your behalf;
but now I believe they've agreed, on condition you hand over the
printing press and all the papers, of course. Then you can go where you
please."

Shatov listened, frowning and resentful. The nervous alarm of a moment
before had entirely left him.

"I don't acknowledge any sort of obligation to give an account to the
devil knows whom," he declared definitely. "No one has the authority to
set me free."

"Not quite so. A great deal has been entrusted to you. You hadn't the
right to break off simply. Besides, you made no clear statement about
it, so that you put them in an ambiguous position."

"I stated my position clearly by letter as soon as I arrived here."

"No, it wasn't clear," Pyotr Stepanovitch retorted calmly. "I sent you
'A Noble Personality' to be printed here, and meaning the copies to be
kept here till they were wanted; and the two manifestoes as well. You
returned them with an ambiguous letter which explained nothing."

"I refused definitely to print them."

"Well, not definitely. You wrote that you couldn't, but you didn't
explain for what reason. 'I can't' doesn't mean 'I don't want to.' It
might be supposed that you were simply unable through circumstances.
That was how they took it, and considered that you still meant to keep
up your connection with the society, so that they might have entrusted
something to you again and so have compromised themselves. They say here
that you simply meant to deceive them, so that you might betray them
when you got hold of something important. I have defended you to the
best of my powers, and have shown your brief note as evidence in your
favour. But I had to admit on rereading those two lines that they were
misleading and not conclusive."

"You kept that note so carefully then?"

"My keeping it means nothing; I've got it still."

"Well, I don't care, damn it!" Shatov cried furiously. "Your fools may
consider that I've betrayed them if they like---what is it to me? I
should like to see what you can do to me?"

"Your name would be noted, and at the first success of the revolution
you would be hanged."

"That's when you get the upper hand and dominate Russia?"

"You needn't laugh. I tell you again, I stood up for you. Anyway, I
advise you to turn up to-day. Why waste words through false pride?
Isn't it better to part friends? In any case you'll have to give up the
printing press and the old type and papers--that's what we must talk
about."