No doubt we three here will keep the secret, but I'm afraid of the fourth, you, and wouldn't trust you in anything...." "What do you mean by that?
Why it's more to my interest than anyone's, seeing I was promised eternal gratitude! What I wanted was to point out in this connection one extremely strange incident, rather to say, psychological than simply strange.

Yesterday evening, under the influence of my conversation with Varvara Petrovna--you can fancy yourself what an impression it made on me--I approached Alexey Nilitch with a discreet question: 'You knew Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch abroad,' said I, 'and used to know him before in Petersburg too.

What do you think of his mind and his abilities ?' said I.He answered laconically, as his way is, that he was a man of subtle intellect and sound judgment.
'And have you never noticed in the course of years,' said I, 'any turn of ideas or peculiar way of looking at things, or any, so to say, insanity ?' In fact, I repeated Varvara Petrovna's own question.

And would you believe it, Alexey Nilitch suddenly grew thoughtful, and scowled, just as he's doing now.

'Yes,' said he, 'I have sometimes thought there was something strange.' Take note, too, that if anything could have seemed strange even to Alexey Nilitch, it must really have been something, mustn't it ?" "Is that true ?" said Stepan Trofimovitch, turning to Alexey Nilitch.
"I should prefer not to speak of it," answered Alexey Nilitch, suddenly raising his head, and looking at him with flashing eyes.