When the banker had read this he laid the page on the table, kissed the strange man on the head, and went out of the lodge, weeping. At no other time, even when he had lost heavily on the stock exchange, had he felt so great a contempt for himself. When he got home he lay on his bed, but his tears and emotion kept him for hours from sleeping.

Next morning the watchmen ran in with pale faces, and told him they had seen the man who lived in the lodge climb out of the window into the garden, go to the gate, and disappear. The banker went at once with the servants to the lodge and made sure of the flight of his prisoner. To avoid arousing unnecessary talk, he took from the table the writing in which the millions were renounced, and when he got home locked it up in the fireproof safe.

About the Author

Anton Chekhov was a late nineteenth-century Russian physician turned author and playwright. While studying at medical school, Chekhov took up writing as a source of income to support himself and his family. Though he eventually developed a love of writing and became a successful author, Chekhov continued practicing medicine for much of his life, once stating that medicine was his wife and writing his mistress. Chekhov’s most famous works include the short stories “The Lady with the Dog,” “The Bishop,” and “Neighbours” as well as the plays The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, and The Seagull. Chekhov died in 1904.

About the Series

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Copyright

HarperPerennial Classics

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
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EPub Edition June 2015 ISBN: 9781443447959

This title is in Canada’s public domain and is not subject to any licence or copyright.

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HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

HarperCollins Publishers (Canada) Ltd.

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HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

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