11 The Brothers Karamazovthe rivalry of the two ‘ladies,’ as the prosecutor expressed it
— that is, of Grushenka and Katya — he answered evasively
and was even unwilling to answer one or two questions al-
together.
‘Did your brother tell you, anyway, that he intended to
kill your father?’ asked the prosecutor. ‘You can refuse to
answer if you think necessary,’ he added.
‘He did not tell me so directly,’ answered Alyosha.
‘How so? Did he indirectly?’
‘He spoke to me once of his hatred for our father and his
fear that at an extreme moment... at a moment of fury, he
might perhaps murder him.’
‘And you believed him?’
‘I am afraid to say that I did. But I never doubted that
some higher feeling would always save him at that fatal mo-
ment, as it has indeed saved him, for it was not he killed my
father,’ Alyosha said firmly, in a loud voice that was heard
throughout the court.
The prosecutor started like a war-horse at the sound of
a trumpet.
‘Let me assure you that I fully believe in the complete sin-
cerity of your conviction and do not explain it by or identify
it with your affection for your unhappy brother. Your pecu-
liar view of the whole tragic episode is known to us already
from the preliminary investigation. I won’t attempt to con-
ceal from you that it is highly individual and contradicts
all the other evidence collected by the prosecution. And so
I think it essential to press you to tell me what facts have
led you to this conviction of your brother’s innocence and