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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/22774-8.txt b/22774-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a987f63 --- /dev/null +++ b/22774-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5837 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Barbara in Brittany, by E. A. Gillie + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Barbara in Brittany + +Author: E. A. Gillie + +Illustrator: Frank Adams + +Release Date: September 26, 2007 [EBook #22774] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARBARA IN BRITTANY *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Cover artwork] + + + +[Frontispiece: "'The farmer would spare you those, madam.'"] + + + +BARBARA IN BRITTANY + + +E. A. Gillie + + + +[Illustration: Title page artwork] + + + +Illustrated by FRANK ADAMS + + + +LONDON AND GLASGOW + +COLLINS' CLEAR-TYPE PRESS + +1915 + + + + +TO + +MAISIE, MARGARET, AND CUTHBERT, + +IN REMEMBRANCE OF SEPTEMBER 1905. + + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAP. + + I. AUNT ANNE + II. NO. 14 RUE ST. SULPICE + III. A NOCTURNAL ADVENTURE + IV. THE MAN IN BLUE GLASSES + V. GOOD-BYE TO PARIS + VI. THE REVOLT OF TWO + VII. A WILD DRIVE + VIII. MONT ST. MICHEL + IX. MADEMOISELLE VIRÉ + X. THE "AMERICAN PRETENDER" + XI. BARBARA TURNS PLOTTER + XII. THE PLOT THICKENS + XIII. THE ESCAPE + XIV. A WAYSIDE INN + XV. THE STRIKE + XVI. BARBARA TURNS DETECTIVE + XVII. A MEMORY AND A "MANOIR" + XVIII. AUNT ANNE AGAIN + XIX. THE END OF THE STORY + XX. THE CODA + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Cover artwork + +"'The farmer would spare you those, madam.'" . . . _Frontispiece_ + +Title page artwork + +"Barbara was reading a guide book on Brittany." + +"She glanced over her shoulder at the sea." + +"They surprised Denys by suddenly joining him." + + + + +Barbara in Brittany. + + +CHAPTER I. + +AUNT ANNE. + +Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face. +"Aunt Anne is coming to-morrow, children," she announced. + +"To-morrow!" exclaimed a fair-haired boy, rising from the window-seat. +"Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, +too." + +"Just as we were preparing to have a really exciting time," sighed +Frances, who was her brother's close companion and ally. + +"I know it's a little hard," Barbara said consolingly, sitting down +beside them and taking one of the twins on her lap, while the other +leaned up against her. "But you will all try to be good and nice to +her, won't you? She went away with a bad opinion of us last time, and +it worries mother. Besides, we mustn't forget that she was father's +sister." + +"I can't think how she ever came to be," sighed Frances. "She's so +dreadfully particular, and we always seem naughtier when she's here. +But we'll make an effort, Barbara." + +"And you won't run away as soon as she speaks to you, Lucy?" Barbara +went on, looking at the little girl in her lap. "It's rude, you know. +You must try to talk nicely when she wants you to." + +"Yes;" and the child nodded. "Only she does seem to make a lot of +concussions when she comes." + +"You mean discussions," Donald corrected. "You shouldn't use words you +don't understand, Lucy. But I must say I agree with you; I know she +always raises my corruption." + +"What!" gasped Barbara. + +"Raises my corruption," repeated her brother; "that's a good old +Scottish expression that I've just found in a book, and it +means--'makes you angry.'" + +"Well, don't use it before Aunt Anne, there's a dear," Barbara urged, +getting up. "She thinks we use quite enough queer expressions as it +is." + +"I'll speak like a regular infant prodigy. But surely you're not going +yet? You've just come!" + +"I must help to get things ready for Aunt Anne," Barbara said gaily, +for she had recovered her spirits since procuring the children's +promise of good behaviour. "I'll come to you later." + +"Barbara is really rather an angel," remarked Donald after she had +gone. "It's not many sisters would slave in the house, instead of +having another maid, to let a fellow go to a decent school." + +"You're quoting mother," Frances replied, hanging out of the window in +a dangerous position; "but, of course, it's true. If I only had time +I'd write a fascinating romance about her." + +"I'll read every page of it and buy a hundred copies," her brother +promised gallantly; but, as he knew that there was nothing Frances +hated more than writing, he felt pretty safe. "Of course," he pursued, +"Aunt Anne thinks mother spoils us. I don't quite think that--it's +just that she's so nice and sympathetic with us when we're naughty, and +Aunt Anne doesn't understand that. But still, to please Barbe, and as +we've promised, we must try to be respectable and good this time. +Remember, twins!" + +The twins were not noted for long memories, but their intentions were +good, and the first day of Aunt Anne's visit passed very well, the +children remembering to rub their feet on the mat, shut the door +softly, and not fidget at meals. But the exertion seemed too much for +them, and the second day began rather boisterously, and did not improve +as it went on. After lunch, when the twins came into the drawing-room, +Lucy drew a footstool near her aunt, and sat down meekly upon it, +thinking that the sooner Aunt Anne began to talk the sooner it would be +over. + +Aunt Anne was feeling almost as much embarrassed by the presence of so +many children as they were by that of their aunt, but her sense of duty +was strong, and she began to make conversation with the one nearest +her--who happened to be Lucy. + +"What are you doing in lessons now, Lucy?" + +Lucy looked solemn. + +"Chiefly history," she said. + +Frances laughed. + +"It's only stories," she exclaimed, "that Barbara tells her and Dick." + +"It's history," repeated Lucy indignantly; "isn't it, Dick? It's all +about England." + +"I should have thought writing was more suitable for a little girl like +you." + +Frances opened her mouth to retort, but caught a warning glance from +Barbara and subsided. Then conversation languished and Lucy looked +across longingly at her sister, to see if she had done her duty. But +not being able to catch her eye, she sighed, and supposing she had not +yet fulfilled her part, cast about in her mind for something else to +say. + +"Do you live far from here?" she began suddenly, staring at her aunt. + +"Quite a long way," Miss Britton replied. "In Wales--perhaps you know +where that is?" + +"Oh, yes," exclaimed Lucy, rising in her excitement. "It's where the +ancient Britons were sent. Barbara told us about them. Oh, please +Aunt Anne, aren't you an ancient Briton?" + +Aunt Anne smiled grimly. + +"No, I am not. They lived in quite the olden times, and were clothed +in skins." + +"But are you sure?" pressed the child. "It's just the skins seem +wanting. They were driven into Wales, and surely you're a Briton and +come from the olden times. You're really quite ancient aren't you, +Aunt Anne?" + +Barbara was thankful her aunt laughed, but she was not so glad that +Donald and Frances found their laughter so irrepressible that they had +to resort to the sofa-cushions; and when the twins were dismissed a +little later by Mrs. Britton, she was rather relieved to see them +follow. But from that moment the spirit of hilarity seemed to have +fallen upon all the children, and Barbara looked regretfully at the +falling rain and wondered how she should keep them occupied for the +rest of the day--for it was just the beginning of the holidays, when +they were usually allowed a good deal of liberty. + +She knew by the noise that presently sounded from upstairs that they +had begun "hide-and-seek," and she read disapproval of the uproar in +her aunt's face, and went upstairs to suggest something else. The +children good-temperedly betook themselves to "soap bubbles," Frances +consenting to fetch the tray "to keep things tidy" if Donald would take +it back; and Barbara left them, congratulating herself that they were +safely settled over something quiet. + +It was, therefore, surely an evil fate that made Aunt Anne begin to go +upstairs later in the afternoon, just as Donald was descending rapidly +with the tray--not in his hand. + +"I _am_ so sorry," he said, getting up in dismay after his rapid slide. +"What a comfort I didn't knock you over; but it's so much the quickest +way of bringing a tray down. I---- Have you ever tried it?" + +If he had not been considerably agitated he would not have asked such a +foolish question, and perhaps if Aunt Anne had really not got a severe +fright she would not have been so much annoyed. But as it was, she +stalked past him without saying a word and went up to her room. + +"There!" he said ruefully, "I've done it, and I really did mean to be +good." + +The incident subdued them all considerably, and Barbara hoped that now +they might get to the end of the visit without any further mishaps. +But next morning at breakfast that hope was banished, for her aunt came +downstairs with such an expression of annoyance upon her face, that +every one knew something really unpleasant was coming. + +"Is anything wrong?" Mrs. Britton asked anxiously. "Did you not sleep +well--or--surely the children did not--annoy you in any way?" Visions +of apple-pie beds were floating before her mind, although the +children's looks of innocence somewhat reassured her on that point. + +"Some one has annoyed me considerably," Aunt Anne said coldly, "by +interfering with my clothes. When I came to put on my blue blouse this +morning, I found that every other one of the silver buttons had been +cut off." + +There was a gasp of astonishment, and Barbara was just about to scorn +the notion that any of the children could have been concerned in the +matter, when her eyes fell on Dick's face. Miss Britton was looking in +the same direction. + +"I should think that little boy knows something about it," she said. + +"Dick!" Mrs. Britton exclaimed, for he was usually the least apt of the +three to get into mischief. + +"Dick, what did you do it for? Tell us why you did it?" Barbara +questioned eagerly, and the little boy was just about to reply when +Miss Britton spoke again. + +"I should think he had no reason at all except wanton mischief. +Perhaps he used the buttons for marbles; there cannot be any real +reason for such a silly deed, though he may make one up. Well, why did +you do it?" + +Barbara saw the obstinate expression that they dreaded creeping over +the little boy's face at her aunt's words, and knew that now they would +probably get nothing satisfactory from him; but she was not quite +prepared for the answer that came so defiantly. + +"I did it for ornament, of course." + +There was silence for a moment; then Mrs. Britton sent the little boy +to the nursery to stay there till he was sent for. + +"I _am_ so sorry, Anne," she said in distress. "I cannot think what +has made him do it." + +"It is just the result of your upbringing. I always said you were +absurdly indulgent to the children." + +Then, because Barbara was sure that Dick had had some other reason that +would perhaps have explained his action, and because she saw tears in +her mother's eyes, and knew how lonely and tired she often felt, and +how anxious about the welfare of the children and the care of the +house, she turned wrathfully upon her aunt. + +"You have no right to criticise mother like that, Aunt Anne, and, of +course, she knows a great deal more about bringing up children than you +do. If you had not interfered, Dick would have given the proper +reason, and, certainly, if we do what we shouldn't it's _our_ fault, +not mother's." + +At this there were confirmatory nods from the children, who continued +to gaze in startled, but admiring, astonishment at Barbara, whose +politeness was usually their example, and whom they hardly recognised +in this new role. They awaited--they knew not what--from their aunt, +but except for a horrified cry of "Barbara!" from Mrs. Britton, the +girl's outburst was received in silence, her aunt merely shrugging her +shoulders and continuing her breakfast. The children finished theirs +in uncomfortable silence, then slipped quietly away. + +"Well!" Donald said ruefully, when Frances and he had climbed into the +apple-tree where they usually discussed matters of importance. "She +did look fine, didn't she? But I'm afraid she's done it now. Aunt +will clear out soon enough, I should think, and Barbe will just be as +sorry as can be to have flared out like that at a guest, and father's +sister too." + +In that last supposition Donald was quite right, for Mrs. Britton +needed to say nothing to make Barbara feel very much ashamed of +herself. But in his conclusion about his aunt he was quite wrong, for, +to the children's astonishment, Miss Britton showed no signs of speedy +departure. Indeed, later in the day, the children felt honesty +demanded they must own her to be "rather a brick," for she accepted +Barbara's apology with good grace, and said that though, of course, she +had been rude, she would not deny that there had been some provocation, +and that if Barbara could find out anything more from Dick, she would +be glad to hear of it. + +It was then, after much manoeuvring, that the girl got to the truth of +the matter, which Dick related with tears. He had taken the buttons +for mother, he said. When he was out with her the other day they had +looked for quite a long time at some beautiful silver ones, and when he +asked his mother why she did not buy them, she had said she had not +enough money just then. They were very like the kind on Aunt Anne's +blouse, and having noticed that she did not use half of them to button +it up, Dick had not seen any reason why they should be left +on--although he had meant to tell her what he had done immediately +after breakfast. + +Miss Britton accepted the explanation, and said she thought there was +no need for the culprit to be punished this time, and she hoped he +would have more sense soon. But about Barbara she had something of +more importance to communicate. + +"In my opinion," she said, in a manner that inferred she expected her +advice to be taken, "the girl is much too young to have finished her +education--boys or no boys--and I am thinking of sending her to France +for a time, to learn more of the language and see something of the +world. It is not good for a girl of her age to have so much +responsibility." + +Now, it had been Barbara's dream to go abroad, but after the first gasp +of delight and astonishment she grew grave, and said she was afraid she +could not leave her mother and the children. + +"Fiddlesticks!" Aunt Anne replied, without allowing Mrs. Britton time +to speak. "You are far too young, my dear, to imagine yourself of such +importance in the world. I will send a good old-fashioned nurse that I +know of to take your place, and it will be good for the children to +have a stricter regime than yours has been for a while." + +Even if Aunt Anne had been accustomed to have her words +disregarded--which she was not--Mrs. Britton would not have needed much +persuasion to make her fall in with the proposal, for she had often +grieved in private over the fact that, since her husband's death, +Barbara's education had had to suffer that Donald's might advance. And +now, though she wondered how she would get on without her eldest +daughter, she was only too thankful to have such an opportunity thrown +in her way. + +"I cannot think why I never interfered before," Miss Britton said, "but +it is better late than never, and we will have as little delay now as +possible." + +In a few days the children were all as busy as bees helping to get +Barbara ready. They assisted in choosing her new frocks and hats, and +the style of making; and poor Miss Smith, who came to sew for her, was +nearly distracted by their popping in every now and then to see how she +was getting on. Even Donald, who hated talking about "girls' +fashions," bought a paper, because he saw it had a pattern of a blouse +advertised, and he thought it might be useful. + +The family were very curious to hear with whom she was going to France +and where she was going to be, for Aunt Anne had undertaken to make all +the arrangements, and it certainly was a slight shock to the children +when she wrote to say she had made up her mind to go herself for a +fortnight to Paris before sending Barbara off to Brittany, where she +had found a "most suitable place" for her in the house of two maiden +ladies who took in people wanting to learn French. + +Donald whistled when Mrs. Britton read that out. + +"Fancy a fortnight with Aunt Anne, and then the two maiden ladies. +Jiggers!" (that was a favourite expression of his)--"you'll be worried +out of your life, Barbe." + +The worst of it was, that Aunt Anne, who had not been abroad for many +years, said she was going to let Barbara manage the journey and the +sight-seeing in Paris, and sent her a guide-book to read up everything +of interest. She said she was doing this to give her niece experience +and prepare her for being by herself later on; but Donald declared she +wanted to see "what kind of stuff" she was made of, and that if Barbara +did not do things well, she would scoff at her greatly for thinking she +could manage a house and children while she could not succeed in +finding her way about France. + +"But I know the old lady, and we'll just show her you're _our_ sister, +and before we've done you'll know that guide-book from cover to cover," +he assured her. + +They had only a week left, for Aunt Anne was very rapid in her +decisions and plans; but they studied the guide-book morning, noon, and +night. It was most instructive holiday work, Donald said, and when +Barbara had not time to read it, Frances and he read for her and poured +their knowledge into her ears at meal-times. + +They learned what coloured omnibus went to the different parts of +Paris, and on what days different buildings were open, and by the end +of the week they all felt they could "personally conduct" tours all +over Paris. + +It was rather hard when the last day came, because they knew that the +house would seem horribly empty without Barbara. The two little ones +were on the verge of crying all the afternoon, and Frances had to be +very stern, while Donald rose to flights of wit hitherto undreamed of, +to keep up every one's spirits. + +Of course the two elder ones knew it would be hardest on them after +Barbara left, because some of her responsibility would fall on their +shoulders. But they were quite determined she should have a cheerful +"send-off" next morning, so they bribed the children with promises of +sweets if they did not cry, and they succeeded in giving her quite a +hilarious good-bye at the station. + +After the train had gone, however, and they turned homewards, Frances +felt that if she had not promised Barbara to help her mother she would +have hidden herself in the attic and cried, although that would have +been so "horribly babyish" for a girl of twelve that she knew she would +have felt ashamed of herself afterwards; though perhaps, her pillow +could have told tales of a grief confided to it that the gay-hearted +Frances did not usually indulge in. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +NO. 14 RUE ST. SUPLICE. + +Meanwhile, Barbara and her aunt pursued their journey, and in due time +arrived at Newhaven, where the first thing they were told was that the +tide was unusually low at Dieppe, which would prevent them entering +that harbour, and therefore they were not going to leave Newhaven for +another hour and a half. Aunt Anne gazed in indignation upon their +informant, and declared it was scandalous that a boat, timed to leave +at a certain hour, should be so irregular and unpunctual; whereupon the +captain, shrugging his shoulders, said that the lady should complain to +the moon about the tides rather than to him. + +They managed to fill in the time very well with lunch, however, and +after a little grumbling, Aunt Anne resigned herself to Fate, though +she was glad enough when they finally steamed out of the harbour. Miss +Britton was not a very good sailor, and in preparation for "the +voyage," as she called the crossing, had accumulated great stores of +knowledge as to how to treat seasickness. She established herself on +the upper deck, let down a deck-chair as low as it would go, and +replacing her hat by a weird little Tam o' Shanter, covered her eyes +with a handkerchief. + +"To avoid seasickness, Barbara," she said, "you must lie as flat as +possible, keep the eyes closed, and breathe in correspondence with the +ship's motion--though," she added, "I really cannot tell at present +which is its motion; perhaps there will be more when we get farther +out." + +Barbara chuckled, but deferred making similar preparations until the +motion _was_ more defined, for she was much too interested in what was +going on around her to close her eyes to it all. + +Aunt Anne asked her at intervals if it was getting rougher, but though +her niece assured her there were no signs of such a thing, she did not +venture to sit up until they were quite near Dieppe. + +"Oh, aunt!" Barbara exclaimed joyfully, "just look at all the officials +in their high-peaked hats. Don't they look nice, so Frenchy and +foreign!" + +"You would hardly expect them to look _English_," Aunt Anne returned +drily, and began to gather together her belongings preparatory to +leaving the boat. + +"It is some time since I have been in France, Barbara," she exclaimed, +"having been quite contented with our own beautiful land; but I +remember it was best to be very quick in going to the train so as to +get good seats. Follow me closely, child." + +Barbara obediently did as she was told, and having got safely through +the troubles of the _douane_, they chose their carriage and proceeded +to arrange their possessions. + +"My umbrella!" Aunt Anne cried suddenly, looking anxiously on the racks +and under the seat. "Barbara, I must have left it on the boat; why did +you not remind me? You must just run back for it now--but don't let +the train go without you. Run, child, run!" + +Barbara obediently hurried away, and after a halting and somewhat +lengthy explanation on the quay, was allowed to go on board again, and +spied the missing umbrella on the deck. When she returned, the train +had been moved higher up, and she could not distinguish the carriage +anywhere. The guard was already beginning to wave the signal, and +Barbara felt she was a lost passenger, when a dark, stout little man +dashed up to her and seized her by the arm. + +"Par ici, par ici," he cried, "votre maman vous attend, mademoiselle," +and they flew down the platform with the guard shouting warnings behind +them. They were barely in time, and Barbara sank panting into her seat. + +"Fancy!" Aunt Anne cried indignantly--"fancy getting lost like that! +It just shows that you are not fit to look after children when you +cannot manage an umbrella!" + +Barbara was too breathless to reply and too much amused, perhaps, +really to mind. The country was pretty enough, but it soon began to +grow dusk, and they wondered when they would arrive in Paris. The +train was due at 7.30, but there did not seem to be the least chance of +getting in at that hour, for, late as they already were, they continued +to lose time on the way. The little Frenchman was their only +companion, and he did not seem to know much English. + +However, between his shreds of that language and Barbara's scanty +French she managed to find out that they would not arrive in Paris +until midnight. Aunt Anne expressed her annoyance in no measured +terms, but he merely shrugged his shoulders and smiled, until she +collapsed into a corner speechless with disgust. He left them at +Rouen, and Barbara, watching her aunt sleeping in a corner, wondered +what they would do when they finally did arrive at the station. But, +as soon as the lights of the _Gare de Lazare_ showed through the +darkness, Miss Britton began to bestir herself, and, when the train +stopped, marched boldly out of the carriage as if she had been in Paris +dozens of times. + +In a little while they were seated in a _fiacre_, going along through +brightly-lighted streets, feeling very satisfied that they were +actually nearing their destination. But their content did not last +long, for soon leaving the lighted thoroughfares, they turned into a +dark road with high walls on either side, and just a lamp now and then. +It really seemed rather lonely, and they both began to feel +uncomfortable and to wonder if they were being taken to the wrong +place. Stories of mysterious disappearances began to flit through +Barbara's brain, and she started when Aunt Anne said in a very emphatic +tone, "He looked a very nice cabman, quite respectable and honest." + +"Yes," Barbara said meekly, though she had hardly noticed him. + +"I knew it was some distance from the station, of course." + +"Yes," Barbara replied once more, and added, "of course," as Miss +Britton began to look rather fierce. + +"It was a little stupid of you not to think of proposing to stay in the +station hotel while I was collecting the wraps," she went on rather +sharply, and Barbara was trying to think of something soothing to say, +when the cab drew up suddenly and they were both precipitated on to the +hat-boxes on the other seat. + +Barbara put her hat straight and looked out of the window. It +certainly seemed to be a funny place to which they had come. The +houses were high and narrow, and the one they had stopped at had a +dirty archway without a single light; but, as the driver showed no +intention of getting down and ringing, Barbara stepped out and groped +about for a bell or a knocker of some kind. Then the cabman, pointing +with his whip up the archway, said, "Numero quatorze, par là." The +girl did not much relish going into the darkness by herself, for she +was sure there must be some mistake. But she was afraid that, if Miss +Britton got out too, the man might drive away and leave them, so she +begged her aunt to remain in the cab while she went into the archway to +make inquiries. After some groping she found a bell-rope, and rang +three times without receiving any answer. She was just about to ring +again, when she heard stealthy steps approaching the door, and the next +moment it was opened, disclosing to her frightened gaze a dirty-looking +man, wearing a red nightcap, and carrying a candle in his hand. + +Barbara recoiled a step, for though she had been sure there was some +mistake she had not expected anything as bad as this. However, she +managed to gasp out, "Madame Belvoir's?" and was intensely relieved to +see the fellow shake his head. But he leered at her so horribly that +she waited to make no more inquiries, but turned and fled back to the +_fiacre_. + +"This is not the right place," she pouted, "and I'm thankful it +isn't--there's _such_ a horrid man." + +"A man! But she was a widow," Aunt Anne said vaguely; and her niece +could not help laughing, for if that _were_ the case there might have +been brothers or sons. + +But the cabman was getting very impatient, and it was not an easy +matter to argue with him, for when they insisted that this could not be +14 Rue St. Sulpice, he merely shook his head and persisted that it was. +Then suddenly a light seemed to break upon him, and he asked, "14 Rue +St. Sulpice, Courcelles?" + +Barbara shook her head violently, and said, "Non, non, Neuilly." +Whereupon with much grumbling and torrents of words that, perhaps, it +was as well she did not understand, he whipped up his horse, and she +had hardly time to scramble into the cab before they swung off. + +They were very glad to leave the neighbourhood, for they saw the red +nightcap peeping out at the end of the archway, and it seemed as if +there were more friends of the same kind in the rear. + +"It is _most_ absurd for the man to think _we_ should have been staying +here. I think he must be mad." + +"Yes," returned Barbara, not knowing what else to say, and they +continued to rumble over more cobble stones and down dark roads, till +they finally stopped in a dimly-lighted street, which, however, was +broad and clean, with fairly large houses on either side. + +Barbara got out with some misgivings, wondering what their fate would +be this time. She had to ring several times as before; but as there +was no dark archway, and the cab was close by, she had not the same +fear. When the door opened, she could distinguish nothing at first, +but presently espied a little woman, in a _white_ nightcap, holding a +candle. + +"Dear me!" she thought, "candles and nightcaps seem to be the fashion +here;" but aloud, merely asked politely for Madame Belvoir, hoping that +she was not speaking to the lady in question. Before the _portière_ +(for it was she) could answer, a bright light shone out at the far end +of the passage, and a girl came hurrying down, saying, "Madame Belvoir? +Mais oui, entrez, entrez. C'est Mademoiselle Britton, n'est-ce pas?" + +Mademoiselle Britton was not a little relieved, and so, I am sure, was +her poor aunt, who came hurrying out of the cab, and was so glad to get +rid of it that she paid the ten francs the man demanded without a +murmur. + +The French girl explained in broken English that her mother greatly +regretted being absent, having been called away suddenly to an uncle +who was ill, but that she and her sister would do their utmost to make +Miss Britton comfortable. + +By that time they had reached the end of the passage and were led into +a comfortable room, where another girl was waiting. Tea was ready for +them too, and Barbara thought she had never appreciated it more. She +tried to explain the reason of their late arrival, and told some of +their adventures; but, although both the French girls listened politely +and smiled and nodded, Barbara thought that neither of them understood +much of what she said. However, she did not mind that, and presently +they led the way upstairs to a room that was a haven of delight to the +wanderers. The windows opened on to a garden whence the scent of lilac +floated, and the whole room--down to the hearth-brush, which charmed +Barbara--was decorated in blue. + +With the memory of that other Rue St. Sulpice still fresh in their +minds, their present quarters indeed seemed delightful; and Barbara +declared she could have fallen upon the necks of both girls and kissed +them. + +"A quite unnecessary and most impertinent proceeding," Aunt Anne +replied curtly. "They will much prefer pounds, shillings, and pence to +embraces," and Barbara thought that after all she was probably right. