"I will be with him to-morrow." Immediately after Mashko's departure, Pan Stanislav went to spend the evening at Plavitski's; on the road he thought,-- "There are no jokes with Mashko, and the affair will not finish in common fashion; but what is that to me? What are they all to me, or I to them? Still, how devilishly alone a man is in the world!" And all at once he felt that the only person on earth who cared for him, and who thought of him, not as a thing, was Marynia. And, in fact, when he came, he knew from the very pressure of her hand that this was true. She said to him, in greeting, with her mild and calm voice,-- "I had a presentiment that you would come. See, here is a cup waiting for you." CHAPTER XXIII. When Pan Stanislav came to the Plavitskis' he found there Gantovski. The young men greeted each other at once with evident coldness and aversion. There was not in the whole world that day an unhappier man than Gantovski. Old Plavitski bantered him as usual, and even more than usual, being in excellent humor because of his relative, the old lady from whom he expected a considerable inheritance. Gantovski's presence was awkward for Marynia; and she strove in vain to hide this annoyance by kindness and a cordial reception. At last Pan Stanislav almost feigned not to see him. It was evident, too, that Gantovski had not confessed anything before old Plavitski, and that he was trembling lest Pan Stanislav might refer to his adventure with Mashko, or tell it outright.