laughed in turn at the terror that
had seized her.

IV

The rest of the voyage passed off admirably. An invisible hand seemed
to impel the ship onward. Twenty days after their departure the boat
landed Yvon and Finette near Kerver Castle. Once on shore, Yvon turned
to thank the crew. No one was there. Both boat and ship had vanished
under the waves, leaving no trace behind but a gull on the wing.

Yvon recognized the spot where he had so often gathered shells and
chased the crabs to their holes when a child. Half an hour's walk
would bring him in sight of the towers of the old castle. His heart
beat; he looked tenderly at Finette and saw, for the first time, that
her dress was fantastic and unworthy of a woman about to enter the
noble house of Kerver.

"My dear child," said he, "the baron, my father, is a noble lord,
accustomed to be treated with respect. I cannot introduce you to him
in this gipsy dress; neither is it fitting that you should enter our
great castle on foot like a peasant. Wait for me a few moments, and I
will bring you a horse and one of my sister's dresses. I wish you to
be received like a lady of high degree. I wish my father himself to
meet you on your arrival, and hold it an honor to give you his hand."

"Yvon, Yvon," cried Finette, "do not quit me, I beg you. Once returned
to your castle, I know that you will forget me."

"Forget you!" exclaimed Yvon. "If any one else were to offer me such
an insult I would teach him with my sword to suspect a Kerver. Forget
you, my Finette! You do not know the fidelity of a Breton."

That the Bretons are faithful no one doubts; but that they are still
more headstrong is a justice that none will deny them. It was useless
for poor Finette to plead in her most loving tones; she was forced to
yield. She resigned herself with a heavy heart, and said to Yvon:

"Go without me, then, to your castle, but only stay long enough to
speak to your friends; then go straight to the stable, and return as
soon as possible. You will be surrounded by people; act as if you saw
no one, and, above all, do not eat or drink anything whatever. Should
you take only a glass of water, evil would come upon us both."

Yvon promised and swore all that Finette asked, but he smiled in his
heart at this feminine weakness. He was sure of himself; and he
thought with pride how different a Breton was from those fickle
Frenchmen whose words, they say, are borne away by the first breath of