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A NOCTURNAL ADVENTURE. + +It was very nice to waken the next morning and find the sunshine +streaming in at the windows. + +Barbara was ready to be charmed with everything, from the pretty little +maid in the mob cap, who carried in the breakfast, to the crisp rolls +and coffee. Both of the travellers were quite rested, and eager to +begin sight-seeing, and Miss Britton left the choice of place to her +niece. The latter diligently scanned the guide-book as she took her +breakfast, and kept calling out fresh suggestions every few moments; +but, finally, they determined on the Louvre as most worthy of their +first visit. + +I do not know whether it was the experience of the night before, but +Aunt Anne seemed to have a fixed idea that Paris was full of thieves, +and before starting out she made the most careful preparations for +encountering pickpockets. She sewed some of her money into a little +bag inside her dress, put some more into a pocket in her underskirt, +and said that Barbara might pay for things in general, as it would +teach her the use of French money. She herself kept only a few +centimes in a shabby purse in her dress pocket, "to disappoint any +thief who took it." + +As soon as the _fiacre_ stopped in the court of the Louvre, they were +besieged by several disreputable and seedy-looking men wanting to act +as guides through the galleries. Partly to get rid of the rest, partly +because they thought it might be easier, they engaged the +tidiest-looking one who seemed to know most English, and, feeling +rather pleased with themselves, entered the first gallery. Of course, +Barbara wished to begin by seeing those pictures which she had heard +most about; but the guide had a particular way of his own of taking +people round, and did not like any interference. + +Indeed, he did not even like to let them stay longer than a few seconds +at each picture, and kept chattering the whole time, till at last they +grew annoyed, and Aunt Anne told him they would do the rest by +themselves. But it took some time to get rid of him, and then he went +sulkily, complaining that they had not given him enough, though Barbara +felt sure he had really got twice as much as was his due. + +They enjoyed themselves very much without him, and saw a great deal +before lunch-time. + +At the end of the meal, when Aunt Anne was going to take out her purse +to use the centimes in it for a tip for the waiter, she discovered her +preparations had not been in vain, and that the purse really had been +stolen. Perhaps, on the whole, she was rather glad, for she turned to +Barbara in triumph. + +"There now, Barbara," she said, "if I had had my other purse in my +pocket, it would have been just the same, and now whoever has it will +be properly disappointed!" + +They did not return to Neuilly until the evening, where they met the +rest of the pension at dinner. Besides two brothers of the Belvoir +family, there were a number of French visitors and one English family, +to whom Miss Britton and her niece took an immediate dislike. The +father, who, they were told, was a solicitor whose health had broken +down, was greedy and vulgar, and his son and daughter were pale, +frightened-looking creatures, who took no part in the gay conversation +which the French kept up. + +After dinner, when every one else went into the salon for music, the +solicitor and his children retired to their rooms, which Mademoiselle +Belvoir and her brothers seemed to resent. The former confided to +Barbara, in very quaint English, that they had never had such people in +their house before, and Aunt Anne, who overheard the remark, shook her +head sagely. + +"I would not trust them, Mademoiselle" (Miss Britton was English from +the sole of her foot to the tip of her tongue). "They seem unpleasant, +and I have a great power for reading faces." At which Mademoiselle +Belvoir murmured something about wishing her mother were back. + +However, the evening was a pleasant one, though Barbara was so tired +that she was hardly an intelligent listener to the music provided, and +fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. + +She was, therefore, a little surprised when she awoke suddenly two +hours later for apparently no reason at all. She had been dreaming +about something exciting, and lay trying to remember what it was, when +an eerie feeling stole over her, and it seemed as if she heard +breathing--which was not her aunt's--close beside her. She did not +dare to move for a moment. Then she turned her head very gently, and +between the two windows near the recess she was sure she saw a dark +figure. The longer she watched the surer she became, and she knew it +could not be her aunt, whom she heard breathing quietly in the other +bed. + +It was certainly a horrible sensation, and all the unpleasant stories +she had ever read crowded into her mind. At first she could not think +what to do, but at last made up her mind to go across the room to Miss +Britton's bed and tell her. + +Yawning, and pretending to wake up gradually, though all the time she +felt as if she had been lying there for hours, she called out, "Aunt +Anne, I can't sleep, so I'm coming into your bed." + +Miss Britton awoke at once--she was a light sleeper--and at first I +think she imagined her niece was mad. + +"If you can't sleep in your own bed," she said, "I'm quite sure you +won't sleep in mine, for it's not big enough for two." + +But Barbara persisted, and at last her aunt gave way. "Well," she said +at last, rather crossly, "be quick if you are coming. I don't want to +be kept awake all night." + +The truth was, it seemed so horrible to cross the room close to that +black figure--as she would have to do--that Barbara lingered a moment, +screwing up her courage. It was hard, certainly, to walk slowly +across, for she thought she should not run, feeling all the time as if +two hands would catch hold of her in the darkness. She was very glad +to creep in beside her aunt, and at first could not do anything but lie +and listen to that lady's grumblings. Then warning her not to scream, +she whispered very softly that there was a man beside the window. Miss +Britton took it wonderfully coolly, and after the first start said +nothing for a few minutes. Then she remarked in loud, cheerful tones, +"Well, child, as you are not sleepy, let us talk about our plans for +to-morrow." + +They talked a long time, hoping that the man would give it up and go; +but still the black figure stood there motionless. + +At last Barbara, who could bear it no longer, said "Oh, aunt, since we +can't sleep let us put on the light and read up things in the +guide-book." + +At that moment she heard a rustle behind, and saw the man try to get +into the recess; but the trunks were there, and meeting that +obstruction, he turned and made a quick dash to the French window, and +was out in a moment, whereupon Aunt Anne and Barbara sat up in bed and +screamed. Then the girl leaped to the electric light, and her aunt to +the bell, and in a few moments the maids and the Misses Belvoir came +running in. + +"He's gone!" cried Barbara, looking out of the window and feeling quite +brave now that so many people had arrived. "He's gone, and it was too +dark to see his face." + +Aunt Anne, meanwhile, explained, as well as she could, what had +happened, and the Misses Belvoir looked so frightened and worried that +Barbara felt she must be a dreadful nuisance. But they were very nice +and extremely apologetic, declaring that such a thing had never +happened before, and that the police should be told in the morning, and +their brothers would search the garden at once and sit outside their +door all night if Miss Britton liked. But Aunt Anne, who had +delightful common-sense, said briskly-- + +"Nonsense; whoever it was, he will be too frightened to think of coming +back to-night, so just go to your beds, and let us get to ours." And +she pushed them gently out. They continued to murmur apologies after +the door was shut; but Aunt Anne paid not the least heed. + +"Now, my dear," she said, turning to Barbara, "I am sure you know that +what I said to them is quite true, and that our friend will not return +to-night. So be sensible, and go back to bed, and we will talk about +it all in the morning." + +Of course, Barbara did as she was told, and, though she was sure she +would never get to sleep, strange to say, in a very little while she +was dreaming peacefully, and did not waken till late next morning. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE MAN IN BLUE GLASSES. + +The nocturnal adventure caused quite an excitement in the house, and +very little else was talked of at lunch-time. Aunt Anne had asked +Mademoiselle Belvoir if she would rather nothing was said about the +affair; but the girl said it was impossible to keep it quiet, as +several people had heard the bustle in the night, and were anxious to +know all about it. So Miss Britton found that she and her niece were +objects of general interest, and they both struggled nobly to describe +the adventure intelligibly to the others, though Barbara knew that she +got horribly mixed in her French tenses, and was not quite sure whether +she understood all the questions the French people put to her. The +solicitor annoyed her most--he was so superior. + +"Why did you not rush upon the fellow and scream for help?" he said. + +"I was far too frightened to do anything of the kind," Barbara answered +indignantly. "I would never have dared to fling myself upon a dark +figure like that. If I had seen him, I shouldn't have minded so much." + +"So you did not see his face?" said the solicitor. + +"Of course I didn't," and Barbara spoke rather crossly. "If I had, I +should have gone and described him to the police the first thing this +morning." + +She felt inclined to add that it was a pity he could not inculcate his +own children with some of his apparent courage, for they both seemed +far more frightened than interested in the story, and the son's eyes +looked as if they would jump out of his head. Perhaps the poor youth +was scolded for his timidity afterwards, for when Barbara passed their +room in going upstairs to get ready to go out, she heard the father +speaking in very stern tones, and the boy murmuring piteously, "Oh, +father! oh, father!" + +Miss Britton was in a hurry to get out; but, as often happens, it +proved a case of "more haste, less speed," for they had just got into +the street when Barbara remembered she had left her purse behind, and +had to run back for it. + +What was her astonishment on opening the bedroom door to see the +solicitor's son standing near the window. She had come upstairs very +softly, and he had not heard her till she was in the room; then he +turned round suddenly, and sprang back with a face filled with terror. + +"What _are_ you doing here?" she exclaimed in astonishment, and at +first he could not answer for fright. + +"I--I--came to look at the place where the man was last night," he +gasped at last, "and to see how he could get out of the window." + +"Well, I think your curiosity has run away with your politeness," +Barbara said. "You might have seen from the garden that the balcony is +quite close enough to the tree for any one to get out easily. Is there +anything else you would like to examine?" + +She need hardly have asked, for he had hurried round to the door before +she had half finished speaking, and, only murmuring, "I'm sorry," fled +precipitately. She was really rather sorry for him; he looked so +abjectly miserable. Nevertheless, she took the precaution of locking +the door and putting the key under the mat. She went downstairs more +slowly than she had come up, for the boy's visit had made her feel +rather queer. + +The way he shrank back into the window when she came in had reminded +her so much of the manner in which the black figure had acted in the +night, and she felt there was something uncanny about the whole thing. +However, she made up her mind to say nothing to her aunt just then in +case of spoiling her afternoon's pleasure, but she was quite determined +to make some rather pointed remarks to the solicitor that evening when +no one else was listening, and see how he took them. + +Unfortunately, however, she had no opportunity of doing so, for when +they went down to dinner, none of the solicitor's family were visible, +and Mademoiselle Belvoir remarked that they had all gone out to the +theatre, and would not be back till late. The remarks, Barbara +supposed, must be postponed till the morrow; but, alas! she never had a +chance of making them, for early on the morrow the whole house learned +that the solicitor, with his son and daughter, had gone, with +apparently no intention of returning. + +Mademoiselle Belvoir and her brother had waited up till long after the +time they should have returned, and then the brother had hurried to the +_préfecture_ to report the matter. He had been growing very suspicious +of late, as the solicitor had not paid anything for three weeks: +"Waiting for his cheque-book, which had been mislaid," he had said. +But the suspicions had been acted on too late, and his mother was +cheated out of ever so much money. Every one was highly indignant, and +Miss Britton and her niece really felt very grieved that they should +have been _British_ subjects who had behaved so badly. + +Aunt Anne said she almost felt as if she ought to pay for them and save +the honour of their country, but Barbara thought that would be too +quixotic. At first Mademoiselle Belvoir thought there might be +something inside the man's trunks that would repay them a little for +the money lost; but, on being opened, there proved to be nothing but a +few old clothes, and Mademoiselle and her brothers remembered that the +boy had often gone out carrying parcels, which they used to laugh at. + +When all this was being discussed, Barbara thought she might as well +tell about finding the boy in her room, and she mentioned her +suspicions that he and the nocturnal visitor were one and the same +person, and found to her surprise that the Belvoirs had thought the +same. Poor things! Barbara was heartily sorry for them, for it was an +unpleasant occurrence to happen in a _pension_, and might make a +difference to them in future, apart from the fact that they could hear +nothing of the lost money, nor yet of the runaways. + +Barbara felt that hitherto her adventures in France had been quite like +a story-book, and knew that when her brother Donald heard of them he +would be making all kind of wonderful plans for the discovery of the +miscreants. + +"He would fancy himself an amateur detective at once," she said to her +aunt. Whereupon that lady returned grimly she would gladly become a +detective for the time being if she thought there was any chance of +finding the wretches, but that such people usually hid their tracks too +well. Nevertheless, Barbara noticed that she eyed her fellow-men with +great suspicion, and one day she persisted in pursuing a stout +gentleman with blue glasses, whom she declared was the solicitor in +disguise, till he noticed them and began to be nervously agitated. + +"I'm sure it isn't he, aunt," Barbara whispered, after they had +followed him successfully from Notre Dame to St. Etienne, and from +there to Napoleon's Tomb. "He speaks French--I heard him. Besides, he +is too stout for the solicitor." + +"He may be padded," Aunt Anne said wisely. "People of that kind can do +anything. There is something in his walk that assures me it _is_ he, +and I _must_ see him without his spectacles." + +Barbara followed rather unwillingly, though she could not help thinking +with amusement how the family would laugh when she wrote and described +her aunt in the role of a detective. She was not to be very +successful, however, for, as they were sauntering after him down one of +the galleries of the Museum, the blue-spectacled gentleman suddenly +turned round, and in a torrent of French asked to what pleasure he owed +Madame's close interest, which, if continued, would cause him to call +up a _gendarme_. "If you think to steal from me, I am far too well +prepared for that," he concluded. + +"Steal!" Aunt Anne echoed indignantly. "_We_ are certainly not +thieves, sir, whatever _you_ may be." Barbara was thankful that +apparently his knowledge of English was so slight that he did not +understand the remark. It was not without difficulty that she +prevailed upon her aunt to pass on and cease the wordy argument, which, +she pointed out, was not of much good, as neither understood the +other's language sufficiently well to answer to the point. + +"We shall have all the visitors in the Museum round us soon," she +urged, with an apprehensive glance at the people who were curiously +drawing near, "and shall perhaps be turned out for making a +disturbance." + +"Then I should go at once to the English ambassador," Aunt Anne said +with dignity. "But, as I have now seen his eyes and am assured he is +_not_ the man we want, we can pass on," and with a stately bow, and the +remark that if he annoyed her in future she would feel compelled to +complain, she moved away, Barbara following, crimson with mingled +amusement and vexation. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +GOOD-BYE TO PARIS. + +The days in Paris flew past far too quickly for Barbara, who enjoyed +everything to the full. + +As she came to know her aunt better, and got accustomed to her dry +manner and rather exact ways, she found her to be a really good +companion, not altogether lacking in humour, and having untiring energy +in sight-seeing and a keen sympathy with Barbara's delight in what was +new. + +Perhaps Miss Britton, too, was gaining more pleasure from the trip than +she had expected, for up till now she had seen her niece only as one a +little sobered by responsibility and the constraint of her own +presence. Whatever the cause, it was certain that during the past +fortnight Miss Britton had felt the days of her youth nearer her than +for some time, and it was with mutual regret that they reached the last +day of their stay in Paris. + +They were sitting together on the balcony, with the bees very busy in +the lilac-bush near them, and the doves murmuring to each other at the +end of the garden. Barbara was reading a guide-book on Brittany, and +Miss Britton, with her knitting in her hands, was listening to bits the +girl read aloud, and watching a little frown grow between the eyebrows. +It was curious how the frown between the dark brows reminded her of her +dead brother; and after a moment she laid down her knitting. + +[Illustration: "Barbara was reading a guide book on Brittany."] + +"You may think it a little unkind, Barbara," she began, "that I am not +coming with you to see what kind of place it is to which you are going, +but I think it is good for a girl to learn to be independent and +self-reliant. I made careful inquiries, and the people seem to be very +good at teaching French--they used to live in Paris--and they are quite +respectable. Of course, you may not find everything just as you like +it, and if it is really unpleasant, you can write me, and I shall +arrange for you to return here. But Paris would be more distracting +for you to live in, and in a week or two far too hot to be pleasant. + +"Besides, I should like you really to _study_ the language, so that you +may profit by your stay in France, as well as enjoy it. If I stayed +with you you would never talk French all the time." She stopped a +moment, and took a stitch or two in her knitting, then added in a tone +quite different from her usual quick, precise way, "Your father was a +splendidly straight, strong man--in body and mind. Try to be like him +in every way. He would have wished his eldest daughter to be sensible +and courageous." + +Barbara flushed with pleasure at the praise of her father. She had +never heard her aunt mention him before, and she leaned forward +eagerly, "Thank you, Aunt Anne--I want to be like him." + +She would gladly have kissed her, but the family habit of reserve was +strong upon her. + +"Let me see," continued her aunt, "can you ride?" + +Barbara laughed. + +"I used to ride Topsy--the Shetland, you know--long ago, but father +sold him." + +Her eyes followed her aunt's across the garden and the end of the +street, to the distant glimpse of the Bois de Boulogne, where riders +passed at frequent intervals, and her eyes glowed. "Doesn't it look +jolly?" she said. "I used to love it." + +Aunt Anne nodded. + +"I used to ride in my youth, and your father rode beautifully before he +was married, and when he could afford to keep a horse. He would like +you to have done so too, I think. If there is any place where you can +learn in St. Servan, you may. It will be a good change from your +studies." + +"Oh, aunt!" and this time reserve was thrown to the winds, and Barbara +most heartily embraced her. "Oh, how perfectly splendid of you! It +has always been my dream to ride properly, but I never, never thought +it would come true." + +"Dreams do not often," Miss Britton returned, with a scarcely audible +sigh; then she gathered up her soft white wool. "There is the first +bell, child, and we have not changed for dinner. Come, be quick." + +The next morning a heavily-laden cab passed from the Rue St. Sulpice +through the gates into the city. Miss Britton, finding that a friend +of the Belvoirs was going almost the whole way to St. Servan, had +arranged for Barbara to go under her care. But it was with very +regretful eyes that the girl watched the train, bearing her aunt away, +leave the station, and she was rather a silent traveller when, later in +the morning, she was herself _en route_ for St. Servan. + +Not so her companion, however, a most talkative personage, who was +hardly quiet five minutes consecutively. She poured forth all sorts of +confidences about her family and friends, and seemed quite satisfied if +Barbara merely nodded and murmured, "_Comme c'est interessant!_" though +she did not understand nearly all her companion said. The latter +pointed out places of interest in passing, and finally, with an +effusive good-bye, got out at the station before St. Servan. + +As the train neared its destination, Barbara looked anxiously to see +what the town was like, and her disappointment was great at the first +glimpse of the place. When the family had looked up the Encyclopaedia +for a description of St. Servan, it seemed to be that of a small, +old-fashioned place, and Barbara had pictured it little more than a +village with a picturesque beach. Instead of that, she saw many +houses, some tall chimneys, and quays with ships lying alongside. It +would have cheered her had she known that the station was really a +considerable distance from the town, and in the ugliest part of it; but +that she did not find out till later. + +Outside the station were many vociferous cab-drivers offering to take +her anywhere she liked, and, choosing the one whose horse seemed best +cared for, she inquired if he knew where the house of Mademoiselle +Loiré, Rue Calvados, was. Grinning broadly he bade her step in, and +presently they were rolling and bumping along rough cobble-stoned +streets. Barbara had further imagined, from the description of the +house that Mademoiselle Loiré had sent them, that it was a villa +standing by itself, and was rather surprised when the _fiacre_, after +climbing a very steep street, stopped at a door and deposited herself +and her trunks before it. Almost before she rang the bell she heard +hurried steps, and the door was opened by some one whom she imagined +might be the housekeeper. + +"Is Mademoiselle Loiré in?" she inquired of the thin and severe-looking +woman with hair parted tightly in the middle. + +"I am Mademoiselle Loiré," she replied stiffly in French, "and you, I +suppose, are Miss Britton! I am sorry there was no one at the station +to meet you, but we did not expect you so soon." + +"Did you not get my post-card?" Barbara asked. + +"I could not possibly do that," Mademoiselle Loiré returned +reprovingly; "it was posted in Paris far too late for _that_. However, +perhaps you will now come into the _salon_," and Barbara followed +meekly into a room looking out upon the garden, and very full of all +kinds of things. She had hardly got in before she heard a bustle on +the stairs, which was followed by the entrance of Mademoiselle Thérèse +Loiré. Her face was not so long nor her hair so tightly drawn back as +her sister's, and she came forward with a rush, smiling broadly, but, +somehow, Barbara felt she would like the prim sister better. + +After asking many questions about the journey they took her to her +room, and Barbara's heart sank a little. The house seemed dark and +cold after that in Neuilly, and her bedroom was paved with red brick, +as was the custom in those parts in old houses. + +The dining-room--smelling somewhat of damp--was a long, low room +leading straight into the garden, and the whole effect was rather +depressing. At supper-time, Barbara was made acquainted with the rest +of the household, which consisted of an adopted niece--a plump girl of +about seventeen, with very red cheeks and a very small waist--and two +boys about twelve, who were boarding with the Loirés so that they might +go to the Lycée[1] in the town. After supper, Mademoiselle Thérèse +explained that they usually went for a walk with the widower and his +children who lived next door. + +"Poor things!" she said, "they knew nobody when they came to the town, +and a widower in France is so shut off from companionship that we +thought we must be kind to them. They have not a woman in the house +except a charer, who comes in the first thing in the morning." + +Barbara, with a chuckle over the "charer," went to put on her hat, and +on coming into the dining-room again, found the widower and his sons +already there. Something in the shape of the back of the elder man +seemed familiar to her, and on his turning round to greet her, she +recognised her little friend of the train on their first arrival in +France. The recognition was mutual, and before she had time to speak +he rushed forward and poured forth a torrent of French, while +Mademoiselle Thérèse clamoured for an explanation, which he finally +gave her. + +At last he had to stop for want of breath, and Barbara had time to look +at his sons--boys of twelve and sixteen--who seemed a great care to +him. All the three, father and sons, wore cloaks with hoods to them, +which they called _capucines_, and as there was very little difference +in their heights, they made rather a quaint trio. Barbara was glad to +see him again, however, for it seemed to bring her aunt nearer. + +It amused her considerably to notice how Mademoiselle Thérèse flew from +one party to another, during the whole of the walk, evidently feeling +that she was the chaperon of each individual. She started out beside +the widower, but soon interrupted his conversation by dashing off to +give a word of warning to the boys, and what was supposed to be a word +of encouragement to Barbara, who was walking with Marie, the niece, and +the widower's eldest son. + +It did not make much difference to them, for Jean and Marie seemed to +have plenty to say; and after addressing a few careless remarks to +Barbara, to which, perhaps, she did not pay much attention, the latter +heard her say to her companion, "Bah! there is nothing to be made of +her; let us continue;" and she was glad they left her alone that first +evening, for she was not in the mood for talking. + + + +[1] Public school. