away
in an angle of the walled lane leading out to the marsh. This stone
house of Tranchard's takes up as little room as possible, since its
front dare not encroach upon the lane and its back is hunched up
apologetically against the angle of the wall. The house has but two
compartments--the loft above stored with old nets and broken oars, and
the living room beneath, whose dirt floor dampens the feet of an oak
cupboard, a greasy table, a chair with a broken leg, and a mahogany bed.
Over the soot-blackened chimney-piece is a painted figure of the Virgin,
and a frigate in a bottle.

Monsieur le Cure had been watching all night beside the mahogany bed.
Now and then he slipped his hand in the breast of his soutane of rusty
black, drew out a steel watch, felt under a patchwork-quilt for a small
feverish wrist, counted its feeble pulse, and filling a pewter spoon
with a mixture of aconite, awakened the little boy who gazed at him with
hollow eyes sunken above cheeks of dull crimson.

In the corner, his back propped against the cupboard, his bare feet
tucked under him, dozed Tranchard. There was not much else he could do,
for he was soaked to the skin and half drunk. Occasionally he shifted
his feet, awakened, and dimly remembered the little boy was worse; that
this news had been hailed to him by the skipper of the mackerel smack,
_La Belle Elise_, and that he had hauled in his empty nets and come
home.

As the gray light of dawn crept into the room, the little boy again grew
restless. He opened the hollow eyes and saw dimly the black figure of
the cure.

"Tanne," he whimpered. "Where is he, Tanne?"

"Monsieur Tanrade will come," returned the cure, "if you go to sleep
like a brave little man."

"Tanne," repeated the child and closed his eyes obediently.

A cock crowed in a distant yard, awakening a sleek cat who emerged from
beneath the bed, yawned, stretched her claws, and walked out of the
narrow doorway into the misty lane.

The cure rose stiffly, went over to the figure in the corner and shook
it. Tranchard started up out of a sound sleep.

"Tell madame when she arrives that I have gone for Doctor Thevenet. I
shall return before night."

"I won't forget," grumbled Tranchard.

"I have left instructions for madame beside the candle. See that you
keep the kettle boiling for the poultices."

The fisherman nodded. "_Eh ben!_ How is it with the kid?" he inquired.
"He does not take after his mother. _Parbleu!_ Sh