the ground unconscious at the
very instant the door opened.

CHAPTER II.

THE CHATEAU DE CHAMONDRIN.

The man who appeared at the door was young, and, in spite of his swarthy
complexion and formidable moustache, his features and the expression of
his eyes indicated frankness and benevolence. His garb was that of a
soldier rather than a servant, but the arms of the Marquis de
Chamondrin, the owner of the chateau, were embroidered in silver upon
it. On seeing the unconscious Tiepoletta and the child so quietly
sleeping beside her, he could not repress a cry of astonishment and
dismay.

"What is it, Coursegol?" inquired a gentleman who had followed him.

"Look, sir," replied Coursegol, pointing to Tiepoletta.

"Is she dead?" exclaimed the Marquis, springing forward; then, deeply
impressed by the beauty of the unconscious girl, he knelt beside her and
placed his hand upon her heart. It still throbbed, but so feebly that he
could scarcely count its pulsations. The Marquis rose.

"She lives," said he, "but I do not know that we shall save her. Quick,
Coursegol, have her and her child brought in and apply restoratives."

"Oh, the child is doing very well," replied the servitor. "All it needs
is a little milk; for to-day, one of our goats must be its nurse."

As he spoke Coursegol summoned a servant to whom he confided the infant;
then, taking the mother in his strong arms, he carried her up-stairs and
placed her on a bed.

Coursegol was thirty years of age. Born in the chateau, where his father
and his grandfather before him had served the Marquis de Chamondrin, he
had shared the childish sports of the lad who afterwards became his
master. He absolutely worshipped the Marquis, regarding him with a
veritable idolatry that was compounded of respect and of love. Outside
of the chateau and its occupants, there was nothing that could interest
or attract this honest fellow. His heart, his intelligence and his life
were consecrated to his master's service. In the neighboring villages he
so lauded the name of Chamondrin that no one dared to let fall in his
presence any word that did not redound to the glory and honor of
Coursegol's idolized master. He had no particular office at the chateau,
but he superintended everything, assuming the duties of lodge-keeper,
gardener, major-domo and not unfrequently those of cook. It was he who
instructed the son of the Marquis in the arts of horsemanship and of
fencing, for he h