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"Go away, it's too soon! Wait till you are sent for!... Why have

you brought him so soon?" Porfiry Petrovitch muttered, extremely

annoyed, and as it were thrown out of his reckoning.

But Nikolay suddenly knelt down.

"What's the matter?" cried Porfiry, surprised.

"I am guilty! Mine is the sin! I am the murderer," Nikolay

articulated suddenly, rather breathless, but speaking fairly

loudly.

For ten seconds there was silence as though all had been struck

dumb; even the warder stepped back, mechanically retreated to the

door, and stood immovable.

"What is it?" cried Porfiry Petrovitch, recovering from his

momentary stupefaction.

"I... am the murderer," repeated Nikolay, after a brief pause.

"What... you... what... whom did you kill?" Porfiry Petrovitch

was obviously bewildered.

Nikolay again was silent for a moment.

"Alyona Ivanovna and her sister Lizaveta Ivanovna, I... killed...

with an axe. Darkness came over me," he added suddenly, and was

again silent.