; guard
the girl carefully and see that she is not too unhappy; but for heaven's
sake keep Charlie's secret until he sees fit to restore Miss Merrick to
her friends. No crime is contemplated; I would not allow such a thing,
as you know. Yet it is none of my affair whatever. My cousin has
compromised me by taking the girl to my house, and no knowledge of the
abduction must get abroad if we can help it. Do you understand me?"

"No," was the reply. "The safest way for us all is to send Miss Merrick
away."

"That will be done as soon as possible."

With this the old Frenchwoman was forced to be content, and she did not
suspect that her report had made Miss Von Taer nearly frantic with
fear--not for Louise but for her own precious reputation. Accustomed to
obey the family she had served for so many years, Madame Cerise
hesitated to follow her natural impulse to set the poor young lady free
and assist her to return to her friends. So she compromised with her
conscience--a thing she was not credited with possessing--by resolving
to make the imprisonment of the "_pauvre fille_" as happy as possible.

Scarcely had Louise opened her eyes the following morning when the old
woman entered her chamber, unlocking the door from the outside to secure
admission.

She first rebuilt the fire, and when it was crackling cheerfully she
prepared a bath and brought an armful of clothing which she laid out for
inspection over the back of a sofa. She produced lingerie, too, and
Louise lay cuddled up in the bedclothes and watched her keeper
thoughtfully until the atmosphere of the room was sufficiently warmed.

"I'll get up, now," she said, quietly.

Madame Cerise was assuredly a skilled lady's maid. She bathed the girl,
wrapped her in an ample kimono and then seated her before the dresser
and arranged her _coiffure_ with dextrous skill.

During this time Louise talked. She had decided her only chance of
escape lay in conciliating this stern-faced woman, and she began by
relating her entire history, including her love affair with Arthur
Weldon, Diana Von Taer's attempt to rob her of her lover, and the part
that Charlie Mershone had taken in the affair.

Madame Cerise listened, but said nothing.

"And now," continued the girl, "tell me who you think could be so wicked
and cruel as to carry me away from my home and friends? I cannot decide
myself. You have more experience and more shrewdness, can't you tell me,
Madame Cerise?"

The wom