To K. S. Barantsevich, 20 April 1888. Moscow.

1 Written from Moscow on 20 April 1888 to the writer Kazimir Stanislavovich Barantsevich, answering a request evidently relayed through a letter Chekhov had just received from a third writer, Vasily Pavlovich Albov – whose first name and patronymic Chekhov admits he has forgotten, which is why he writes to Barantsevich rather than to Albov directly.

2 Chekhov explains he cannot promise the piece Barantsevich wants for some project (likely a charity or almanac collection): he is tied up finishing a story before Easter on pain of going penniless for the summer, then faces travel and settling-in time in Ukraine, leaving no real window to write something new to order. He asks that his story "The Fugitive" ("Beglets") be returned, explaining he wants no special treatment among fellow contributors – the piece is fit to include only if other writers are also submitting already-published work, not if the collection is meant to be all-new material. He closes by asking Barantsevich to pass his thanks and an apology to Albov for the lapse of memory.