Thereupon I was greatly encouraged. "See to it," I said, "that thou takest a silver ring, not a gold one,--not a wedding-ring!" My Yakoff flushed up and merely repeated that it was not proper to trouble her, but immediately assented to all the rest.--We went to the cathedral on the following day; my Yakoff made his confession, and prayed so fervently before it! And then he went forward to take the communion. I was standing a little to one side, and did not feel the earth under me for joy.... It is no sweeter for the angels in heaven! But as I look--what is the meaning of that?--My Yakoff has received the communion, but does not go to sip the warm water and wine![25] He is standing with his back to me.... I go to him. "Yakoff," I say, "why art thou standing here?" He suddenly wheels round. Will you believe it, I sprang back, so frightened was I!--His face had been dreadful before, but now it had become ferocious, frightful! He was as pale as death, his hair stood on end, his eyes squinted.... I even lost my voice with terror. I tried to speak and could not; I was perfectly benumbed.... And he fairly rushed out of the church! I ran after him ... but he fled straight to the tavern where we had put up, flung his wallet over his shoulder, and away he flew! "Whither?" I shouted to him. "Yakoff, what aileth thee? Stop, wait!" But Yakoff never uttered a word in reply to me, but ran like a hare, and it was utterly impossible to overtake him! He disappeared from sight. I immediately turned back, hired a cart, and trembled all over, and all I could say was: "O Lord!" and, "O Lord!" And I understood nothing: some calamity had descended upon us! I set out for home, for I thought, "He has certainly fled thither."--And so he had. Six versts out of the town I espied him; he was striding along the highway. I overtook him, jumped out of the cart, and rushed to him. "Yasha! Yasha!"--He halted, turned his face toward me, but kept his eyes fixed on the ground and compressed his lips. And say what I would to him, he stood there just like a statue, and one could just see that he was breathing. And at last he trudged on again along the highway.--What was there to do? I followed him.... Akh, what a journey that was, my dear sir! Great as had been our joy on the way to Voronezh, just so great was the horror of the return! I would try to speak to him, and he would begin to gnash his teeth at me over his shoulder, precisely like a tiger or a hyena! Why I did not go mad I do not understand to this day! And at last, one night, in a peasant's chicken-house, he was sitting on the platform over the oven and dangling his feet and gazing about on all sides, when I fell on my knees before him and began to weep, and besought him with bitter entreaty: "Do not slay thy old father outright," I said; "do not let him fall into despair--tell me what has happened to thee?"