He ended on the same note of cracked and spiteful humor. Alyosha felt, however, that he already trusted him, and that if someone else were in his, Alyosha’s, place, with someone else the man would not have “talked” as he had, would not have said all that he had just said to him. This encouraged Alyosha, whose soul was trembling with tears.
“Ah, how I wish I could make peace with your boy!” he exclaimed. “If only you could arrange it...”
“Right, sir,” the captain muttered.
“But something else now, something quite different,” Alyosha went on exclaiming. “Listen: I’ve come with an errand. This same brother of mine, this Dmitri, has also insulted his fiancée, a most noble girl, of whom you’ve probably heard. I have the right to tell you of this insult, I even must do so, because when she learned of your offense and learned everything about your unfortunate situation, she charged me at once ... just now ... to bring you this assistance from her ... but just from her alone, not from Dmitri, who has abandoned her as well, not at all, and not from me, his brother, or from anyone else, but from her, just from her alone! She entreats you to accept her help ... you have both been offended by one and the same man ... She thought of you only when she suffered the same offense from him (the same in intensity) as you! It means that a sister is coming to the aid of a brother ... She precisely charged me to persuade you to accept these two hundred roubles from her as from a sister. No one will know of it, no unjust gossip will arise from it ... here are the two hundred roubles, and, I swear, you must accept them, otherwise ... otherwise it follows that everyone in the world must be enemies of each other! But there are brothers in the world, too ... You have a noble soul ... you must understand, you must . . .!”
And Alyosha held out to him two new, iridescent hundred-rouble bills. They were both standing precisely by the big stone near the fence, and there was no one around. The bills seemed to make a terrible impression on the captain: he started, but at first only as if from astonishment; he had not imagined anything of the sort and did not at all expect such an outcome. Even in sleep he did not dream of anyone’s help, not to mention so large a sum. He took the bills, and for a moment almost could not reply; something quite new flashed in his face.
“Is this for me, for me, sir, so much money, two hundred roubles? Good heavens! But I haven’t seen so much money for the past four years—Lord! And she says that a sister ... and it’s true ... really true?”
“I swear that everything I told you is true!” Alyosha cried. The captain blushed.
“Listen, sir, my dear, listen, if I do accept it, won’t that make me dishonorable? In your eyes, Alexei Fyodorovich, won’t it, won’t it make me dishonorable? No, Alexei Fyodorovich, listen, listen to me, sir,” he was hurrying, touching Alyosha all the time with both hands, “here you are persuading me to accept it, telling me that a ‘sister’ has sent it, but inside, in your own heart— won’t you hold me in contempt if I accept it, sir, eh?”
“But, no, of course not! I swear to you by my own salvation, I will not! And no one will ever know of it but us: you, I, and she, and one other lady, her great friend ...”
