enrietta played her part so well, that at night, when her disappearance
was discovered, Mrs. Chevassat was neither much surprised nor troubled.

"She was tired of life, the girl!" she said to her husband. "I saw it
when I was up there. We'll see her again at the Morgue. As the charcoal
did not do the work, she has tried the water."

XXI.

Dear woman! She would not have gone to bed so quietly, nor have fallen
asleep so comfortably, if she had suspected the truth.

What gave her such perfect peace was the certainty she had, that
Henrietta had left the house bareheaded, with wretched, worn-out shoes
on her feet, with nothing but one petticoat, and her thin alpaca
dress on her body. Now, she was quite sure, that in such a state of
destitution, and in this cold December night, the poor young girl would
soon be weary wandering through the streets of Paris, and would be
irresistibly drawn to the waters of the Seine.

But it was by no means so. When Henrietta was alone, after the departure
of Papa Ravinet, she had only become confirmed in her determination to
trust in him blindly: she had even forborne to think it over, as she
had, humanly speaking, no other choice on earth. Thus, after having
received Mrs. Chevassat's visit, and after having played the part
assigned to her by the old dealer, she rose, and, although quite
exhausted yet, took her place at the window to watch for the proper
time. Four o'clock struck; and, as it was growing dark, the concierge
came out, with a light in his hand, and went up the big staircase to
light the lamps.

"Now is the time!" she said to herself.

And casting a last look at this wretched room, where she had suffered so
much, and wept so much, and where she had expected to die, she slipped
out. The back stairs were quite dark, and thus she was not recognized
by two persons whom she met. The court was deserted, and the concierge's
room locked. She crossed the hall, and at one bound was in the street.
Some forty paces to the left she could see the place where Papa Ravinet
was waiting for her in his cab. She ran there, got in; and the driver,
who had received his instructions, whipped his horses as soon as he
heard the door shut.

"And now, sir," she began, "where do you take me?"

By the light of the gas in the stores, which from time to time lighted
up the interior of the carriage, she could see the features of her
neighbor. He looked at her with manifest satisfaction; and a smi