es of the whole office, and pretended to have
lost the money when he was drunk. And where was it found? Why, in just
such pipings in his cap. The hundred-rouble notes were screwed up in
little rolls and sewed in the piping."
Both the lawyers remembered Gridyenko's case perfectly, and so laid aside
Mitya's cap, and decided that all his clothes must be more thoroughly
examined later.
"Excuse me," cried Nikolay Parfenovitch, suddenly, noticing that the right
cuff of Mitya's shirt was turned in, and covered with blood, "excuse me,
what's that, blood?"
"Yes," Mitya jerked out.
"That is, what blood? ... and why is the cuff turned in?"
Mitya told him how he had got the sleeve stained with blood looking after
Grigory, and had turned it inside when he was washing his hands at
Perhotin's.
"You must take off your shirt, too. That's very important as material
evidence."
Mitya flushed red and flew into a rage.
"What, am I to stay naked?" he shouted.
"Don't disturb yourself. We will arrange something. And meanwhile take off
your socks."
"You're not joking? Is that really necessary?" Mitya's eyes flashed.
"We are in no mood for joking," answered Nikolay Parfenovitch sternly.
"Well, if I must--" muttered Mitya, and sitting down on the bed, he took
off his socks. He felt unbearably awkward. All were clothed, while he was
naked, and strange to say, when he was undressed he felt somehow guilty in
their presence, and was almost ready to believe himself that he was
inferior to them, and that now they had a perfect right to despise him.
"When all are undressed, one is somehow not ashamed, but when one's the
only one undressed and everybody is looking, it's degrading," he kept
repeating to himself, again and again. "It's like a dream, I've sometimes
dreamed of being in such degrading positions." It was a misery to him to
take off his socks. They were very dirty, and so were his underclothes,
and now every one could see it. And what was worse, he disliked his feet.
All his life he had thought both his big toes hideous. He particularly
loathed the coarse, flat, crooked nail on the right one, and now they
would all see it. Feeling intolerably ashamed made him, at once and
intentionally, rougher. He pulled off his shirt, himself.
"Would you like to look anywhere else if you're not ashamed to?"
"No, there's no need to, at present."
"Well, am I to stay naked like this?" he added savagely.
"Yes, that can't be he
|