t your dowry. But I--I yearn for nothing but your
beauty. Swear, then, that you will be mine first; afterwards you shall
be free, on my honour. And if my jealousy prove so fierce that it may
not be borne, well, since a man may not go from his word, I will blow my
brains out."

"I swear," said Edmee, "to be no man's before being yours."

"That is not it. Swear to be mine before being any other's."

"It is the same thing," she answered. "Yes; I swear it."

"On the gospel? On the name of Christ? By the salvation of your soul? By
the memory of your mother?"

"On the gospel; in the name of Christ; by the salvation of my soul; by
the memory of my mother."

"Good."

"One moment," she rejoined; "I want you to swear that my promise and its
fulfilment shall remain a secret; that my father shall never know it, or
any person who might tell him."

"No one in the world shall hear it from me. Why should I want others to
know, provided only that you keep your word?"

She made me repeat the formula of an oath. Then we hurried forth into
the open, holding each other's hands as a sign of mutual trust.

But now our flight became dangerous. Edmee feared the besiegers almost
as much as the besieged. We were fortunate enough not to meet any.
Still, it was by no means easy to move quickly. The night was so dark
that we were continually running against trees, and the ground was so
slippery that we were unable to avoid falls. A sudden noise made
us start; but, from the rattle of the chain fixed on its foot,
I immediately recognised my grandfather's horse, an animal of an
extraordinary age, but still strong and spirited. It was the very horse
that had brought me to Roche-Mauprat ten years before. At present the
only thing that would serve as a bridle was the rope round its neck. I
passed this through its mouth, and I threw my jacket over the crupper
and helped my companion to mount; I undid the chain, sprang on the
animal's back, and urging it on desperately, made it set off at a
gallop, happen what might. Luckily for us, it knew the paths better
than I, and, as if by instinct, followed their windings without knocking
against any trees. However, it frequently slipped, and in recovering
itself, gave us such jolts that we should have lost our seats a thousand
times (equipped as we were) had we not been hanging between life and
death. In such a strait desperate ventures are best, and God protects
those whom man pursues. We were congratul