that again all was left in thickest darkness without. Frightened at
the appearance of the abbess, the apprentice who drew the barrel threw
himself back and dropped the cord. Fortunately the goldsmith seized it
as soon, and amidst the mortal fear of all, drew the barrel close to the
window, saying: "Let us first save Amael."

Thanks to the barrel, which floated almost on a level with the window
sill, the latter was easily scaled by the prisoner. His first movement
upon stepping into the workshop was to throw himself on his mother's
neck. Mother and son for a moment forgot their common danger and were
holding each other in a passionate embrace when a rap was heard at the
door.

"Woe is us!" muttered one of the apprentices. "It is the abbess!"

"Impossible!" said the goldsmith. "To ascend from the prison, pass the
cloister, cross the courtyard, and come as far as our workshop she would
need more than ten minutes."

"Bonaik!" cried from the outside the rough voice of Ricarik, "open the
door instantly."

"Oh! what shall we do! The coal vault is too narrow to conceal Rosen-Aer
and her son," muttered the old man; then raising his voice, he answered:
"Seigneur intendant, we are just at the cast, we cannot leave it----"

"That is the very operation I want to witness," cried back the
intendant. "Open immediately."

"You, Septimine, and your son remain near the window, lean out your
heads; you will otherwise be suffocated," hastily said the old man to
Rosen-Aer, taking a swift resolution. And pushing Amael, his mother and
Septimine to the casement, he whispered to one of the apprentices: "Pour
the full contents of the box of sulphur and bitumen upon the forge
brasier.... We shall fill the workshop with smoke."

The young slave obeyed mechanically. At the moment when Ricarik began
again to knock at the door with redoubled force, a sulphurous and
bituminous smoke began to spread in the workshop, and soon was so
intense that one could hardly see his hand before his eyes. Thus, when
the old man finally proceeded to open the door to the intendant, the
latter, blinded and suffocated by a puff of the pungent and thick vapor,
instead of stepping in, jumped back.

"Walk in, seigneur intendant," said Bonaik, "this is the effect of the
casting after the fashion of the great Eloi.... We could not open to you
sooner out of fear of chilling the liquid metal, which we were pouring
into the mold.... Step forward, seigneur intendant; co