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE REVOLT OF TWO. + +The days that followed were not as pleasant to Barbara as those she had +spent in Paris, for though St. Malo, just across the river, fascinated +her, she did not care much for St. Servant, and the people did not +prove congenial to her--especially Mademoiselle Thérèse. Though she +seemed to be a clever teacher, Barbara could never be sure that she was +speaking the truth, and in writing home she described her as "rather a +humbug." + +"Most English people," she told Barbara shortly after her arrival, +"pronounce French badly because their mouths are shaped differently +from ours, but _yours_, Miss Britton, is just right, therefore your +accent is already wonderfully good." + +The girl laughed; the family had never been in the habit of flattering +one another, and she did not appreciate it as much as Mademoiselle +Thérèse had meant she should. Indeed, Barbara wished that the lady +would be less suave to her and more uniform in temper towards the rest +of the household, who sometimes, she shrewdly surmised, suffered +considerably from the younger sister's irascibility. + +She had just been in St. Servan ten days, when she had an example of +what she described in a letter home as a "stage quarrel" between the +Mademoiselles Loiré. It began at second _déjeuner_ over some trivial +point in the education of Marie, about whom they were very apt to be +jealous. Their voices gradually rose higher and higher, the remarks +made being anything but complimentary, till finally Mademoiselle Loiré +leaped from her seat, saying she would not stay there to be insulted, +and darted upstairs. Her sister promptly followed, continuing her +argument as she went, but arriving too late at the study door, which +was bolted on the inside by the fugitive. + +After various fruitless attempts to make herself heard, Mademoiselle +Thérèse returned to the dining-room, and after a few words of +politeness to Barbara, began once more on the subject of dispute, this +time with Marie, her niece. Apparently the latter took a leaf out of +her aunt's book, for after speaking noisily for a few minutes, she said +_she_ would not be insulted either, and followed her upstairs. +Thereupon Mademoiselle Thérèse's anger knew no bounds, and finding that +Marie had taken refuge beside her aunt in the study, she began to beat +a lively tattoo upon the door. + +The two boys, full of curiosity, followed to see what was going on, so +Barbara was left in solitary grandeur, with the ruins of an omelette +before her, and she, "having hunger," went on stolidly with her meal. +She was, in truth, a little disgusted with the whole affair, and was +not sorry to escape to her room before Mademoiselle Thérèse returned. +They were making such a noise below that it was useless to attempt to +do any work, and she was just thinking of going out for a walk, when +her door burst open and in rushed Mademoiselle Loiré, dragging Marie +with her. + +"Keep her with you," she panted; "she says she will kill my sister. +Keep her with you while I go down and argue with Thérèse." + +Barbara looked sharply at the girl, and it seemed to her that though +she kept murmuring, "I'll kill her I--I'll kill her!" half her anger +was merely assumed, and that there was no necessity for alarm. + +"How can they be so silly and theatrical?" she muttered. Then, +glancing round the room to see if there were anything she could give +her, she noticed a bottle of Eno's Fruit Salts, and her eyes twinkled. +It was not exactly the same thing as sal volatile, of course, but at +any rate it would keep the girl quiet, so, pouring out a large +glassful, she bade Marie drink it. The latter obeyed meekly, and for +some time was reduced to silence by want of breath. + +"I shall certainly throw myself into the sea," she gasped at last. + +"Well, you will certainly be more foolish than I thought you were, if +you do," Barbara returned calmly. "Indeed, I can't think what all this +fuss is about." + +Marie stared. "Why, it's to show Aunt Thérèse that she must not +tyrannise over us like that," she said. "I told her I was going to +throw myself into the sea, and as she believes it, it is almost the +same thing." + +Barbara shrugged her shoulders. + +"A very comfortable way of doing things in cold weather," she remarked; +"but I want a little quiet now, and I think you had better have some +too." + +The French girl, somewhat overawed by the other's coolness, relapsed +into silence, and when the sounds downstairs seemed quieter Barbara got +up, and said she was going out for a walk. She found on descending, +however, that the "argument" had only been transferred to +mademoiselle's workroom, where a very funny sight met her eyes when she +looked in. + +The poor little widower, whom apparently the two sisters had fetched to +arbitrate between them, stood looking fearfully embarrassed in the +middle of the room, turning apologetically from one to the other. He +never got any further than the first few words, however, as they +brought a torrent of explanation from both his hearers, each giving him +dozens of reasons why the other was wrong. + +Marie, who watched for a moment or two, could not help joining in; and +Barbara, very tired of it all, left them to fight it out by themselves, +and went away by the winding streets to the look-out station, where she +sat down and watched the sun shining on the beautiful old walls of St. +Malo. She had only been once in that town with Mademoiselle Thérèse, +but the ramparts and the old houses had fascinated her, and if she had +been allowed, she would have crossed the little moving bridge daily. + +When she returned, the house seemed quiet again, for which she was very +thankful, and, mounting to her room, she prepared the French lesson +which was usually given her at that time. + +But when Mademoiselle Thérèse came up, she spent most of the time in +bewailing the ingratitude of one's fellow mortals, especially near +relations, and wondering if Marie were really going to drown herself, +and when her sister would unlock her door and come out of the room. + +Supper was rather a doleful meal, and immediately after it mademoiselle +went to look for her niece, who had not returned. Barbara laughed a +little scornfully at her fears, and even when she came back with the +news that Marie was not concealed next door, as she had thought, +refused to believe that the girl was not hiding somewhere else. + +"But where could she be except next door?" mademoiselle questioned; +"and when I went to ask, Monsieur Dubois was seated with his sons +having supper, and no signs of the truant. He had seen or heard +nothing of her, he said." + +Barbara wondered which had been deceived, and whether the widower +himself was deceived or deceiver, but, giving up the attempt to decide +the question, retired to bed, advising mademoiselle to do the same, +feeling some curiosity, but no anxiety, as to Marie's fate. She had +not been in bed very long when she heard some one move stealthily +downstairs and enter the dining-room. Mademoiselle Thérèse, she knew, +had locked all the doors and gone to her bedroom, which was in the +front of the house, and she immediately guessed that it must be +something to do with Marie. + +"The plot thickens," she said to herself, stealing to the window, which +looked out upon the garden. There, to her amazement, she saw +Mademoiselle Loiré emerging laboriously from the dining-room window. +She saw her in the moonlight creep down the garden towards the wall at +the end, but what happened after that she could only guess at, as the +trees cast a shadow which hid the lady from view. + +"The lady or the tiger?" she said, laughing, as she peered into the +shades of the trees, and about five minutes later was rewarded by +seeing two figures hurry back and enter the house by the same way that +Mademoiselle Loiré had got out. + +"Marie!" she thought triumphantly, wondering in what part of the garden +she had been hidden, as there was no gate in the direction from which +she had come. She lay awake for a little while, meditating on the +vagaries of the family she had fallen into, and then fell so soundly +asleep that she was surprised to find it broad daylight when she awoke, +and to see Marie sitting on the end of her bed, smiling beamingly upon +her. + +"So you're back?" Barbara inquired with a yawn. "I hope you didn't +find it too cold in the garden last night." + +"You saw us, then?" giggled Marie. "But you don't know where I came +from, do you? Nor does Aunt Thérèse. I'll tell you now; such an +exciting time I've had--just like a story-book heroine." + +"Penny novelette heroine," murmured Barbara, but her visitor was too +full of her adventure to notice the remark. + +"As you know, I told Aunt Thérèse I should drown myself," she began +complacently; "but, of course, such was not my intention." + +"Of course not," interpolated Barbara drily. + +"Instead, I confided my plan to Aunt Marie, then slipped out into the +street, and thence to our friends next door." + +"The widower's?" exclaimed the English girl in surprise. + +"The very same. I explained to him my project for giving my aunt a +wholesome lesson; and he, with true chivalry, invited me to sup with +them--he saw I was spent with hunger." + +Barbara, looking at the plump, rosy face of her companion, which had +assumed a tragic air, stifled a laugh, and the girl continued. + +"I spent a pleasant time, and was just finishing my repast when the +bell rang. 'My aunt!' I cried. 'Hide me from her wrath, Monsieur.' +'The coal-cellar,' he replied, after a moment's stern thought. In one +second I had disappeared--I was no more--and when my aunt entered she +found him at supper with his sons. When she had gone I returned, and +we spent the evening cheerfully in mutual congratulation. At +nightfall, when we considered all was secure, Aunt Marie came into the +garden, placed a ladder against the wall, and I passed from one garden +into the other and regained our room securely. I think Aunt Thérèse +suspected nothing--Monsieur Dubois is such a beautiful deceiver." + +"Well, I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself," Barbara said +hotly. "Apart from the meanness and deceitfulness of it all, you have +behaved most childishly, and I shall always think less of Monsieur +Dubois for his untruthfulness." + +"Untruthfulness!" Marie returned in an offended tone. "He acted most +chivalrously; but you English have such barbarous ideas about chivalry." + +For a moment Barbara felt tempted to get up and shake the girl, then +came to the conclusion that it would be waste of time and energy to +argue with an individual whose ideas were so hopelessly dissimilar to +her own. + +"I'm going to get up now," she said shortly. "I'll be glad if you +would go." + +"But don't you want to know what we are going to do now?" queried +Marie, a little astonished that her companion should not show more +interest in such an exciting adventure. "Our campaign has only begun. +We will make Aunt Thérèse capitulate before we have done. After all, +she is the younger. We intend to stay in our rooms without descending +until she promises to ask pardon for her insults, and say no more of +the matter; and we will go out nightly to get air--carefully avoiding +meeting her--and will buy ourselves sausages and chocolate, and so live +until she sees how wrong she has been." + +She ended with great pride, feeling that at length she must have made +an impression on this prosaic English girl, and was much disconcerted +when Barbara broke into laughter, crying, "Oh, you goose; how can you +be so silly!" + +Marie rose with hurt dignity. "You have no feeling for romance," she +said. "Your horizon is most commonplace." Then, struck by a sudden +fear, she added, "But you surely will not be unpleasant enough to tell +Aunt Thérèse what I have confided to you? I trusted you." + +"No," Barbara said, a little unwillingly, "I won't tell her; but I wish +you had left me out of the matter entirely, for I certainly cannot lie +to her." And with that Marie had to be content. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +A WILD DRIVE. + +The uncomfortable "campaign," as Marie had called it, continued for +some days, and Barbara was in the unpleasant condition of having both +parties confide in her. At the end of that time, however, it seemed as +if the dainties that sustained the two upstairs began to pall upon +them, as housekeeping evidently did on Mademoiselle Thérèse, and +Barbara saw signs of a truce. + +This was doubtless hastened by the news that an old family friend was +coming with his wife and daughter on the next Sunday afternoon, and, as +Mademoiselle Thérèse explained, they must keep up appearances. He was +a lawyer who lived at Dol, and from the preparations that were made, +Barbara saw that they thought a great deal of him, for there was such +baking and cooking as had never been since her arrival. The salad even +was adorned with rose leaves, and looked charming, while the +Mesdemoiselles Loiré clothed themselves in their best garments. + +They all sat in state in the drawing-room as the hour for the arrival +of the visitors approached, trying to look as if they had never heard +of soufflet or mayonnaise salad, and Barbara, who had been called upon +to taste each of the dishes in turn and give an opinion on their worth, +almost felt as if she never wished to hear of such things again. About +twelve o'clock a _fiacre_ stopped at the door, and a few minutes later +the visitors were announced--father, mother, and daughter. + +Barbara was agreeably surprised--as indeed she often was by the Loirés' +friends--to find that they were so nice. The mother and daughter were +both very fashionably dressed, but simple and frank, the father, +however, being most attractive to Barbara. He was clever and amusing, +and contradicted Mademoiselle Thérèse in such an audacious way, that +had it been any one else, she would have retired to her bedroom +offended for a week. The visit passed most successfully, Mademoiselle +Loiré's cooking being quite as much appreciated as she had expected, +and when the visitors said good-bye, Barbara left the sisters +congratulating themselves on their success. + +A few days later the final word was added to the truce between the +sisters by Mademoiselle Thérèse proposing that _she_ should stay at +home and look after the house, while her sister took Barbara and Marie +for a visit to Cancale, whose beauties, Mademoiselle Thérèse assured +Barbara, had a world-wide renown. + +But the elder sister, though obviously pleased by the suggestion, +thought she would rather "Thérèse" went, while she stayed in St. Servan +and paid a few calls that she was desirous of making. + +After much discussion it was so determined, and the following day +Mademoiselle Thérèse, with the two girls, set off after lunch by the +train. The ride was a pleasant one, and the magnificent view of the +Bay of Cancale with the Mont St. Michel in the distance delighted +Barbara's heart. She much preferred the quaint little fishing village, +La Houle, nestling at the foot of the cliffs, to the more fashionable +quarter of the town; but Mademoiselle Thérèse, who was bent on "seeing +the fashions of the visitors," led the way with energy to the hotel +half way up the cliff. It was certainly gay enough there, and the +Frenchwoman explained to her pupil "that if one noticed the costumes at +seaside resorts it often saved buying fashion-books." + +They sat on the terrace, mademoiselle and Marie dividing their +attention between a stout lady, in a gorgeous toilet of purple trimmed +with blue, and oysters, which, the Frenchwoman assured Barbara, were +"one of the beauties of the place." But the latter contented herself +with tea, wondering idly, as she drank it, why the beverage so often +tasted of stewed hay. After their refreshment they strolled round the +town, and then sat upon the promenade, watching the sun travel slowly +down the sky towards the sea-line. + +Suddenly mademoiselle remembered the time, and, looking at her watch, +declared they had but a few minutes in which to get to the train, and +that they must run if they wished to catch it. Off they started, +mademoiselle panting in the rear, calling upon the girls to wait, and +gasping out that it would be of no use to arrive without her. They +were extremely glad on arriving at the terminus to see that they had +still a minute or two to spare. + +"We are in time for the train?" mademoiselle asked of a _gendarme_ +standing near the station house. + +The man stared at her. + +"Certainly, madame," he said at last; "but would it not be as well to +come here in the morning?" + +"In the morning!" she echoed. "You foolish fellow! We want to go by +this train--it should be here now--it leaves at 7.30." + +"Ah!" the man said, and he seemed to understand. "I fear you have lost +_that_ train by several days; it went last Sunday." + +"What!" screamed mademoiselle. "How dare you mock me! I will report +you." + +"That must be as madame wishes," returned the man with horrible +calmness; "but the train madame wishes to get only runs on Sundays, +and, therefore, she must wait several days for the next. If any other +train will do, there is one in the morning at 9.30." + +Barbara wanted to laugh, but consideration--or fear--of Mademoiselle +Thérèse--kept her quiet, and they stood gazing at one another in +sorrowful silence. A ten-mile walk at 7.30 in the evening, unless with +very choice companions, is not an unmitigated pleasure, especially when +one has been walking during the day. However, there was nothing for it +but to walk, as a conveyance, if obtainable, would have been too +expensive for Mademoiselle Thérèse's economical ideas. + +They declared at first that it was a lovely evening, and began to cheer +their way by sprightly conversation, but a mile or two of dusty +highroad told upon them, and silence fell with the darkness. It was a +particularly hot evening too, and great heat, as every one knows, +frequently tends to irritation, so perhaps their silence was judicious. +Mademoiselle Thérèse kept murmuring at intervals that it really was +most annoying, as her sister would have been expecting them much +earlier, and would be so vexed. Perhaps visions of a second +retirement, which no "family friend" would come to relieve, floated +before her eyes. + +More than half the distance had been covered when they heard the sound +of wheels behind them. + +"A carriage!" cried mademoiselle, roused to sudden energy, "they _must_ +give us a lift," and drawing up by the side of the road, they waited +anxiously to know their fate. It was fairly dark by this time, and +they could not distinguish things clearly, but they saw a big horse, +with a light, open cart behind. When mademoiselle first began to +speak, the driver took not the least notice, but after going a few +yards, pursued by her with praiseworthy diligence and surprising +vigour, he pulled up and pointed to the seat behind, the place beside +him being already filled by a trunk. + +The wanderers scrambled in joyfully, greatly pleased with their good +luck, and it was not until they were in their places, and near the man, +that they discovered he had been drinking freely and was not as +clear-headed as he might have been. If there had been time they would +all have got out again, but he whipped up so quickly that there was no +chance. He continued to whip up, moreover, till they were going at a +most break-neck speed. + +Mademoiselle, clinging madly to the side of the cart, begged him in the +midst of her gasps and exclamations to let them descend; but the more +she begged and the more desperate she became, the better pleased he +seemed, and it really looked as if they might all be thrown into the +ditch. Then mademoiselle, who was always rather nervous about driving, +broke into shrill screams, with Marie joining in at intervals--Gilpin's +flight was nothing to it--and the cart jolted and swayed so that calm +expostulation was impossible. + +A lesson in rough-riding to a beginner could not have proved a more +disjointing experience, and the man, chuckling over the +loudly-expressed fear of his companions, drove on. Fortunately, there +were not many turns, and the road was fairly wide all the way; but once +Barbara felt the hedge brush her face, and Marie's handkerchief, which +she had been using to mop up her tears, was borne away a few minutes +later by the bushes on the opposite side of the road. + +The only thing that could be said in favour of the drive was that they +covered the ground with great speed, and the thought occurred to +Barbara that it would be by no means pleasant to enter the streets of +St. Servan with their present driver and two screaming women, as, apart +from other considerations, they might meet the policeman, and the +encounter would be unpleasant. + +She told mademoiselle and Marie that if they did not want to be killed +or locked up in the _préfecture_, they must jump off the back of the +cart while going up the hill outside the town. The horse, after its +wild career, would calm down on the incline, besides which, a fall in +the road would be preferable to being thrown through a shop window. + +It took very forcible language to make Mademoiselle Thérèse face +present terror rather than await the future; but, when the horse really +did slow down to a walk, and the two girls had reached the ground in +safety, she made a mighty effort, and floundered out in a heap upon the +road, making so much noise that Barbara was afraid the man would +realise they were gone, and insist upon their getting in again. + +But he whipped up at that moment, and the noise of the cart drowned the +dolorous complaints. The girls soothed their companion by assuring her +that in ten minutes they would be home, when, most assuredly, her +sister's heart would be moved to pity by their sorry plight and the +tale of their adventures. + +Just as they arrived at their own door they met Mademoiselle Loiré +hurrying up, and her sister, thinking she was coming to look for them, +and not knowing the reception she might get, fell upon her neck, +pouring forth with incoherent sobs and explanations the tale of their +woes. + +Mademoiselle Loiré was most sympathetic and unreproachful, and, having +dried her sister's tears, led her into the house, where the whole party +sat down to cake and cider, under the influence of which Mademoiselle +Thérèse quite recovered, and retold their adventures, Barbara realising +for the first time, as she listened, what heroines they had been! + +Their screaming advance along the highroad became a journey, where they +sat grimly, with set teeth, listening to the curses of a madman, and +bowing their heads to escape having them cut off repeatedly by the +branches of trees. + +Their ignominious exit from the cart on the hill became a desperate +leap into the darkness, when the vehicle was advancing at full gallop; +and when Barbara finally rose to say good-night, she felt as if they +had all been princesses in a fairy-tale, in which, alas! there had been +no prince. + +She learned two things on the morrow--not counting the conviction that +riding at a gallop in a cart made one desperately stiff. The first was +from Marie, who told her that Mademoiselle Loiré's forbearance with +their late return, and her intense sympathy with their adventures, +probably arose from the fact that she had just been returning from her +own expedition when she met the wanderers, and had been filled with +very similar fears concerning her reception as those which had filled +her sister's heart. + +The other fact, which Barbara read aloud to Mademoiselle Thérèse from +the newspaper, was that Jean Malet had been apprehended for furious +driving at a late hour the previous night, and would have to pay a +heavy fine. + +"How he had come safely through the streets at such speed," said the +journalist, "was a miracle. Fortunately, there was no one in the cart +but himself." + +"Fortunately, indeed, there was not," remarked Barbara, folding up the +paper. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +MONT ST. MICHEL. + +The following day Barbara was taken to a confirmation service at a +Roman Catholic church in the town, for one of Marie's younger brothers +was coming from the country to be confirmed. Barbara watched the +service curiously, feeling rather as if she were in a dream. The +bishop entered the church with much pomp, adorned in wonderful lace and +embroidered vestments. His progress up the aisle was slow, for there +were many mothers and sisters with little children, whom they presented +to him for his blessing, and he patiently stopped beside each, giving +them his ring to kiss. + +He was waited on by the clergy of the church and some from the country +round, and these latter amused Barbara not a little, for they carried +their rochets in newspapers, or in shabby brown bags, which they left +in corners of the seats, while they slipped on their rochets in full +view of every one. Then the boys, accompanied by their godfathers, the +girls by their godmothers, filed slowly up to the bishop, who blessed +each in turn. On leaving him they passed in front of two priests, the +first attended by a boy bearing a basket of cotton-wool pellets dipped +in oil, the second by a boy with a basket of towels. + +The first priest rubbed the forehead of each child with oil, and the +next one dried it. After which they went singing to their places. + +The ceremony was a very long one, and Barbara was not very sorry when +it was over. She grew weary before the close, and was glad when they +made their way home, accompanied by Marie's father--the Loirés' +half-brother--and the little boy. The former was a farmer in the +country, and Barbara thought he was much pleasanter to look upon than +either his daughter or sisters. + +Mademoiselle Loiré had provided him at lunch with his favourite +dish--shrimps--and Barbara could hardly eat anything herself, being +completely fascinated with watching him. He had helped himself pretty +liberally, and, to her amazement, began to eat them with lightning +speed. He bent fairly low over his plate, resting an elbow on each +side, and, putting in the whole shrimp with his left hand, almost +immediately seemed to take out the head and tail with the other, +working with machine-like regularity. It was an accomplishment that +Barbara was sure would bring him in a lot of money at a show, and she +began to picture to herself a large advertisement, "Instantaneous +Shrimp-eater," and the products that might arise therefrom. + +When he had almost demolished the dish of shrimps he stopped, looked a +little regretfully at the _débris_ on his plate, then straightened +himself in his chair, and began to take an interest in what was going +on around him. He smiled benignly on his sisters, teased his daughter, +and looked with shy curiosity at Barbara, to whom he did not dare to +address any remarks until nearly the end of lunch. Then he said very +slowly, and in a loud voice as if speaking to a deaf person, "Has the +English mademoiselle visited the Mont St. Michel yet?" + +Barbara shook her head. + +"It is a pleasure for the future, I hope," she said. + +"But certainly, of course, she must go there," he said, still speaking +laboriously. Then after that effort, as if exhausted, he relapsed into +silence. + +But Mademoiselle Thérèse pursued the idea, and before the meal was over +had fixed a day in the following week for the excursion. As her sister +had already been at the Mont more than once, it was decided she should +remain with Marie, so that the pleasant task of accompanying Barbara +fell, as usual, to Mademoiselle Thérèse. At the last moment the +numbers were increased by the little widower, who suddenly made up his +mind to join them, with his eldest son. + +"It is long since I have been," he declared, "and it is part of the +education of Jean to see the wonders of his native land. Therefore, +mademoiselle, if you permit us, we will join you to-morrow. It will be +doubly pleasant for us to go in the company of one so learned." + +Mademoiselle Thérèse could not help bowing at such a compliment, but it +is doubtful whether she really appreciated the widower's proposal. The +little man was quite capable of contradicting information she might +give Barbara if he thought it incorrect, and when he was there she +could not keep the conversation entirely in her own hands. + +By the girl's most earnest request, she had agreed to stay the night at +the Mont, and they started off in highest spirits by an early morning +train. + +Her two companions poured into Barbara's ears a full historical account +of Mont St. Michel, sometimes agreeing, sometimes contradicting each +other, and the girl was glad that, when at last the long stretch of +weird and lonely sandflats was reached, they seemed to have exhausted +their eloquence. + +"But where is the sea?" she asked in surprise. "I thought you said the +sea would be all round it." + +Mademoiselle Thérèse looked a little uncomfortable. + +"Yes, the sea--of course. I expected the tide would be high. It ought +to be up, I am sure. You told me too that the tide would be high," and +she turned so quickly upon the widower that he jumped nervously. + +"Yes, of course, that is to say--you told me the tide should be high at +present, and I said I did not doubt it since you said it; but I heard +some one remarking a few minutes ago that it would be up to-morrow." + +"Never mind," Barbara interposed, for she saw signs of a fresh +discussion. "It will be all the nicer to see it rise, I am sure." +And, fortunately, the widower and Mademoiselle Thérèse agreed with her. + +The train, crowded with visitors, puffed slowly towards St. Michel, and +Barbara watched the dim outline of gray stone become clearer, till the +full beauty of the Abbaye and the Merveille burst upon her sight. + +"St. Michael and All Angels," she murmured, looking up towards the +golden figure of the archangel on the top of the Abbaye. "He looks as +if guarding the place; but what cruel things went on below him." + +"Shocking tragedies!" mademoiselle assured her, having heard the last +words. "Shocking tragedies! But let us be quick and get out, or else +we shall not arrive in time for the first lunch. Now you are going to +taste Madame Poulard's omelettes--a