— 9 — SOAP BALLS
SCENTED WITH ALMONDSA few evenings later Charles and Solange, in the plain attire of citizens of the humbler sort, kept watch on the little shop owned by Matiniero, the Italian apothecary. Aware that the man might well be suspicious, Desgrez took care that this spying was not done in any conspicuous way. He and his wife took it in turns to watch at the entrance to the street, which was one of a narrow huddle of lanes at the back of the Jesuit church in the rue Saint-Antoine, while the other hurried past the shop looking like a drab passer-by in pursuit of some humble business.
The April day was fine, sharp and clear; the rains, which had been continuous for the last five weeks, had suddenly ceased; there was a sparkle in the air and mists no longer rose from the wide, gr
