And then I found myself holding again the two warm hands. I was not thinking of De Coigny. I was in a dream. I stepped into a carriage that was before me. I heard De Brissac close the door, and say to the coachman "Paris." Then I felt a girl's arm round my neck. "Toto," said a voice, "do you remember the white rabbit with the green eyes?" The killing of De Coigny had blinded me, maddened me, and drawn from some distant past into full birth all sorts of strange and hitherto unknown attributes of myself. It was as though Philippe de Saluce, slowly struggling into new birth during the last forty-eight hours, had, with the slaying of my adversary, suddenly become full born. It was necessary for me to kill, it seems, before he could find speech and thought, and stand fully reincarnated. "Oh, far beyond that--far beyond that!" I murmured, not knowing fully what I said or what I meant, knowing only that mysterious doors had been flung open, and that through them a spirit had rushed, filling me and embracing through me the woman at my side. "I know," she said. And for a moment spoke no more. In those two words she told all. It was as though she had said: "I know all. You are Philippe and I am Margaret. All is forgiven between us. Let us forget. What matters that old crime of long ago? We are reborn, we are young again, and the world is fair." "Let us forget," I murmured, as if in answer to these words which, though unspoken by her lips, were heard by my spirit. "I have forgotten," she replied. "I never remembered--or only in part. Let us talk of that time----" "When we were children?" "Yes. Do you remember----" "Do I remember! Where is Gretel?" "She is dead. I must tell you all; but we are nearing Paris. Cannot we go anywhere--some place where we can talk and be alone?" "Yes." I remembered that Franzius and Eloise were away, and that we could go to the Pavilion. I drew the check-string, and told the driver to take the road to Etiolles. As I drew back into the carriage her hand slipped over my shoulder, and her arm round my neck again. * * * * * "You know," she said, "that time when you left I nearly forgot you. I would have forgotten you entirely but for Gretel, who always kept making me remember, telling me to beware of you, till you became my nightmare. After the death of my father, Gretel took entire charge of me. I did not know that I was a girl: I never thought of the thing. I was dressed as a boy, I had tutors, the jägers took me hunting. Yes; you were my nightmare. I used to dream that you were running after me through the woods to kill me. All that was at night; but once--one afternoon, I fell asleep, and you nearly did kill me. It was only a dream, you know." "Tell me about it."