?"

He seized her by the shoulders, and, shaking her with both hands,
exclaimed: "Don't speak of her, at any rate. I won't have it."

She screamed out: "You slept with her; I know you did."

He would have accepted no matter what, but this falsehood exasperated
him. The truths she had told him to his face had caused thrills of anger
to run through him, but this lie respecting the young girl who was going
to be his wife, awakened in the palm of his hand a furious longing to
strike her.

He repeated: "Be quiet--have a care--be quiet," and shook her as we
shake a branch to make the fruit fall.

She yelled, with her hair coming down, her mouth wide open, her eyes
aglow: "You slept with her!"

He let her go, and gave her such a smack on the face that she fell down
beside the wall. But she turned towards him, and raising herself on her
hands, once more shouted: "You slept with her!"

He rushed at her, and, holding her down, struck her as though striking a
man. She left off shouting, and began to moan beneath his blows. She no
longer stirred, but hid her face against the bottom of the wall and
uttered plaintive cries. He left off beating her and rose up. Then he
walked about the room a little to recover his coolness, and, an idea
occurring to him, went into the bedroom, filled the basin with cold
water, and dipped his head into it. Then he washed his hands and came
back to see what she was doing, carefully wiping his fingers. She had
not budged. She was still lying on the ground quietly weeping.

"Shall you have done grizzling soon?"

She did not answer. He stood in the middle of the room, feeling somewhat
awkward and ashamed in the presence of the form stretched out before
him. All at once he formed a resolution, and took his hat from the
mantel-shelf, saying: "Good-night. Give the key to the doorkeeper when
you leave. I shan't wait for your convenience."

He went out, closed the door, went to the doorkeeper's, and said:
"Madame is still there. She will be leaving in a few minutes. Tell the
landlord that I give notice to leave at the end of September. It is the
15th of August, so I am within the limits."

And he walked hastily away, for he had some pressing calls to make
touching the purchase of the last wedding gifts.

The wedding was fixed for the 20th of October after the meeting of the
Chambers. It was to take place at the Church of the Madeleine. There had
been a great deal of gossip about it without anyone