rawers."

He put the marble on his shoulder with a considerable effort, and they
left the room. Caravan had to stoop in the door-way, and trembled as he
went downstairs, while his wife walked backwards, so as to light him, and
held the candlestick in one hand, while she had the clock under her other
arm.

When they were in their own room, she heaved a sigh.

"We have got over the worst part of the job," she said; "so now let us go
and fetch the other things."

But the drawers were full of the old woman's wearing apparel, which they
must manage to hide somewhere, and Madame Caravan soon thought of a plan.

"Go and get that wooden box in the passage; it is hardly worth anything,
and we may just as well put it here."

And when he had brought it upstairs, the change began. One by one, she
took out all the collars, cuffs, chemises, caps, all the well-worn things
that had belonged to the poor woman lying there behind them, and arranged
them methodically in the wooden box, in such a manner as to deceive
Madame Braux, the deceased woman's other child, who would be coming the
next day.

When they had finished, they first of all carried the drawers downstairs,
and the remaining portion afterwards, each of them holding an end, and it
was some time before they could make up their minds where it would stand
best; but at last they settled upon their own room, opposite the bed,
between the two windows, and as soon as it was in its place, Madame
Caravan filled it with her own things. The clock was placed on the
chimney-piece in the dining-room, and they looked to see what the effect
was, and they were both delighted with it, and agreed that nothing could
be better. Then they got into bed, she blew out the candle, and soon
everybody in the house was asleep.

It was broad daylight when Caravan opened his eyes again. His mind was
rather confused when he woke up, and he did not clearly remember what had
happened, for a few minutes; when he did, he felt it painfully, and
jumped out of bed, almost ready to cry again.

He very soon went to the room overhead, where Rosalie was still sleeping
in the same position as the night before, for she did not wake up once
during the whole time. He sent her to do her work, put fresh tapers in
the place of those that had burnt out, and then he looked at his mother,
revolving in his brain those apparently profound thoughts, those
religious and philosophical commonplaces, which trouble people of
m