Page 803 - the-brothers-karamazov

scribed how, sitting on the wall, he had struck Grigory on
the head with the pestle, while the old man had hold of his
left leg, and how he then jumped down to look at him, when
the prosecutor stopped him to ask him to describe exactly
how he was sitting on the wall. Mitya was surprised.
‘Oh, I was sitting like this, astride, one leg on one side of
the wall and one on the other.’
‘And the pestle?’
‘The pestle was in my hand.’
‘Not in your pocket? Do you remember that precisely?
Was it a violent blow you gave him?’
‘It must have been a violent one. But why do you ask?’
‘Would you mind sitting on the chair just as you sat on
the wall then and showing us just how you moved your arm,
and in what direction?’
‘You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?’ asked Mitya, look-
ing haughtily at the speaker; but the latter did not flinch.
Mitya turned abruptly, sat astride on his chair, and
swung his arm.
‘This was how I struck him! That’s how I knocked him
down! What more do you want?’
‘Thank you. May I trouble you now to explain why you
jumped down, with what object, and what you had in
view?’
‘Oh, hang it!... I jumped down to look at the man I’d
hurt... I don’t know what for!’
‘Though you were so excited and were running away?’
‘Yes, though I was excited and running away.’
‘You wanted to help him?’

0 The Brothers Karamazov