What do I say, 'Success!' Bah! It is like
wildfire. They stand up and cheer. 'Salvini, Salvini!' they cry. And she,
my beloved, stand against the board framed by the beautiful knives that
fit exactly around her--to an inch, to a quarter inch, to a hair from her
ears and neck. And she stand, and as they cheer for Salvini, the great
Salvini, I see her smile at me. Ah, how sweet she is! How happy I am!
"And so we go on. I train all the time. Soon I know the outline of my
Lucia so well I can close my eyes and throw knives at her, and always they
come with the point only a hair away from her body. I pin her dress
against the board. Her arms she stretch out and I give her two sleeves of
knives. And for five years, no for eight years, everything go well. Never
once I touch her. Always I watch her eyes when I throw and her eyes give
me courage.
"But then what happen? Ah, ten thousand devils, she begin. She grow fat.
One night I send a knife through the skin of her arm. I cannot go on with
the act. I must stop. I break down and weep. For I love her so much the
blood that comes from her arm drive me crazy. But I say, 'How did the
great Salvini make such a mistake? It is incredible.' Then I look at her
and I see something.
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