icture of terror and dismay. Suddenly an enormous wave broke not far
from her with the roar of a wild beast, and the water dashed up to her
very feet. She pressed her child closer to her breast and recoiled.
Another wave dashed up, blinding her with its spray. Would the water
invade the cave? Her blood froze in her veins. Frenzy seized her. This
new misfortune, added to those she had suffered during the past three
days, was more than she could bear. From that moment she acted under the
influence of actual madness caused by her terror. She must flee. But by
what road? To reach either of the neighboring villages was impossible.
The foaming waters covered the entire plain.

Suddenly Tiepoletta recollected that on the summit of the hill above her
there was a chateau which the Bohemians had visited sometimes in pursuit
of alms. She could reach it by means of a broad footpath that
intersected the road only a few yards from the grotto. It was there she
resolved to go for shelter. But to reach this path she must walk through
the raging flood. She did not hesitate. Each moment of delay aggravated
her peril, and might place some insurmountable barrier between her and
her only chance of salvation. She lifted her skirts, fastened her child
upon her back and bravely waded into the torrent.

What agony she endured during that short journey. The water was higher
than her waist; the ground was slippery; the current, rapid and
capricious. It required an indomitable will to sustain her--to keep her
from yielding twenty times to the might of this unchained monster.
Frequently she was obliged to pause in order to regain her breath. The
struggle lasted only ten minutes, but those ten minutes seemed so many
ages. At last she reached the path leading to the chateau. She was
saved!

She let fall her tattered skirts about her slender limbs, and, without
wasting time in looking back upon the perilous road she had just
traversed, she hastened up the hill. A few moments later she reached the
door of the chateau in a plight most pitiable to behold. It was time. A
moment more and her limbs trembling with excitement and exhaustion,
would have refused to sustain her. She fell on her knees and deposited
her burden upon some tufts of heather; then with a mighty effort she
seized and pulled a chain suspended at the side of the door. The sound
of a bell was instantly heard. As if her strength had only waited until
this moment to desert her, she fell to