noon
His head was on fire ; his eyelids were smarting , his lips dry . He was nervously smoking a cigarette and frequently got up from the divan to take the decanter of water off the table , and avidly , straight from its mouth , drink several big draughts . Then , by some accidental effort of the will , he succeeded in tearing his thoughts away from the past night , and at once a heavy sleep , without any visions and images , enveloped him as though in black cotton . He awoke long past noon , at two or three o'clock ; at first could not come to himself for a long while ; smacked his lips and looked around the room with glazed , heavy eyes . All that had happened during the night seemed to have flown out of his memory . But when he saw Liubka , who was quietly and motionlessly sitting on the bed , with head lowered and hands crossed on her knees , he began to groan and grunt from vexation and confusion . Now he recalled everything .