xt day she noticed and listened to all that went on around her,
but she did not let anyone see that she understood everything and had
recovered her full senses. Towards evening, when no one but the baroness
was in her room, Jeanne whispered softly:

"Mother, dear!"

She was surprised to hear how changed her own voice was, but the
baroness took her hands, exclaiming:

"My child! my dear little Jeanne! Do you know me, my pet?"

"Yes, mother. But you mustn't cry; I want to talk to you seriously. Did
Julien tell you why I ran out into the snow?"

"Yes, my darling. You have had a very dangerous fever."

"That was not the reason, mamma; I had the fever afterwards. Hasn't he
told you why I tried to run away, and what was the cause of the fever?"

"No, dear."

"It was because I found Rosalie in his bed."

The baroness thought she was still delirious, and tried to soothe her.

"There, there, my darling; lie down and try to go to sleep."

But Jeanne would not be quieted.

"I am not talking nonsense now, mamma dear, though I dare say I have
been lately," she said. "I felt very ill one night, and I got up and
went to Julien's room; there I saw Rosalie lying beside him. My grief
nearly drove me mad, and I ran out into the snow, meaning to throw
myself over the cliff."

"Yes, darling, you have been ill; very ill indeed," answered the
baroness.

"It wasn't that, mamma. I found Rosalie in Julien's bed, and I will not
stay with him any longer. You shall take me back to Rouen with you."

The doctor had told the baroness to let Jeanne have her own way in
everything, so she answered:

"Very well, my pet."

Jeanne began to lose patience.

"I see you don't believe me," she said pettishly. "Go and find papa;
perhaps he'll manage to understand that I am speaking the truth."

The baroness rose slowly to her feet, dragged herself out of the room
with the aid of two sticks, and came back in a few minutes with the
baron. They sat down by the bedside, and Jeanne began to speak in her
weak voice. She spoke quite coherently, and she told them all about
Julien's odd ways, his harshness, his avarice, and, lastly, his
infidelity.

The baron could see that her mind was not wandering, but he hardly knew
what to say or think. He affectionately took her hand, like he used to
do when she was a child and he told her fairy tales to send her to
sleep.

"Listen, my dear," he said. "We must not do anything rashly. Don't let
us say anyt