Then the members of the committee tried to withdraw their admission, and Sergey Ivanovitch began to prove that they must logically admit either that they had verified the accounts or that they had not, and he developed this dilemma in detail.
Sergey Ivanovitch was answered by the spokesman of the opposite party.
Then Sviazhsky spoke, and then the malignant gentleman again.
The discussion lasted a long time and ended in nothing.
Levin was surprised that they should dispute upon this subject so long, especially as, when he asked Sergey Ivanovitch whether he supposed that money had been misappropriated, Sergey Ivanovitch answered: "Oh, no! He's an honest man.