Already so many years have gone by, that I fear that my being still moved by this old misfortune of mine does not befit a sane man; and all the less so, because it seems, or rather it is certain, that I behaved quite badly.

So, then, getting up from the ground, I began to wander again, Suddenly, feeling almost forced to hide once again, I crouched behind the hedge that divided my land from his. Vardi was slowly returning to his villa. As he passed in front of me, hidden there behind that hedge, I heard him sigh deeply in the night. That sigh drew him so close to me, that it almost repelled me. Ah, because of that sigh I was really on the verge of killing him. And I could have, if I had raised my shotgun a bit, without even taking the trouble to aim; that's how close he was to me. But I let him pass.

Running back to the little villa, I found that the relatives had withdrawn from the dead woman's room, and that only two servants had stayed behind to keep vigil. I relieved them of their sad task, telling them that I would keep vigil for them. I stopped a while to gaze at my sister-in-law. She seemed more peaceful, more serene, as if, having died in the shadow of the sin whose horrible secret she had wanted to keep, she had now been freed of it, since I knew everything. I then entered Mirina's room.

I found her crying. As soon as she saw me, her face changed.

"Don't be afraid," I told her. "Come with me."

"Where?"

"With me. You'll no longer feel any remorse."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I want to do, not say. And what you want. Come now, I'll show you."

I took her by the hand, pulling her forward. Trembling, quivering, she let me drag her to the dead woman's room. I pointed out her sister to her.

"See?" I said. "Now she'll forgive you. And you can repeat to me that you've killed her."

"Me?"

"Yes, just as you told him a little earlier from the window. Quiet, don't shout! I won't do anything to you. You'll just leave this house this very moment. Don't cry! It's your prison. I want to free you."

She fell on her knees, her face on the ground, pleading for forgiveness, for compassion. I immediately helped her get up again, telling her to keep quiet. I pulled her out of the room.

"Go where? Where?" she asked, full of anguish.

"Wherever you want. Don't be afraid. And if you want to be punished, that will be your punishment; and if you can still enjoy yourself, you'll enjoy yourself freely. I'm freeing you! I'm freeing you!"

I still had my shotgun on my shoulder. Oh, how she looked at it, understandably suspecting that I was trying to coax her outside in a friendly manner! I noticed that, laughed bitterly, and ran to put my weapon down in a corner of the living room.

"I don't want to hurt you, no.