food ambrosial. You will wonder! +They alone are worth coming to the Mont St. Michel for." + +They hurried out over the wooden gangway that led from the train lines +to the gate at the foot of the Mont, and entered the strange-stepped +streets, and marvelled at the houses clinging to the rock. They were +welcomed into the inn by Madame Poulard herself, who, resting for a +moment at the doorway from her labours in the kitchen, stood smiling +upon all comers. + +Barbara looked with interest at the long, low dining-room, whose walls +bore tokens of the visits of so many famous men and women, and at whose +table there usually gathered folk from so many different nations. + +"There is an Englishman!" she said eagerly to Mademoiselle Thérèse, for +it seemed quite a long time since she had seen one of her countrymen so +near. + +"But, yes, of course," mademoiselle answered, shrugging her shoulders. +"What did you expect? They go everywhere," and she turned her +attention to her plate. "One must be fortified by a good meal," she +said in a solemn whisper to Barbara as they rose, "to prepare one for +the blood-curdling tales we are about to hear while seeing over the +Abbaye." + +And though the girl allowed something for exaggeration, it was quite +true that, after hearing the stories, and seeing the pictures of those +who had perished in the dungeons, she felt very eerie when being taken +through them. In the damp darkness she seemed to realise the terror +that imprisonment there must have held, and she thought she could +almost hear the moans of the victims and the scraping of the rats, who +were waiting--for the end. + +"Oh!" she cried, drawing a long breath when they once more emerged into +the open air. "You seem hardly able to breathe down there even for a +little while--and for years----" She shuddered. "How could they bear +it?" + +"One learns to bear everything in this life," Mademoiselle Thérèse +replied sententiously, shaking her head and looking as if she knew what +it was to suffer acutely. "One is set on earth to learn to 'suffer and +grow strong,' as one of your English poets says." + +Barbara turned away impatiently, and felt she could gladly have shaken +her companion. + +"One wants to come to a place like this with nice companions or alone," +she thought, and it was this feeling that drove her out on to the +ramparts that evening after dinner. She was feeling happy at having +successfully escaped from the noisy room downstairs, and thankful to +the game of cards that had beguiled Mademoiselle Thérèse's attention +from her, when she heard footsteps close beside her, and, turning +round, saw Jean Dubois. + +"Whatever do you want here?" she said a little irritably; then, hearing +his humble answer that he had just come to enjoy the view, felt ashamed +of herself, and tried to be pleasant. + +"Do you know," she said, suddenly determining to share an idea with him +to make up for her former rudeness, "we have seen Mont St. Michel from +every side but one--and that is the sea side. I should like to see it +every way, wouldn't you? I have just made a little plan, and that is +to get up early to-morrow morning, and go out across the sand till I +can see it." + +"Mademoiselle!" the boy exclaimed. "But is it safe? The sands are +treacherous, and many have been buried in them." + +"Yes; I know, but there are lots of footsteps going across them in all +directions, and I saw some people out there to-day. If I follow the +footprints it will be safe, for where many can go surely one may." + +It took some time for Jean to grow accustomed to the idea, and he drew +his _capucine_ a little closer round him, as if the thought of such an +adventure chilled him; then he laid his hand on Barbara's arm. + +"I, too," he said, "will see the view from that side. Mademoiselle +Barbara, I will come with you." + +"But your father? Would he approve, do you think?" + +"But assuredly," Jean said hastily; "he wishes me to get an entire idea +of Mont St. Michel--to be permeated, in fact. It is to be an +educational visit, he said." + +"Very well, then. But we must be very early and very quiet, so that we +may not disturb mademoiselle. I am not confiding in her, you +understand. Can you be ready at half-past five, so that we may be back +before coffee?" + +"Assuredly--at half-past five I shall be on the terrace," and Jean's +cheeks actually glowed at the thought of the adventure. "There was so +much romance in it," he thought, and pictured how nice it would be +telling the story to Marie afterwards. + +Barbara herself was very gleeful, for it was nice to be able to act +without wondering whether she was showing the younger ones a good +example or not. She felt almost as if she were back at school, and +that feeling was intensified by the little cubicle bedrooms with which +the visitors at Madame Poulard's were provided. She had been a little +anxious as to whether she would awaken at the right hour, but found, on +opening her eyes next morning, that she had plenty of time to spare. + +She dressed noiselessly, for mademoiselle was sleeping in the next +room, and she did not want to rouse her, and stole down the passage and +into the terrace, where Jean was waiting for her. They were early +risers at Mont St. Michel, and the servants looked with some curiosity, +mingled perhaps with disapproval, at the couple, but they recognised +the girl as being English, and of course there was no accounting for +what any of that nation did! It was a lovely morning, and Barbara, +picking her way over the rocks, hummed gaily to herself, for it was an +excursion after her own heart. + +Jean cast rather a doubtful eye from the rocks to the waste of sand in +front of them, but, seeing his companion did not hesitate, he could not +either, and stepped out boldly beside her. + +"You see," Barbara explained, "it is really perfectly hard here, and we +will keep quite close to the footsteps that lead right out to that +other rock out there." + +"But you are surely not going as far as that?" he inquired anxiously. +"We should never be back in time for coffee." + +"I don't think so," Barbara returned gaily; "but we'll see how we get +on." + +When once Jean saw that the ground was perfectly sound beneath their +feet, and that the footprints went on unwaveringly, he felt reassured, +and really began to enjoy himself. They turned round every now and +then to look back at the Mont, but decided each time that they had not +got quite far enough away to get a really good effect. + +"You know," said Jean, some of his fears returning after a time, "one +usually has guides--people who know the sands--to take one out so far. +I trod on a very soft place just now." + +"Keep near the footprints then," Barbara answered. "The tide hasn't +been up yet, and the sands can't surely change in the night-time. Just +a little farther, and then we will stop." + +They stopped a few minutes later, and both declared that the view was +well worth the walk, the only thing that Barbara regretted being that +it was too damp to sit down and enjoy it at their ease. + +"It _would_ have been nice to get as far as Tombelaine," the girl said +at last, turning from St. Michel to take another look at the rocky +islet farther out; "but I suppose we really must be going home again +now." + +Jean did not answer her. He had turned with her towards the rock; then +his eyes had wandered round the horizon, and had remained fixed in such +a stare that the girl wondered what he saw. + +"What is the matter?" she asked. "What is it you are seeing, Jean?" + +"The sea," he gasped, his face becoming ashen. "Mademoiselle--the +tide--it advances--we will be caught." + +Barbara looked across the long stretch of gray sand till her eyes found +the moving line of water. + +"It is nearer," she said slowly; "but of course it always comes in +every day." + +"Yes--but--to-day--I had forgotten--it is to be high tide--all round +the Mont. Did you not hear them say so?" + +"Yes," Barbara owned; "I remember quite well now. But let us hurry--it +is a long way off yet. We have plenty of time." She spoke +consolingly, for Jean's face was blanched and she saw he was trembling. + +"But, mademoiselle, you do not understand. Did you not hear them +telling us also that the tide advances so rapidly that it catches the +quickest horse? Oh, I wish we had told some one of this journey--that +some one had seen us. They would have warned us. We should have been +safe." + +It was then for the first time that the thought of danger entered +Barbara's head, and she took her companion's hand. + +"Let us run, then. Quick!" she said. "We are not such a very long way +off." + +Jean hesitated only a moment, his eyes, as if fascinated, still on the +water; then he turned his face towards the Mont, and sped over the sand +more fleetly than Barbara would have believed possible to him--so +fleetly, indeed, that he began to leave the girl, who was swift of +foot, behind. + +She glanced over her shoulder at the sea, which certainly was drawing +in very rapidly, licking over the sand greedily, then forward at St. +Michel, and fell to a walk. She knew she could not run the whole +distance for it was not easy going on the sand, especially when an eye +had always to be kept un the guiding footprints. + +[Illustration: "She glanced over her shoulder at the sea."] + +It was some little time before Jean really realised she was not close +behind him; then he stopped running and waited for her. + +"Go on," she shouted. "Don't wait for me, I can catch you up later." + +"But it is impossible for me to leave you," he called back on regaining +his breath. "But, oh! run if you can, for the water comes very near." + +One more fleeting glance behind and Barbara broke into a run again, +though her breath came in gasps. + +"They are seeing us from the Mont," panted Jean. "They have come out +to watch the tide rise. Give me your hand. Do not stop! Do not stop!" + +Barbara felt that, do as she would, her breath could hold out no +longer, and she slackened her pace to a walk once more. Then a great +shout went up from the people on the ramparts, and they began waving +their hands and handkerchiefs wildly. To them the two figures seemed +to be moving so slowly and the great sea behind so terribly fast. +Barbara could hear its swish, swish, near enough now, and she felt +Jean's hand tremble in her own. "Run yourself," she said, dropping it. +"Run, and I'll follow." + +But he merely shook his head. To speak was waste of breath, and he +meant his to last him till he reached the rocks. + +He pulled the girl into a trot again, and they plodded on heavily. It +was impossible for him to speak now, but he pointed at the rocks below +St. Michel where two men were scrambling down, and Barbara understood +that they were coming to aid. + +The sea was very close--horribly close--when two fishermen met the +couple, and, taking Barbara's hands on either side, pulled her on, +while Jean panted a little way behind. The watching crowd above had +been still with fear until they saw the rocks reached; then they +shouted again and again, while the many who had scrambled down part of +the way hastened forward to see who the adventurous couple were, and to +give a helping hand if necessary. + +One of the first to reach them was the little widower, his cravate +loose, his hat off, and tears streaming down his cheeks. + +"Jean!" he wailed. "What have I done that you should treat me so? +What would your sainted mother say were she to see you thus?" + +But neither Jean nor Barbara was capable of saying a word, and though +the fishermen were urgently assuring the girl that she was not safe +yet, that they must go round the rocks to the gate on the other side, +she remained sitting doubled up on a rock, feeling that her breath +would never come into her body again. + +"Let her rest a moment," suggested one wiser than the rest. "She +cannot move till she breathes. There is yet time enough. Loosen her +collar, and let her breathe." + +The sea was gurgling at the foot of the rocks when Barbara regained her +breath sufficiently to move, and she was glad enough to have strong +arms to help her on her way. + +Jean and his father reached the gate first, and, therefore, +Mademoiselle Thérèse had already exhausted a little of her energy +before Barbara appeared. But she was about to fling herself in tears +upon the girl's neck when a bystander interposed. + +"Let her breathe," he said. "Let her go to the inn and get +nourishment." And Barbara, the centre of an eager, excited French +crowd, was thankful, indeed, to shelter herself within Madame Poulard's +hospitable walls. + +"We will probably have to stay here a week till she +recovers"--Mademoiselle Thérèse had a sympathetic audience--"she is of +delicate constitution;" and the good lady was perhaps a little +disappointed when Barbara declared herself perfectly able to go home in +the afternoon as had been arranged. + +"What should prevent us?" she asked, when after a rest and something to +eat she came down to the terrace. "It was only a long race, and a +fright which I quite deserved." + +"Yes, indeed, a fright!" and the Frenchwoman threw up her hands. "Such +fear as I felt when I came out to see the tide and saw you fleeing +before it. Your aunt!--Your mother!--My charge! Such visions fleeted +before my eyes. But _never, never, never_ will I trust you with Jean +any more," and she cast a vengeful look at the widower and his son, who +were seated a little farther off. + +"But it wasn't his fault at all," the girl explained. "On the +contrary, I proposed it, and he joined me out of kindness. He pulled +me along, too, over the sand. Oh, indeed, you must not be angry with +Jean." + +"It was very deceptive of him not to tell me--or his father. Then we +could both have come with you--or explained to you that the tide rose +early to-day. We heard it was to come early when you were out last +night. They say," she went on, shaking her head, "if it had been an +equinoctial tide, that neither of you would have escaped--there would +have been no shadow of a hope for either--you would both have been +drowned out there in the damp, wet sand." + +Mademoiselle Thérèse showing signs of weeping again, Barbara hastened +to comfort her, assuring her that she would never again go out alone to +see St. Michel from that side, which she thought was a perfectly safe +promise to make. But her companion shook her head mournfully, +declaring that it would be a very long time before she brought any of +her pupils to Mont St. Michel again. + +"They might really get caught next time," she said, and Barbara knew it +was no good to point out that probably there would never be another +pupil who was quite so silly as she had been. + +"Nevertheless," the girl said to herself, looking back at the grand, +gray pile from the train, "except for the fright I gave them, it was +worth it all--worth it all, dear St. Michel, to see you from out +there." And Jean, looking pensively out of the window, was thinking +that since it was safely over, the adventure was one which any youth +might be proud to tell to his companions, and which few were fortunate +or brave enough to have experienced. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +MADEMOISELLE VIRÉ. + +"The Loirés' chief virtues are their friends," Barbara had written +home, and it was always a surprise to her to find that they knew so +many nice people. A few days after the adventurous visit to Mont St. +Michel she made the acquaintance of one whom she learned to love +dearly, and about whom there hung a halo of romance that charmed the +girl. + +"Her story is known to me," Mademoiselle Thérèse explained on the way +to her house, "and I will tell it you--in confidence, of course." She +paused a moment to impress Barbara and to arrange her thoughts, for she +dearly loved a romantic tale, and would add garnishing by the way if +she did not consider it had enough. + +"She is the daughter of a professor," she began presently. "They used +to live in Rouen--gray, beautiful, many-churched Rouen." The lady +glanced sideways at her companion to see if her rhetoric were +impressive enough, and Barbara waited gravely for her to continue, +though wondering if mademoiselle had ever read _The Lady of Shalott_. + +"An officer in one of the regiments stationed in the quaint old town," +pursued mademoiselle, "saw the professor's fair young daughter, and +fell rapturously in love with her. Whereupon they became betrothed." + +Barbara frowned a little. The setting of the story was too ornate, and +seemed almost barbarous. + +"And then?" she asked impatiently. + +"Then--ah, then!" sighed the story-teller, who thought she was making a +great impression--"then the sorrow came. As soon as his family knew, +they were grievously angry, furiously wrathful, because she had no +_dot_; and when she heard of their fury and wrath she nobly refused to +marry him until he gained their consent. 'Never,' she cried" (and it +was obvious that here mademoiselle was relying on her own invention), +"'never will I marry thee against thy parents' wish.'" + +She paused, and drew a long breath before proceeding. "A short time +after this, the regiment of her lover was ordered out to India, in +which pestiferous country he took a malicious fever and expired. She +has no relatives left now, though so frail and delicate, but lives with +an old maid in a very small domicile. She is cultivated to an extreme, +and is so fond of music that, though her house is too small to admit of +the pianoforte entering by the door, she had it introduced by the +window of the _salon_, which had to be unbricked--the window, I mean. +She has, moreover, three violins--one of which belonged to her +ever-to-be-lamented fiancé--and, though she is too frail to stand, she +will sit, when her health permits, and make music for hours together." + +Mademoiselle Thérèse uttered the last words on the threshold of the +house, and Barbara did not know whether to laugh or to cry at such a +story being told in such a way. The door was opened by the old maid, +Jeannette, who wore a quaint mob cap and spotless apron, and who +followed the visitors into the room, and, having introduced them to her +mistress, seated herself in one corner and took up her knitting as +"company," Mademoiselle Thérèse whispered to Barbara. + +The latter thought she had never before seen such a charming old lady +as Mademoiselle Viré, who now rose to greet them, and she wondered how +any one who had known her in the "many-churched Rouen days" could have +parted from her. + +She talked for a little while to Mademoiselle Thérèse, then turned +gently to Barbara. + +"Do you play, mademoiselle?" + +"A little," the girl returned hesitatingly; "not enough, I'm afraid, to +give great pleasure." + +But Mademoiselle Viré rose with flushed cheeks. + +"Ah! then, will you do me the kindness to play some accompaniments? +That is one of the few things my good Jeannette cannot do for me," and +almost before Barbara realised it she was sitting on a high-backed +chair before the piano in the little _salon_, while Mademoiselle Viré +sought eagerly for her music. + +The room was so small that, with Mademoiselle Thérèse and the maid +Jeannette--who seemed to be expected to follow her mistress--there +seemed hardly room to move in it, and Barbara was all the more nervous +by the nearness of her audience. + +It certainly was rather anxious work, for though the little lady was +charmingly courteous, she would not allow a passage played wrongly to +go without correction. "I think we were not quite together there--were +we?" she would say. "May we play it through again?" and Barbara would +blush up to her hair, for she knew the violinist had played _her_ part +perfectly. She enjoyed it, though, in spite of her nervousness, and +was sorry when it was time to go. + +"You will come again, I hope?" her hostess asked. "You have given me a +happy time." Then turning eagerly to Jeannette, she added, "Did I play +well to-day, Jeannette?" + +The quaint old maid rose at once from her seat at the door, and came +across the room to put her mistress's cap straight. + +"Madame played better than I have ever heard her," she replied. + +Barbara had been so pleased with everything that she went again a few +days later by herself, and this time was led into the garden, which, +like the house, was very small, but full of roses and other +sweet-smelling things. Madame--for Barbara noticed that most people +seemed to call her so--was busy watering her flowers, and had on big +gloves and an apron. When she saw the girl coming, she came forward to +welcome her, saying, with a deprecatory movement towards her apron-- + +"But this apron!--These gloves! Had I known it was you, mademoiselle, +I should have changed them and made myself seemly. Why did you not +warn me, Jeannette?" + +"Madame should not work in the garden and heat herself," the old woman +said doggedly; "she should let me do that." + +But madame laughed gaily. + +"Oh, but my flowers know when I water them, and could not bear to have +me leave them altogether to others." Then, in explanation to her +visitor, "It is an old quarrel between Jeannette and me. Is it not, my +friend? Now I am hot and thirsty. Will you bring us some of your good +wine, Jeannette?" + +They were sitting in a little bower almost covered with roses, and +Barbara felt as if she must be in a pretty dream, when the maid came +back bearing two slender-stemmed wine-glasses and a musty bottle +covered with cobwebs. + +"It is very old indeed," madame explained. + +"Jeannette and I made it, when we were young, from the walnuts in our +garden in Rouen." + +Having filled both glasses, she raised her own, and said, with a +graceful bow, "Your health, mademoiselle," and after taking a sip she +turned to Jeannette, repeating, "Your health, Jeannette." Whereupon +the old woman curtsied wonderfully low considering her stiff knees. + +Barbara did not like the wine very much, but she would have drunk +several glasses to please her hostess, though, fortunately, she was not +asked to do so. They had a long talk, and the old lady related many +interesting tales about the life in Rouen and in Paris, where she had +often been, so that the time sped all too quickly for the girl. When +she got home she found two visitors, who were sitting under the trees +in the garden waiting to have tea. One was an English girl of about +fourteen, whom Barbara thought looked both unhappy and sulky. The +other was one of the ladies whose school she was at. + +"This is Alice Meynell," Mademoiselle Thérèse said with some fervour, +"and, Alice, _this_ is a fellow-countrywoman of your own." But the +introduction did not seem to make the girl any happier, and she hardly +spoke all tea-time, though Marie did her best to carry on a +conversation. When she had returned to work with Mademoiselle Loiré, +the business of entertainment fell to Barbara, who proposed a walk +round the garden. + +At first the visitor did not seem to care for the idea, but when the +mistress with her suggested it was too hot to walk about, she +immediately jumped up and said there was nothing she would like better. +There seemed to be few subjects that interested her; but when, almost +in desperation, Barbara asked how she liked France, she suddenly burst +forth into speech. + +"I hate it," she cried viciously. "I detest it and the people I am +with, who never let me out of their sight. 'Spies,' I call +them--'spies,' not teachers. They even come with me to church--one of +them at least--and I feel as if I were in prison." + +"But surely there is no harm in their coming to church with you?" +Barbara said. "Besides, in France, you know, they have such strict +ideas about chaperones that it's quite natural for them to be careful. +Mademoiselle Thérèse goes almost everywhere with me, and I am a good +deal older than you are." + +"But they're _not_ Protestants--I'm sure they're not," the girl +returned hotly. "They shouldn't come to church with me; they only +pretend. Besides, they don't follow the other girls about nearly as +carefully. The worst of it is that I have to stay here for the +holidays, too." + +She seemed very miserable about it, and Barbara thought it might +relieve her to confide in some one, and, after a little skilful +questioning, the whole story came out. + +Her mother was dead, and her father in the West Indies, and though she +wrote him often and fully about everything, she never got any answers +to her questions, so that she was sure people opened her letters and +put in different news. She was afraid the same thing was done with her +father's letters to her, because once something was said by mistake +that could have been learned only by reading the news intended for her +eyes alone. + +"He never saw the place," the girl continued. "He took me to my aunt +in England, who promised to find me a school. She thought the whole +business a nuisance, and was only too glad to find a place quickly +where they'd keep me for the holidays too. She never asks me to go to +England--not that I would if she wanted me to." + +There were angry tears in the girl's eyes, and Barbara thought the case +really did seem rather a hard one, though it was clear her companion +had been spoiled at home, and had probably had her own way before +coming to school. + +"It does sound rather horrid," Barbara agreed, "and three years must +seem a long time; but it will go at last, you know." + +The girl shook her head. + +"Too slowly, far too slowly--it just crawls. I never have any one to +talk things over with, either, you see, for I can't trust the French +girls; they carry tales, I know. Even now--look how she watches me; +she longs to know what I'm saying." + +Barbara looked round, and it was true that the visitor seemed more +interested in watching them than in Mademoiselle Thérèse's +conversation; and, directly she caught Barbara's eye, she got up +hastily and said they must go. Alice Meynell immediately relapsed into +sulkiness again; but, just as she was saying good-bye, she managed to +whisper-- + +"I shall run away soon. I know I can't stand it much longer." + +The others were too near for Barbara to do more than give her a warm +squeeze of the hand; but she watched the girl out of sight, feeling +very sorry for her. If she had lived a free-and-easy life on her +father's plantation, never having known a mother's care, it was no +wonder that she should be a little wild and find her present life +irksome. + +"She looks quite equal to doing something desperate," Barbara thought, +as she turned to go in to supper. "I must try to see her again soon, +for who knows what mad ideas a girl of only fifteen may take into her +head!" + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE "AMERICAN PRETENDER." + +"An invitation has come from Monsieur Dubois to visit them at Dol," +Mademoiselle Thérèse exclaimed with pride, on opening her letters one +morning. "It is really particularly kind and nice of him. He includes +_you_," she added, turning to Barbara. + +The girl had to think a few moments before remembering that Monsieur +Dubois was the "family friend" for whose sake the sisters had sunk +their grievances, and then she was genuinely pleased at the invitation. + +"Now, which of us shall go?" mademoiselle proceeded. "It is clear we +cannot _all_ do so," and she looked inquiringly at her sister. + +"Marie and I are _much_ too busy to accept invitations right and left +like that," Mademoiselle Loiré replied loftily. "For people like you +and Mademoiselle Barbara, who have plenty of leisure, it will be a very +suitable excursion, I imagine." + +Barbara looked a little anxiously at the younger sister, fearing she +might be stirred up to wrath by the veiled slur on her character; but +probably she was pleased enough to be the one to go, whatever excuse +Mademoiselle Loiré chose to give. Indeed, her mood had been +wonderfully amicable for several days. "Let me see," she said, looking +meditatively at Barbara. "You have been longing to ride _something_ +ever since you came here, and since you have not been able to find a +horse, how would it do to hire a bicycle, and come only so far in the +train with me and ride the rest of the way?" + +Barbara's eyes shone. This _was_ a concession on Mademoiselle +Thérèse's part, for she had hitherto apparently been most unwilling for +the girl to be out of her sight for any length of time, and had assured +her that there was no possibility of getting riding lessons in the +neighbourhood. What had brought her to make this proposal now Barbara +could not imagine. + +"That would be a perfectly lovely plan," she cried. "You are an angel +to think of it, mademoiselle." At which remark the lady in question +was much flattered. + +The next morning they started in gay spirits, Mademoiselle Thérèse +arrayed in her best, which always produced a feeling of wonderment in +Barbara. The lady certainly had not a Frenchwoman's usual taste, and +her choice of colours was not always happy, though she herself was +blissfully content about her appearance. + +"I am glad you put on that pretty watch and chain," she said +approvingly to her companion, when they were in the train. "I always +try to make an impression when I go to Dol, for Madame Dubois is a +_very_ fashionable lady." + +She stroked down her mauve skirt complacently, and Barbara thought that +she could not fail to make an impression of some kind. She was +entertained as they went along, by stories about the cleverness and +position of the lawyer, and the charms of his wife, and the delights of +his