occurrence, he remembered that the expression of her
countenance had been one more of sorrow than of anger. The tone of
melancholy reproach in which she had uttered the words: "I did not
expect this from you, Monsieur de Buxieres!" seemed to convey the hope
that he might, one day, be forgiven. At the same time, the poignancy of
his regret showed him how much hold the young girl had taken upon his
affections, and how cheerless and insipid his life would be if he were
obliged to continue on unfriendly terms with the woodland queen.

He had come to this conclusion in his melancholy reflections, when he
reached the outskirts of the forest.

He stood above the calm, narrow valley of Vivey; on the right, over the
tall ash-trees, peeped the pointed turrets of the chateau; on the left,
and a little farther behind, was visible a whitish line, contrasting
with the surrounding verdure, the winding path to La Thuiliere, through
the meadow-land of Planche-au-Vacher. Suddenly, the sound of voices
reached his ears, and, looking more closely, he perceived Reine and
Claudet walking side by side down the narrow path. The evening air
softened the resonance of the voices, so that the words themselves were
not audible, but the intonation of the alternate speakers, and their
confidential and friendly gestures, evinced a very animated, if not
tender, exchange of sentiments. At times the conversation was enlivened
by Claudet's bursts of laughter, or an amicable gesture from Reine. At
one moment, Julien saw the young girl lay her hand familiarly on the
shoulder of the 'grand chssserot', and immediately a pang of intense
jealousy shot through his heart. At last the young pair arrived at the
banks of a stream, which traversed the path and had become swollen by
the recent heavy rains. Claudet took Reine by the waist and lifted her
in his vigorous arms, while he picked his way across the stream; then
they resumed their way toward the bottom of the pass, and the tall
brushwood hid their retreating forms from Julien's eager gaze, although
it was long before the vibrations of their sonorous voices ceased
echoing in his ears.

"Ah!" thought he, quite overcome by this new development, "she stands
less on ceremony with him than with me! How close they kept to each
other in that lonely path! With what animation they conversed! with
what abandon she allowed herself to be carried in his arms! All that
indicates an intimacy of long standing, and explains a