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that rigmarole before,’ Mitya interrupted again. ‘I can see
for myself how important it is, and that this is the vital
point, and still I won’t say.’
‘What is it to us? It’s not our business, but yours. .You are
doing yourself harm,’ observed Nikolay Parfenovitch ner-
vously.
‘You see, gentlemen, joking apart’ — Mitya lifted his eyes
and looked firmly at them both — ‘I had an inkling from the
first that we should come to loggerheads at this point. But
at first when I began to give my evidence, it was all still far
away and misty; it was all floating, and I was so simple that
I began with the supposition of mutual confidence existing
between us. Now I can see for myself that such confidence is
out of the question, for in any case we were bound to come
to this cursed stumbling-block. And now we’ve come to it!
It’s impossible and there’s an end of it! But I don’t blame you.
You can’t believe it all simply on my word. I understand that,
of course.’
He relapsed into gloomy silence.
‘Couldn’t you, without abandoning your resolution to
be silent about the chief point, could you not, at the same
time, give us some slight hint as to the nature of the motives
which are strong enough to induce you to refuse to answer,
at a crisis so full of danger to you?’
Mitya smiled mournfully, almost dreamily.
‘I’m much more good-natured than you think, gentle-
men. I’ll tell you the reason why and give you that hint,
though you don’t deserve it. I won’t speak of that, gentle-
men, because it would be a stain on my honour. The answer

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