daughter, till Barbara felt quite nervous at the idea of meeting +such an amount of goodness, fashion, and wit in its own house. + +Mademoiselle Thérèse allowed herself just a little time to give +directions as to the route the girl was to take on leaving her, and +Barbara repeated the turnings she had to take again and again till +there seemed no possibility of making a mistake. + +"After the first short distance you reach the highroad," mademoiselle +called after her as she left the carriage, "so I have no fear about +allowing you to go; it is a well-trodden highroad, too, and not many +kilometres." + +"I shall be all right, thank you," Barbara said gleefully, thinking how +nice it was to escape into the fresh, sunny air after the close +third-class carriage. "There is no sea to catch me _this_ time, you +know." + +Mademoiselle shook her finger at her. "Naughty, naughty! to remind me +of that terrible time--it almost makes me fear to let you go." At +which Barbara mounted hastily, in case she should be called back, +although the train had begun to move. + +"Repeat your directions," her companion shrieked after her, and the +girl, with a laugh, murmured to herself, "Turn to the right, then the +left, by a large house, then through a narrow lane, and _voilà_ the +high-road!" She had no doubt at all about knowing them perfectly. +Unfortunately for her calculations, when she came to the turning-point +there were _two_ lanes leading off right and left, and on this point +Mademoiselle Thérèse had given her no instructions. There was nobody +near to ask. So, after considering them both, she decided to take the +one that looked widest. After all, if it were wrong, she could easily +turn back. + +She had gone but a little way, however, when she saw another cyclist +approaching, and, thinking that here was a chance to find out if she +were right before going any farther, she jumped off her machine and +stood waiting. When the new-comer was quite close to her she noticed +that he was not a very prepossessing individual, and remembered that +she had been warned in foreign countries always to look at people +before speaking to them. But it was too late then. So making the best +of it, she asked boldly which was the nearest way to Dol. The man +stared at her for a moment, then said she should go straight on, and +would soon arrive at the highroad. + +"But I will conduct you so far if you like, madame," he added. + +Barbara had seen him looking rather intently at her watch and chain, +however, and began to feel a little uneasy. + +"Oh, no, thank you," she rejoined hastily. "I can manage very well +myself," and, springing on to her bicycle, set off at a good speed. He +stood in the road for a few minutes as if meditating; but, when she +looked back at the corner, she saw that he had mounted too, and was +coming down the road after her. There might be no harm in that; but it +did not add to her happiness; and the watch and chain, which had been +Aunt Anne's last gift to her, seemed to weigh heavily upon her neck. + +There was no thought now of turning; but, though she pedalled her +hardest, she could not see any signs of a highroad in front of her, and +was sure she must have taken the wrong lane. Indeed, to her dismay, +when she got a little farther down the road, it narrowed still more and +ran through a wood. She was quite sure now that the man was chasing +her, and wondered if she would ever get to Dol at all. It seemed to be +her fate to be chased by something on her excursions, and she was not +quite sure whether she preferred escaping on her own feet or a bicycle. + +At first he did not gain upon her much, and, if she had had her own +machine, and had been in good training, perhaps she might have +outdistanced him; but there did not appear to be much chance of that at +present. She was thankful to see a sharp descent in front of her, and +let herself go at a break-neck speed; but, unfortunately, there was an +equally steep hill to climb on the other side, and she would have to +get off and walk. + +She was just making up her mind to turn round and brave it out, and +keep her watch--if possible--when she saw something on the grass by the +roadside, a little ahead of her, that made her heart leap with relief +and pleasure--namely, a puff of smoke, and a figure clad in a brown +tweed suit. She was sure, even after a mere hurried glance, that the +owner of the suit must be English, for it bore the stamp of an English +tailor, and the breeze bore her unmistakable whiffs of "Harris." + +She did not wait a moment, but leaped from her bicycle and sank down +panting on the grass near, alarming the stranger--who had been nearly +asleep--considerably. He jerked himself into a sitting position, and +burned himself with his cigarette. + +"Who the dickens----" he began; then hastily took off his cap and +begged the girl's pardon, to which she could not reply for +breathlessness. But he seemed to understand what was needed at once, +for, after a swift glance from her to the man who was close at hand +now, he said in loud, cheerful tones-- + +"Ah! Here you are at last. I am glad you caught me up. We'll just +have a little rest, then go calmly on our way. You should not ride so +quickly on a hot day." + +The man was abreast of them now, and looked very hard at both as he +passed, but did not stop, and Barbara heaved a long sigh of relief. + +"I'm so very sorry," she said at last. "Please understand I am not in +the habit of leaping down beside people like that, only I've had this +watch and chain such a _very_ short time, and I was so afraid he'd take +them." + +"And how do you know that they will be any safer with me?" he asked, +with a wicked twinkle in his eyes. + +"Because I saw you were an Englishman, of course," she rejoined calmly. + +The young man laughed. + +"Pardon me, you are wrong, for I am an American." + +Barbara's cheeks could hardly grow more flushed, but she felt +uncomfortably hot. + +"I am so sorry," she stammered, getting up hurriedly; "I really thought +it was an Englishman, and felt--at home, you know." + +"Please continue to think so if it makes you any happier; and--I think +you had better stay a little longer before going on--the fellow might +be waiting farther down the road." + +Barbara subsided again. She had no desire to have any further +encounter with the French cyclist. + +Meanwhile, the stranger had taken one or two rapid glances at her, and +the surprise on his face grew. "Where are the rest of the party?" he +asked presently. + +"The rest of the party has gone on by train," and Barbara laughed. +"Poor party, it would be so horribly alarmed if it could see me now. I +always seem to be alarming it." + +"I don't wonder, if it is always as careless as on the present +occasion. Whatever possessed he, she, or it, to let you come along by +yourself like this? It was most culpably careless." + +"Oh, no, indeed. It is what I have been begging for since I came to +Brittany--indeed it is. She gave me _most_ careful directions as to +what turnings to take"--and Barbara repeated them merrily--"it was only +that I was silly enough to take the wrong one. And now I really must +be getting on, or poor Mademoiselle Thérèse will be distracted. +Please, does this road lead to Dol?" + +"Dol?" he repeated quickly. "Yes, certainly. I am just going there, +and--and intend to pass the night in the place. I'm on a walking tour, +and--if you don't mind walking--I know there's a short cut that would +be almost as quick as cycling; the high road is a good distance off +yet." + +Barbara hesitated. The fear of meeting any more tramps was strong upon +her, and her present companion had a frank, honest face, and steady +gray eyes. + +"I don't want Mademoiselle Thérèse to be frightened by being any later +than necessary," she said doubtfully. + +"I really think this will be as quick as the other road--if you will +trust me," he returned. And Barbara yielded. + +It certainly was a very pretty way, leading across the fields and +through a beech wood, and they managed to lift the bicycle over the +gates without any difficulty. The girl was a little surprised by the +unerring manner in which her companion seemed to go forward without +even once consulting a map; but when she complimented him on the fact +he looked a little uncomfortable, and assured her that he had an +excellent head for "direction." + +It was very nice meeting some one who was "almost an Englishman," and +they talked gaily all the time, till the square tower of Dol Cathedral +came into view--one of the grandest, her guide assured her, that he had +seen in Brittany. They had just entered the outskirts of the town when +they passed a little _auberge_, where the innkeeper was standing at the +door. He stared very hard at them, then lifted his hat, and cried with +surprise, "Back again, monsieur; why, I thought you were half way to +St. Malo by this time." + +Then the truth struck Barbara in a flash, and she had only to look at +her companion's face to know she was right. + +"You were going the other way," she cried--"of course you were--and you +turned back on my account. No wonder you knew your way through the +wood!" + +He gave an embarrassed laugh. "I'm sorry--I really did not mean to +deceive you exactly. I _have_ a good head for 'direction.'" + +"And you came all that long way back with me I It _was_ good of you. I +really----" + +But he interrupted her. "Please don't give me thanks when I don't +deserve them. This town is such a quaint old place I am quite glad to +spend the night here. And--I really think you ought not to go hither +and thither without the rest of the party--I don't think your aunt +would like it. The house you want is straight ahead." Then he took +off his cap and turned away, and Barbara never remembered, until he had +gone, that though he had seen her name on the label on her bicycle she +did not know his. + +She christened him, therefore, the "American Pretender," firstly, +because he looked like an Englishman, and secondly, because he +pretended to be going where he was not. After all, she was not very +much behind her time, and, fortunately, Mademoiselle Thérèse had been +so interested in the lawyer's conversation that she had not worried +about her. Barbara did not speak of her encounter with the cyclist, +but merely said she had got out of her way a little, and had found a +kind American who had helped her to find it; which explanation quite +satisfied "the party." + +The lawyer's château, as it was called, seemed to Barbara to be very +like what French houses must have been long ago, and she imagined grand +ladies of the Empire time sweeping up the long flight of steps to the +terrace, and across the polished floors. The _salon_, with its thick +terra-cotta paper, and gilded chairs set in stiff rows along the walls, +fascinated her too, and she half expected the lady of the house to come +in, clad in heavy brocade of ancient pattern. But everything about the +lady of the house was very modern, and Barbara thought Mademoiselle +Thérèse's garments had never looked so ugly. The girl enjoyed sitting +down to a meal which was really well served, and she found that the +lawyer, though clever, was by no means alarming, and that his wife made +a very charming hostess. + +Mademoiselle Thérèse was radiating pride and triumph at having been +able to introduce her charge into such a "distinguished" family, and as +each dish was brought upon the table, she shot a glance across at +Barbara as much as to say, "See what we can do!--these are _my_ +friends!" + +Poor Mademoiselle Thérèse! After all, when she enjoyed such things so +much, it was a pity, Barbara thought, that she could not have them at +home. + +She was enjoying, too, discussing various matters with the lawyer, for +discussion was to her like the very breath of life. + +"She will discuss with the cat if there is no one else by," her sister +had once said dryly, "and will argue with Death when he comes to fetch +her." + +At present the topic was schools, and Barbara and Madame Dubois sat +quietly by, listening. + +"I am not learned," madame whispered to the girl, with a little shrug, +"and I know that nothing she can say will shake my husband's +opinion--therefore, I let her speak." + +Mademoiselle was very anxious that his little girl should go to school, +and was pointing out the advantages of such education to the lawyer. + +The latter smiled incredulously. "Would you have me send her to the +convent school, where they use the same-knife and fork all the week +round, and wash them only once a week?" he asked contemptuously. + +"No," mademoiselle agreed. "As you know, Marie used to be there, and +learned very little--nothing much, except to sew. No, I would not send +her to the convent school. But there are others. A young English +friend of mine, now--Mademoiselle Barbara knows her too--she is at a +very select establishment--just about six girls--and so well watched +and cared for." + +Barbara looked up quickly. She wondered if she dared interrupt and say +she did not think it was such an ideal place, when the lawyer spoke +before her. + +"_Parbleu!_" he said with a laugh, "I should prefer the convent! There +at least the religion is honest, but--with those ladies you +mention--there is deceit. They pretend to be what they are not." + +"Oh, but no!" Mademoiselle Thérèse exclaimed. "Why, they _are_ +Protestants." + +The lawyer shrugged his shoulders. + +"Believe it if you will, my dear friend, but we lawyers know most +things, and I know that what I say is true. When my little Hélène goes +to school she shall not go to such. Meanwhile, I am content to keep +her at home." + +"So am I," murmured Madame Dubois. "Schools are such vulgar places, +are they not?" + +But Barbara, to whom the remark was addressed, was too much interested +in this last piece of news to do more than answer shortly. For if what +the lawyer said were true--and he did not seem a man likely to make +mistakes--then Alice Meynell might really have sufficient cause to be +miserable, and Barbara wondered when she would see her again, which was +to be sooner than she expected. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +BARBARA TURNS PLOTTER. + +The day after her expedition to Dol, Barbara saw Alice Meynell again, +and in rather a strange meeting-place--namely, the public bath-house. +The house in which the Loirés lived was an old-fashioned one, and had +no bath, and at first Barbara had looked with horror upon the +bath-house. She had become more reconciled to it of late, and, as it +was the only means of obtaining a hot bath, had tried to make the best +of it. It was a funny little place, entered by a narrow passage, at +one end of which there was a booking-office, and a swing door, where +you could buy a "season-ticket," or pay for each visit separately. + +On one side of the passage there were rows of little bathrooms, +containing what Barbara thought the narrowest most uncomfortable baths +imaginable. A boy in felt slippers ran up and down, turning on the +water, and a woman sat working at a little table at one end--"to see +you did not steal the towels," Barbara declared. It was here she met +Alice Meynell, under the care of an old attendant, whom the girl said +she knew was a spy sent to report everything she said or did. + +"Mademoiselle, who came with me to call the other day, has taken a +great dislike to you," Alice whispered hurriedly in passing; "and when +I asked if I might go to see you again, said, 'No, it was such a pity +to talk English when I was here to learn French.' I am _quite_ +determined to run away." + +The boy announced that the bath was ready, and the old attendant, +putting her watch on the table, said-- + +"Be quick, mademoiselle. Only twenty minutes, you know." + +Before leaving the place, Barbara managed to get a moment's speech, in +which she begged Alice not to do anything until they met again, and +meanwhile she would try hard to think of some plan to make things +easier; for the girl really looked very desperate, and Barbara had so +often acted as the confidante of her own brother and sister that she +was accustomed to playing the part of comforter. + +It seemed to her that if Alice wanted to run away, she had better do it +as well as possible, for the girl was wilful enough to try to carry out +any wild plan she might conceive. Barbara thought of many things, but +they all seemed silly or impossible, and finally got no further than +making up her mind to meet Alice again at the bath-house. + +The events of the afternoon, moreover, put her countrywoman out of her +head for the time being, for she found what she had been longing for +ever since she came--a riding-master. + +Mademoiselle Thérèse had long talked of taking her across the bay to +Dinard, to visit some friends there, but hitherto no suitable occasion +had been found. The delights of a boot and shoe sale, of which +mademoiselle had received notice, reminded her of her intentions of +showing Barbara "that famous seaside resort," and after an early lunch +they set out for Dinard. + +"Business first," mademoiselle said on landing; "we will hasten to the +sale, and when I have made my purchases we will stroll into the park, +and then visit my friend." + +"If you don't mind I will stay outside and watch the people," Barbara +proposed, on reaching the shop and seeing the crowds inside. "I won't +stray from just near the window, so you may leave me quite safely--and +it looks so hot in there." + +Her companion demurred for a moment, but finally agreed, and Barbara +with relief turned round to watch the people passing to and fro. + +Dinard seemed very gay and fashionable, she thought, and there was +quite a number of English and Americans there. Surely in such a place +one might find a riding-school. There was a row of _fiacres_ quite +close to the pavement, and, seized by this new idea, she hurried up to +one of the drivers and asked him if he knew of any horses to be hired +in the town. + +She had feared her French might not be equal to the explanation, and +was very glad when he understood, and still more pleased to hear that +there was an excellent _manège_,[1] which many people visited. After +inquiring the name of the street, she returned to her shop window, +longing for mademoiselle to come out. Her patience was nearly +exhausted when that lady finally appeared, having bought nothing. + +"I tried on a great many boots and some shoes," she explained, "and did +not care for any. Indeed, I really did not need new ones; but I have +seen samples of much of their stock." + +In the midst of the intense satisfaction of this performance, the girl +brought her news of a riding-school, which evidently was not very +welcome to her companion. She had, as a matter of fact, known of the +existence of such a place, but did not approve of "equestrian exercise +for women "; moreover, she had pictured so much exertion to herself in +connection with the idea of riding lessons, that she had been very +undesirous of Barbara's beginning them, and had, therefore, not +encouraged the idea. But the secret of the school being out, she +resolved to make the best of it, and agreed to go round at once and see +the place. + +They had little difficulty in finding it, and were ushered into an +office, where a very immaculate Frenchman received them, and inquired +how he could serve them. On hearing their errand he smiled still more +pleasantly, and in a few minutes everything was settled. Barbara was +to come over twice a week and have lessons, and, if she cared, might +begin that afternoon. The only drawback was that she had no skirt, +which, he assured her with a sweeping bow, he could easily remedy, for +he had an almost new one on the premises, and would think it an honour +to lend it to her. + +He was politeness itself, and seemed not in the least damped by +Mademoiselle Thérèse's evident gloom. He conducted her up to the +gallery at one end of the school, and explained that she could watch +every movement from that vantage-point. + +"It will be almost as good as having a lesson yourself, madame," he +said politely, twirling his fierce gray mustachios. + +At the other end of the school was a large looking-glass, which he told +Barbara was to enable the pupils to observe their deportment; but she +noticed that he always stood in the middle of the ring, where he +watched his own actions with great pleasure. + +The girl thought it a little dull at first, for she had been given an +amiable old horse who knew the words of command so well that the reins +were almost useless, and who ambled along in a slow and peaceful +manner. But Monsieur Pirenne was entirely satisfied with his pupil, +and he assured her, "if she continued to make such stupendous progress +in the next lesson, he would have the felicity of taking her out in the +following one." + +At this Mademoiselle Thérèse shook her head pensively. + +"Then I must take a carriage and follow you," she said. + +Barbara laughed. + +"Oh, dear, mademoiselle, do think how impossible that would be," she +explained, seeing the lady looked somewhat offended. "If we took to +the fields how could you follow us in a carriage? No; just think how +nice it will be to see so much of your friend while I am out." + +This view of the case somewhat reconciled Mademoiselle Thérèse to the +idea, though her contentment vanished when she found that the wind had +increased considerably during the afternoon, and that the mouth of the +river was beginning to look a little disturbed. + +They stood on the end of the quay, waiting the arrival of the +steamboat, and mademoiselle shook her head gloomily. + +"It is not that I am a bad sailor, you know," she explained; "but, when +there is much movement, it affects my nerves and makes me feel faint." + +Barbara looked steadfastly out to sea. She did not want to hurt +Mademoiselle Thérèse's feelings by openly showing her amusement. + +"It is very unpleasant to have such delicate nerves," her companion +continued; "but I was ever thus--from a child." + +"But at this time of year we shall not often have a stormy passage," +comforted Barbara. + +At that moment a gust of wind, more sudden than usual, playfully caught +Mademoiselle Thérèse's hat, and bore it over the quay into the water. + +"My hat!" she shrieked. "Oh, save my hat!" + +Barbara ran forward to the edge, but it had been carried too far for +her to reach even with a stick or umbrella. + +"My hat!" mademoiselle cried again, turning to the people on the pier, +who were waiting for the ferry. "Rescue my hat--my _best_ hat!" + +At this stirring appeal several moved forward and looked smilingly at +the doomed head-gear; and one kind little Frenchman stooped down and +tried to catch it with the end of his stick, but failed. Mademoiselle +grew desperate. + +"If you cannot get the hat, get the hat-pins," she wailed. "They are +silver-gilt--and presents. Four fine large hat-pins." + +Then, seeing that several people were laughing, she grew angry. + +"And you call yourselves _men_, and Frenchmen! Can none of you swim? +Why do you stand there mocking?" + +"It is such an ugly hat," an Englishman murmured near Barbara. "It +would be a sin to save such an inartistic creation." + +"But she will get another just as bad," Barbara said, with dancing +eyes. "And--it is her best one!" + +"Cowards!" mademoiselle cried again, leaning futilely over the quay. +"I tell you, it is not only the hat, but the hat-pins. Oh! to see it +drown before my eyes, and none brave enough to bring it back!" + +This piece of rhetoric seemed to move one French youth, who slowly +began to unlace his boots, though with what object one could not be +quite sure. + +"It is such a particularly ugly hat," the Englishman continued +critically. "Those great roses like staring eyes on each side, with no +regard for colour or anything else." + +"But the colour won't be nearly so bright after this bath," Barbara +suggested; then added persuasively, "And really, you know, she took a +long time over it. Couldn't you reach it easily from that boat--the +ferry is so near now, and it would drive her distracted to see the +roses churned up by the paddle-wheels." + +The Englishman looked from the agitated Frenchwoman to the blots of +colour on the water, that were becoming pale and shapeless; then he +moved lazily towards the boat. Just as he was getting into it he +looked back at Barbara. + +"She won't embrace me--will she?" he asked. "If so----" + +"Oh, no," Barbara assured him. "Hand it up to her on the end of the +oar." + +"Well," he said, unshipping one, "it is against my conscience to save +anything so hideous. But the fault lies with you, and as you will +probably go on seeing it, you will have punishment enough." + +A few minutes later Mademoiselle Thérèse received the sodden hat with +rapture, anxiously counting over the hat-pins, while the French youth, +with some relief, laced up his boot again. + +"How noble!" mademoiselle exclaimed. "How kind! Your countryman too, +Miss Barbara! Where is he that I may thank him?" + +"If you linger you will miss the ferry," Barbara interposed. "See, +here it is, mademoiselle," and her companion reluctantly turned from +the pursuit of the stranger to go on board, clasping her hat in +triumph. Barbara thought, as she followed her, that if the fastidious +rescuer had but seen her joy in her recovered treasure, he would have +felt rewarded for his exertions in saving a thing so ugly. + + + +[1] Riding-School. