Pagina 823 di 1294

"Hush! Hush! They'll overhear! I warn you seriously, take care of

yourself. I am not joking," Porfiry whispered, but this time

there was not the look of old womanish good nature and alarm in

his face. Now he was peremptory, stern, frowning and for once

laying aside all mystification.

But this was only for an instant. Raskolnikov, bewildered,

suddenly fell into actual frenzy, but, strange to say, he again

obeyed the command to speak quietly, though he was in a perfect

paroxysm of fury.

"I will not allow myself to be tortured," he whispered, instantly

recognising with hatred that he could not help obeying the

command and driven to even greater fury by the thought. "Arrest

me, search me, but kindly act in due form and don't play with me!

Don't dare!"

"Don't worry about the form," Porfiry interrupted with the same

sly smile, as it were, gloating with enjoyment over Raskolnikov.

"I invited you to see me quite in a friendly way."