When the general and his pack reached the place by the sea, the Cossackstopped. For some minutes he stood regarding the blue-green expanse ofwater. He shrugged his shoulders. Then be sat down, took a drink ofbrandy from a silver flask, lit a cigarette, and hummed a bit from/Madame Butterfly/. General Zaroff had an exceedingly good dinner in his great paneleddining hall that evening. With it he had a bottle of /Pol Roger/ andhalf a bottle of /Chambertin/. Two slight annoyances kept him fromperfect enjoyment. One was the thought that it would be difficult toreplace Ivan; the other was that his quarry had escaped him; of course,the American hadn’t played the game–so thought the general as he tastedhis after-dinner liqueur. In his library he read, to soothe himself,from the works of Marcus Aurelius. At ten he went up to his bedroom. Hewas deliciously tired, he said to himself, as he locked himself in.There was a little moonlight, so, before turning on his light, he wentto the window and looked down at the courtyard. He could see the greathounds, and he called, “Better luck another time,” to them. Then heswitched on the light. A man, who had been hiding in the curtains of the bed, was standing there. “Rainsford!” screamed the general. “How in God’s name did you get here?” “Swam,” said Rainsford. “I found it quicker than walking through thejungle.” The general sucked in his breath and smiled. “I congratulate you,” hesaid. “You have won the game.” Rainsford did not smile. “I am still a beast at bay,” he said, in a low,hoarse voice. “Get ready, General Zaroff.” The general made one of his deepest bows. “I see,” he said. “Splendid!One of us is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep inthis very excellent bed. On guard, Rainsford.” . . .
He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided.