she would have the letters to
translate; that meant that her grandfather would have her with him all
the time that M. Bendit was ill.

While she sat there waiting she caught sight of William several times. When
he was not fulfilling the duties of coachman he acted as useful man to
M. Vulfran. Each time that he appeared on the scene Perrine thought that he
had come to fetch her, but he passed without saying a word to her. He
seemed always in a hurry.

Finally some workingmen came out of M. Vulfran's office with a very
dissatisfied expression on their faces. Then William came and beckoned to
her and showed her into M. Vulfran's office. She found her grandfather
seated at a large table covered with ledgers, at the side of which were
paper weights stamped with large letters in relief. In this way the blind
man was able to find what his eyes could not see.

Without announcing her, William had pushed Perrine inside the room and
closed the door after her. She waited a moment, then she thought that she
had better let M. Vulfran know that she was there.

"Monsieur," she said, "I am here ... Aurelie."

"Yes," he said, "I recognized your step. Come nearer and listen to me. I am
interested in you. You have told me your troubles and I think you have been
very courageous. From the translations that you have made for me, and the
manner in which you have acted as interpreter for the machinists, I see
that you are intelligent. Now that I am blind, I need someone to see for
me, to tell me about things I wish to know, and also about things that
strike them also. I had hoped that William would have been able to do this
for me, but unfortunately he drinks too much and I can't keep him.

"Now, would you like to take the position that he has been unable to
hold? To commence with, you will have ninety francs a month. If I am
pleased with you I may do more for you."

Overwhelmed with joy, Perrine stood before the blind man unable to say a
word.

"Why don't you speak?" he said at last.

"I can't ... I don't know what to say ... to thank you," she said. Her
voice broke. "I feel so...."

"Yes, yes," he said. "I know how you feel. Your voice tells me that. I
am pleased. That is as good as a promise that you will do all you can to
give me satisfaction. Now let us change the subject. Have you written to
your grandparents?"

"No," said Perrine, hesitatingly; "I ... I did not have any paper."

"Oh, very well. You will be able to find all