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And he braced himself to face a terrible and unknown ordeal. At

times he longed to fall on Porfiry and strangle him. This anger

was what he dreaded from the beginning. He felt that his parched

lips were flecked with foam, his heart was throbbing. But he was

still determined not to speak till the right moment. He realised

that this was the best policy in his position, because instead of

saying too much he would be irritating his enemy by his silence

and provoking him into speaking too freely. Anyhow, this was what

he hoped for.