nsieur de Vargnes told the footman to show in his
early visitor, but to tell him beforehand that his master was much
pressed for time, as he had to go to the Law Courts.

When the doctor came in, in spite of his usual imperturbability, he could
not restrain a movement of surprise, for the doctor presented that
strange anomaly of being a negro of the purest, blackest type, with the
eyes of a white man, of a man from the North, pale, cold, clear, blue
eyes, and his surprise increased when, after a few words of excuse for
his untimely visit, he added, with an enigmatical smile:

"My eyes surprise you, do they not? I was sure that they would, and, to
tell you the truth, I came here in order that you might look at them
well, and never forget them."

His smile, and his words, even more than his smile, seemed to be those of
a madman. He spoke very softly, with that childish, lisping voice, which
is peculiar to negroes, and his mysterious, almost menacing words,
consequently, sounded all the more as if they were uttered at random by
a man bereft of his reason. But his looks, the looks of those pale, cold,
clear, blue eyes, were certainly not those of a madman. They clearly
expressed menace, yes, menace, as well as irony, and, above all,
implacable ferocity, and their glance was like a flash of lightning,
which one could never forget.

"I have seen," Monsieur de Vargnes used to say, when speaking about it,
"the looks of many murderers, but in none of them have I ever observed
such a depth of crime, and of impudent security in crime."

And this impression was so strong, that Monsieur de Vargnes thought that
he was the sport of some hallucination, especially as when he spoke about
his eyes, the doctor continued with a smile, and in his most childish
accents: "Of course, Monsieur, you cannot understand what I am saying to
you, and I must beg your pardon for it. To-morrow, you will receive a
letter which will explain it at all to you, but, first all, it was
necessary that I should let you have a good, a careful look at my eyes,
my eyes which are myself, my only and true self, as you will see."

With these words, and with a polite bow, the doctor went out, leaving
Monsieur de Vargnes extremely surprised, and a prey to this doubt, as he
said to himself:

"Is he merely a madman? The fierce expression, and the criminal depths of
his looks are perhaps caused merely by the extraordinary contrast between
his fierce looks and his pal