re
about to start, but this night he said it sadly.

Here we were, wandering in the streets of Paris; the night was dark and
the gas jets, which flickered in the wind, lit the alleys but dimly. At
each step we slipped on the ice-covered pavement. Vitalis held me by the
hand, and Capi followed at our heels. From time to time, the poor dog
stopped behind to look amongst a heap of garbage to see if he could find
a bone or a crust, for he was oh, so hungry, but the garbage was covered
with frozen snow and he searched in vain. With drooping ears he trotted
on to catch up with us.

After the big streets, more alleys; after the alleys, more big streets;
we walked on, and on; the few pedestrians that we met stared at us in
astonishment. Was it our costumes? Was it the tired way we plodded along
which arrested their attention? The policemen that we passed turned
round and followed us with a glance.

Without saying a word, Vitalis tramped on, his back almost bent double,
but despite the cold, his hand burned in mine. It seemed to me that he
was trembling. Sometimes, when he stopped to lean for a minute against
my shoulder, I felt all his body shaken with trembling. Ordinarily, I
would not dare to have questioned him, but I felt I must to-night.
Besides, I had a great wish to tell him how much I loved him or, at
least, that I wanted to do something for him.

"You are ill?" I said, when he stopped again.

"I'm afraid so; anyway, I'm very tired. This cold is too severe for my
old blood. I need a good bed and a supper before a fire. But that's a
dream. Forward! March! Children."

Forward! March! We had left the city behind us; we were now in the
suburbs. We saw no people or policemen or street lights, only a lighted
window here and there, and over our heads the dark-blue sky dotted with
a few stars. The wind, which blew more bitter and more violently, stuck
our clothing to our bodies. Fortunately, it was at our backs, but as the
sleeves of my coat were all torn near the shoulders, it blew in and
slipped along my arms, chilling me to the bone.

Although it was dark and the streets continually crossed each other,
Vitalis walked like a man who knows his way, and was perfectly sure of
his road. So I followed, feeling sure that we should not lose ourselves.
Suddenly, he stopped.

"Do you see a group of trees?" he asked.

"I don't see anything."

"You don't see a big black mass?"

I looked on all sides before answering. I saw