He does not know that she has seen the four
rascals in his company. He wishes to work with his own hand his revenge
upon us, and so he has let us live. I see the way to make him so
ridiculous in the eyes of mademoiselle that he will never dare show his
face to her again."
"But the maid!" persisted Blaise.
"They will doubtless secure her somewhere in the woods, and return here
to enact, with mademoiselle herself, the sham rescue which they
mistakenly carried out with the maid. Go and seek your precious
Jeannotte, if you please, but do not let them discover you. Wait until
they leave her before you try to release her."
Blaise was quick to avail himself of this conditional commission. He went
with me into the kitchen, where the old couple were sleeping as noisily
as ever, and found his sword where he had laid it before supper. The
door to mademoiselle's room was ajar. Standing at the threshold, I could
hear her breathing peacefully, unaware of the peril from which, by a
blunder, she had been saved. Through the small window of the room came a
bar of moonlight which lighted up her face. It was a face pale, sad,
innocent,--the face of a girl transformed, in an instant, to womanhood
by a single grief.
Leaving her door as I had found it, I went from the inn to the shed,
still wearing my sword, which I had put on in first leaving the kitchen
after my futile attempt to sleep.
Pages:
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213