Angrily (this I must confess), I snatched the flowers. "Here they are, your lilies-of-the-valley. Well, smell them! Good? Yes? Why not use a little bit of logic? The lilies-of-the-valley smell good; all right! But you cannot say about an odor, about the conception of an odor, that it _is_ good or bad, can you? You can't, can you? There is the smell of lilies-of-the-valley and there is the disagreeable smell of henbane. Both are odors. The ancient States had their spies; we have ours ... yes, spies! I am not afraid of words. But is it not clear to you that there the spies were henbane; here they are lilies-of-the-valley? Yes, lilies-of-the-valley, yes!" The rosy crescent quivered. Now I understand that it was only my impression but at that moment I was certain she was going to laugh. I shouted still louder: "Yes, lilies-of-the-valley! And there is nothing funny about it, nothing funny!" The smooth round globes of heads passing by were turning towards us. O-90 gently took my hand. "You are so strange today ... are you ill?" My dream.... Yellow color.... Buddha.... It was at once born clearly upon me that I must go to the Medical Bureau. "Yes, you are right, I am sick," I said with joy (that seems to me an inexplicable contradiction; there was nothing to be joyful about). "You must go at once to the doctor. You understand that; you are obliged to be healthy; it seems strange to have to prove it to you." "My dear O-, of course you are right. Absolutely right." I did not go to the Bureau of the Guardians; I could not; I had to go to the Medical Bureau; they kept me there until seventeen o'clock. In the evening (incidentally, the Bureau of Guardians is closed evenings)--in the evening O- came to see me. The curtains were not lowered. We busied ourselves with the arithmetical problems of an ancient text-book. This occupation always calms and purifies our thoughts. O- sat over her note book, her head slightly inclined to the left; she was so assiduous that she poked out her left cheek with the tongue from within. She looked so child-like, so charming.... I felt everything in me was pleasant, precise and simple. She left. I remained alone. I breathed deeply two times (it is very good exercise before retiring for the night). Suddenly,--an unexpected odor reminiscent of something very disagreeable! I soon found out what was the matter: a branch of lily-of-the-valley was hidden in my bed. Immediately everything was aroused again, came up from the bottom. Decidedly, it was tactless on her part surreptitiously to put these lilies-of-the-valley there. Well, true I did not go; I didn't, but was it my fault that I felt indisposed? RECORD EIGHT An Irrational Root R-13 The Triangle