I therefore accepted the unwelcome office
in silence, and received from the treasurer the money necessary for
carrying out the same.
I realised for the first time since joining the anarchist association
years before that I was in genuine danger. A single false step, a
single inadvertent word, might close the career of Eugene Valmont, and
at the same moment terminate the existence of the quiet, inoffensive
Paul Ducharme, teacher of the French language. I knew perfectly well I
should be followed. The moment I received the money the French
delegate asked when they were to expect me in Paris. He wished to know
so that all the resources of their organisation might be placed at my
disposal. I replied calmly enough that I could not state definitely on
what day I should leave England. There was plenty of time, as the
business men's representatives from London would not reach Paris for
another two weeks. I was well known to the majority of the Paris
organisation, and would present myself before them on the first night
of my arrival. The Paris delegate exhibited all the energy of a new
recruit, and he seemed dissatisfied with my vagueness, but I went on
without heeding his displeasure. He was not personally known to me,
nor I to him, but if I may say so, Paul Ducharme was well thought of
by all the rest of those present.
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