A horrible thing has happened,"
said Desgrais. "Rene Cardillac was found this morning murdered, stabbed
to the heart with a dagger. His journeyman Olivier Brusson is the
murderer. That was he who was just led away to prison." "And the girl?"
exclaimed Mademoiselle---- "Is Madelon, Cardillac's daughter," broke in
Desgrais. "Yon abandoned wretch is her lover. And she's screaming and
crying, and protesting that Olivier is innocent, quite innocent. But
the real truth is she is cognisant of the deed, and I must have her
also taken to the _conciergerie_ (prison)."

Saying which, Desgrais cast a glance of such spiteful malicious triumph
upon the girl that De Scuderi trembled. Madelon was just beginning to
breathe again, but she still lay with her eyes closed incapable of
either sound or motion; and they did not know what to do, whether to
take her into the house or to stay with her longer until she came round
again. Mademoiselle's eyes filled with tears, and she was greatly
agitated, as she looked upon the innocent angel; Desgrais and his
myrmidons made her shudder. Downstairs came a heavy rumbling noise;
they were bringing down Cardillac's corpse. Quickly making up her mind.
De Scuderi said loudly, "I will take the girl with me; you may attend
to everything else, Desgrais." A muttered wave of applause swept
through the crowd. They lifted up the girl, whilst everybody crowded
round and hundreds of arms were proffered to assist them; like one
floating in the air the young girl was carried to the coach and placed
within it,--blessings being showered from the lips of all upon the
noble lady who had come to snatch innocence from the scaffold.

The efforts of Seron, the most celebrated physician in Paris, to bring
Madelon back to herself were at length crowned with success, for she
had lain for hours in a dead swoon, utterly unconscious. What the
physician began was completed by De Scuderi, who strove to excite
the mild rays of hope in the girl's soul, till at length relief
came to her in the form of a violent fit of tears and sobbing. She
managed to relate all that had happened, although from time to time
her heart-rending grief got the upper hand, and her voice was choked
with convulsive sobs.

About midnight she had been awakened by a light tap at her chamber
door, and heard Olivier's voice imploring her to get up at once, as her
father was dying. Though almost stunned with dismay, she started up and
opened the door, and saw