e the favor of
feeling her pulse I shall be grateful."

But Amelie, as if she feared that the cause of her weakness might be
surmised, withdrew her hand hastily, exclaiming: "Oh, no! Sir John is
mistaken. Joy never causes illness. It is only joy at seeing my brother
again which caused this slight indisposition, and it has already passed
over." Then turning to Madame de Montrevel, she added with almost
feverish haste: "Mother, we are forgetting that these gentlemen have
made a long voyage, and have probably eaten nothing since Lyons. If
Roland has his usual good appetite he will not object to my leaving you
to do the honors of the house, while I attend to the unpoetical but much
appreciated details of the housekeeping."

Leaving her mother, as she said, to do the honors of the house, Amelie
went to waken the maids and the manservant, leaving on the mind of Sir
John that sort of fairy-like impression which the tourist on the Rhine
brings with him of the Lorelei on her rock, a lyre in her hand, the
liquid gold of her hair floating in the evening breezes.

In the meantime, Morgan had remounted his horse, returning at full
gallop to the Chartreuse. He drew rein before the portal, pulled out a
note-book, and pencilling a few lines on one of the leaves, rolled it up
and slipped it through the keyhole without taking time to dismount.

Then pressing in both his spurs, and bending low over the mane of the
noble animal, he disappeared in the forest, rapid and mysterious as
Faust on his way to the mountain of the witches' sabbath. The three
lines he had written were as follows:

"Louis de Montrevel, General Bonaparte's aide-de-camp, arrived
this evening at the Chateau des Noires-Fontaines. Be careful,
Companions of Jehu!"

But, while warning his comrades to be cautious about Louis de Montrevel,
Morgan had drawn a cross above his name, which signified that no matter
what happened the body of the young officer must be considered as sacred
by them.

The Companions of Jehu had the right to protect a friend in that way
without being obliged to explain the motives which actuated them. Morgan
used that privilege to protect the brother of his love.

CHAPTER XI. CHATEAU DES NOIRES-FONTAINES

The Chateau of Noires-Fontaines, whither we have just conducted two of
the principal characters of our story, stood in one of the most charming
spots of the valley, where the city of Bourg is built. The park, of five
or six acres,