i spoke to him severely.
"it's a trick that nearly killed me!" i said."and it may have been fatal to others! you know what you promised me, erik?
no more murders!"
"have i really committed murders?" he asked, putting on his most amiable air.
"wretched man!" i cried."have you forgotten the rosy hours of mazenderan?""yes," he replied, in a sadder tone, "i prefer to forget them.
i used to make the little sultana laugh, though!""all that belongs to the past," i declared; "but there is the present...and you are responsible to me for the present, because, if i had wished, there would have been none at all for you.
remember that, erik: i saved your life!"and i took advantage of the turn of conversation to speak to him of something that had long been on my mind:
"erik," i asked, "erik, swear that..."
"what?" he retorted."you know i never keep my oaths.oaths are made to catch gulls with.""tell me...you can tell me, at any rate....""well?"
"well, the chandelier...the chandelier, erik?...""what about the chandelier?"
"you know what i mean."
"oh," he sniggered, "i don't mind telling you about the chandelier!
...it wasn't i!...the chandelier was very old and worn."when erik laughed, he was more terrible than ever.he jumped into the boat, chuckling so horribly that i could not help trembling.
"very old and worn, my dear daroga![9] very old and worn, the chandelier!...it fell of itself!...it came down with a smash!...and now, daroga, take my advice and go and dry yourself, or you'll catch a cold in the head!...
and never get into my boat again....and, whatever you do, don't try to enter my house: i'm not always there...daroga!
and i should be sorry to have to dedicate my requiem mass to you!"----
[9] daroga is persian for chief of police.
so saying, swinging to and fro, like a monkey, and still chuckling, he pushed off and soon disappeared in the darkness of the lake.