down-stairs I came upon him, sitting upon one
of the steps as if exhausted, and when he turned his face upward, its
pallor and haggardness startled me. His tall form was wasted, his
eyes were hollow, the peculiarities I had before observed were doubly
marked--he was even emaciated.

"Monsieur," I said in English, "you appear indisposed. You have been
ill. Allow me to assist you to your room."

"No, thank you," he answered. "It's only weakness. I--I sorter give out.
Don't trouble yourself. I shall get over it directly."

Something in his face, which was a very young and well-looking one,
forced me to leave him in silence, merely bowing as I did so. I felt
instinctively that to remain would be to give him additional pain.

As I passed the room of the _concierge_, however, the excellent woman
beckoned to me to approach her.

"Did you see the young man?" she inquired rather anxiously. "He has
shown himself this morning for the first time in three days. There is
something wrong. It is my impression that he suffers want--that he is
starving himself to death!"

Her rosy countenance absolutely paled as she uttered these last words,
retreating a pace from me and touching my arm with her fore-finger.

"He has carried up even less bread than usual during the last few
weeks," she added, "and there has been no _bouillon_ whatever. A young
man cannot live only on dry bread, and too little of that. He will
perish; and apart from the inhumanity of the thing, it will be
unpleasant for the other _locataires_."

I wasted no time in returning to Clelie, having indeed some hope that I
might find the poor fellow still occupying his former position upon
the staircase. But in this I met with disappointment: he was gone and
I could only relate to my wife what I had heard, and trust to her
discretion. As I had expected, she was deeply moved.

"It is terrible," she said.. "And it is also a delicate and difficult
matter to manage. But what can one do? There is only one thing--I who am
a woman, and have suffered privation myself, may venture."

Accordingly, she took her departure for the floor above. I heard her
light summons upon the door of one of the rooms, but heard no reply. At
last, however, the door was opened gently, and with a hesitance that
led me to imagine that it was Clelie herself who had pushed it open,
and immediately afterward I was sure that she had uttered an alarmed
exclamation. I stepped out upon the landing and call