ghter's fears
as to be glad to take little Denis in her hand. She was not long gone.
As soon as she entered the wood she heard the sound of her children's
laughter above the noise the monkeys made; and she was guided by it to
the well. There, in the midst of the opening which let in the
starlight, stood the well, surrounded by the only grass on the Breda
estate that was always fresh and green; and there were Isaac and his
inseparable companion, Aimee, making the grass greener by splashing each
other with more than half the water they drew. Their bright eyes and
teeth could be seen by the mild light, as they were too busy with their
sport to heed their mother as she approached. She soon made them
serious with her news. Isaac flew to help his father with the horses,
while Aimee, a stout girl of twelve, assisted her mother in earnest to
draw water, and carry it home.

They found Genifrede crouching alone in a corner of the piazza. In
another minute Toussaint appeared on horseback, leading a saddled horse.

"I am going for Monsieur Bayou myself," said he; adding, as he glanced
round the lurid horizon, "it is not a night for boys to be abroad. I
shall be back in an hour. If Monsieur Bayou comes by the new road, tell
him that I am gone by Madame Oge's. If fire breaks out here, go into
the wood. If I meet Placide, I will send him home."

He disappeared under the limes in the avenue; and his family heard the
pace of the horses quicken into a gallop before the sound died away upon
the road.

CHAPTER TWO.

THE EXCLUSIVES.

The party of deputies with whom Monsieur Bayou was dining were assembled
at the great hotel, at the corner of Place Mont Archer, at Cap Francais.
Languidly, though gladly, did the guests, especially those from the
country, enter the hotel, overpowering as was the heat of the roads and
the streets. In the roads, the sand lay so deep, that the progress of
horsemen was necessarily slow, while the sun seemed to shed down a
deluge of flame. In the streets, there was the shelter of the piazzas;
but their pillars, if accidentally touched, seemed to burn the hand; and
the hum of traffic, and the sound of feet, appeared to increase the
oppression caused by the weather. Within the hotel, all was
comparatively cool and quiet. The dining and drawing-rooms occupied by
the guests adjoined each other, and presented none but the most welcome
images. The jalousies were nearly closed; and through the sm