each my own house, where she can have
shelter."

Mother was grateful for his offer. She thanked him and continued her
weary walk till a sudden bend in the road brought us almost upon a small
house situated right on the road, looking dark and gloomy enough, with
just one solitary light shining dimly through the darkness.

The fellow paused here with his hand on the latch, and I noticed a small
sign-board swaying and creaking in the wind just above our heads. This
then was an inn too? Why then had the landlord of that other inn cast
such suspicious glances at the proposal of this man?

Such questions were answerable only the next morning, for just now I was
too weary to care where I spent the night as I stumbled after mother
into a dark passage, and then onwards to a room where the faint light
had been dimly discernible from outside.

In that room there was an ugly old woman--bent and aged--cooking
something over a small fire; and crouched upon a low seat near the stove
sat a hunchbacked man, swarthy, black-haired, and ugly too. My heart
gave one leap, and then sank down into my shoes. What kind of a house
had we come into to spend a whole night?

Our escort said something rapidly in French--too rapidly for me to
follow, and then motioned us to sit down as he placed two wooden chairs
for us. Mother sank down, almost too wearied to return the greeting
which the old hag by the fire accorded her.

The hunchback eyed us without a word, but when I summoned up courage to
occasionally glance in his direction I fancied that a sinister smile
crossed his face, making him look curiously like our escort.

Two bowls of soup were put down before us, and the old woman hospitably
pressed us to partake of it. The whole family sat down to the same meal,
but the hunchback had his in his seat by the fire. It was cabbage soup,
and neither mother nor I fancied it very much, but for politeness' sake
we took a few spoonfuls, and ate some of the coarse brown bread, of
which there was plenty on the table.

The warmth of the room was beginning to have effect on me, and my body
was so inexpressibly weary that I felt half dozing in my seat, and my
eyelids would close in spite of myself.

All of a sudden I heard mother give a little scream. I was wide awake
in an instant, and to my amazement saw the hunchback crawling on his
hands and knees under the table. My mother's lips were white and
trembling as she stooped to pick up the purse she had