The Bet by Anthon Chekhov Summary

The Banker's Betrayal

The old man, trembling with emotion, peeped through the window of his prisoner's room, where he was sitting motionless. He had been imprisoned for fifteen years and had learned to sit still. The banker tapped at the window, but the prisoner did not move. The banker broke the seals off the door and put the key in the keyhole. The rusty lock gave a grating sound, and the door creaked. The banker expected to hear footsteps and a cry of astonishment, but three minutes passed and it was as quiet as ever in the room.

At the table was a man unlike ordinary people, a skeleton with long curls and a shaggy beard. His face was yellow with an earthy tint, his cheeks were hollow, his back long and narrow, and his hand on which his shaggy head was propped was so thin and delicate that it was dreadful to look at. His hair was already streaked with silver, and seeing his emaciated, aged-looking face, no one would have believed that he was only forty.

On the table was a sheet of paper with something written in fine handwriting. The banker thought the poor creature was asleep and most likely dreaming of the millions. He had only to take this half-dead man, throw him on the bed, stifle him a little with the pillow, and the most conscientious expert would find no sign of a violent death.

The banker took the page from the table and read it, saying that he would regain his freedom and the right to associate with other men tomorrow at twelve o'clock. He told the banker that he despises freedom, life, health, and all that is called the good things of the world. He believes that the books of the bankers have given him wisdom, but he despises the books and the blessings of the world. He believes that the wise and wise people of the world are worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive.