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at this opening of shadow; he considered the invisible with a
fixity that resembled attention. The water roared. All at once
he took off his hat and placed it on the edge of the quay. A
moment later, a tall black figure, which a belated passer-by
in the distance might have taken for a phantom, appeared
erect upon the parapet of the quay, bent over towards the
Seine, then drew itself up again, and fell straight down into
the shadows; a dull splash followed; and the shadow alone
was in the secret of the convulsions of that obscure form
which had disappeared beneath the water.