essions have sounded to you
somewhat profane; I am under the sad necessity of using very strong
language. I cannot loosen my tongue except by the aid of these forcible
expletives, and I must--_must_ speak! For I, who have known all
Mademoiselle Madeleine's noble impulses, can best explain to you her
con--on--onduct."

The last word, which was the only one upon which he stammered, was
followed by another emphatic ejaculation.

Bertha, without heeding this interruption, asked, "And have you known
where Madeleine was concealed all this time?"

"Yes, mademoiselle, I knew."

"And it was you who assisted her to leave Brittany?"

"It _was_ I! That was about the first good action which brightened my
life, and--and--and"--(another muttered oath to assist his articulation)
"and I hope it was only a commencement."

"Tell us--tell us everything quickly," prayed Bertha.

"Mademoiselle Madeleine, when she determined to leave the Chateau de
Gramont,--when she resolved to cease to be dependent,--when, in spite of
her noble birth, which was to her only an encumbrance, she purposed to
gain a livelihood by honest industry,--confided her project to me. And
what good she did me in making me feel that I was worthy enough of her
esteem to be trusted! She first committed to my charge her family
diamonds, her sole possession, and ordered me to dispose of them"--

"Her diamonds! those which have been in her family for generations! What
sacrilege!" cried the countess, in accents of horror.

"Pardon me, madame; it would have been sacrilege, she thought, and so
did I, if she had kept them when their sale could have prevented her
being the unhappy recipient of the unwilling _charity_ of her
relatives."

"Go on--go on!" urged Bertha. "How did she leave the chateau? How could
she travel?"

"I obtained her a passport, for it would have been running too great a
risk if she had attempted to travel without one. The passport had to be
signed by two witnesses. Fortunately, two of my friends at Rennes were
about to leave the country; I selected them as witnesses, because they
could not be questioned; I told them the whole story, and bound them to
secrecy. We took out the passport for England to divert pursuit; but,
Mademoiselle Madeleine only went to Paris, and it was not necessary that
her passport should be _vised_ if she remained there."

"But the diamonds,--they were those Madame de Fleury wore and which I
recognized!" exclaimed Bertha.