in the house; but she had but the one prayer--"God protect my
child!" After a fearful time she reached a place of safety, the
cathedral. There, panting, she knelt long enough to know the pursuit
was, at least, suspended, and then arose, hoping and praying all the
saints that she might find the way clear for her return in all haste to
Olive.

She approached a different door from that by which she had entered, her
eyes in all directions and her heart in her throat.

"Madame Carraze."

She started wildly and almost screamed, though the voice was soft and
mild. Monsieur Vignevielle came slowly forward from the shade of the
wall. They met beside a bench, upon which she dropped her basket.

"Ah, Miche Vignevielle, I thang de good God to mid you!"

"Is dad so, Madame Carraze? Fo' w'y dad is?"

"A man was chase me all dad way since my 'ouse!"

"Yes, Madame, I sawed him."

"You sawed 'im? Oo it was?"

"'Twas only one man wad is a foolizh. De people say he's crezzie.
_Mais_, he don' goin' to meg you no 'arm."

"But I was scare' fo' my lill' girl."

"Noboddie don' goin' trouble you' lill' gal, Madame Carraze."

Madame Delphine looked up into the speaker's strangely kind and patient
eyes, and drew sweet reassurance from them.

"Madame," said Monsieur Vignevielle, "wad pud you bout so hearly dis
morning?"

She told him her errand. She asked if he thought she would find any
thing.

"Yez," he said, "it was possible--a few lill' _becassines-de-mer_, ou
somezin' ligue. But fo' w'y you lill' gal lose doze hapetide?"

"Ah, Miche,"--Madame Delphine might have tried a thousand times again
without ever succeeding half so well in lifting the curtain upon the
whole, sweet, tender, old, old-fashioned truth,--"Ah, Miche, she wone
tell me!"

"Bud, anny'ow, Madame, wad you thing?"

"Miche," she replied, looking up again with a tear standing in either
eye, and then looking down once more as she began to speak, "I thing--I
thing she's lonesome."

"You thing?"

She nodded.

"Ah! Madame Carraze," he said, partly extending his hand, "you see? 'Tis
impossible to mague you' owze shud so tighd to priv-en dad. Madame, I
med one mizteg."

"Ah, _non_, Miche!"

"Yez. There har nod one poss'bil'ty fo' me to be dad guardian of you'
daughteh!"

Madame Delphine started with surprise and alarm.

"There is ondly one wad can be," he continued.

"But oo, Miche?"

"God."

"Ah, Miche Vignevielle"--She looked at him appealingly.