of the evening, the chosen hour,
when they should all be upon the terrace. She drank as much wine as
she could stand, to nerve herself, and two little glasses of brandy,
and she was flushed as she left the table, a little bewildered,
heated in body and mind. It seemed to her that she was strengthened
now, and resolved for everything.

"Let us start!" she cried. She took Monsieur de Belvigne's arm and
set the pace for the others. "Come, you shall form my battalion,
Servigny. I choose you as sergeant; you will keep outside the ranks,
on the right. You will make the foreign guard march in front--the
two exotics, the Prince, and the Chevalier--and in the rear the two
recruits who have enlisted to-day. Come!"

They started. And Servigny began to imitate the trumpet, while the
two newcomers made believe to beat the drum. Monsieur de Belvigne, a
little confused, said in a low tone:

"Mademoiselle Yvette, be reasonable, you will compromise yourself."

She answered: "It is you whom I am compromising, Raisine. As for me,
I don't care much about it. To-morrow it will not occur. So much the
worse for you: you ought not to go out with girls like me."

They went through Bougival to the amazement of the passers-by. All
turned to look at them; the citizens came to their doors; the
travelers on the little railway which runs from Ruril to Marly
jeered at them. The men on the platforms cried:

"To the water with them!"

Yvette marched with a military step, holding Belvigne by the arm, as
a prisoner is led. She did not laugh; upon her features sat a pale
seriousness, a sort of sinister calm. Servigny interrupted his
trumpet blasts only to shout orders. The Prince and the Chevalier
were greatly amused, finding all this very funny and in good taste.
The two recruits drummed away continually.

When they arrived at the fete, they made a sensation. Girls
applauded; young men jeered, and a stout gentleman with his wife on
his arm said enviously: "There are some people who are full of fun."

Yvette saw the wooden horses and compelled Belvigne to mount at her
right, while her squad scrambled upon the whirling beasts behind.
When the time was up she refused to dismount, constraining her
escort to take several more rides on the back of these children's
animals, to the great delight of the public, who shouted jokes at
them. Monsieur de Belvigne was livid and dizzy when he got off.

Then she began to wander among the booths. She forced all