“What!”
“Yes, after having poured the poison into a phial, to wash the glass and fill it with another potion.”
“You are right. You think of everything. If the general wakes and wants his potion, he must not be suspicious of anything, and he must be able to have his drink.”
“It is not necessary that he should drink.”
“Well, then, why have the drink there?”
“So that the person can be sure, madame, that if he has not drunk it is simply because he has not wished to. A pure chance, madame, that he is not poisoned. You understand me this time?”
“Yes, yes. O Christ! But how now, if the general wakes and wishes to drink his narcotic?”
“Tell him I forbid it. And here is another thing you must do. When—Someone—comes into the general’s chamber, in the morning, you must quite openly and naturally throw out the potion, useless and vapid, you see, and so Someone will have no right to be astonished that the general continues to enjoy excellent health.”
“Yes, yes, little one; you are wiser than King Solomon. And what will I do with the phial of poison?”
“Bring it to me.”