'But excuse me, excuse me. It is for me to explain… how it all happened… In my turn… though I agree with you… it is unnecessary. But a year ago, the girl died of typhus. I remained lodging there as before, and when my landlady moved into her present quarters, she said to me… and in a friendly way… that she had complete trust in me, but still, would I not give her an I O U for one hundred and fifteen roubles, all the debt I owed her. She said if only I gave her that, she would trust me again, as much as I liked, and that she would never, never–those were her own words–make use of that I O U till I could pay of myself… and now, when I have lost my lessons and have nothing to eat, she takes action against me. What am I to say to that?'