corridor. Germaine was eloquent upon the merit of his scheme,
while, to my mind, it indicated the bungling project of a beginner,
and was promptly rejected, because I would not injure with violence
the innocent girl I had trifled with, and because I would not dishonor
the kindness of Sorret and his wife, by compromising their _personal_
vigilance.

Next morning, Germaine turned over to me long before daylight, and
whispered his delight that I had discarded his scheme, for it "never
could have been perfected without passports to quit the town!" This
deficiency, he said, had absorbed his mind the livelong night, and, at
last, a bright thought suggested the supply.

"Babette," continued the forger, "is _not_ to be molested in any way,
so you may make your mind easy about your sweetheart, though I am
afraid she will not be able to accompany us in our enterprise. First
and foremost, we must have a visit from our Spanish girls to-morrow,
and, as you enjoy more influence than I, it will be best for you to
prepare them. Dolores, who is by far the cleverest of the party, is to
go with Concha boldly to the prefecture of police, and demand
passports for Paris. These, in all likelihood, will be furnished
without question. The passports once in hand, our _demoiselles_ must
be off to an apothecary's for such acids as I shall prescribe; and
then, _mon capitaine_, leave the rest to me!"

I turned the matter over in my mind, pretending to finish a morning
nap, and, while we were dressing, assented. The Spanish women, who
never refused their countrymen a favor, daringly obtained the
passports, and smuggled them into prison with the required acids.
Before night the deed was done; the gender of the documents was
changed; Germaine was metamorphosed into "_Pietro Nazzolini_" a
tailor, and I was turned into a certain "_Dominico Antonetti_," by
trade a carpenter!

How to escape was our next concern. This could not be effected without
breaking prison,--a task of some enterprise, as our apartment was
above a store-room, always closed, barred, and locked. The door of our
room opened on a long passage, broken at intervals by several iron
gates before the main portal was reached; so that our only hope was
the single window, that illuminated our apartment and looked into a
small yard, guarded after sunset by a sentinel. This court, moreover,
was entirely hemmed in by a wall, which, if successfully escaladed,
would lead us to the parade ground o