s
ways.

Benassis looked at the height of the sun and spoke to his companion:

"There are still two hours of daylight left; and if you are not too
hungry, we will go to see some one with whom I nearly always spend the
interval between the last of my visits and the hour for dinner. She is
a charming girl whom every one here calls my 'good friend.' That is
the name that they usually give to an affianced bride; but you must not
imagine that there is the slightest imputation of any kind implied or
intended by the use of the word in this case. Poor child, the care
that I have taken of her has, as may be imagined, made her an object
of jealousy, but the general opinion entertained as to my character
has prevented any spiteful gossip. If no one understands the apparent
caprice that has led me to make an allowance to La Fosseuse, so that she
can live without being compelled to work, nobody has any doubts as to
her character. I have watched over her with friendly care, and every one
knows that I should never hesitate to marry her if my affection for her
exceeded the limits of friendship. But no woman exists for me here in
the canton or anywhere else," said the doctor, forcing a smile. "Some
natures feel a tyrannous need to attach themselves to some one thing
or being which they single out from among the beings and things around
them; this need is felt most keenly by a man of quick sympathies, and
all the more pressingly if his life has been made desolate. So, trust
me, it is a favorable sign if a man is strongly attached to his dog
or his horse! Among the suffering flock which chance has given into my
care, this poor little sufferer has come to be for me like the pet
lamb that the shepherd lasses deck with ribbons in my own sunny land of
Languedoc; they talk to it and allow it to find pasture by the side
of the cornfields, and its leisurely pace is never hurried by the
shepherd's dog."

Benassis stood with his hand on his horse's mane as he spoke, ready to
spring into the saddle, but making no effort to do so, as though the
thoughts that stirred in him were but little in keeping with rapid
movements.

"Let us go," he said at last; "come with me and pay her a visit. I am
taking you to see her; does not that tell you that I treat her as a
sister?"

As they rode on their way again, Genestas said to the doctor, "Will
you regard it as inquisitiveness on my part if I ask to hear more of La
Fosseuse? I have come to know the stor