Difficult as it is to imagine such a thing, it really was the case.

She fancied for some reason that there must be a nihilist plot concealed in the province.

By his silence at one time and his hints at another Pyotr Stepanovitch did much to strengthen this strange idea in her.

She imagined that he was in communication with every revolutionary element in Russia but at the same time passionately devoted to her.

To discover the plot, to receive the gratitude of the government, to enter on a brilliant career, to influence the young "by kindness," and to restrain them from extremes--all these dreams existed side by side in her fantastic brain.