hose a book which
I am very fond of, Cooper's 'Spy;' and we amused ourselves by writing
endless letters. Oh! it is very amusing, and it takes time, because one
does not always find the words that are needed, and then they have to be
spelled letter by letter."

"And M. de Boiscoran has a copy of Cooper's novels in his prison?" asked
M. Folgat.

"Yes, sir. M. Mechinet told me so. As soon as Jacques found he was to be
kept in close confinement, he asked for some of Cooper's novels, and M.
Galpin, who is so cunning, so smart, and so suspicious, went himself and
got them for him. Jacques was counting upon me."

"Then, dear child, go and read your letter, and solve the riddle," said
M. de Chandore.

When she had left, he said to his companion,--

"How she loves him! How she loves this man Jacques! Sir, if any thing
should happen to him, she would die."

M. Folgat made no reply; and nearly an hour passed, before Dionysia,
shut up in her room, had succeeded in finding all the words of which
Jacques's letter was composed. But when she had finished, and came
back to her grandfather's study, her youthful face expressed the most
profound despair.

"This is horrible!" she said.

The same idea crossed, like a sharp arrow, the minds of M. de Chandore
and M. Folgat. Had Jacques confessed?

"Look, read yourself!" said Dionysia, handing them the translation.

Jacques wrote,--

"Thanks for your letter, my darling. A presentiment had warned me, and I
had asked for a copy of Cooper.

"I understand but too well how grieved you must be at seeing me kept
in prison without my making an effort to establish my innocence. I
kept silence, because I hoped the proof of my innocence would come from
outside. I see that it would be madness to hope so any longer, and that
I must speak. I shall speak. But what I have to say is so very serious,
that I shall keep silence until I shall have had an opportunity of
consulting with some one in whom I can feel perfect confidence. Prudence
alone is not enough now: skill also is required. Until now I felt
secure, relying on my innocence. But the last examination has opened my
eyes, and I now see the danger to which I am exposed.

"I shall suffer terribly until the day when I can see a lawyer. Thank
my mother for having brought one. I hope he will pardon me, if I address
myself first to another man. I want a man who knows the country and its
customs.

"That is why I have chosen M. Magloire; and I