so nice to me----'

"You remember the day, two months ago, when we had such a sudden wind
and rain storm, a regular cloud-burst? I was down here in this
neighborhood fetching manuscripts from M. Labouchere and M. Laroy. I
was to have come up here for copy from you, too. But then--you'll
understand after all I've been telling you,--I came around past 'La
Prunelle' and Virginie stood in the doorway, and she'd promised to go
out with me that evening. So I ran up to speak to her. And then when I
went on again, I saw a sheet with your writing lying in the street.
You know I know all the gentlemen's writing, whose copy I fetch. Then
I was frightened. I thought to myself, 'The devil,' I thought, 'here
I've lost M. Lucien's manuscript.' I couldn't remember calling for it,
but I thought I must have done so before I got M. Laroy's. I can't
remember much except Virginie these days. I took up the sheet and saw
three others a little further on. And I saw a lot more shining just
behind the railing of the Luxembourg Garden. You know how hard it
rained. The water held the paper down, so the wind couldn't carry it
any further. I ran into the Garden and picked up all the sheets,
thirty-two of them. All of them, except the first four I found in the
street, had blown in behind the railing. And I can tell you I was
precious glad that I had them all together. I ran back to the office,
told them I had dropped the manuscript in the street, but asked them
not to say anything to you about it. But the sheets were all
there,--you always number them so clearly, and 'handsome August,' the
compositor, promised he wouldn't tell on me. I knew if the foreman
heard of it, he'd put me out, for he had a grudge against me. So
nobody knew anything about it. But I thought I ought to tell you,
'cause you've been so nice to me. Maybe you'll understand how one gets
queer at times, when a girl like Virginie tells you she likes you
better than Pierre, and yet you think she might deceive you for his
sake--that big, stupid animal--But now I'll be going. Much obliged for
your kindness, M. Lucien, and for the anisette--' And he left me.

"There you have the explanation, the very simple and natural
explanation of the phenomenon that almost drove me crazy.

"The entire 'supernatural' occurrence was caused by a careless boy's
love affairs, by a gust of southwest wind, by a sudden heavy rain, and
by the chance that I had used English ink, the kind that water cannot
bl