rs that the baroness could make out nothing, and
rushed to the nursery to see for herself what had happened. The empty
cradle did not, however, throw much light upon it, and the servants who
answered the bell, which the baroness clashed wildly, looked as scared
as the sobbing Marie to find the baby had disappeared. A search from
attic to basement was at once instituted, the men-servants were sent
into the grounds with lanterns, the whole house was turned topsy-turvy,
in the midst of which the nurse returned, and finding her baby was gone,
went into violent hysterics, while the young baroness, with flying hair
and dilated eyes, rushed about, wringing her hands, and looking, as she
felt, distracted with grief.

The search was, of course, in vain, and they were just coming to the
conclusion that the baby had been stolen, when the baron returned from
seeing Leon off.

The moment the baroness heard his voice in the hall she flew down the
wide oak staircase, crying, "Arnaud! Arnaud! My precious baby is gone,
it is stolen; find her, find her, or I shall go mad." And a glance at
her wild eyes almost testified she spoke the truth.

"She is not stolen, she is safe enough," said the baron, sulkily.

"Safe? Where? Where? Take me to her, my precious one; where is she?"
cried the baroness, with a loud burst of hysteric laughter on hearing
her child was safe.

"Silence, Mathilde, don't behave in this ridiculous style. Come with
me," said the baron, in a tone his wife had never heard him use to her
before, and which had the effect of reducing her to tears; and, sobbing
wildly, she hung on her husband's arm as he half led, half carried her
upstairs, and laid her on a sofa in her own room.

"Now, Mathilde, if you will try and compose yourself, I will tell you
what I have done with the baby. For some time I have felt sure that you
were ruining the child's health by the absurd way in which you coddle it
up, and, moreover, making yourself a perfect slave to it, neglecting all
your other duties," began the baron, as he seated himself on the edge of
the sofa by the side of his sobbing wife, who was, however, much too
anxious about her baby to be able to listen patiently to the marital
lecture to which the baron was about to treat her.

"But Arnaud! Arnaud! where is the baby? Oh, do tell me; it is cruel to
keep me in this suspense," sobbed the baroness.

Now, to be cruel to his wife was the very last thing the baron intended;
it was o