ou all I can," said Perrine softly.

"Very well, then you must study so as to be able to act as a little
secretary for me. Would you like to be educated?"

"Indeed I would! And I will work so hard," said Perrine.

"Well, the matter can be arranged without depriving myself of your
services," said M. Vulfran; "there is a very good teacher here and I
will ask her to give you lessons from six to eight in the evenings. She
is a very nice woman; there are only two things against her; they are
her height and her name; she is taller than I am, and her shoulders are
much broader than mine. Her name is Mademoiselle Belhomme. She is indeed
a _bel homme_, for although she is only forty her shoulders and figure
are more massive than any man's I know ... I must add that she has not a
beard."

Perrine smiled at this description of the teacher that she was to have.

After they had made a tour of the factories they stopped before a girl's
school and Mlle. Belhomme ran out to greet M. Vulfran. He expressed a
wish to get down and go into the school and speak with her. Perrine, who
followed in their footsteps, was able to examine her. She was indeed a
giant, but her manner seemed very womanly and dignified. At times her
manner was almost timid and did not accord at all with her appearance.

Naturally she could not refuse anything the all-powerful master of
Maraucourt asked, but even if she had had any reasons to refuse M.
Vulfran's request the little girl with the beautiful eyes and hair
pleased her very much.

"Yes," she said to M. Vulfran, "we will make her an educated girl. Do
you know she has eyes like a gazelle. I have never seen a gazelle, but I
should imagine their great brown eyes are like hers. They are
wonderful...."

The next day when M. Vulfran returned to his home at the dinner hour he
asked the governess what she thought of her new pupil. Mlle. Belhomme
was most enthusiastic in her praise of Perrine.

"Does she show any intelligence?" asked M. Vulfran.

"Why she is wonderfully intelligent," replied Mlle. Belhomme; "it would
have been such a calamity if she had remained without an education...."

M. Vulfran smiled at Mlle. Belhomme's words.

"What about her spelling?" he asked.

"Oh, that is very poor but she'll do better. Her writing is fairly good
but, of course, she needs to study hard. She is so intelligent it is
extraordinary. So as to know exactly what she knew in writing and
spelling I asked her to write