The Madonna was still worshipped; together with the
Saints. Their precious relics and other holy amulets still proved their
efficacy in the hour of danger.
Amulets--ah, that reminded him.
To kill a man with a view to possessing yourself of his substance was
an unpardonable crime. Now what had this boy done? Let them take the
so-called robbery first. Well, no robbery had been committed, in spite
of the notorious fact that this Protestant, this foreigner was known to
be loaded with money. His client had fought down the temptation, the
almost irresistible temptation, of appropriating the gold. Let them
remember that! The minutest investigation failed to reveal anything
save a single coin which he had attached to a string and hung about his
neck. Motives, not deeds! What were his motives for this strange act?
An unconscious application of the homoeopathic principle. He had taken
it as a safeguard, an amulet, in the childish belief that it might
protect him on future occasions against insults such as those he had
undergone.
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