dea!" said Frederick.

"You are annoyed at this!"

"No! But what can be done with a fancy article of that sort?"

"Who knows? Love-letters might be kept in it, perhaps!"

She gave him a look which made the allusion very clear.

"A reason the more for not robbing the dead of their secrets."

"I did not imagine she was dead." And then in a loud voice she went on
to bid:

"Eight hundred and eighty francs!"

"What you're doing is not right," murmured Frederick.

She began to laugh.

"But this is the first favour, dear, that I am asking from you."

"Come, now! doesn't it strike you that at this rate you won't be a very
considerate husband?"

Some one had just at that moment made a higher bid.

"Nine hundred francs!"

"Nine hundred francs!" repeated Maitre Berthelmot.

"Nine hundred and ten--fifteen--twenty--thirty!" squeaked the
auctioneer's crier, with jerky shakes of his head as he cast a sweeping
glance at those assembled around him.

"Show me that I am going to have a wife who is amenable to reason," said
Frederick.

And he gently drew her towards the door.

The auctioneer proceeded:

"Come, come, messieurs; nine hundred and thirty. Is there any bidder at
nine hundred and thirty?"

Madame Dambreuse, just as she had reached the door, stopped, and raising
her voice to a high pitch:

"One thousand francs!"

There was a thrill of astonishment, and then a dead silence.

"A thousand francs, messieurs, a thousand francs! Is nobody advancing on
this bid? Is that clear? Very well, then--one thousand francs!
going!--gone!"

And down came the ivory hammer. She passed in her card, and the little
chest was handed over to her. She thrust it into her muff.

Frederick felt a great chill penetrating his heart.

Madame Dambreuse had not let go her hold of his arm; and she had not the
courage to look up at his face in the street, where her carriage was
awaiting her.

She flung herself into it, like a thief flying away after a robbery, and
then turned towards Frederick. He had his hat in his hand.

"Are you not going to come in?"

"No, Madame!"

And, bowing to her frigidly, he shut the carriage-door, and then made a
sign to the coachman to drive away.

The first feeling that he experienced was one of joy at having regained
his independence. He was filled with pride at the thought that he had
avenged Madame Arnoux by sacrificing a fortune to her; then, he was
amazed at his own act, and he felt double