ellar. Tremblingly Pierre urged them to
desist, but they cast him aside.

Louise was thrust into the dungeon and the trap closed. Black bread
and a cup of water was to be her prison fare. Still moaning
"Henriette! Henriette!" she groped along the slimy walls and tried the
footing of the mingled mud and straw.

Horrors! What were the creeping things she sensed, though sightless?
Two raced under her petticoat, one nibbled at her shoe. She jumped
high in air and screamed outright.

Rats! They were upon her again, almost swarming. She fled to a corner,
leaped on a pile of rags, literally fought them off with both hands!
Her screams echoed through the upper den, to the anguish of Pierre and
the mocking laughter of La Frochard and Jacques....

Pitiably broken, Louise was pulled out of the vile sink a few hours
later, pledging wildly to obey the least of the hag's commands.

La Frochard knew that her conquest was complete.

Henceforth the girl would be but as a clay figure in her hands--a
decoy to lure the golden charity of the rich and sympathetic.

As for Jacques, that ruffian was now eyeing the blind lass closely,
and muttering:

"Not bad-looking--I'll see to it no other man gets her!"

He slapped his knife villainously.

CHAPTER VII

TANGLED SKEINS

Henriette Girard had not only been saved from dishonor by Chevalier de
Vaudrey, but she had won a devoted friend. Through his connections,
the Chevalier knew much that was passing in the half-world. The
mystery of the happenings at the coach house was cleared by him.

"Your cousin M. Martin," he said, "was found drugged in a wineshop to
which presumably the man La Fleur had enticed him. It was easy then
for La Fleur to pose as Martin and kidnap you.

"I grieve to say it, abductions of the poor and friendless are common
with the roues of fashion. Their families are of such influence that
the police rarely interfere.

"But there will be an end of this--if I mistake not," said the
Chevalier, "the people mean to put an end to these seignorial
'privileges'!"

[Illustration: THE MARQUIS DE PRAILLE IS ENRAPTURED BY THE LITTLE VISION
FROM THE STAGE COACH (HENRIETTE PLAYED BY LILLIAN GISH.)]

It was in one of his frequent talks at the simple lodgings to which he
had conducted her the night of Bel-Air. Swiftly they had retraced the
steps of the stricken Louise even to the pier edge over the darkling
Seine. Horrified and trembling, Henriette feared the worst.