“It’s him, all right,” said Fyodor’s voice. “Only he’s grown his fur back, the scoundrel.” “But he spoke . . . khe . . . khe . . .” “He still speaks, but less and less. I would suggest you take advantage of the moment, because he’ll soon grow silent altogether.” “But why?” the black man inquired in an undertone. Philip Philippovich shrugged his shoulders. “Science has not yet discovered methods of transforming animals into humans. I tried, but unsuccessfully, as you can see. He spoke for a while, and then began to revert to his original state. Atavism.”
