anter myself. Well, I felt ill, on the road." "How?" "You are
very stupid. I told him that I was not feeling well, and that he must
lay me on the grass, and when I was lying there, I told him I was
choking, and that he must unlace me. And then, when I was unlaced, I
fainted." "Did you go right off?" "Oh! dear no, not the least." "Well?"

"Well, I was obliged to remain unconscious for nearly an hour, as he
could find no means of bringing me round. But I was very patient, and
did not open my eyes."

"Oh! Andree!... And what did you say to him?" "I? Nothing at all! How
was I to know anything, as I was unconscious? I thanked him, and told
him to help me into the carriage, and he drove me back to the Chateau;
but he nearly upset us in turning into the gate!" "Oh! Andree! And is
that all?..." "That is all...." "You did not faint more than that once?"
"Only once, of course! I did not want to take such a fellow for my
lover." "Did you keep him long after that?" "Yes, of course. I have him
still. Why should I have sent him away? I had nothing to complain of."
"Oh! Andree! And is he in love with you still?" "Of course he is."
"Where is he?"

The little Baroness put out her hand to the wall and touched the
electric bell, and the door opened almost immediately, and a tall
footman came in who diffused a scent of Eau de Cologne all round him.
"Joseph," she said to him, "I am afraid I am going to faint; send my
lady's maid to me."

The man stood motionless, like a soldier before his officer, and fixed
an ardent look on his mistress, who continued: "Go quickly, you great
idiot, we are not in the wood to-day, and Rosalie will attend to me
better than you would." He turned on his heels and went, and the little
Baroness asked nervously: "But what shall you say to your maid?" "I
shall tell her what we have been doing! No, I shall merely get her to
unlace me; it will relieve my chest, for I can scarcely breathe. I am
drunk ... my dear ... so drunk that I should fall, if I were to get up
from my chair."

THE INN

Like all the wooden inns in the higher Alps, which are situated in the
rocky and bare gorges which intersect the white summits of the
mountains, the inn of Schwarenbach stands as a refuge for travelers who
are crossing the Gemmi.

It remains open for six months in the year, and is inhabited by the
family of Jean Hauser; then, as soon as the snow begins to fall, and
fills the valley so as to make the road down to Loe