ny to be
devoured by fishes, and that it was no use to try and escape from it."

"Was that really your last idea when you believed yourself perishing?"

"Oh, no!" replied Fleur-de-Marie, with enthusiasm; "when I believed I
was dying, my last thought was for him whom I so reverence, and to whom
I owe so much, and, when I came to myself after you had saved me, my
first thought was of him likewise."

"It is a pleasure to render you any service, you think so much of it."

"No, La Louve; the pleasure consists in falling asleep with our grateful
recollection of kind acts, and remembering them upon waking!"

"Ah, you would induce people to go through fire and water to serve you!
I'm sure I would, for one."

"I can assure you that one of the causes which made me thankful for life
was the hope of being able to advance your happiness. Do you recollect
the castles in the air we used to build at St. Lazare?"

"Oh, as for that, there is time enough to think about that."

"How delighted I should be, if the doctor would only allow me to write a
few lines to Madame Georges, I am sure she must be so very uneasy; and
so must M. Rodolph, too," added Fleur-de-Marie, pensively sighing.
"Perhaps they think me dead."

"As those wretches do who were set on to murder you!"

"Then you still believe my falling into the water was not an accident?"

"Accident! Yes, one of the Martial family's accidents;--mind, when I say
that, you must bear in mind that my Martial is not at all like the rest
of his relations, any more than Francois and Amandine."

"But what interest could they have had in my death?"

"I don't care for that; the Martials are such a vile set that they would
murder any one, provided they were well paid for it. A few words the
mother let drop when my man went to see her in prison prove that."

"Has he really been to see that dreadful woman?"

"Yes; and he tells me there is no hope of pardon for herself, Calabash,
or Nicholas. A great many things have been discovered against them; and
all the judges and those kind of people say they want to make a public
example of them, to frighten others from doing such things."

"How very shocking for nearly a whole family to perish in this way."

"And they certainly will, unless, indeed, Nicholas manages to make his
escape; he is in the same prison with a monstrous ruffian whom they call
the Skeleton, and this man is getting up a plot to escape with several
of his companions. Nicho