"That's it," he said, "and be sure your hand doesn't shake, my dear lady. It won't hurt you, I swear. Are you ready? At the word of command, eh? One ... two ... three...." The widow pulled the trigger. A shot rang out. "Is this death?" said Lupin. "That's funny! I should have thought it was something much more different from life!" There was a second shot. Gabriel snatched the weapon from his aunt's hands and examined it: "Ah," he exclaimed, "the bullets have been removed!... There are only the percussion-caps left!..." His aunt and he stood motionless, for a moment, and confused: "Impossible!" she blurted out. "Who could have done it?... An inspector?... The examining-magistrate?..." She stopped and, in a low voice: "Hark.... I hear a noise...." They listened and the widow went into the hall. She returned, furious, exasperated by her failure and by the scare which she had received: "There's nobody there.... It must have been the neighbours going out.... We have plenty of time.... Ah, Lupin, you were beginning to make merry!... The knife, Gabriel." "It's in my room." "Go and fetch it." Gabriel hurried away. The widow stamped with rage: "I've sworn to do it!... You've got to suffer, my fine fellow!... I swore to Dugrival that I would do it and I have repeated my oath every morning and evening since.... I have taken it on my knees, yes, on my knees, before Heaven that listens to me! It's my duty and my right to revenge my dead husband!... By the way, Lupin, you don't look quite as merry as you did!... Lord, one would almost think you were afraid!... He's afraid! He's afraid! I can see it in his eyes!... Come along, Gabriel, my boy!... Look at his eyes!... Look at his lips!... He's trembling!... Give me the knife, so that I may dig it into his heart while he's shivering.... Oh, you coward!... Quick, quick, Gabriel, the knife!..." "I can't find it anywhere," said the young man, running back in dismay. "It has gone from my room! I can't make it out!" "Never mind!" cried the Widow Dugrival, half demented. "All the better! I will do the business myself." She seized Lupin by the throat, clutched him with her ten fingers, digging her nails into his flesh, and began to squeeze with all her might. Lupin uttered a hoarse rattle and gave himself up for lost. Suddenly, there was a crash at the window. One of the panes was smashed to pieces. "What's that? What is it?" stammered the widow, drawing herself erect, in alarm. Gabriel, who had turned even paler than usual, murmured: "I don't know.... I can't think...." "Who can have done it?" said the widow. She dared not move, waiting for what would come next. And one thing above all terrified her, the fact that there was no missile on the floor around them, although the pane of glass, as was clearly visible, had given way before the crash of a heavy and fairly large object, a stone, probably. After a while, she looked under the bed, under the chest of drawers: "Nothing," she said.