gs. 'Yes, I shall die of a rush of
blood. She will kill me. That is what she wants. What is it to her to
kill? But that would be too agreeable to him, and I will not allow him
to have this pleasure.

"Yes, here I am, and there they are. They are laughing, they. . . . Yes,
in spite of the fact that she is no longer in her early youth, he has
not disdained her. At any rate, she is by no means ugly, and above
all, not dangerous to his dear health, to him. Why did I not stifle
her then?' said I to myself, as I remembered that other scene of the
previous week, when I drove her from my study, and broke the furniture.

"And I recalled the state in which I was then. Not only did I recall it,
but I again entered into the same bestial state. And suddenly there came
to me a desire to act, and all reasoning, except such as was necessary
to action, vanished from my brain, and I was in the condition of a
beast, and of a man under the influence of physical excitement pending a
danger, who acts imperturbably, without haste, and yet without losing a
minute, pursuing a definite object.

"The first thing that I did was to take off my boots, and now, having
only stockings on, I advanced toward the wall, over the sofa, where
firearms and daggers were hanging, and I took down a curved Damascus
blade, which I had never used, and which was very sharp. I took it from
its sheath. I remember that the sheath fell upon the sofa, and that I
said to myself: 'I must look for it later; it must not be lost.'

"Then I took off my overcoat, which I had kept on all the time, and with
wolf-like tread started for THE ROOM. I do not remember how I proceeded,
whether I ran or went slowly, through what chambers I passed, how I
approached the dining-room, how I opened the door, how I entered. I
remember nothing about it."

CHAPTER XXVII.

"I Remember only the expression of their faces when I opened the door. I
remember that, because it awakened in me a feeling of sorrowful joy.
It was an expression of terror, such as I desired. Never shall I forget
that desperate and sudden fright that appeared on their faces when they
saw me. He, I believe, was at the table, and, when he saw or heard me,
he started, jumped to his feet, and retreated to the sideboard. Fear
was the only sentiment that could be read with certainty in his face.
In hers, too, fear was to be read, but accompanied by other impressions.
And yet, if her face had expressed only fear, perhaps th