shudder; 'why, that he might
not have the trouble of returning to Beaucaire.'--'Ah,' responded the
woman, with an expression impossible to describe; 'I thought it was
for something else.'--'Woman, woman--why do you have such ideas?'
cried Caderousse; 'or, if you have them, why don't you keep them to
yourself?'--'Well,' said La Carconte, after a moment's pause, 'you are
not a man.'--'What do you mean?' added Caderousse.--'If you had been a
man, you would not have let him go from here.'--'Woman!'--'Or else
he should not have reached Beaucaire.'--'Woman!'--'The road takes a
turn--he is obliged to follow it--while alongside of the canal there is
a shorter road.'--'Woman!--you offend the good God. There--listen!' And
at this moment there was a tremendous peal of thunder, while the livid
lightning illumined the room, and the thunder, rolling away in the
distance, seemed to withdraw unwillingly from the cursed abode. 'Mercy!'
said Caderousse, crossing himself.

"At the same moment, and in the midst of the terrifying silence which
usually follows a clap of thunder, they heard a knocking at the door.
Caderousse and his wife started and looked aghast at each other. 'Who's
there?' cried Caderousse, rising, and drawing up in a heap the gold
and notes scattered over the table, and which he covered with his two
hands.--'It is I,' shouted a voice.--'And who are you?'--'Eh, pardieu,
Joannes, the jeweller.'--'Well, and you said I offended the good God,'
said La Carconte with a horrid smile. 'Why, the good God sends him back
again.' Caderousse sank pale and breathless into his chair. La Carconte,
on the contrary, rose, and going with a firm step towards the door,
opened it, saying, as she did so--'Come in, dear M. Joannes.'--'Ma foi,'
said the jeweller, drenched with rain, 'I am not destined to return to
Beaucaire to-night. The shortest follies are best, my dear Caderousse.
You offered me hospitality, and I accept it, and have returned to sleep
beneath your friendly roof.' Caderousse stammered out something,
while he wiped away the sweat that started to his brow. La Carconte
double-locked the door behind the jeweller."

Chapter 45. The Rain of Blood.

"As the jeweller returned to the apartment, he cast around him a
scrutinizing glance--but there was nothing to excite suspicion, if
it did not exist, or to confirm it, if it were already awakened.
Caderousse's hands still grasped the gold and bank-notes, and La
Carconte called up her