without danger in his prison, and that he would follow the
orders of the old man. Hope revived the spirits of Rosen-Aer. In the
fulness of her thanks she took the goldsmith's hands and said to him:
"Good father, you will save him, will you not? You will save my son?"

"I hope so, poor woman! But let me collect my thoughts.... At my age,
you know, such experiences are trying. In order to succeed, we must be
prudent. The task is difficult.... We cannot be too cautious."

While the goldsmith, leaning on his elbows at his work-bench, held his
head in his hands, and the apprentices remained silent and uneasy,
Rosen-Aer, struck by a sudden recollection, said to Septimine: "My
child, you said my son had been good to you, like an angel from
heaven.... All that concerns you interests me. Where did you meet him?"

"Near Poitiers, at the convent of St. Saturnine.... My family and I,
touched with pity for a young prince, a boy, who was kept confined in
the monastery, wished to help him to escape; all was discovered, they
meant to punish me in a shameful, infamous manner," Septimine said
blushing; "and they decided to sell me and separate me from my father
and mother.... It was at that moment that your son, a favorite of
Charles, the Chief of the Franks, interceded in my behalf and took me
under his protection--"

"My son, say you, dear child?"

"Yes, madam, the seigneur Berthoald."

"You call him Berthoald?"

"That is the name of the young Frankish chief who is locked up in that
cavern--"

"My son Amael with the name of Berthoald! My son a favorite of the
Frankish chief!" cried Rosen-Aer struck with amazement. "My son, who was
raised in horror for the conquerors of Gaul, those oppressors of our
race! My son one of their favorites! No, no.... It is impossible!"

"Live a hundred years, and never shall I forget what happened at the
convent of St. Saturnine--the touching kindness of the seigneur
Berthoald towards me, whom he had never seen before. Did he not obtain
my liberty from Charles, and also the liberty of my father and mother?
Was he not generous enough to give me gold to meet my family's wants?"

"I am lost in the attempt to penetrate this mystery. The troop of
warriors, that brought us slaves in their train, did indeed stop at the
abbey of St. Saturnine," replied Rosen-Aer in great agony, and she
added: "but if he whom you call Berthoald obtained your freedom from the
chief of the Franks, how come you to be a slav