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE PLOT THICKENS. + +The next time Barbara went to the baths she chose the day and the hour +at which Alice had told her she was usually taken, and was greatly +pleased when she saw the girl waiting in the passage. But as soon as +the old servant saw her she edged farther off with her charge, who +lifted her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, as if to say, "You see, my +spy has been warned." It seemed as if it would be impossible to hold +any conversation at all, but, fortunately, they were put into adjoining +cubicles, and Barbara found a crack, which she enlarged with her +pocket-knife. + +She felt as if she might be Guy Fawkes, or some such plotter from olden +times, and wondered what he would have done if he really had been +present. But having seen how difficult it was even to speak to Alice, +she was afraid the girl would take things into her own hands and do +something silly. + +Probably it was this feeling of urgency that stimulated her, and the +vague ideas which had been floating in her brain suddenly crystallised, +and a plan took shape which she promptly communicated to Alice. The +latter, she proposed, should go to Paris, to the pastor's family at +Neuilly, Barbara lending her the necessary money, for the girl was only +given a very little at a time. From Paris she could write to her +father and explain things, without any danger of having the letter +examined or altered. + +The only, and certainly most important, difficulty in the carrying out +of this plan was that there seemed no opportunity to escape except at +night, and even then it would need great care to slip past Mademoiselle +Eugénie, who slept at one end of the dormitory. Barbara did not like +the night plan, because it would mean climbing out of the window and +wandering about in the dark, or--supposing there were a +train--travelling to Paris; and either alternative was too risky for a +girl in a foreign country, who did not know her way about. + +Gazing up at the ceiling in perplexity over this new hitch, Barbara +discovered a way out of it, for there was a glazed window not so high +but that Alice could manage to climb up, and if she got safely out +(this was another inspiration), she was to run to the widower's house +and hide there till the time for a train to Paris. Once safely in that +city, Barbara felt it would be a weight lifted from her mind, for she +really was not very happy at sharing in an enterprise which, even to +her inexperience, seemed more fitted for some desperado than a sane +English girl. + +Having begun, however, she felt she must go through with it to the best +of her ability, and undertook to write to Neuilly, to arrange with the +widower's son, and to bribe the bath-boy to give the girl the only +cubicle with a window. As a matter of fact, Barbara would have rather +sent the girl to Mademoiselle Viré's, but the latter was so frail that +the excitement might be injurious to her, and it was hardly fair to +introduce such a whirlwind into her haven of peace. + +She had an opportunity of speaking to Jean that very day, for he had +offered to give her some lessons in photography, and she was going to +have her first one in the afternoon. The boy was quite delighted with +the thought of having something "to break the monotony of existence," +and declared that it was an honour to share in any plan for the secure +of the oppressed. + +"We will inclose her in the photographic cupboard, mademoiselle," he +said eagerly, "so that none can see her. Oh, we will manage well, I +assure you." + +Barbara sighed, fearing she was doing almost as mean a thing as Marie, +and was very doubtful as to what her mother and Aunt Anne would say +when they heard of the adventure. + +"I shall go to the look-out station and blow away these mysteries," she +said to herself, when the photography lesson was over; and the very +sight and smell of the sea made her feel better. The steamer from +Dinard had just unloaded its passengers, and was steaming hurriedly +back again with a fresh load, when among those who had landed she +noticed one that seemed not altogether strange to her. She drew +nearer, and was sure of it, and the visitor turning round at the same +moment, the recognition was mutual. It was the "American Pretender." + +"I was just going to ask where Mademoiselle Loiré lived," he said +gaily, "with the intent of calling upon you. How obliging of you to be +here when the steamboat arrived." + +Barbara laughed. + +"I often come here to look across at dear St. Malo, and get the breeze +from the sea," she explained. "Besides, I like watching the ferries, +they are so fussy--and the people in them too, sometimes. But how did +you get here?" + +"Not having met any more rash and runaway damsels whom I had to escort +back to Dol, I succeeded in reaching St. Malo, and it is not unusual +for visitors to go to Dinard and St. Servan from there. But, apart +from that," he went on, "I found out something so interesting that I +thought I must call and tell you--being in the neighbourhood." + +"That was awfully nice of you," said Barbara gratefully, "and I'm so +curious to hear. Please begin at once. You have plenty time to tell +me before we reach the house, and mademoiselle must excuse me talking +just a _little_ English." + +"I think the occasion justifies it," he agreed, smiling; then added +apologetically, "I hope you won't mind it being a little personal. I +told you I had come to Europe with my uncle, didn't I? My father left +me to his care when I was quite a little chap, and he has been +immensely good to me. We are great friends, and always share +things--when we can. He could not share this walking tour because he +had business in Paris, but I write him long screeds to keep him up in +my movements. In answer to the letter about our Dol adventure, my +uncle wrote back to say that he had known an English lady long ago +called Miss Anne Britton, and he wondered if this were any +relation--the name was rather uncommon." + +The American paused, and looked at his companion. + +"Please go on," she cried, "it is so very exciting, and surely it must +have been Aunt Anne." + +"He knew her so well," the young man continued slowly, "that--he asked +her to marry him, and--she refused." + +Barbara drew a long breath. + +"Oh! Fancy Aunt Anne having a romantic story like that! I _should_ +like to write and ask her about it. But, of course, I can't; she might +not like it." Then, turning quickly to the American, she added, "I +suppose your uncle won't mind your having told me, will he?" + +The young man flushed. "I hope not. He doesn't often speak of such +things; and, though I knew there had been something of the kind, I +didn't know her name. Of course----" He hesitated. + +"Yes?" said Barbara. + +"Of course, I know you will consider it a story to think about--and not +to speak of. But I thought, as it was your aunt, it would interest +you." + +"It does. I'm very glad you told me, because it makes me understand +Aunt Anne better, I think. Poor Aunt Anne! Although, perhaps, you +think your uncle is the one to be sorriest for." + +"I am going to join him in Paris to-morrow," he replied a little +irrelevantly. + +"To Paris! To-morrow!" echoed Barbara, the thought of Alice rushing +into her mind. "Oh, I wonder--it would be much better--I wonder if you +could do me a favour? It _would_ be such a relief to tell an English +person about it." + +"An American," he corrected. "But perhaps that would do as well. I +hope it is not another runaway bicycle?" + +"But it just _is_ another runaway expedition--though not a bicycle," +said the girl, and thereupon poured into his ears the story of Alice +Meynell and her woes. + +At first he laughed, and said she was in danger of becoming quite an +accomplished plotter; but, as the story went on, he grew grave. + +"It is a mad idea, Miss Britton," he said. "I am sorry you are mixed +up in the matter. Would it not have been better for you to write to +the girl's father and tell him all this?" + +Barbara looked vexed. + +"How silly of me!" she exclaimed. "Do you know, I never thought of +that; and, of course, it would have been quite simple. It _was_ +foolish!" + +"Never mind now," he said consolingly, seeing how downcast she looked. +"I am sure it must have been difficult to decide; and now that the +enterprise is fairly embarked on, we must carry it through as well as +possible. I think the station here would be one of the first places +they would send to when they found she had gone; but we can cycle to +the next one and send the machines back by train--she will be so much +sooner out of St. Servan." + +Barbara agreed gratefully. She was glad that there would be no need +for the dark cupboard, and felt much happier now that the immediate +carrying out of the plan was in some one else's hands. So she fixed an +approximate hour for the "Pretender" to be ready next day, and then +said good-bye. + +"I will postpone my call on Mademoiselle Loiré till another time," he +remarked. "I only hope that nothing will prevent that terrible young +lady of yours getting off to-morrow." + +"I hope not," sighed Barbara. "She may not even manage to get to the +baths at all. If so, we'll have to think of something else." + +"_Komm Tag, komm Rat_," he said cheerily, as he turned away. "Perhaps +we may yet want the cupboard." + +Barbara hoped not, although Jean was greatly disappointed when he heard +of the alteration in the plans, and the only way the girl could console +him was by telling him that, if ever she wanted to hide, she would +remember the cupboard, which, she thought was a very safe promise! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE ESCAPE. + +The following day was damp and dark, and the weather showed no signs of +improving, which was depressing for those who had great plans afoot. +Mademoiselle Thérèse thought Barbara was showing signs of madness when +she proposed going to the baths, and was not a little annoyed when her +disapproval failed to turn the girl from her purpose. Barbara had +grave doubts about Alice being allowed to go, but she felt _she_, at +least, must at all costs be there. She had time to remind the bath-boy +of his bargain, and to promise him something extra when next she came, +if he were true to his word, and was just ready to return home, when +Alice arrived with the old maid. She succeeded in giving her a little +piece of paper with some directions on it, but was able to say nothing; +and, after a mere nod, left the bath-house. + +She was very curious to see where the window by which the girl was to +escape opened, and, going down the passage that ran along the side of +the building, found that it opened into a yard, which seemed the +storehouse for old rubbish--a safe enough place to alight in. When she +returned to the street she saw the "Pretender" coming along, wheeling +two bicycles; and her relief at seeing him was mingled with compunction +at giving him such a lot of trouble. + +It really was rather cool to drag a comparative stranger into such a +matter, even if his good nature had prompted him to offer his +assistance. But, somehow, the mere fact of his talking English had +seemed to do away with the need of formal introduction, and the +knowledge that his uncle had known Miss Britton in bygone days would be +a certificate of respectability sufficient to satisfy her mother, she +thought. + +"I _am_ so sorry it's wet," she said. "It makes it so much worse for +you to be hanging about." + +"It _is_ hardly the day one would choose for a bicycle ride," he +returned cheerfully; "but, like the conductors in Cook's Tours, I feel +I have been chartered for the run, and weather must make no difference. +But you should go straight home. It would be too conspicuous to have +_two_ people loitering about. I will let you know as soon as possible +how things go, and if you don't hear till to-morrow, it will mean we +are safely on our journey." + +Barbara saw the wisdom of returning at once, but did so with +reluctance, and, finding that she was quite unable to give proper +attention to her work, wrote a long letter home, relieving her mind by +recounting the adventure in full. It was a good thing that the first +plan--of hiding Alice in the neighbouring house--had not been carried +out, for, about three quarters of an hour later, Mademoiselle Eugénie +came hurrying up to see if the girl was with them, and on hearing she +was not, at once proposed--with a suspicious glance at Barbara--that +she should inquire at the next house. + +She asked the girl no questions, however, perhaps guessing that if she +did know anything she would not be very likely to tell. It was +Mademoiselle Thérèse who, in the wildest state of excitement, +questioned every one in the house, Barbara included, and the latter +felt a little guilty when she replied that the last time she had seen +the missing girl was in the baths. + +Before very long the bellman was going round proclaiming her loss, and +describing the exact clothes she wore; and Barbara was afraid, when she +heard him, that there would soon be news of her; for she had been +wearing the little black hat and coat that all the girls at +Mademoiselle Eugénie's were dressed in. But the evening came, and +apparently nothing had been heard of the truant. Mademoiselle Loiré +and Marie did hardly any lessons, such was the general excitement in +the house, but discussed, instead, the various possibilities in +connection with the escape. + +Perhaps there was a little triumph in the hearts of the two elder +women, for they had always felt rather jealous that Mademoiselle +Eugénie had more boarders than they, even although they did not lay any +claim to being a school. They would have given a great deal to be able +to read Barbara's thoughts, but she looked so very unapproachable that +they shrugged their shoulders and resigned themselves, with what +patience they could, to wait. + +Barbara's anxiety was greatly relieved the next evening by letters +which she received from both the "Pretender" and Alice. The first +wrote briefly, and to the point. He said he had delivered the girl +safely to the people at Neuilly, whom Alice had taken to, and that +there seemed to be "good stuff" in her, too, for he had given her some +very straight advice about making the best of things, which she had not +resented. Further, that Barbara need have no more anxiety, as he had +cabled to her father to get permission for her to stay at Neuilly, in +case of any trouble arising when it was discovered where she was. +Barbara folded up the letter with a sigh of relief that the matter had +gone so well thus far, and opened Alice's communication, which was +largely made up of exclamation marks and dashes. + +She was very enthusiastic about Neuilly, and was sure she would be +quite happy there, and that the heat would only make her feel at home. +She had smiled with delight at intervals all day, she said, when she +thought of the rage of Mademoiselle Eugénie, and her futile efforts to +trace her. She supposed a full description of her clothes had been +given, but that would be no good, as the American had brought her a +tweed cap and a cycling cape, and they had thrown her hat away by the +roadside. She concluded by saying that Mr. Morton had been very kind, +though he did not seem to have a very high opinion of her character, +and had given her enough grandfatherly advice to last her a lifetime, +and made her promise to write to Mademoiselle Eugénie. + +Barbara tore up both letters, and then went out to visit Mademoiselle +Viré, and relieved her mind by telling her all about it. + +"It seems so deceptive and horrid to keep quiet when they are +discussing things and wondering where she is," she concluded. "But she +was to write to Mademoiselle Eugénie to-day, and I really don't feel +inclined to tell her or the Loirés the share I had in it." + +"I hardly think you need, my child," Mademoiselle Viré said, patting +her on the shoulder. "Sometimes silence is wisest, and, of _course_, +you tell your own people. I do not know, indeed, if I had been young +like you, that I should not have done just the same; and perhaps, even +if I had been Alice, I might have done as she did." + +Barbara laughed, and shook her head. She could never imagine the +elegant little Mademoiselle Viré conniving at anybody's escape, +especially through a bath-house window! But it cheered her to think +that the little lady was not shocked at the escapade; and she went back +quite fortified, and ready for supper in the garden with the widower +and his family, whom Mademoiselle Thérèse had been magnanimous enough +to invite. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +A WAYSIDE INN. + +It was wonderful how quickly the excitement about Alice Meynell died +down. Mademoiselle Thérèse went to call upon her former instructress, +who told her, with evident reluctance, that the girl had gone to Paris +with a friend who had appeared unexpectedly, and her father wished her +to remain there for the present. + +"Of course," Mademoiselle Thérèse said, in retailing her visit, "she +will wish to keep it quiet; such things are not a good advertisement, +and they will speak of it no more. I think, indeed, that Mademoiselle +Eugénie will call here no more. She suspects that we helped to make +the child discontented. I am thankful that _we_ have no such +unpleasant matters in _our_ establishment. We have always had an +excellent reputation!" and the sisters congratulated each other for +some time on the successful way in which they had always arranged +matters for _their_ boarders. + +It was while her sister was still in this pleasant mood of +self-satisfaction that Mademoiselle Loiré proposed to go to St. Sauveur +(a little town about twelve miles away), and collect the rent from one +or two houses they owned there. As Mademoiselle Thérèse talked English +best, and had the care of the English visitors, she had most of the +pleasant excursions, so that Barbara was quite glad to think the elder +sister was now to have a turn. Marie always went to St. Sauveur with +her aunt, as she had a cousin living in the town, with whom they +usually dined in the evening; and an invitation was graciously given to +Barbara to accompany them both. + +The girl often thought, in making these excursions here and there, how +nice it would have been could she have shared them with her mother and +the children; and then she used to make up her mind more firmly than +ever that she would begin teaching French directly she got home, so +that some day she could help to give the pleasure to Frances that her +aunt was giving to her. + +Donald had written on one occasion, that in view of so many excursions +he wondered when the work came in; to which she had replied that it was +_all_ work, as she had to talk French hard the whole time! And, +indeed, a day never passed without her getting in her lesson and some +grammatical work, though it sometimes had to come before breakfast or +after supper. + +On this occasion they were to start very early, as Mademoiselle Loiré +explained that they would stop for a little while at a wayside inn, +where an old nurse of theirs had settled down. It was therefore +arranged to drive so far, and take the train the rest of the way, and +Barbara, who had heard a great deal about "the carriage," pictured to +herself a little pony and trap, and was looking forward to the drive +immensely. What was her astonishment, therefore, when she saw drawn up +before the door next day, a little spring cart with a brown donkey in +it. + +"The carriage!" she gasped, and hastily climbed into the cart lest +Mademoiselle Loiré should see her face. They all three sat close +together on the one backless seat, and drove off gaily, Mademoiselle +Loiré "handling the ribbons," and all the little boys in the street +shouting encouragement in the rear. + +The donkey went along at an excellent, though somewhat erratic, pace, +for every now and then he sprang forward with a lurch that was somewhat +disconcerting to the occupants of the cart. The first time, indeed, +that he did so, Barbara was quite unprepared, and, after clutching +wildly at the side of the cart and missing it, she subsided into the +straw at the back, from which she was extricated by her companions, +amid much laughter. + +"Would you prefer to sit between us?" Mademoiselle Loiré asked her, +when she was once more reinstated in her position. "You would perhaps +feel firmer?" + +"Oh, no, thank you," said Barbara hastily. "I will hold on to the side +now, and be prepared." + +"He does have rather a queer motion," Mademoiselle Loiré; remarked +complacently; "but he's swift, and that is a great matter, and you soon +get used to his leaps. I should think," she went on, looking at the +donkey's long gray ears critically, "he would make a good jumper." + +"I should think he might," replied Barbara, subduing her merriment. "I +don't think our English donkeys jump much, as a rule; but the Brittany +ones seem much more accomplished." + +"Undoubtedly," her companion continued calmly. "My sister says when +_she_ was in England she tried to drive a donkey, and it backed the +carriage into the ditch. They must be an inferior breed." To which +remark Barbara was powerless to reply for the time being. + +The drive was a very pretty one, and the donkey certainly deserved his +driver's praises, for he brought them to the inn in good time. It was +a quaint little place, standing close to the roadside, but, in spite of +that fact, looking as if it were not greatly frequented. As they drove +up, they saw an old woman sitting outside under a tree, reading a +newspaper; but, on hearing the sound of wheels, she jumped up and ran +to the gate. As soon as Mademoiselle Loiré had descended she flung +herself upon her; and Barbara wondered how the latter, who was spare +and thin, supported the substantial form of her nurse. + +She had time to look about her, for her three companions were making a +great hubbub, and, as they all spoke together, at the top of their +voices, it took some minutes to understand what each was saying. Then +Barbara was remembered and introduced, and for a moment she thought the +nurse was going to embrace her too, and wondered if it would be worse +than a rush at hockey; but, fortunately, she was spared the shock, and +instead, was led with the others into a musty parlour. + +"I am so pleased to see you," the landlady said, beaming upon them all, +"for few people pass this way now the trams and the railway go the +other route; and since my dear second husband died it has seemed +quieter than ever." Here she shook her head dolefully, and dabbed her +bright, black eyes, where Barbara could see no trace of tears. + +"Sundays are the longest days," the woman went on, trying to make her +hopelessly plump and cheery face look pathetic, "because I am so far +away from church. But I read my little newspaper, and say my little +prayer--and mention all your names in it" (which Barbara knew was +impossible, as she had never heard hers before that morning)--"and +think of my little priest." + +Mademoiselle Loiré nodded to show she was listening, and Marie hastily +stifled a yawn. + +"I call him mine," the landlady explained, turning more particularly to +Barbara, "because he married me the last time, and my second husband +the first time." + +Barbara thought of the guessing story about "A blind beggar had a son," +and decided she would try to find out later exactly _whom_ the priest +had married, for the explanation was still going on. + +"Of course, therefore, he took an interest in his death," and the +widow's voice grew pathetic. "So he always keeps an eye on me, and +sends me little holy newspapers, over which I always shed a tear. My +second husband always loved his newspaper so--and his coffee." + +The word coffee had a magical effect, and her face becoming wreathed in +smiles again, she sprang to her feet in a wonderfully agile way, +considering her size, and ran to a cupboard in the corner, calling +loudly for a maid as she went. + +"You must have thirst!" she exclaimed, "terrible thirst and hunger; but +I will give you a sip of a favourite beverage of mine that will restore +you instantly." + +And she placed upon the table a black bottle, which proved to be full +of cold coffee sweetened to such a degree that it resembled syrup. +Poor Barbara! She was not very fond of hot coffee _un_sweetened, so +that this cold concoction seemed to her most sickly. But she managed +to drink the whole glassful, except a mouthful of extreme syrup at the +end, though feeling afterwards that she could not bear even to look at +coffee caramels for a very long time. They sat some time over the +refreshments provided for them, and their donkey was stabled at the inn +to await their return in the evening. Then bidding a temporary adieu +to their hostess, they went on to the town by train. + +Mademoiselle Loiré went at once to get her rent, which, she explained, +always took her some time, "for the people were not good at paying," +and left the girls to look at the church, which was a very old one. +After they were joined by mademoiselle they strolled along to Marie's +relations. The husband was a seller of cider, which, Marie explained +to Barbara, was quite a different occupation from keeping an inn, and +much more respectable. Both he and his wife were very hospitable and +kind, and especially attentive to the "English miss." + +It was quite a unique experience for her, for they dined behind a +trellis-work at one end of the shop, and, during the whole of dinner, +either the father or daughter was kept jumping up to serve the +customers with cider. The son was present too, but no one would allow +him to rise to serve anybody, for he was at college in Paris, and had +taken one of the first prizes in France for literature. It was quite +touching to see how proud his parents and sister were of him, and he +seemed to Barbara to be wonderfully unspoiled, considering the +attention he received. + +It seemed her fate to have strange food offered her that day, and when +the first dish that appeared proved to be stewed eels, Barbara began to +dread what the rest of the menu might reveal. Fortunately, there was +nothing worse than beans boiled in cream, though it was with some +relief that she saw the long meal draw to a close. Coffee and +sweetmeats were served in a room upstairs, in which all the young man's +prizes were kept, and which were displayed with most loving pride and +reverence by the mother and sister, while the owner of them looked on +rather bashfully from a corner. + +The young man was one of the type of Frenchmen who wear their hair cut +and brushed the wrong way, like a clothes-brush. Barbara was beginning +to divide all Frenchmen into two classes according to their _frisure_: +those that wore their hair brush-fashion, and those that had it long +and oiled--sometimes curled. These latter sometimes allowed it to fall +in locks upon their foreheads, tossing it back every now and then with +an abstracted air and easy grace that fascinated Barbara. They were +usually engaged in the Fine Arts, and she could never quite decide +whether the hair had been the result of the profession, or vice versa. + +After talking for some time, Barbara had her first lesson in écarté, +which she welcomed gladly, as helping to keep her awake. Then the +whole family escorted their visitors to the station, where they stood +in a row and waved hats and hands for a long time after the train had +left. It was getting rather late when they reached the little inn once +more, and Barbara was thankful that she had the excuse of a substantial +dinner to fall back upon when she was offered more of the landlady's +"pleasant beverage." + +When the good-byes had been said it was growing dark, and the girl, +thinking of their last adventurous drive, wondered if Mademoiselle +Loiré was any more reliable. However, after the first mile, she cast +dignity aside, and begged to be allowed to sit down in the hay at the +back of the cart and go to sleep, either the eel or her efforts to make +herself agreeable having created an overpowering desire for slumber, +and she was still dreaming peacefully when they drove into St. Servan, +and rattled up the narrow street to their own door. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE STRIKE. + +It was now the beginning of August, and just "grilling," as Donald +would have expressed it. + +It seemed almost as difficult to Barbara to leave the sea as it is to +get out of bed on a winter morning. + +"It must be so very nice to be a mermaid--in summer," she said, looking +back at the water, as she and Marie went up the beach one morning. + +"Yes," returned Marie, "If they had short hair. It must take such a +lot of combing." + +Marie was not so enthusiastic about bathing as her companion. Perhaps +her want of enthusiasm was due to the fact that she was not allowed to +bathe every day, because "it took up so much time that might be devoted +to her studies." At first Mademoiselle Thérèse had tried to persuade +Barbara that it would be much better for her to go only once or twice a +week too. + +"There are so many English at the _plage_," she complained, "that I +know you will talk with them; and it is a pity to come to France to +learn the language and waste your time talking with English, whom you +can meet in your own country." + +"But I won't talk with them," Barbara had assured her. "You know how +careful I have been always to speak French--even when I could hardly +make myself understood." + +The girl's eyes twinkled, for Mademoiselle Thérèse had a mania for +speaking English whenever possible, and at first always used that +language when with her pupil, until Barbara had asked her if she had +got so accustomed to speaking English that it was more familiar to her +than French! Since then, she only used English in public places, or +when she thought English people were near. + +"It is such a good advertisement," she explained complacently. "You +never know what introductions it may make for you." + +Barbara had used the same argument in favour of bathing every day, and +had prevailed, though she had really been very particular about +speaking French--not, I fear, from the desire of pleasing Mademoiselle +Thérèse, but because of the thought of the home people, and what she +meant to do for them. + +"I can't understand how you can bear riding in this weather," Marie +remarked, as they toiled slowly home in the sun. "It would kill me to +jog up and down on a horse in a sun as hot as this." + +"Not when you're accustomed to it," Barbara assured her. "You would +want to do it everyday then. I'm going to ride to St. Lunaire this +afternoon." + +"Then Aunt Thérèse won't go for the walk after supper. What a +happiness!" Marie cried, for Mademoiselle Loiré was not so strict as +her sister. + +The latter had grown quite reconciled to her journeys to Dinard now, +and, as a matter of fact, was looking forward with regret to the time +they must cease. She found the afternoons in the Casino Gardens with +her friend very pleasant, and came back each time full of ideas for +altering everybody's clothes. + +This she was not permitted to do, however, for Mademoiselle Loiré had +an unpleasant remembrance of similar plans on a previous occasion, +which had resulted in many garments being unpicked, and then left in a +dismembered condition until Marie and she had laboriously sewed them up +again! This particular afternoon Mademoiselle Thérèse was in a very +complacent mood, having just retrimmed her hat for the second time +since its immersion, and feeling that it was wonderfully successful. + +"If I had not been acquainted with the English language, and had so +many pressing offers to teach it," she said, as they were walking up to +the riding-school, "I should have made a wonderful success as a +_modiste_. Indeed, I sometimes wonder if it might not have been less +trying work." + +"That would depend on the customers, wouldn't it?" Barbara returned; +but did not hear her reply, for she had caught sight of Monsieur +Pirenne at the _manège_ door, and knew that he did not like to be kept +waiting. Mademoiselle Thérèse always waited to see them mounted, +feeling that thereby she ensured a certain amount of safety on the +ride; moreover, there was a ceremony about the matter that appealed to +her. + +Monsieur Pirenne always liked to mount Barbara in the street, and, +before getting on to his own horse, he lingered a while to see that +there were a few people present to witness the departure, for, like +Mademoiselle Thérèse, he had a great feeling for effect. After seeing +Barbara safely up, he glanced carelessly round, flicked a little dust +from his elegantly-cut coat, twirled his mustachios, and leaped nimbly +into the saddle, without the help of the stirrup. + +A flutter of approval went round the bystanders, and Mademoiselle +Thérèse called out a parting word of warning to Barbara--just to show +she was connected with the couple--before they moved off. Their +progress down the street was as picturesque as Monsieur Pirenne could +make it; for whatever horse he might be on, he succeeded in making it +caracole and curvet, saying at intervals, with a careless smile-- + +"Not _too_ near, mademoiselle. Manon is not to be trusted." + +"I believe he would do the same on a rocking-horse," Barbara had once +written home; but she admired and liked him in spite of these little +affectations--admired him for his skill in horsemanship, and liked him +for his patience as a master. + +This ride was one of the nicest she had yet had, as the road, being +bordered