d to relax. I could hear Farewell's voice uttering language
such as it would be impossible for me to put on record; and through it
all hoarse and convulsive cries of: "You shan't hurt him--you limb of
Satan, you!"

Gradually strength returned to me. I could see as well as hear, and
what I saw filled me with wonder and with pride. Wonder at Ma'ame
Dupont's pluck! Pride in that her love for me had given such power to
her mighty arms! Aroused from her slumbers by the sound of the
scuffle, she had run to the study, only to find me in deadly peril of
my life. Without a second's hesitation she had rushed on Farewell,
seized him by the collar, pulled him away from me, and then thrown the
whole weight of her hundred kilos upon him, rendering him helpless.

Ah, woman! lovely, selfless woman! My heart a prey to remorse, in that
I could not remain in order to thank my plucky deliverer, I
nevertheless finally struggled to my feet and fled from the apartment
and down the stairs, never drawing breath till I felt Estelle's hand
resting confidingly upon my arm.

5.

I took her to the house where she used to lodge, and placed her under
the care of the kind concierge who was Theodore's aunt. Then I, too,
went home, determined to get a good night's rest. The morning would be
a busy one for me. There would be the special licence to get, the cure
of St. Jacques to interview, the religious ceremony to arrange for,
and the places to book on the stagecoach for Boulogne _en route_ for
England--and fortune.

I was supremely happy and slept the sleep of the just. I was up
betimes and started on my round of business at eight o'clock the next
morning. I was a little troubled about money, because when I had paid
for the licence and given to the cure the required fee for the
religious service and ceremony, I had only five francs left out of the
hundred which the adored one had given me. However, I booked the seats
on the stage-coach and determined to trust to luck. Once Estelle was
my wife, all money care would be at an end, since no power on earth
could stand between me and the hundred thousand francs, the happy goal
for which I had so ably striven.

The marriage ceremony was fixed for eleven o'clock, and it was just
upon ten when, at last, with a light heart and springy step, I ran up
the dingy staircase which led to the adored one's apartments. I
knocked at the door. It was opened by a young man, who with a smile
courteously bade me en