Mauprat
"You have devoted yourself to me; I will show the same devotion to you. We will both escape, or we will die together."
"I am not mistaken," I cried; "it is a light that I see between the branches. Edmée, there is a house yonder; go and knock at the door. You need not feel anxious about leaving me here; and you will find a guide to take you home."
"Whatever happens," she said, " I will not leave you; but I will try to find some one to help you."
"Yet, no," I said; "I will not let you knock at that door alone. That light, in the middle of the night, in a house situated in the heart of the woods, may be a lure."
I dragged myself as far as the door. It felt cold, as if of metal. The walls were covered with ivy.
"Who is there?" cried some one within, before we had knocked.
"We are saved!" cried Edmée; "it is Patience's voice."
"We are lost!" I said; "he and I are mortal enemies."
"Fear nothing," she said; "follow me. It was God that led us here."
"Yes, it was God that led you here, daughter of Heaven, morning star!" said Patience, opening the door; "and whoever is with you is welcome too at Gazeau Tower."
We entered under a surbased vault, in the middle of which hung an iron lamp. By the light of this dismal luminary and of a handful of brushwood which was blazing on the hearth we saw, not without surprise, that Gazeau Tower was exceptionally honoured with visitors. On one side the light fell upon the pale and
79
