Her eyes read the
words, followed the lines and crossed the pages, but her mind utterly
refused to obey her will, and in spite of all her efforts persisted in
turning to the shrewd youth who had solemnly sworn to find Pascal for
her. A little after midnight Madame de Fondege returned from the opera,
and at once proceeded to reprimand her maid for not having lighted a
fire. The General returned some time afterward, and he was evidently in
the best of spirits.

"They have not seen their son," said Mademoiselle Marguerite to herself,
and this anxiety, combined with many others, tortured her so cruelly,
that she did not fall asleep until near daybreak. Even then she did not
slumber long. It was scarcely half-past seven when she was aroused by
a strange commotion and a loud sound of hammering. She was trying to
imagine the cause of all this uproar, when Madame de Fondege, already
arrayed in a marvellous robe composed of three skirts and an enormous
puff, entered the room. "I have come to take you away, my dear child,"
she exclaimed. "The owner of the house has decided to make some repairs,
and the workmen have already invaded our apartments. The General has
taken flight, let us follow his example--so make yourself beautiful and
we'll go at once."

Without a word, the young girl hastened to obey, while Madame de
Fondege expiated on the delightful drive they would take together in
the wonderful brougham which the General had purchased a couple of days
before. As for Lieutenant Gustave, she did not even mention his name.

Accustomed to the superb equipages of the Chalusse establishment,
Mademoiselle Marguerite did not consider the much-lauded brougham at
all remarkable. At the most, it was very showy, having apparently been
selected with a view to attracting as much attention as possible. Madame
de Fondege was not in a mood to consider an objection that morning. She
was evidently in a nervous state of mind, extremely restless and excited
indeed, it seemed impossible for her to keep still. In default of
something better to do, she visited at least a dozen shops, asking to
see everything, finding everything frightful, and purchasing without
regard to price. It might have been fancied that she wished to buy
all Paris. About ten o'clock she dragged Marguerite to Van Klopen's.
Received as a habituee of the establishment, thanks to the numerous
orders she had given within the past few days, she was even allowed to
enter the myste