for a great part of the way by the links, made capital going. +It was when they had turned their faces homeward, and were just +entering the town, that something very exciting happened. They had +fallen into a walk, and Barbara was watching the people idly, when she +recognised among the passers-by the face of the "solicitor" of Neuilly! +She felt sure it was he, although he was just turning down a side +street; and after the shock of surprise she followed her first impulse, +and, putting her horse at a gallop, dashed after him. + +Monsieur Pirenne, who was in the middle of saying something, received a +great fright, and wondered whether she or her horse had gone mad. He +followed her at once, calling after her anxiously, "Pull up, +mademoiselle, pull up! You will be killed!" + +The solicitor did not see her, but just before she reached him he +stepped on to a passing tram and was whirled away, and before Barbara +had decided whether to pursue an electric tram or not, Monsieur Pirenne +had reached her side and seized her reins. He looked really +frightened, and annoyed too, but when Barbara told him that the horse +had only been running in accordance with the will of her mistress, he +composed himself a little, merely remarking that it was hardly _comme +il faut_ to gallop in the streets like that. + +"But, Monsieur Pirenne," Barbara said eagerly, "I know you would have +done the same if you had known the story;" and therewith she began to +tell it to him. He was immensely interested, for there is nothing a +Frenchman enjoys more than an adventure, and at the end of the tale he +was almost as excited as she was. + +"Could we trace him now?" he questioned eagerly. "But--I fear the +chance is small--the description is so vague, and you did not even see +the name on the tram, and we have no proofs. Yet, mademoiselle, if you +will go to the _préfecture_ with me, I will do my best." + +But Barbara shook her head decidedly. The thought of police courts, +especially French ones, alarmed her, and the warnings she had received +to keep out of any more "complications" were still very fresh in her +mind. + +"I think I should rather not go to the _préfecture_, monsieur," she +said quickly. "I do not think it would be any good either." + +"I agree with you perfectly." And Monsieur Pirenne bowed gallantly. +"Therefore, shall we proceed on our way? Does mademoiselle regret that +she did not catch him?" he asked, after a while. + +"I am sorry he is not caught--but I am not sorry _I_ did not catch him, +though that seems rather contradictory, doesn't it?" + +"By which mademoiselle means that she does not know what she would have +done with one hand on the miscreant's collar, the other on the reins, +and a crowd around her?" the Frenchman inquired politely. + +"That's just it," laughed Barbara. "You have exactly described +it--though I should be glad if _some one_ caught him and made him give +back the money." + +"I will keep my eyes open on your behalf, and shall let you know if +anything happens," he said sympathetically; and Barbara, remembering +his kindness, did not like to remind him that, never having seen the +man, he could not possibly be of much service to her. + +When Mademoiselle Thérèse heard that she had seen the solicitor again, +she was almost as excited as Barbara had been, and at once proposed +that they should spend the rest of the evening in Dinard, looking for +him; and it was not until the girl pointed out that he might now be on +his way to England, or a long way off in another direction, that she +became reconciled to returning home. + +Excitement seemed in the air that evening, and when they arrived at the +St. Servan quay there were more idlers than usual. They wondered what +was the cause, and when Mademoiselle Thérèse, with her customary desire +to get at the bottom of everything, asked the reason, she was told that +the strike among the timber-yard men, which had been threatened for +some time, had begun that afternoon, and that work was suspended. + +It was all the more astonishing because it had come so suddenly, and +Barbara could hardly tear mademoiselle away from the spot until she +suggested that those at home might not have heard of it yet, and that +she might be the first to tell it to them. Hurrying through the town, +they heard great shouting from the other side of the quay, which made +mademoiselle nearly break into a run with eagerness. As it happened, +however, the news had already spread to their street, and they found +Mademoiselle Loiré equally anxious to tell the new-comers what _she_ +knew of the matter. + +As it was the first strike for many years, the townspeople looked upon +it with a strange mingling of pride and fear. It was stirred up by an +agitator called Mars, and had broken out simultaneously in other ports +too. More _gendarmes_ were sent for in case of need, though +Mademoiselle Loiré said it was hoped matters might be arranged amicably +by a meeting between masters and men. + +They were still discussing the subject, when a loud shouting was heard, +and they all ran to a disused bedroom in the front of the house and +looked out. + +A crowd of men, marching in fours, were coming up the street, led by +one beating a drum, and another carrying a dirty banner with "Liberté, +Equalité, Fraternité" upon it. Barbara's eyes sparkled with +excitement, and she felt almost as if she were back in the times of the +Revolution, for they looked rather a fierce and vicious crew. + +"They are some of the strikers," Mademoiselle Thérèse cried. "We must +withdraw our heads from the windows in case the men get annoyed with us +for staring." But she promptly leaned still farther out, and began +making loud remarks to her sister, on the disgracefulness of such +behaviour. + +"You will be heard," Mademoiselle Loiré returned, shaking her head at +her sister. "You are a silly woman to say such things so loudly when +the strikers are marching beneath." + +But the remonstrance had no effect, and the sight of all the other +windows in the street full of spectators encouraged and inspired +Mademoiselle Thérèse, and made her long for fame and glory. + +"It is ridiculous of the mayor to allow such things," she said loudly, +with an evident desire to be heard. "The men should be sharply dealt +with, and sent back to their work." + +The result of her words was unexpected; for several of the crowd, +annoyed at the little serious attention they had hitherto received, and +worked up to considerable excitement, by the shouting and drumming +began to pick up stones and fling them at the house. At first they +were merely thrown _against_ the house, then, the spirit of mischief +increasing, they were sent with better aim, and one crashed through the +window above Mademoiselle Thérèse's head. + +"We shall all be killed!" shrieked her sister, "and just because of +your meddling ways, Thérèse." But she called to deaf ears, for now +Mademoiselle Thérèse, enjoying notoriety, kept popping her head in and +out of the window, dodging the stones and shouting out threats and +menaces, which were returned by the crowd, till at last Mademoiselle +Loiré cried out pitifully that some one must go and fetch the widower. + +"One man even might be a protection," she moaned, though how, and +whether against her sister or the strikers, did not seem very clear to +Barbara. But as that seemed to be Mademoiselle Loiré's one idea, and +as Marie and the maid-servants were all crying in a corner, she thought +she had better fetch him. Running downstairs and across the garden, +she climbed over the wall by the wood pile, and boldly knocked at the +widower's back door, thereby frightening him not a little. He came +very cautiously along the passage, and inquired in rather shaky tones +who was there. + +As soon as Barbara had assured him that this was not an attack in the +rear, he flung open the door, and welcomed her most cordially. Barbara +wondered where he had been not to have heard Mademoiselle Loiré's +wailings, and suspected that perhaps he _had_ heard them and had +retired hastily in consequence! He certainly looked a little depressed +when he received the message, which was to the effect that he should +come and address the crowd from the Loirés' window, and bid it to +proceed on its way. + +"I think," he said pensively, after some moments' consideration, "that +if I am to go at all, I had better go out by my own front door and +speak to the crowd from the street. They will be more likely to listen +to me there, than if they thought I was one of Mademoiselle Loiré's +household." + +"That is _very_ brave of you, monsieur," Barbara said, and the little +man swelled with pride. Perhaps it was the thought of the glorious +part he was about to play before the whole street that upheld him, as +he certainly was rather timid by nature. + +"If _you_ are going out to face that mob," said Jean, drawing himself +up, "I will accompany you." + +"Noble boy!" cried the little man, embracing him. "We will live or die +together. Come!" And off they went, while Barbara hurried across the +garden and over the wall again, not wishing to miss the spectacle in +the street. But her dress caught in the wood, and, as it took her some +time to disentangle it, the widower had finished his speech by the time +she arrived at the window. But he seemed to have made an impression, +for the crowd was beginning slowly to move on, urged by what +persuasions or threats she could not discover, as the Loirés had not +heard much either. + +But as long as the strikers went, the ladies did not much mind how they +had been persuaded, and when the last man had straggled out of sight, +and the sound of the drum was dying away, both the sisters, followed by +Marie, rushed downstairs and flung open the front door. + +"Enter!" Mademoiselle Loiré cried. "Enter, our preserver--our +rescuer!" and, as soon as he crossed the threshold, Mademoiselle +Thérèse seized one hand and her sister the other, till Barbara wondered +how the poor little man's arms remained on. Marie, meanwhile, did her +part by the son, and, as they all spoke at once, there was almost as +much noise in the house as previously there had been outside. + +"Our noble preserver, what do we not owe to you!" shouted Mademoiselle +Thérèse, trying to drown her sister, who was speaking at his other ear. + +"Facing the mob like a lion at bay--one man against a thousand!" +Barbara knew there had not been a hundred, but supposed a poetical +imagination must be allowed free play. + +"He stood there as calmly as in church," Marie interpolated, though she +knew that the widower never went there, "with a cool smile playing +about his lips--it was a beautiful sight;" and Barbara regretted +exceedingly that her dress had detained her so long that she had missed +it. + +Compliments continued to fly for some time, like butterflies in June; +then, from sheer exhaustion, the sisters released him, and wiped their +eyes from excess of emotion. Barbara was just assuring herself that +the widower's arms _did_ seem to be all right, when he turned round, +and, seizing both her hands, began to shake them as violently as his +had been shaken a few minutes before. + +Barbara was much bewildered, not knowing what she had done to deserve +this tribute, and wondering if the widower were doing it out of a +spirit of revenge, and a desire to make somebody else's hands as tired +as his own. But one glance at his glowing, kindly face dispelling that +idea, Barbara concentrated all her attention on the best way to free +herself, and avoid going through a similar ordeal with all the others, +which, she began to fear, might be her fate. + +She escaped it, however, for Mademoiselle Loiré had hastened away to +bring up some wine from the cellar, in honour of the occasion, and they +were all invited into the _salon_ to drink to each other's healths +before parting. The widower was called upon to give a speech, to which +Mademoiselle Thérèse replied at some length, without being called upon; +and it was getting quite late before the two "noble preservers" retired +to their own home. + +When they had gone, Mademoiselle Loiré suggested that all danger might +not yet be past, and, as the men might return again later, she thought +it would be wiser to make preparations. So the two frightened +maid-servants being called in to assist, the shutters were closed +before all the windows, and heavy furniture dragged in front of them. +When this was done, and all the doors bolted and barred, Mademoiselle +Thérèse proposed to take turns in sitting up and keeping watch. +Barbara promptly vetoed the motion, declaring she was going to bed at +once, and, as no one else seemed inclined to take the part of sentinel, +they all retired. + +"I hope we may be spared to see the morning light," Mademoiselle +Thérèse said solemnly. "I feel there is great risk in our going to bed +in this manner." + +"Then why don't you sit up, sister?" Mademoiselle Loiré said crossly, +for the last hour or two had really been very tiring. But to this her +sister did not deign to reply, and, taking up her candle, went up to +bed. When Barbara gained the safe precincts of her own room she +laughed long and heartily, and longed that Donald or Frances could have +been there to see the meeting between rescuer and rescued. + +In spite of their fears of evil they all spent a peaceful night, the +only result of their careful barricading being that it made the +servants cross, as they had to restore things to their places. The +town was apparently quiet enough too--though Mademoiselle Thérèse would +not allow any one to go out "in case of riot"--and when the additional +_gendarmes_ came in the evening there was little for them to do. It +was supposed that the men and employers had come to some understanding, +and that the strikers would soon return to their work. + +"But, you see," Mademoiselle Thérèse said to Barbara, "how easily a +revolution arises in our country. With a little more provocation there +would have been barricades and the guillotine just as before." + +"But while the widower and his son live so near us," Barbara replied, +"we need surely have no fear." + +And, though Mademoiselle Thérèse looked at her sharply, the girl's face +was so sedate that the lady supposed she was treating the matter with +seriousness. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +BARBARA PLAYS DETECTIVE. + +The morning lesson was over, and Mademoiselle Thérèse had betaken herself +to Barbara's couch, which the girl knew always meant that she was going +to make her an indefinite visit, and tell her some long story. This +time, it was about her visit to England and what she had done when +teaching there; and, as Barbara had heard it all before more than once, +it was a little difficult to show a proper interest in it. + +"Yes," mademoiselle went on, "it was a time full of new experiences for +me, by which I hope I profited. I got on extremely well with your +countrywomen, too, and the girls all loved me, and, indeed, so did your +countrymen, for I received a great many offers of marriage while there. +I grew weary of refusing them, and was _so_ afraid of hurting their +feelings--but one cannot marry every one, can one?" + +"Certainly not, mademoiselle," Barbara returned gravely. "It would be +most unwise." + +"That is just what I felt. Now, the German fräulein----" + +Barbara sighed, wondering if it were the tenth or eleventh time she had +heard the tale of the "German fräulein"; but before she had decided the +point, there was a knock at the door, and the maid-servant brought up the +message that mademoiselle was wanted below by a visitor. + +She rose at once, shook out her skirt, and patted her hair. + +"That is just the way," she said. "I am never allowed much time for +rest. You would not believe how many people seek me to obtain my advice. +I will return in a few minutes and finish my story." + +When she had gone, Barbara looked longingly at the couch. It was _such_ +a hot day, and the lesson had been a long one; but she was afraid it was +not much good to settle down with the promise of the story hanging over +her head. The result proved she was right, for very soon Mademoiselle +Thérèse came hurrying back again, full of smiles and importance. The +landlady of the inn, _Au Jacques Cartier_, wished her to go there, she +said, to act as interpreter between herself and an Englishman, who could +speak hardly any French. Would Barbara like to come too? + +Thinking it might be entertaining, Barbara got ready hastily and ran down +to join Mademoiselle Thérèse and the landlady, who had come in person "to +better make clear matters." + +"This Englishman and his son," she explained, as they went along, "have +only been with us a day or two, but already we wish them to go, yet +cannot make them understand. Of course, I do not wish to hurt his +feelings, but now, in August, I could let the room twice over to people +who would be much less trouble, and whom the other guests would like +better." + +"But what is wrong with these?" asked Mademoiselle Thérèse critically. +"I must know all the affair or I cannot act in it." + +She drew herself up very straight, and Barbara wondered if she were +thinking of Portia in the _Merchant of Venice_. + +"Well, this gentleman asked for a 'bath every morning,'" the landlady +replied in an injured tone, "and after we procured for him a nice little +washing-tub, with much trouble, he said it was too small." + +"That is not sufficient reason to send him away;" and Mademoiselle +Thérèse shook her head. + +"No. But then he cannot understand what goes on at _table d'hôte_, and +he and his son are such silent companions that it casts a gloom over the +rest. Of course," with an apologetic glance at Barbara, "some Englishmen +are very nice to have; but this one"--she shook her head as if the matter +were quite beyond her--"this one I do not like, and perhaps without +hurting his feelings, you, mademoiselle, could make quite clear to him +that he must go." + +By this time they had arrived at the hotel, which was close to the +Rosalba Bathing Place, and overlooked that little bay. Barbara, thinking +the interview would be a delicate one, and that she would but add to the +unpleasantness of the situation, said she would wait in the orchard till +she was called. + +From it one could get a beautiful view across the River Rance, to the +wooded slopes beside Dinard, and, finding a seat beneath a lime-tree, +Barbara sat down. She had been there about a quarter of an hour, and was +almost asleep, when she heard stealthy footsteps coming through the grass +beside her, and the next moment her startled eyes fell upon the +solicitor's son of Neuilly remembrance! + +She got rather a fright at first, but he certainly got a much worse one; +and before he had recovered it had flashed across her mind quite clearly +that the man who was at that moment talking to Mademoiselle Thérèse, was +the solicitor himself. Before she could move from her place, the son had +cast himself down on his knees, and was begging her incoherently to spare +him and his father--not to inform against them. The thought of going to +prison, he said, would kill him, as it had his mother, as it nearly had +his sister; and if she would spare them, he would take his father away at +once. + +To see the boy crying there like a child almost made Barbara give way and +let things go as they liked; but then she remembered how meanly his +father had cheated the people in Neuilly--a widow's family too--and what +a life he seemed to have led his own wife and children; then, calling to +mind his horrid manner and cruel, sensuous face, she steeled herself +against him. + +"I shall certainly inform against your father," she said gravely. "And I +think the best thing that you and your sister can do, is to get away at +once, before it is too late." + +The boy wrung his hands. "My sister has gone already," he moaned, "to +some Scotch relations--simple people--who said they would take her in if +she would have nothing more to do with our father. But I could not +go--there was money only for one." + +Barbara looked at the pathetic figure before her, and suddenly forgot all +her promises not to get entangled in any more plots or other dangerous +enterprises, and almost before she realised what she was doing, she was +scribbling a message in French on the back of an envelope. + +From where they stood they could see the little house of Mademoiselle +Viré, and the entrance to the lane in which it stood. Pointing out the +roof of the house to her companion, she told him to run there with the +note, and, if the people let him in, to wait until she came. + +She felt it was a very bold, and perhaps an impertinent thing to do, but +she was almost sure that Mademoiselle Viré would do as she asked. As +soon as she saw him so far on his way, she ran to the inn, and went +through to the kitchen, where a maid was cooking. + +"Bring your master to me, as quickly as possible," the girl said +peremptorily. "You need not be afraid" she added, seeing that the +woman--not unnaturally--looked upon her with suspicion. "I will touch +nothing, and the quicker you come back the better I shall be pleased." + +The maid eyed her doubtfully for a few minutes, then shrugged her +shoulders and ran out of the room. Her master would, at least, be able +to get rid of this obnoxious stranger, she thought. He came quickly +enough, with an anxious expression on his rosy face, and Barbara had to +tell the story twice or thrice before he seemed to understand. It was +rather unpleasant work telling a foreigner about the evil deeds of a +fellow-countryman, but it seemed the right thing to do, though the +thought of it haunted the girl for some time. + +When once the landlord understood matters, he acted very promptly, +sending some one for the police, and then with a telegram to Neuilly. He +said he had had his doubts all along, because the gentleman had seemed +queer, and the people sleeping next him had complained that they were +sure he beat his son, for they used to hear the boy crying. + +The landlord then went down into the hall to wait until Mademoiselle +Thérèse's interview was over, and Barbara, leaving a message to the +effect that she had grown tired and had gone on, ran back to their house. + +Having succeeded in entering unobserved, she got her purse and hurried +off to Mademoiselle Viré. + +The old maid looked at her with a mingling of relief and curiosity, but +was much too polite to ask any questions. + +"The young man is here," she said, and led the way into the little +dining-room, where her mistress was sitting opposite the boy with a very +puzzled face, but doing her best to make him take some wine and biscuit. +Mademoiselle Viré had always appeared to Barbara as the most courteous +woman she had ever met, and, in presence of the frightened, awkward +youth, her gracious air impressed the girl more than ever. + +Knowing that he could not understand French she told his story at once, +and her listener never showed by a glance in his direction that he was +the subject of conversation. They both came to the conclusion that the +best thing he could do would be to go to St. Malo, and take the first +boat to England. It left in the evening about seven, so that by next +morning he would be safe at Southampton. + +Then Barbara said, in the way she had been wont to advise Donald, "I +think you should go straight to your sister, and take counsel with her as +to what you should do. I will lend you money enough for what you need." + +"You _are_ kind," the boy said, with tears in his eyes. "I'll pay you +back as soon as I get any money--as soon as ever I can, I do promise +you--if only I get safely to England." He had such a pitiful, frightened +way of looking over his shoulder, as if he expected to see his father +behind him all the time, that Barbara's wrath against the man arose anew, +and she felt she could not be sorry, whatever his punishment might be. + +"Good-bye," she said kindly. "I must go away now. I think, when you +arrive in England, you might write to Mademoiselle Viré, and say you +arrived safely. I shall be anxious till I hear." + +The boy almost embarrassed Barbara by the assurances of his gratitude, +and she breathed more freely when she got into the open air. + +"How glad I ought to be that Donald isn't like that," she thought, the +remembrance of her frank, sturdy brother rising in vivid contrast in her +mind. + +When she got back, Mademoiselle Thérèse was enjoying herself thoroughly, +recounting the adventure to her own household and to the widower and his +sons whom she had called in to add to her audience. She described the +whole scene most graphically and with much gesticulation, perhaps also +with a little exaggeration. + +"The anger of the man when he found he must accompany the officers was +herculean," she said, casting up her eyes; "he stormed, he raged, he tore +his hair" (Barbara remembered him as almost quite bald!), "he insisted +that his son must come too." + +"How mean!" the girl cried indignantly. + +"But the son," mademoiselle paused, and looked round her audience--"the +son," she concluded in a thrilling whisper, "had gone--fled--disappeared. +One moment he was there, the next he was nowhere. Whereupon the papa was +still more angry, and with hasty words gave an exact and particular +description of him in every detail. 'He must be caught,' he shouted, 'he +must keep me company.' Such a father!" Mademoiselle rolled her eyes +wildly. "Such an inhuman monster repelled me, and--I fled." + +Barbara, feeling as if they should applaud, looked round vaguely to see +if the others were thinking of beginning; but at that moment she was +overpowered by Mademoiselle Thérèse suddenly flinging herself upon her +and kissing her on both cheeks. + +"This!" she said solemnly, holding Barbara with one hand and +gesticulating with the other--"this is the one we must thank for the +capture. She directed the landlord--her brains planned the arrest--_she_ +will appear against him in court." + +"Oh, no!" Barbara cried in distress, "I really can't do that. They have +telegraphed for Madame Belvoir's son from Neuilly--he will do. I really +could not appear in court." + +"But you can speak French quite well enough now--you need not mind about +that; and it will be quite an event to appear in court. It is not +_every_ girl of your age who can do that." + +Mademoiselle spoke almost enviously; but the idea was abhorrent to +Barbara, who determined, if possible, to avoid such an ordeal. + +The next afternoon they had a visit from one of Madame Belvoir's sons, +who had come across to see what was to be done about the "solicitor." +Barbara was very glad to see him, for it brought back remembrances of the +first happy fortnight in Paris. + +It was rather comforting to know, too, that the result of one of the +plots she had been concerned in had been satisfactory, for the news about +Alice was good. She was getting on well with French, and all the +Belvoirs liked her very much. The "American gentleman" had been to see +her twice, and her father had not only given her permission to stay, but +had written to Mademoiselle Eugenie to that effect, and was coming over +himself to see her. