A NEW PLAN

Saniel walked home briskly.  If, more than once during this interview, his emotion was poignant, he could not but be satisfied with the result.  The concierge had not seen him, that was henceforth unquestionable; the hypothesis of the butcher’s knife was put in a way to make his fortune; and it seemed probable that Caffie had not kept the numbers of the bank-notes.

But if they had been noted, and should the notebook containing them be discovered later, the danger was not immediate.  While writing his report and listening to the concierge’s deposition, by a sort of inspiration he thought of a way of disposing of them.  He would divide them into small packages, place them in envelopes, and address them with different initials to the poste restante, where they would remain until he could call for them without compromising himself.

In the deposition of the concierge, in the track indicated by the knife, in the poste restante, he had just motives for satisfaction, that made him breathe freely.  Decidedly, fate seemed to be with him, and he should have been able to say that everything was going well, if he had not committed the imprudence of entering the cafe.  Why had he gone there and remained long enough to attract attention?  What might not be the consequences of this stupidity?

As soon as he reached home and his door was closed, he carried out his intentions regarding the bank-notes, dividing them into ten packages.  His first thought was to place them in the nearest letterbox, but reflection showed him that this would be unwise, and he decided to mail each one in a different quarter of the city.

After his long walk of the morning, and the emotions of the evening, he felt a fatigue that he had never known before, but he comprehended that he was not at liberty to yield to this weariness.  A new situation was made for him, and henceforth he no longer belonged to himself.  For the rest of his life he would be the prisoner of his crime.  And it was this crime which, from this evening, would command, and he must obey.

Why had he not foreseen this situation when, weighing the pro and con like an intelligent man who can scrutinize the future under all its phases, he had examined what must happen?  But surprising as it was, the discovery was no less certain, and the sad and troublesome proof was that, however intelligent one may be, one can always learn by experience.

What was there yet to learn?  He confessed that he found himself face to face with the unknown, and all that he wished was, that this lesson he had learned from experience might be the hardest.  It would be folly to imagine that it was the last.  Time would show.

When he returned home, after posting his letters, it was long past one o’clock.  He went to bed immediately, and slept heavily, without waking or dreaming.

It was broad daylight when he opened his eyes the next morning.  Surprised at having slept so late, he jumped up and looked at his watch, which said eight o’clock.  But as he should not leave until a quarter past eleven, he had plenty of time.