ng, his hands numb, his shirt sporting cruelly in
the blast, yet, spite of his misery, he did not fail to observe, in the
dull moonlight, that the carriage was blue, and decorated with gilded
dragons and cupids in relief. It was, in short, he could have no doubt,
the very carriage which had conveyed away Lucille. Forgetting his
nakedness, and even his cold, in the astonishment of this discovery, he
awaited, with the intensest interest, the conclusion of an adventure
which promised to furnish him with a clue to the present habitation of
the concealed lady.

The carriage continued to drive at a furious rate, and having passed the
College des Quatre Nations, it took the line of the Pont Rouge (now
perfectly deserted), in the middle of which it came to a full stop.

Two gentlemen descended; they looked up and down the bridge to ascertain
that all was quiet. One of them came so close that the plumed fringe of
his cocked hat almost touched Gabriel, who was cowering as close as
possible to escape notice. His surprise at their stopping at a place
where there was no house or dwelling of any sort was soon changed to
horror, when he saw these gentlemen carry a corpse out of the carriage,
which, by its long hair, he perceived to be that of a female, and
project it over the battlements of the bridge into the river.

They then re-entered the carriage, which again turning toward the
Louvre, retraced its way. Was that pale corpse, with its long tresses,
the murdered body of the fair and beloved Lucille? Were her assassins
unconsciously hurrying through the dark in company with him? Torture,
despair, vengeance!

At the same mad pace this carriage drove through deserted streets,
scarce encountering a human being--Gabriel still clinging to his
position, and exciting many a strange surmise, as, half seen, he was
whirled beside such stray passengers as were still abroad.

At length it turned abruptly--thundered through a narrow archway into a
fore-court, and then through a second, into the dark quadrangle of the
half ruinous and vast hotel, to which we conducted Lucille.

Gabriel jumped nimbly to the ground, and, unperceived, glided into the
shadow of the archway, intending to escape through the outer gate, and
spread the alarm of murder. This door was, however, already secured, and
hearing steps, he glided along under the shadow until he reached the
open door of a stable, and climbing to the loft, found some hay there,
in which, near