felt himself under lock and key, and
remembered how the grand provost Tristan and his rope were at the orders
of Maitre Cornelius.

"Have you supped?" asked the silversmith, in a tone which signified,
"You are not to sup."

The old maid trembled in spite of her brother's tone; she looked at the
new inmate as if to gauge the capacity of the stomach she might have to
fill, and said with a specious smile:--

"You have not stolen your name; your hair and moustache are as black as
the devil's tail."

"I have supped," he said.

"Well then," replied the miser, "you can come back and see me to-morrow.
I have done without an apprentice for some years. Besides, I wish to
sleep upon the matter."

"Hey! by Saint-Bavon, monsieur, I am a Fleming; I don't know a soul
in this place; the chains are up in the streets, and I shall be put in
prison. However," he added, frightened at the eagerness he was showing
in his words, "if it is your good pleasure, of course I will go."

The oath seemed to affect the old man singularly.

"Come, come, by Saint-Bavon indeed, you shall sleep here."

"But--" said his sister, alarmed.

"Silence," replied Cornelius. "In his letter Oosterlinck tells me he
will answer for this young man. You know," he whispered in his sister's
ear, "we have a hundred thousand francs belonging to Oosterlinck? That's
a hostage, hey!"

"And suppose he steals those Bavarian jewels? Tiens, he looks more like
a thief than a Fleming."

"Hush!" exclaimed the old man, listening attentively to some sound.

Both misers listened. A moment after the "Hush!" uttered by Cornelius, a
noise produced by the steps of several men echoed in the distance on the
other side of the moat of the town.

"It is the Plessis guard on their rounds," said the sister.

"Give me the key of the apprentice's room," said Cornelius.

The old woman made a gesture as if to take the lamp.

"Do you mean to leave us alone, without light?" cried Cornelius, in a
meaning tone of voice. "At your age can't you see in the dark? It isn't
difficult to find a key."

The sister understood the meaning hidden beneath these words and left
the room. Looking at this singular creature as she walked towards the
door, Philippe Goulenoire was able to hide from Cornelius the glance
which he hastily cast about the room. It was wainscoted in oak to the
chair-strip, and the walls above were hung with yellow leather stamped
with black arabesques; but what struck the yo