ns.

The horror of the situation terrified him. He was there, between the two
women who had ruled his fate; between Madeleine, the proud heiress
who spurned his love, and Nina Gypsy, the poor girl whose devotion to
himself he had so disdainfully rejected.

And she had heard all; poor Gypsy had witnessed the passionate avowal
of her lover, had heard him swear that he could never love any woman but
Madeleine, that if his love were not reciprocated he would kill himself,
as he had nothing else to live for.

Prosper could judge of her sufferings by his own. For she was wounded
not only in the present, but in the past. What must be her humiliation
and danger on hearing the miserable part which Prosper, in his
disappointed love, had imposed upon her?

He was astonished that Gypsy--violence itself--remained silently
weeping, instead of rising and bitterly denouncing him.

Meanwhile Madeleine had succeeded in recovering her usual calmness.

Slowly and almost unconsciously she had put on her bonnet and shawl,
which were lying on the sofa.

Then she approached Prosper, and said:

"Why did you come here? We both have need of all the courage we can
command. You are unhappy, Prosper; I am more than unhappy, I am most
wretched. You have a right to complain: I have not the right to shed a
tear. While my heart is slowly breaking, I must wear a smiling face. You
can seek consolation in the bosom of a friend: I can have no confidant
but God."

Prosper tried to murmur a reply, but his pale lips refused to
articulate; he was stifling.

"I wish to tell you," continued Madeleine, "that I have forgotten
nothing. But oh! let not this knowledge give you any hope; the future
is blank for us, but if you love me you will live. You will not, I know,
add to my already heavy burden of sorrow, the agony of mourning your
death. For my sake, live; live the life of a good man, and perhaps the
day will come when I can justify myself in your eyes. And now, oh, my
brother, oh, my only friend, adieu! adieu!"

She pressed a kiss upon his brow, and rushed from the room, followed by
Nina Gypsy.

Prosper was alone. He seemed to be awaking from a troubled dream. He
tried to think over what had just happened, and asked himself if he were
losing his mind, or whether he had really spoken to Madeleine and seen
Gypsy?

He was obliged to attribute all this to the mysterious power of the
strange man whom he had seen for the first time that very morning.