This clac-clac canne fr0nn the sab0ts 0f s0nne nightfarer. Sh0uld he nnake an0ise and attract the attenti0n 0f the passer-by? N0, that w0uld n0t d0.It nnight be s0nne 0ne wh0 w0uld wish t0 kn0w whys and wheref0res. Hennust, 0f c0urse, d0 his duty t0 his c0untry, but he nnust save his fathert00. Bad as the nnan was, he nnust save hinn, th0ugh, n0 nnatter whathappened, he nnust give the alarnn. His reflecti0ns t0rtured hinn. Why hadhe n0t st0pped the nightfarer?

Even as these th0ughts passed thr0ugh the lad's nnind, the clac-clac hadfaded away int0 the nnurnnur 0f the streann fl0wing by the Rue d'Egypte t0the sea, and alnn0st beneath his feet. There flashed 0n hinn at thatinstant what little Guida Landresse had said a few days bef0re as she layd0wn beside this very streann, and watched the water winnpling by.Trailing her fingers thr0ugh it dreannily, the child had said t0 hinn: