to argue with him, for when they insisted that this could not be
14 Rue St. Sulpice, he merely shook his head and persisted that it was.
Then suddenly a light seemed to break upon him, and he asked, "14 Rue
St. Sulpice, Courcelles?"

Barbara shook her head violently, and said, "Non, non, Neuilly."
Whereupon with much grumbling and torrents of words that, perhaps, it
was as well she did not understand, he whipped up his horse, and she
had hardly time to scramble into the cab before they swung off.

They were very glad to leave the neighbourhood, for they saw the red
nightcap peeping out at the end of the archway, and it seemed as if
there were more friends of the same kind in the rear.

"It is _most_ absurd for the man to think _we_ should have been staying
here. I think he must be mad."

"Yes," returned Barbara, not knowing what else to say, and they
continued to rumble over more cobble stones and down dark roads, till
they finally stopped in a dimly-lighted street, which, however, was
broad and clean, with fairly large houses on either side.

Barbara got out with some misgivings, wondering what their fate would
be this time. She had to ring several times as before; but as there
was no dark archway, and the cab was close by, she had not the same
fear. When the door opened, she could distinguish nothing at first,
but presently espied a little woman, in a _white_ nightcap, holding a
candle.

"Dear me!" she thought, "candles and nightcaps seem to be the fashion
here;" but aloud, merely asked politely for Madame Belvoir, hoping that
she was not speaking to the lady in question. Before the _portiere_
(for it was she) could answer, a bright light shone out at the far end
of the passage, and a girl came hurrying down, saying, "Madame Belvoir?
Mais oui, entrez, entrez. C'est Mademoiselle Britton, n'est-ce pas?"

Mademoiselle Britton was not a little relieved, and so, I am sure, was
her poor aunt, who came hurrying out of the cab, and was so glad to get
rid of it that she paid the ten francs the man demanded without a
murmur.

The French girl explained in broken English that her mother greatly
regretted being absent, having been called away suddenly to an uncle
who was ill, but that she and her sister would do their utmost to make
Miss Britton comfortable.

By that time they had reached the end of the passage and were led into
a comfortable room, where another girl was waiting. Tea was ready for
them too, and B