“Don’t bawl, anyway; we shan’t hear the signal. Shatov, gentlemen.⁠ ⁠… (Damnation, how stupid this is now!) I’ve told you already that Shatov is a Slavophil, that is, one of the stupidest set of people.⁠ ⁠… But, damn it all, never mind, that’s no matter! You put me out!⁠ ⁠… Shatov is an embittered man, gentlemen, and since he has belonged to the party, anyway, whether he wanted to or no, I had hoped till the last minute that he might have been of service to the cause and might have been made use of as an embittered man. I spared him and was keeping him in reserve, in spite of most exact instructions.⁠ ⁠… I’ve spared him a hundred times more than he deserved! But he’s ended by betraying us.⁠ ⁠… But, hang it all, I don’t care! You’d better try running away now, any of you! No one of you has the right to give up the job! You can kiss him if you like, but you haven’t the right to stake the cause on his word of honour! That’s acting like swine and spies in government pay!”

“Who’s a spy in government pay here?” Liputin filtered out.