THE TERRACE
679
a double poison
sign.
The pills looked the same and he took
them. They were not pills, however, but capsules. Matilda justi–
fied herself in a shocking manner:
"I swear to you that I could stand no more, Bob. I looked
at my husband and felt the roots of my hair turn cold. When I
returned home at night he would say to me, smiling in a horrible
way: 'Did you have fun, Matty?' He never said Matilda but
Matty, which does not suit me because that's the nickname for
Martha. When he wanted to feel protecting he caressed me with
his
open hand, patting me on the back the way he would a dog.
And sometimes he moved
his
left ear like a cat. But he was not
a cat or a dog either. He belonged to another species, to one of
those species they call extinguished. Or extinct. Don't they say
extinct?"
Bob nodded uncomprehending and she went on:
"Besides he had secret vices. He never drank anything but
boiled water. Do you believe that a man who never drinks any–
thing but boiled water can be honest? A
type
like that
is
hiding
some moral deformity, that's what I say. In short, whatever
happened, it's done now and can't be helped. I know that
if
they catch me I am lost, but they won't catch me. And in any
case, I don't care. Don't you believe I've lived long enough?"
"How long?"
"Twenty-one years."
That had been the most dramatic night in Matilda's life.
And she remembered it as she watched Dr. Smith, who
also
re–
sembled those examples of extinct species, walking around the
terrace. The orchestra was playing softly and Matilda returned
to the unforgettable night without the slightest sensation of guilt.
She put the revolver back in her purse and said to Bob:
"If
you
had a memory you would recall what we talked about one day.
We were talking about my husband and you asked: 'Why don't
you divorce him?' What did I answer?
Do
you remember "what
I answered?"
Bob was looking for a place with a public telephone. When
