that a man thus accompanied,
ought not to inspire any great distrust. "Poor dear children!" said he,
as he examined them with growing interest; "orphans so young, and they
come from far--"

"From the heart of Siberia, Mr. Burgomaster, where their mother was an
exile before their birth. It is now more than five months that we have
been travelling on by short stages--hard enough, you will say, for
children of their age. It is for them that I ask your favor and support
for them against whom everything seems to combine to-day for, only just
now, when I went to look for my papers, I could not find in my knapsack
the portfolio in which they were, along with my purse and cross--for you
must know, Mr. Burgomaster--pardon me, if I say it--'tis not from vain
glory--but I was decorated by the hand of the Emperor; and a man whom
he decorated with his own hand, you see, could not be so bad a fellow,
though he may have had the misfortune to lose his papers--and his
purse. That's what has happened to me, and made me so pressing about the
damages."

"How and where did you suffer this loss?"

"I do not know, Mr. Burgomaster; I am sure that the evening before
last, at bed-time, I took a little money out of the purse, and saw the
portfolio in its place; yesterday I had small change sufficient, and did
not undo the knapsack."

"And where then has the knapsack been kept?"

"In the room occupied by the children: but this night--"

Dagobert was here interrupted by the tread of some one mounting the
stairs: it was the Prophet. Concealed in the shadow of the staircase, he
had listened to this conversation, and he dreaded lest the weakness of
the burgomaster should mar the complete success of his projects.

CHAPTER XIV. THE DECISION.

Morok, who wore his left arm in a sling, having slowly ascended the
staircase, saluted the burgomaster respectfully. At sight of the
repulsive countenance of the lion-tamer, Rose and Blanche, affrighted,
drew back a step nearer to the soldier. The brow of the latter grew
dark, for he felt his blood boil against Morok, the cause of all
his difficulties--though he was yet ignorant that Goliath, at the
instigation of the Prophet, had stolen his portfolio and papers.

"What did you want, Morok?" said the burgomaster, with an air half
friendly and half displeased. "I told the landlord that I did not wish
to be interrupted."

"I have come to render you a service, Mr. Burgomaster."

"A service?"

"Y