She stopped for a minute outside the gate to look around sharply
under the pretext of adjusting her kerchief. She was already able
to distinguish spies in a street crowd almost immediately. She
recognized the exaggerated carelessness of their gait, their
strained attempt to be free in their gestures, the expression of
tedium on their faces, the wary, guilty glimmer of their restless,
unpleasantly sharp gaze badly hidden behind their feigned candor.
This time she did not notice any familiar faces, and walked along
the street without hastening. She took a cab, and gave orders to
be driven to the market place. When buying the clothes for Nikolay
she bargained vigorously with the salespeople, all the while scolding
at her drunken husband whom she had to dress anew every month. The
tradespeople paid little attention to her talk, but she herself was
greatly pleased with her ruse. On the road she had calculated that
the police would, of course, understand the necessity for Nikolay to
change his clothes, and would send spies to the market. With such
naive precautions, she returned to Yegor's quarters; then she had to
escort Nikolay to the outskirts of the city.
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