of immense value. Occasionally her eyes wandered to the
dresses of the two ladies, and at last, unable to restrain her ardent
curiosity any longer, she put out her little brown hand and softly felt
of Isabelle's gown, apparently finding exquisite delight in the mere
contact of her finger-tips with the smooth, glossy surface of the silk.
Though her touch was so light Isabelle immediately turned towards the
child and smiled upon her encouragingly, but the poor little vagabond,
finding herself detected, in an instant had assumed a stupid, almost
idiotic look--with an instinctive amount of histrionic art that would
have done honour to a finished actress. Then dropping her eyelids and
leaning her shoulders against the hard back of the wooden settle she
seemed to fall into a deep sleep, with her head bent down upon her
breast in the old attitude.

Meanwhile Maitre Chirriguirri had been talking long and loudly about the
choice delicacies he could have set before his guests if they had
only come a day or two earlier, and enumerating all sorts of fine
dishes--which doubtless had existed only in his own very vivid
imagination--though he told a high-sounding story about the noblemen
and grandees who had supped at his house and devoured all these dainties
only yesterday. When at length the flow of his eloquence was checked
by a display of ferocity on the part of the tyrant, and he was finally
brought to the point, he acknowledged that he could only give them some
of the soup called garbure--with which we have already made acquaintance
at the Chateau de Sigognac, some salt codfish, and a dish of bacon; with
plenty of wine, which according to his account was fit for the gods. Our
weary travellers were so hungry by this time that they were glad of even
this frugal fare, and when Mionnette, a gaunt, morose-looking creature,
the only servant that the inn could boast, announced that their supper
was ready in an adjoining room, they did not wait to be summoned a
second time.

They were still at table when a great barking of dogs was heard without,
together with the noise of horses' feet, and in a moment three loud,
impatient knocks upon the outer door resounded through the house.
Mionnette rushed to open it, whereupon a gentleman entered, followed by
a number of dogs, who nearly knocked the tall maid-servant over in their
eagerness to get in, and rushed into the dining-room where our friends
were assembled, barking, jumping over each oth