got out of
bed the wrong foot first.

"Old Grabu already employed pretty Hortense, who has just died here,
and who was afterward nicknamed Clochette. The assistant master singled
out the pretty young girl, who was no doubt flattered at being chosen
by this disdainful conqueror; at any rate, she fell in love with him,
and he succeeded in persuading her to give him a first meeting in the
hayloft behind the school, at night, after she had done her day's
sewing.

"She pretended to go home, but instead of going downstairs when she
left the Grabus', she went upstairs and hid among the hay, to wait for
her lover. He soon joined her, and he was beginning to say pretty
things to her, when the door of the hayloft opened and the schoolmaster
appeared, and asked: 'What are you doing up there, Sigisbert?' Feeling
sure that he would be caught, the young school-master lost his presence
of mind and replied stupidly: 'I came up here to rest a little among
the bundles of hay, Monsieur Grabu.'

"The loft was very large and absolutely dark. Sigisbert pushed the
frightened girl to the further end and said: 'Go there and hide
yourself. I shall lose my situation, so get away and hide yourself.'

"When the schoolmaster heard the whispering, he continued: 'Why, you
are not by yourself?'

"'Yes I am, Monsieur Grabu!'

"'But you are not, for you are talking.'

"'I swear I am, Monsieur Grabu.'

"'I will soon find out,' the old man replied, and double-locking the
door, he went down to get a light.

"Then the young man, who was a coward such as one sometimes meets, lost
his head, and he repeated, having grown furious all of a sudden: 'Hide
yourself, so that he may not find you. You will deprive me of my bread
for my whole life; you will ruin my whole career! Do hide yourself!'

"They could hear the key turning in the lock again, and Hortense ran to
the window which looked out on to the street, opened it quickly, and
then in a low and determined voice said: 'You will come and pick me up
when he is gone,' and she jumped out.

"Old Grabu found nobody, and went down again in great surprise. A
quarter of an hour later, Monsieur Sigisbert came to me and related his
adventure. The girl had remained at the foot of the wall unable to get
up, as she had fallen from the second story, and I went with him to
fetch her. It was raining in torrents, and I brought the unfortunate
girl home with me, for the right leg was broken in three places, and
the