
Kartinkin consisted in. Did they meet often?"
"Consisted in? . . . He invited me for the lodgers; it was not
an acquaintance at all," answered Maslova, anxiously moving her
eyes from the president to the public prosecutor and back to the
president.
"I should like to know why Kartinkin invited only Maslova, and
none of the other girls, for the lodgers?" said the public
prosecutor, with half-closed eyes and a cunning, Mephistophelian
smile.