secret reasons watched Sibilet constantly, was
struck with his air and manner.

"He has earned his twenty francs, Monsieur le comte," said Sibilet; "the
otter is fully worth it."

"Give him twenty francs," said the general to the footman.

"Do you mean to take my otter away from me?" said Blondet to the
general.

"I shall have it stuffed," replied the latter.

"Ah! but that good gentleman said I might keep the skin," cried
Fourchon.

"Well, then," exclaimed the countess, hastily, "you shall have five
francs more for the skin; but go away now."

The powerful odor emitted by the pair made the dining-room so horribly
offensive that Madame de Montcornet, whose senses were very delicate,
would have been forced to leave the room if Fourchon and Mouche
had remained. To this circumstance the old man was indebted for his
twenty-five francs. He left the room with a timid glance at Michaud,
making him an interminable series of bows.

"What I was saying to monseigneur, Monsieur Michaud," he added, "was
really for your good."

"Or for that of those who pay you," replied Michaud, with a searching
look.

"When you have served the coffee, leave the room," said the general to
the servants, "and see that the doors are shut."

Blondet, who had not yet seen the bailiff of Les Aigues, was conscious,
as he now saw him, of a totally different impression from that conveyed
by Sibilet. Just as the steward inspired distrust and repulsion, so
Michaud commanded respect and confidence. The first attraction of his
presence was a happy face, of a fine oval, pure in outline, in which the
nose bore part,--a regularity which is lacking in the majority of
French faces. Though the features were correct in drawing, they were not
without expression, due, perhaps, to the harmonious coloring of the warm
brown and ochre tints, indicative of physical health and strength. The
clear brown eyes, which were bright and piercing, kept no reserves in
the expression of his thought; they looked straight into the eyes of
others. The broad white forehead was thrown still further into relief by
his abundant black hair. Honesty, decision, and a saintly serenity were
the animating points of this noble face, where a few deep lines upon the
brow were the result of the man's military career. Doubt and suspicion
could there be read the moment they had entered his mind. His figure,
like that of all men selected for the elite of the cavalry service,
though shapely