vera doukhova explains.

through a door, at the back of the room, entered, with a wriggling gait, the thin, yellow vera doukhova, with her large, kind eyes.

"thanks for having come," she said, pressing nekhludoff's hand. "do you remember me? let us sit down."

"i did not expect to see you like this."

"oh, i am very happy. it is so delightful, so delightful, that i desire nothing better," said vera doukhova, with the usual expression of fright in the large, kind, round eyes fixed on nekhludoff, and twisting the terribly thin, sinewy neck, surrounded by the shabby, crumpled, dirty collar of her bodice. nekhludoff asked her how she came to be in prison.

in answer she began relating all about her affairs with great animation. her speech was intermingled with a great many long words, such as propaganda, disorganisation, social groups, sections and sub-sections, about which she seemed to think everybody knew, but which nekhludoff had never heard of.

she told him all the secrets of the nardovolstvo, [literally, "people's freedom," a revolutionary movement] evidently convinced that he was pleased to hear them. nekhludoff looked at her miserable little neck, her thin, unkempt hair, and wondered why she had been doing all these strange things, and why she was now telling all this to him. he pitied her, but not as he had pitied menshoff, the peasant, kept for no fault of his own in the stinking prison. she was pitiable because of the confusion that filled her mind. it was clear that she considered herself a heroine, and was ready to give her life for a cause, though she could hardly have explained what that cause was and in what its success would lie.

the business that vera doukhova wanted to see nekhludoff about was the following: a friend of hers, who had not even belonged to their "sub-group," as she expressed it, had been arrested with her about five months before, and imprisoned in the petropavlovsky fortress because some prohibited books and papers (which she had been asked to keep) had been found in her possession. vera doukhova felt herself in some measure to blame for her friend's arrest, and implored nekhludoff, who had connections among influential people, to do all he could in order to set this friend free.

besides this, doukhova asked him to try and get permission for another friend of hers, gourkevitch (who was also imprisoned in the petropavlovsky fortress), to see his parents, and to procure some scientific books which he required for his studies. nekhludoff promised to do what he could when he went to petersburg.

as to her own story, this is what she said: having finished a course of midwifery, she became connected with a group of adherents to the nardovolstvo, and made up her mind to agitate in the revolutionary movement. at first all went on smoothly. she wrote proclamations and occupied herself with propaganda work in the factories; then, an important member having been arrested, their papers were seized and all concerned were arrested. "i was also arrested, and shall be exiled. but what does it matter? i feel perfectly happy." she concluded her story with a piteous smile.

nekhludoff made some inquiries concerning the girl with the prominent eyes. vera doukhova told him that this girl was the daughter of a general, and had been long attached to the revolutionary party, and was arrested because she had pleaded guilty to having shot a gendarme. she lived in a house with some conspirators, where they had a secret printing press. one night, when the police came to search this house, the occupiers resolved to defend themselves, put out the light, and began destroying the things that might incriminate them. the police forced their way in, and one of the conspirators fired, and mortally wounded a gendarme. when an inquiry was instituted, this girl said that it was she who had fired, although she had never had a revolver in her hands, and would not have hurt a fly. and she kept to it, and was now condemned to penal servitude in siberia.

"an altruistic, fine character," said vera doukhova, approvingly.

the third business that vera doukhova wanted to talk about concerned maslova. she knew, as everybody does know in prison, the story of maslova's life and his connection with her, and advised him to take steps to get her removed into the political prisoner's ward, or into the hospital to help to nurse the sick, of which there were very many at that time, so that extra nurses were needed.

nekhludoff thanked her for the advice, and said he would try to act upon it.

薇拉身材矮小，又瘦又黄，头发剪得很短，生着一双善良的大眼睛，步态蹒跚地从后门走进来。

“哦，您来了，谢谢，”她握着聂赫留朵夫的手说。“您还记得我吗？我们坐下来谈吧。”

“没想到您现在会弄成这个样子。”

“嘿，我倒觉得挺好！挺好，好得不能再好了，”薇拉说，照例圆睁着她那双善良的大眼睛，怯生生地瞅着聂赫留朵夫，并且转动她那从又脏又皱的短袄领子里露出来的青筋毕露的黄瘦脖子。

聂赫留朵夫问她怎么落到这个地步。她就兴致勃勃地讲起她所从事的活动来。她的话里夹杂着“宣传”、“解体”、“团体”、“小组”、“分组”等外来语，显然认为这些外来语谁都知道，其实聂赫留朵夫却从来没有听到过。

薇拉把她的活动讲给他听，满心以为他一定很乐于知道民意党的全部秘密。聂赫留朵夫呢，瞧着她那细得可怜的脖子和她那稀疏的蓬乱头发，弄不懂她为什么要做这种事，讲这种事。他可怜她，但绝不象他可怜庄稼汉明肖夫那样，因为明肖夫是完全被冤枉关在恶臭的牢房里的。她最惹人怜悯的是她头脑里显然充满糊涂思想。她分明自认为是个女英雄，为了他们事业的成功不惜牺牲生命。其实她未必能说清楚他们的事业究竟是怎么一回事，事业成功又是怎么一回事。

薇拉要对聂赫留朵夫讲的是这样一件事：她有一个女朋友，叫舒斯托娃，据她说并不属于她们的小组，五个月前跟她一起被捕，关在彼得保罗要塞，只因为在她家里搜出别人交给她保管的书籍和文件。薇拉认为舒斯托娃被拘禁，她要负一部分责任，因此要求交游广阔的聂赫留朵夫设法把她释放出狱。薇拉求聂赫留朵夫的另一件事，是设法替关押在彼得保罗要塞里的古尔凯维奇说个情，让他同父母见一次面，并且弄到必要的参考书，使他可以在狱中进行学术研究。

聂赫留朵夫答应他回到彼得堡以后努力去办。

薇拉讲到她自己的经历时说，她在助产学校毕业后，就接近民意党，参加他们的活动。开头他们写传单，到工厂里宣传，一切都很顺利，但后来一个重要人物被捕，搜出了文件，其余的人也都被抓去了。

“我也被捕了，如今就要被流放出去……”她讲完了自己的事。“不过，这没什么。我觉得挺好，自己觉得心安理得，”

她说着，惨然一笑。

聂赫留朵夫问起那个生有一双绵羊般眼睛的姑娘。薇拉说她是一个将军的女儿，早已加入了革命党，她被捕是因为主动承担枪击宪兵的罪名。她住在一个秘密寓所里，那里有一架印刷机。一天夜里警察和宪兵来搜查，住在里面的人决定自卫。他们熄了灯，动手销毁罪证。警察和宪兵破门而入，地下党中有人开了枪，一个宪兵受了致命伤。宪兵队审问是谁开的枪，她就说是她开的，其实她一辈子没有拿过手枪，连蜘蛛也没有弄死过一只。罪名就这样定下来了。如今她就要去服苦役。

“真是个利他主义的好人……”薇拉称赞说。

薇拉要说的第三件事是关于玛丝洛娃的。她知道监狱里的一切事情，也知道玛丝洛娃的身世和聂赫留朵夫同她的关系。她劝聂赫留朵夫为她说情，把她转移到政治犯牢房，或者至少让她到医院里去当一名护士。现在医院里病人特别多，很需要护士。聂赫留朵夫谢谢她的好意，并说要努力照她的话去做。