The Equinox (Volume I, Number II)

THE EQUINOX the stiletto. Silver-gilt; blades of exquisite fineness; the cipher of a princely house of France shone in tiny diamonds upon the pommels. “The thought sent new courage and determination thrill- ing through me. I had saved a princess from shame and torture; I loved her! She loved me, for I had saved her— ah! but I had not yet saved her. That was to do. “But how to act? I had plenty of time. Jean would not return to the house, in all probability. But the markets were stirring; the weapons and my blood would arouse curiosity. Well, how to act? “The positive certitude that I had had about the name of the street was my bane. Had I doubted I could have more easily carried out the systematic search that I proposed. But as it was my organised patrol of the quarter was not scientific ; I was biased. I came back again and again to the street and searched it, as if the house might have been hidden in the gutter or vanished and reappeared by magic; as if my previous search might (by some incredible chance) have been imperfect, through relaxed attention. So one may watch a conjuror, observing every movement perfectly, except the one flash which does the trick. “The search, too, could not be long; so I reflected as disappointment sobered me. One cannot go far from the Carrefour de YOdéon in any direction without striking some unmistakable object. The two boulevards, the schools, the Odéon itself, St. Sulpice—one could not be far off. Yet—could I possibly have mistaken the Odéon for the Luxembourg ? “CouldI...?...? A host of conjectures chased each 124