you have seen her; if, as I
believe, she is here, I beg you, take me to her. Let me but see her, and
all, I am convinced, will be well.'

"Then, what was my great horror, my boundless despair, when the good
woman slowly and sadly shook her head, saying, in a voice full of
sympathy and commiseration, 'How loath I am to shatter your hopes and add
more trouble to your already much overheavy sorrows, you cannot know,
Monsieur, but I fear I can give you little encouragement.'

"'Ah, Madame,' I cried, wildly, beseechingly, 'surely, you cannot be so
cruel; surely, you must give me some hope! If Jeanette is not here now,
surely, you have heard from her, seen her, can give me some clue to her
present whereabouts!'

"It seemed to me as though she hesitated for the fraction of a second,
but when her answer came, though gentle and sympathetic as before, it
contained decision and finality which I could not but respect.

"'Monsieur, she is not here, and neither have I seen her.'

"'Merci, Madame,' I murmured, wearily, and was turning away with sinking
heart and feet that seemed weighted with lead, when she called to me
softly:

"'Monsieur is weary. Will he not rest and partake of some refreshment
before continuing his journey?'

"Apathetically, scarce knowing where I went, nor caring, I followed her
into a great, homelike, airy room, with flowers all about, even in the
broad-silled, open windows. In the fragrance of the flowers it seemed
that I could see Jeanette, and I had a strange impression she was near
me. But I pushed it aside, thinking it but one of the many fancies that
had beset me unceasingly of late.

"It was not long before the good dame set before me a steaming dish, and
I, who, a few minutes before, had thought I could never eat again, fell
upon it ravenously and never stopped until the last delicious morsel had
disappeared. Thus refreshed and strengthened, my courage returned as by
magic and I began again to make my plans for the future.

"An hour later, leaving the house upon which I had based such high hopes,
I again turned my steps toward the city. Of course, I was now--what you
call it?--more in the dark than ever about Jeanette, but in my heart was
a great and dogged determination to find her somehow, somewhere, if I had
to search the city through.

"Five days later I found myself again before the city, infinitely more
dusty, infinitely more hungry, infinitely more footsore and more weary
than when I