“To the authorities? On no account!” hastily exclaimed Timofèy Semyònych. “If you want my advice, I say the first thing is to hush up the matter, and act in the character of a private person. It is a suspicious case, an unheard of case. The worst is that it’s unheard of—there’s no precedent—indeed, it looks very bad. So that the first of all things is caution. Let him stop where he is a bit. He must have patience, patience!” “But how can he stop there, Timofèy Semyònych? Supposing he chokes to death?” “Why should he? Didn’t you tell me that he had made rather a comfortable arrangement for himself there?” I repeated all over again. Timofèy Semyònych meditated. “H’m!” he pronounced, holding his snuff-box in his hands; “in my opinion it will be even a very good thing for him to stop there a bit, instead of going abroad. He can think at his leisure; of course it wouldn’t do to choke, and he must take measures for the preservation of his health.... I mean—he must take care not to get a cough or anything.... And as for the German, my personal opinion is that he is right—more so than the other side, indeed; because, you see, Ivan Matvyèich got into _his_ crocodile without leave, and not _he_ into Ivan Matvyèich’s crocodile; indeed, so far as I remember, Ivan Matvyèich had no crocodile of his own. Very well, then, a crocodile constitutes private property, therefore without remuneration it cannot be cut open, as I take it.” “To save a human life, Timofèy Semyònych.” “Oh well, that’s the business of the police. You should apply to them.” “But then, again, Ivan Matvyèich may be needed. He may be sent for——” “Ivan Matvyèich needed? Ha, ha, ha! Besides, he is supposed to be on furlough, therefore we can ignore the whole matter and suppose him to be looking at European lands. It will be another case if he doesn’t turn up at the end of his furlough; then, of course, we must make inquiries.” “Three months! Timofèy Semyònych, for mercy’s sake!”