On February 14th 1931, when he heard the dull sound overhead of the famous meteorite that was to land on his house, Oskar Serti had a feeling that he was going to be its victim.
His last resigned thought was for Catherine de Sélys, although he had abandoned her in such a cowardly manner five years earlier.
The sudden reminder, at this fatal moment, of his deplorable behaviour towards the poor Catherine rekindled in him such a feeling of disgust that he felt a violent shudder of self-hatred that miraculously whisked him away to safety.