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182 And suddenly a great veil is lifted from my eyes, behind it I see Juliette with denied body, exhausted and hideous, selling herself to human vultures! . . . Juliette is there, putting on her gloves, in front of me, in a dark dress with a thick veil which hides her features. . . . The shadow of her hand dances upon the table cloth, lengthens out, grows broader, shrinks again, disappears and comes back again. . . . I shall always see this diabolic shadow, always! . ..

"Kiss me, dearie!"

"Don't go out Juliette, don't go out, I implore you!"

"Embrace me. . . closer. . . closer yet. . . ."

She is sad. . . . Through the thick veil I feel on my cheek the moisture of a tear.

"Why do you cry, Juliette. . . . Juliette, for pity's sake, stay with me!"

"Embrace me. . . . I adore you, my Jean. . . . I adore you! . . ."

She is gone. . . . Doors open, close again. . . . She is gone. . . . Outside I hear the noise of a rolling carriage. The noise grows fainter and fainter and dies out. . . . She is gone! . ..

And here I, too, am on the street. . . . A cab passes by 114, Rue de Seze!

My mind was made up quickly. . . . I figured that I would come there before she could. . . . She perfectly understood that I was not taken in by that story of Gabrielle's illness. . . . My anxiety, my eagerness no doubt inspired her with the fear of being spied after, followed, and most likely she would not go to the place immediately. But why did just this abominable thought flash through my mind like lightning? . . . Why only this possibility and no other? . . . I still hope that my presentiments have deceived m