proachably devout woman, sheathed in principles, iron-clad in
virtue. Then they paid the bill and got up, and then he saw Limousin. He
might have been taken for a retired diplomatist, for he looked a man of
great importance with his soft, white whiskers, the tips of which fell
onto the facings of his coat.

They went out. George was smoking a cigar and had his hat on one side,
and Parent followed them. First of all they went up and down the
terrace, and calmly admired the landscape, like people who have well
satisfied their hunger, and then they went into the forest, and Parent
rubbed his hands and followed them at a distance, hiding himself, so as
not to excite their suspicion too soon. They walked slowly, enjoying the
fresh green, and the warm air. Henriette was holding Limousin's arm and
walked upright at his side, like a wife who is sure, and proud of
herself. George was cutting off the leaves with his stick, and
occasionally jumped over the ditches by the road side, like a fiery
young horse ready to gallop off through the trees.

Parent came up to them by degrees, panting rather from excitement and
fatigue, for he never walked now. He soon came up to them, but he was
seized by fear, an inexplicable fear, and he passed them, so as to turn
round and meet them face to face. He walked on, his heart beating, for
he knew that they were just behind him now, and he said to himself:
"Come, now is the time. Courage! courage! Now is the moment!"

He turned round. They were all three sitting on the grass, at the foot
of a huge tree, and they were still talking, and he made up his mind,
and came back rapidly, and then stopping in front of them in the middle
of the road, he said abruptly, in a voice broken by emotion: "It is I!
Here I am! I suppose you did not expect me?" They all three looked at
him carefully, for they thought that he was mad, and he continued: "One
might think that you did not know me again. Just look at me! I am
Parent, Henri Parent. You did not expect me, eh? You thought it was all
over, and that you would never see me again. Ah! But here I am once
more, you see, and now we will have an explanation."

Henriette was terrified and hid her face in her hands, murmuring: "Oh!
Good Heavens!" And seeing this stranger who seemed to be threatening his
mother, George sprang up, ready to seize him by the collar, while
Limousin, who was thunderstruck, looked at this specter in horror, who,
after panting for a few mom