some friend could help me."

"I have no friends," again answered the young man.

Daumon shrugged his shoulders with the air of a man who says: "Well, I
suppose I must give in, but at any rate I have done my duty." Then
he began aloud, "I am perfectly aware, Marquis, that, considering the
wealth that must one day be yours, this transaction is a most paltry
one."

He then went on to enumerate the conditions of the loan, and at each
clause he would stop and say, "Do you understand this?"

Norbert understood him so well that at the end of the conversation,
in exchange for the thousand francs, he handed to the Counsellor the
promissory notes for four thousand francs each, which were made payable
to two farmers, who were entirely in Daumon's clutches. The young
man, in addition, pledged his solemn word of honor that he would never
disclose that the Counsellor had anything to do with the transaction.

"Remember, Marquis, prudence must be strictly observed. Come here to me
only after the night has set in."

This was the last piece of advice that Daumon gave his client; and
when he was again left alone, he perused with feelings of intense
gratification, the two notes that Norbert had signed. They were entirely
correct and binding, and drawn up in proper legal form. He had made up
his mind to let the young man have all his savings, amounting to some
forty thousand francs, and not to press for payment until the young man
come into his fortune.

All this, however, hinged upon Norbert's silence and discretion, for, at
the first inkling of the matter, the Duke would scatter all the edifice
to the winds; but of this happening Daumon had no fear.

As Norbert walked along, followed by his dog, he could not resist
putting his hands into his pockets and fingering the tempting, crisp
banknotes which lurked there, and making sure that it was a reality and
not a dream. That night seemed interminable; and the next morning, with
his gun on his shoulder and his dog at his heels, he walked briskly
along the road to Poitiers. He had determined to follow Daumon's
advice,--to have suitable rooms, and to make the acquaintance of some of
the students. On his arrival at Poitiers, which he had only once before
visited, Norbert felt like a half-fledged bird who knows not how to use
its wings. He wandered about the streets, not knowing how to commence
what he wanted. Finally, after a sojourn in the town of a very brief
duration, he went to the i