ller was tenant and vassal to the Sieur de Poissy, he
seemed to me to be much more in league with the people of M. de la
Tourelle. He was evidently aware, in part, of the life which Lefebvre
and the others led; although, again, I do not suppose he knew or
imagined one-half of their crimes; and also, I think, he was seriously
interested in discovering the fate of his master, little suspecting
Lefebvre of murder or violence. He kept talking himself, and letting out
all sorts of thoughts and opinions; watched by the keen eyes of Lefebvre
gleaming out below his shaggy eyebrows. It was evidently not the cue of
the latter to let out that his master's wife had escaped from that vile
and terrible den; but though he never breathed a word relating to us,
not the less was I certain he was thirsting for our blood, and lying in
wait for us at every turn of events. Presently he got up and took his
leave; and the miller bolted him out, and stumbled off to bed. Then we
fell asleep, and slept sound and long.

The next morning, when I awoke, I saw Amante, half raised, resting on
one hand, and eagerly gazing, with straining eyes, into the kitchen
below. I looked too, and both heard and saw the miller and two of his
men eagerly and loudly talking about the old woman, who had not appeared
as usual to make the fire in the stove, and prepare her master's
breakfast, and who now, late on in the morning, had been found dead in
her bed; whether from the effect of her master's blows the night before,
or from natural causes, who can tell? The miller's conscience upbraided
him a little, I should say, for he was eagerly declaring his value for
his housekeeper, and repeating how often she had spoken of the happy
life she led with him. The men might have their doubts, but they did
not wish to offend the miller, and all agreed that the necessary steps
should be taken for a speedy funeral. And so they went out, leaving
us in our loft, but so much alone, that, for the first time almost,
we ventured to speak freely, though still in a hushed voice, pausing
to listen continually. Amante took a more cheerful view of the whole
occurrence than I did. She said that, had the old woman lived, we should
have had to depart that morning, and that this quiet departure would
have been the best thing we could have had to hope for, as, in all
probability, the housekeeper would have told her master of us and of
our resting-place, and this fact would, sooner or later, have