He had said that, but now thinking things over he saw clearly that it would be better to manage to avoid that; and at the same time, as he told himself so, he was afraid whether it was not wrong.

"If I told her to leave her husband, that must mean uniting her life with mine; am I prepared for that? How can I take her away now, when I have no money? Supposing I could arrange....

But how can I take her away while I'm in the service? If I say that--I ought to be prepared to do it, that is, I ought to have the money and to retire from the army.