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +A MEMORY AND A "MANOIR." + +No amount of wishing on Barbara's part could do away with the necessity +for her appearing in court, and the ordeal had to be gone through. + +"If I were a novelist, now," she said ruefully to Mademoiselle Thérèse, +"I might be able to make some use of it, but as I am just a plain, +ordinary person----" + +Her chief consolation was that the boy had written saying he had joined +his sister and that he "had never been so happy in his life." He was +going to be a farmer, he said, and Barbara wondered why, of all +occupations, he had fixed upon one that appeared to be so unsuitable; +but, as a proof of his good intentions, poor boy, he had sent her ten +shillings of the money she had lent him, and promised to forward the +rest as soon as he could. It was some comfort also, as Mademoiselle +Viré pointed out, that the man would be safely out of the way of doing +further harm for the present. + +Barbara quite agreed with her, but thought she would have felt the +comfort more if some one else had played her part. But when the whole +unpleasant business was over, and Barbara had vowed that nothing would +ever prevail upon her to go into court again--even if it were to +receive sentence herself--she sought out Mademoiselle Viré, with a +proposal to do something to "take away the bad feeling." + +"Make music," the little lady said. "That is, I think, the only thing +I can offer you, my child. Music is very good for 'bad feelings.'" + +"Yes, oh, yes, it is; but this is something I have been wanting for a +long time, and now I feel it is the right time for it. _Dear_ +Mademoiselle Viré, will you come for a drive with me?" + +A delicate flush coloured the old lady's cheeks, and Barbara watched +her anxiously. She knew she was very poor, and could not afford to do +such things for herself, and she was too frail to walk beyond the +garden, but she also greatly feared that she might have made the offer +in a way to hurt her friend's feelings. + +The little lady did not answer for some time, then she looked into the +eager face before her and smiled. + +"_If_ I said I would go, where could you get a carriage to take us?" + +"Oh, I have found out all about that," the girl replied joyfully. "I +shall not ask you to go in a donkey-cart, nor yet in a _fiacre_. I +have found out quite a nice low chaise and a quiet pony that can be +hired, and I will drive you myself." + +It took only a little consideration after that, and then mademoiselle +gave her consent to go next day if it were fine. + +"If Jeannette would care to come," Barbara said, before leaving; and +the old woman, who had been sitting very quietly in her corner while +the arrangements were being made, looked at her mistress with a beaming +face, and read her pleasure in the plan before she spoke. + +"I am so glad you thought of her," Mademoiselle Viré whispered as she +said good-bye to her visitor, "for though, of course, I should never +have asked you to include her, yet she has been so patient and faithful +in going through sorrows and labour with me, that it is but fair she +should share my pleasures, and I should have felt grieved to leave her +at home on such a day." + +Barbara had one more invitation to give, which went rather against the +grain, and that was to Mademoiselle Thérèse, whom she felt she could +not leave out; but she was unfeignedly glad when the lady refused on +the score of too much English correspondence. + +The following day being gloriously fine, they started for the drive in +great contentment, going by Mademoiselle Viré's choice towards La +Guimorais, a little village some seven kilometres away on the coast. +The pony was tractable and well behaved, and they rolled along slowly +under the shady trees and past the old farms and cottages, Mademoiselle +Viré's face alone, Barbara thought, being worth watching, while +Jeannette sat opposite, her hands folded in her lap. + +Just before reaching La Guimorais the road branched off towards a +lonely _manoir_, empty now, and used by some farmer for a storehouse. +Yet there was still a dignity about it that neither uncared-for garden +nor ruined beauty could destroy. + +"May we go close, quite close to it?" Mademoiselle Viré asked, and +Barbara turning the pony's head into the lane, pulled up beside the +high gray walls. + +"The master once, the servant now, but still noble," the old lady +whispered, as her eyes, wandering lovingly over it all, lingered at +last upon a bush of roses near the gate. The flowers were almost wild, +through neglect and lack of pruning, and not half so fine as many in +the little lady's own garden; but Barbara, noticing the longing look, +slipped out and gathered a handful. + +"The farmer would spare you those, I think, madame, if it pleases you +to have them." + +"He would surely spare them to me," madame repeated, and buried her +face in their fragrance. Then she laid them in her lap. + +"Drive on, my dear, I have seen all I wish," she said. She was silent +till they passed into the main road again. Then she said, with a +backward look at the _manoir_-- + +"I once stayed there for a very happy summer with my father, and a +well-beloved friend. They are both in Paradise now, and I hope, by +God's good grace and the intercessions of our Lady, I am nearer them +each year." + +Her face was perfectly serene, but poor old Jeannette's was all +puckered up, and the tears rolled heavily down her cheeks. As for +Barbara, she did not speak for a time. + +The village was a quaint little place, just a few houses dropped +together beside the sea, which sang to them for ever. + +"Let us not go in out of the clean, strong air," Mademoiselle Viré +said, as they stopped in front of the inn. "May we drink tea at the +door?" + +They slipped the reins through a ring in the flags in front of the +house, and sipped their tea, while the children of the place came and +stared solemnly at the strangers. + +They drove home in the evening sunlight between the orchards, where the +apples hung heavy on the trees, Mademoiselle Viré talking in her happy +way as usual, entertaining Barbara with tales of what she had seen and +heard. But when they drew up at her door, and the girl helped her out, +she looked anxiously into her friend's face. Had it been too tiring +for her? + +"You are thinking I may be tired!" the old lady said, smiling at her. +"Then I will tell you, my dear. I am just tired enough to go to bed +and have dreams, happy dreams. When one is so old, one is so near the +end of memory, so near the beginning of realities, that the former +ceases to be sad. I thank you for the pleasure you have given +Jeannette and myself, it will last us long; and now, good-night." + +She kissed her, and Barbara turned back to the pony chaise. + +"For her sake," she said softly to herself, "one would like the +realities to begin soon." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +AUNT ANNE AGAIN. + +Barbara had not been so frequently at the bath-house of late, the sea +proving more attractive, and she was therefore surprised one day on +going there to find a new bath-boy. She missed her old plain-faced +friend and wondered what had become of him. "Is he ill?" she asked at +the office on her way out. + +The woman pursed up her lips; "No, he is not ill," she said. "But we +found that he was not of the character that we thought." + +"But he had been with you some years," Barbara expostulated, for the +boy had confided that fact to her. + +"He had, but he had degenerated, we found." + +A dreadful doubt seized Barbara that his dismissal might be due to the +help he had given her in Alice's escape, and in that case she would be +partly responsible for him. + +"Will you kindly give me his address?" she said, turning back again to +the office. The woman looked doubtful, and said she was not sure if +she had it. + +"I think if he has been with you several years, you must surely know +where he lives," Barbara persisted; and seeing her determined look, the +woman apparently thought it would be the quickest way to get rid of +her, and did as she was asked. Barbara repeated the name of the street +and the number once or twice as she went out, and wondered how she +should begin to find her way there, though consoling herself by +thinking it was not the first time she had hunted up unknown addresses +successfully since she had come to France. + +It was very hot, and for a moment she hesitated, wondering whether she +would not put off her search till another time; then she decided it was +her duty to look the boy up at once. Asking a kindly postman if he +could direct her to the address, she found that the house was in one of +the streets near the quays. Though rather a long way off, it was not +difficult to find, and once found it was not easily forgotten, for the +smells were mingled and many. + +Barbara wandered down between the high old houses, looking at the +numbers--when she could see them--and finally found the one she sought. +She had not to wait long after knocking, and the door was opened by the +bath-boy himself, who stared at her in astonishment. + +"Ma'm'selle?" he said doubtfully, as if uncertain whether she were a +messenger of ill omen or not. + +"I have come to call," Barbara explained. "May I please come in?" + +His face broadened into the familiar grin, and he shuffled down the +passage before her, wearing the same heelless list slippers that had +first attracted Barbara's attention to him in the bath-house. The room +he took her into smelt fresh and clean, and indeed was half full of +clean clothes of all descriptions. + +"My mother is _blanchisseuse_," the boy said, lifting a heap of +pinafores from a chair. "I am desolated that she is out." + +"Yes. Guillaume, will you please tell me why you were sent away from +the bath-house?" + +Guillaume looked uncomfortable, and moved his foot in and out of his +slipper. + +"Why, ma'm'selle--I was dismissed. They said it was my character, but +that is quite good. I do not drink, nor lie, nor steal; my mother was +always a good bringer up." + +"Then was it because of helping the English lady to escape? Was it +that, Guillaume?" The boy swung his slipper dexterously to and fro on +his bare toes. + +"It was doubtless that, ma'm'selle, for it was after the visit of the +lady she belonged to that I was dismissed. My mother warned me at the +time. 'It is unwise,' she said, 'for such as you to play thus.' But +the little English lady looked so sad." + +"I _am_ sorry, Guillaume. I do wish it had not happened." + +"So do we, ma'm'selle," said the boy simply, "for my mother, who is +_blanchisseuse_, has lost some customers since then, too, and I cannot +get anything here. To-morrow I go to St. Malo or Paramé to try--but +they are much farther away. Yet we must have money to keep the little +Hélène. She is so beautiful and so tender." + +"Who is Hélène?" inquired Barbara; and at the question the boy's face +glowed with pride and pleasure. + +"I will bring her to you, ma'm'selle; she is now in the garden. She is +with me while I am at home." + +He shuffled off, and returned in a few minutes with a little girl in +his arms: so pretty a child that Barbara marvelled at the contrast +between them. + +"She is not like me, hein?" he asked, laughing. "Hélène, greet the +lady," and Barbara held out both hands to the little girl, who, after a +long stare, ran across to her. In amusing her and being herself +amused, Barbara forgot the reason of her visit, and only remembered it +when the little girl asked her brother suddenly if he would fetch her a +roll that evening. + +The boy looked uncomfortable. "Not to-night," he hastened to say, "but +the mama, she will bring you something to-night for supper. I used to +bring her a white roll on my way home from the baths," he explained to +Barbara. + +"May I give her one to-night?" the girl asked quickly, putting her hand +into her pocket. "I would like to." + +But the boy shook his head. "No, no, the mama would not like it--the +first time you were in the house. Some other time, if ma'm'selle does +us the honour to come again." + +"Of course I will. I want to see how you get on at St. Malo or +Paramé," she said, "and whether Hélène's doll gets better from the +measles." + +"Or whether she grows wings," put in Hélène in waving her hand in +farewell. + +Barbara was very thoughtful on her way back, and before reaching the +house, she had determined to give up her riding for the present. One +more excursion she would have, in which to say good-bye to Monsieur +Pirenne, who had been very kind to her; but it seemed rather selfish to +use up any more of the liberal fund which her aunt had supplied her +with for that purpose. After all, it was hard that the bath-boy, +through her fault, could not even supply his little sister with rolls +for her supper. + +Mademoiselle Thérèse was somewhat surprised at the sudden decision, and +perhaps a little annoyed by it, for she had grown accustomed to the +trips to Dinard, and would miss them greatly. Monsieur Pirenne was +also disturbed, because he feared "Mademoiselle had grown tired of his +_manège_." Barbara assured him to the contrary, and tried to satisfy +them both with explanations which were as satisfactory as such can be +when they are not the real ones. As to connecting the girl's visits to +the ex-bath-boy--which Mademoiselle Thérèse thought were due merely to +a passing whim--and the cessation of rides, she never dreamed of such a +thing. + +The result of the boy's inquiries at St. Malo and Paramé were fruitless +at first, and Barbara had paid several visits, and was beginning to +feel almost as anxious as the mother and son themselves before the boy +succeeded in his search. But one afternoon when she arrived she found +him beaming with happiness, having found at least a temporary job at +Paramé, and one which probably would become permanent. + +"That news," she said, shaking the boy's hand warmly in congratulation, +"will send me home quite light-hearted." + +But somehow, though she was honestly glad, it did not make her feel as +happy as it should have done, and she thought the road back had never +seemed so long, nor the sun so hot. She would gladly have missed her +evening lesson and supper, but she feared that of the two evils +Mademoiselle Thérèse's questions would probably be the worse. Indeed, +when in the best of health, that lady's conversation was apt to be +wearisome, but when one felt--as Barbara had for the past few +days--that bed was the only satisfactory place, and _that_ even harder +than it used to be, then mademoiselle's chatter became a penance not +easily borne. + +"You are getting tired of us, and beginning to want home," the +Frenchwoman said in rather offended tones two days later, when Barbara +declined to go with her to Dol. "I am sorry we have not been able to +amuse you sufficiently well." + +"Oh, that isn't it at all," Barbara assured her. "It is just that I +have never known such hot weather before, and it makes me disinclined +for things." + +"You are looking whitish, but that is because you have been staying in +the house too much lately. Dol would do you good and cheer you up." + +"Another time," the girl pleaded. "I think I won't go to-day," and the +lady left her with a shrug, and the remark that she would not go +either. She was evidently annoyed, and Barbara wondered what she +should do to atone for it; but later in the day she had a visit that +drove the thoughts of Dol from both her mind and mademoiselle's. + +She was sitting in her room trying to read, and wondering why she could +not understand the paragraph, though she had read it three or four +times, when Mademoiselle Thérèse came running in excitedly to say there +were two American gentlemen downstairs in the _salon_ to see her--one +old, one young. "Mr. Morton," was the name on the card. + +"Why, it must be the American pretender!" cried Barbara; who, seeing +her companion's look of surprise, added hastily, "the elder one used to +know my Aunt Anne, and they have both been in Paris; it was the younger +one who helped Alice Meynell there." + +"Then, indeed, I must descend and inquire after her," said mademoiselle +joyfully. "I will just run and make my toilet again. In the +meanwhile, do you go down and entertain them till I come." + +But Barbara was already out of the room, for she thought she would like +to have a few minutes conversation before Mademoiselle Thérèse came in, +as there might not be much opportunity afterwards. + +"How nice of you to call on me," she said, as she entered the _salon_. +"I was just longing for one of the English-speaking race." + +The elder Mr. Morton was tall and thin, with something in his carriage +that suggested a military upbringing; his hair and eyes gray, the +latter very like his nephew's grown sad. + +"The place does not suit you?" the elder man inquired, looking at her +face. + +"Oh, yes, I think so; it is just very hot at present." + +"Like the day you tried to ride to Dol," the nephew remarked, wondering +if it were only the ride that had given her so much more colour the +first time he had seen her, and the sea breeze that had reddened her +cheeks the last time. + +But there were so many things the girl was anxious to hear about, that +she did not allow the conversation to lapse to herself or the weather +again before Mademoiselle Thérèse, arrayed in her best, made her +appearance. She at once seized upon the younger man, and began to pour +out questions about Alice. + +"You need not fear any bad results," Mr. Morton said to Barbara. "My +nephew is very discreet;" and Barbara, hearing scraps of the +conversation, thought he was not only discreet but lawyer-like in his +replies. + +The visit was not a very long one, Mr. Morton declining an invitation +to supper that evening, with promises to come some other time. But +before they went, he seized a moment when Barbara's attention was +engaged by his nephew to say something that his hostess rather resented. + +"The young lady does not look so well as I had imagined she would. I +suppose her health is quite good at present?" + +"She has complained of nothing," Mademoiselle Thérèse returned, +bridling. "Why should she be ill? The food is excellent and abundant, +and we do everything imaginable for the comfort of our inmates." + +"I am sure you do, madame," he replied, bowing. "I shall have the +pleasure of calling upon you again, I hope, before long. As I knew +Miss Britton it is natural for me to take an interest in her niece when +in a foreign land. Your aunt, I suppose, is now in England?" he added +casually to Barbara. + +"Yes--staying with us for a day or two; but I hope she will come here +before I go, and we could make an excursion on our way home." + +"That would be pleasant for both, I am sure," Mr. Morton replied, +taking a ceremonious leave of Mademoiselle Thérèse, and a simple, +though warmer one of Barbara. The young man said little in parting, +but as soon as they were in the street he laid his hand hurriedly on +his uncle's arm. + +"The girl is ill, uncle, I am sure of it; she is not like the same +person I met before; and that Mademoiselle Thérèse would drive me crazy +if I weren't feeling up to the mark." + +"No doubt; what a tongue the woman has! But what do you want to do, +Denys, for, of course, you have made up your mind to do something?" + +Denys frowned. "Of course I don't want to seem interfering, but I +won't say anything at home in case of frightening her mother. But----" +he paused and looked up at his uncle--"do you think it would seem +impertinent to write to the aunt? She might come a little sooner, +perhaps, and, being at Mrs. Britton's, could use her judgment about +telling her or not." + +Mr. Morton pondered, his mind not wholly on the girl whom they had just +left; then remembering his nephew he brought his thoughts down to the +present. "I should risk the impertinence if I were you, Denys. But +what about the address?" + +"I know the village and the county," Denys said eagerly. "I should +think that would find her. I will do it when I get back." + +But it proved more difficult to write than he imagined, and it was some +time before--having succeeded to his satisfaction--he brought the +letter to his uncle for criticism. It ran thus:-- + + +"DEAR MADAM,--I am afraid you may think it rather impertinent on my +part to write to you, but I hope you will forgive that, and my apparent +interference. I am Denys Morton, whom your niece met some time ago on +the way to Dol, and, as my uncle and I were passing this way in +returning from a little tour, we called on Miss Britton, and both +thought her looking ill. The doctor here is, I believe, quite good, +but Mademoiselle Thérèse, though doubtless a worthy lady, would, to me, +be rather trying in time of illness. I should not write to you, but I +fear Miss Britton will not, being unwilling to worry you or any of +those at home. My uncle made a suggestion on the matter to +Mademoiselle Thérèse, which was not very much liked by that lady, +therefore he thought I might write you. He asks me--if you still +remember him as a 'past acquaintance'--to give you his regards. + +"Hoping you will forgive my officiousness. + +"Yours truly, + "DENYS MORTON." + + +"That is quite passable," Mr. Morton said when he had read it. "I +think you will hardly give offence. I wonder if she remembers me?" + +"She could hardly help doing that," and Denys nodded affectionately at +his uncle. "But I shall be much happier when this letter arrives at +its destination. The address is not very exact. However, we will see, +and we can call again to-morrow--it would be kind, don't you think, to +one of our 'kith,' so to speak, and in a foreign land?" + +The uncle smiled. "It would be kind, as you say, Denys, so we will do +it." + +But when they called the following afternoon they were told that Miss +Britton was in bed and Mademoiselle Thérèse engaged. As a matter of +fact, she was in the midst of composing a letter to Mrs. Britton, for +when Barbara had said as carelessly as she could, that she would stay +in bed just for one day, Mademoiselle Thérèse, remembering her +visitor's "remarks the previous afternoon, had taken alarm and sent for +the doctor, and now thought it would be wiser to write to Mrs. Britton. +Having wasted a good many sheets of paper, and murmured the letter over +several times to herself, she sought her sister out. + +"Listen," she said proudly, "I think I have succeeded admirably in +telling Mrs. Britton the truth and yet not alarming her, at the same +time showing her that by my knowledge of her language I am not unfitted +to teach others." + + +"HONOURED MADAM,--I am permitting myself to write to you about your +dear daughter, who has entwined herself much into our hearts. There +are now some few days she has seemed a little indisposed, and at last +we succeeded in persuading her to retire to bed, and called in the +worthy and most respectable, not to say gifted, family doctor who gives +us his attention in times of illness. He expressed his opinion that it +was a species of low fever, what the dear young lady had contracted, +out of the kindness of her good heart, in visiting in time of sickness +the small sister of the bath-boy (a profession which you do not have in +England)---- + + +"That shows my knowledge of their customs, you see," the reader could +not refrain from interpolating; then she continued with a flourish-- + + +"and the daughter of a worthy _blanchisseuse_, who is in every respect +very clean and orderly, therefore we thought to be trusted with the +presence of your daughter, but whom, in the future, we will urge the +advisability of leaving unvisited." + + +Mademoiselle paused a moment for breath, for the sentence was a long +one, and she had rolled it out with enjoyment. "Of course," she said +to her sister, "I have not yet visited the house of this +_blanchisseuse_, but I inquired if it was clean, and, would not have +allowed the girl to go if the report had not been favourable; but to +continue-- + + +"Your daughter, in the excellence of her heart, would not, perhaps, +desire to rouse your anxieties by mentioning her indisposition, but we +felt it incumbent upon us, in whose charge she lies, to inform her +relatives, and, above all, her devoted mother. + +"With affectuous regards, + "Yours respectably, + "THÉRÈSE LOIRÉ." + + +"There!" exclaimed the writer in conclusion. "Do you not think that is +a fine letter?" + +Her sister shrugged her shoulders. + +"Probably it is, but you forget I cannot understand English. But pray +do not trouble to translate it," she added hastily; "I quite believe it +is all that you say." + +"Yes, you may believe that," and Mademoiselle Thérèse closed the +envelope. "I think it will make an impression." + +In that belief she was perfectly right, and perhaps it was a fortunate +thing that Aunt Anne was there to help to remove the impression; for, +that lady having already had Denys Morton's letter, was prepared for +this one, and was glad she had been able to tell the news in her own +way to her sister-in-law the day before. + +"Don't look so scared, Lucy," she said. "I don't suppose there is +anything much amiss, though I shall just pack up and go at once. What +an irritating woman this must be--quite enough to make any one ill if +she talks as she writes." + +With characteristic promptitude Miss Britton began to make her +preparations immediately, and only halted over them once, and that was +when she hesitated about packing a dress that had just come home, which +she said was ridiculously young for her. + +"It will get very crushed," she muttered discontentedly. "But then---- +Oh, well, I might as well put it in," and in it went. Mrs. Britton +hovered anxiously about her, and watched her proceedings wistfully. + +"You don't think I should go too, do you, Anne?" she asked. + +"Not at present, certainly," Miss Britton returned promptly, regarding +her with her head on one side. "I promise I will let you know exactly +how things are, and whether you would be better there. I would say +'Don't worry' if I thought it were the least good, but, of course, you +will." + +Then she stooped and fastened a strap of her trunk. "It was a most +sensible thing of the young Morton to write straight away, and, +probably, if they are there, they will be quite sure to see Barbara has +all she wants--the uncle always was a kind-hearted man." + +Then she straightened her back and declared everything was ready. + +She crossed by night from Southampton to St. Malo, and was greatly +afraid that she would arrive "looking a wreck," and, to prevent that +she partook largely of a medicine she had seen advertised as a "certain +cure for sea-sickness." Her surprise equalled her delight when she +awoke in the morning, having slept peacefully all night, and she +refused to believe that her good night was probably owing to the +calmness of the sea and not to the medicine. + +She looked with a little dismay at the shouting, pushing crowd of +porters and hotel touts waiting on the quay, wondering how she would +manage to keep hold of her bag among them all, and, as she crossed the +gangway, clutched it more tightly than before. + +"No," she said, as some one took hold of it as soon as her foot touched +the quay. "You shall not take my bag--I would not trust it to any one +of you. You should be ashamed of yourselves, screaming like wild +Indians." + +It was just then that Denys Morton and his uncle came through the +crowd. "That is she--there," the elder man said, recognising her after +fourteen years. "Go and help; I will wait here." + +It was at a crucial moment, when Miss Britton was really getting +exasperated and rather desperate, that the young man came up, and she +accepted his assistance and explanation with relief. + +"My uncle is down here," he said. "We have a _fiacre_ waiting. There +is always such a crush and rout on the quay, we thought we had better +come to pilot you through." + +The young man, in spite of his easy bearing, had been a little anxious +as to how the two would meet again, and dreaded lest there might be +some embarrassment. But beyond an air of shyness that sat strangely on +both, and a kind of amused wonder at meeting after so many years, there +was nothing to show that they had been more than mere acquaintances, +and the talk centred chiefly on Barbara. + +"She does not know you are coming yet," Denys said. "Mademoiselle +Thérèse got your telegram, but said it would be better not to tell your +niece in case the ship went down on the way!" + +"What a cheerful person to live with!" Miss Britton ejaculated. "I'm +afraid I may be very rude to her." + +"I hope not," Mr. Morton said. "It would do no good, and she seems to +be an excellent lady in many ways." + +"We shall see!" Miss Britton replied grimly, getting out of the +_fiacre_; and Denys felt rather sorry for Mademoiselle Thérèse. + +But Miss Britton was often worse in imagination than in reality, and +she behaved with all due politeness to both the sisters, who met her at +the door, and led her into the _salon_. She even bore a certain amount +of Mademoiselle Thérèse's explanations with patience, then she got up. + +"Well, well, I would rather hear all that afterwards, mademoiselle, and +if I may just take off my hat and coat I will go straight up to my +niece. I had breakfast on board." + +A few minutes later Aunt Anne opened Barbara's door and entered, a +little doubtful lest her sudden appearance might not be bad for her +niece, but thinking it could not be much worse than a preparation "by +that foolish woman." + +Barbara was lying with her back to the door, but something different in +the step made her turn round, and she sprang up in bed. + +"Aunt Anne! Aunt Anne!" and dropping her face into the pillow began to +cry. + +Aunt Anne stood a moment in doubt. It was such a rare thing to see any +of "the family" cry that she was startled--but not for long; then she +crossed the room and began to comfort her niece. + +"It was dreadfully foolish of me," the girl said after a while, "but it +was _so_ nice to see you again. Mademoiselle Thérèse is very kind, +but--she creaks about, you know, and--and fusses, and it is a little +trying to have foreigners about when you are--out of sorts." + +"Trying! She would drive me distracted. Indeed, if I had only her to +nurse me I should die just to get rid of her!" + +"Oh, she's not quite so bad as _that_," Barbara returned. "She has +been very kind indeed, aunt, and is a very good teacher; and you get +used to her, you know." + +"Perhaps. But now I'll just tell you how they are at home. Then you +must be quiet, and, as I crossed in the night, I shall be glad of a +rest too. I can stay in here quietly beside you." + +Miss Britton having had a little experience in sickness, saw that, +though probably there was no need for anxiety, Barbara was certainly +_ill_. She felt more reassured after she had seen the doctor, who she +allowed "seemed sensible enough for a Frenchman," and wrote her +sister-in-law a cheery letter, saying the girl had probably been doing +too much, and had felt the strain of the affair of the "solicitor" more +than they had realised. + +"The doctor says it is a kind of low fever," she told the Mortons; "but +_I_ say, heat, smells, and fussiness." + +After a few days' experience, she owned that the Loirés were certainly +not lacking in kindness, but still she did not care to stay there very +long; and she told Denys Morton that she had never been so polite, +under provocation, in her life before. The uncle and nephew, who had +not yet moved on, did not speak of continuing their travels for the +present, and Miss Britton was very glad to know they were in the town. + +One of Barbara's regrets was that she had missed seeing the meeting +between Mr. Morton and her aunt, and that she was perhaps keeping the +latter from enjoying as much of his company as she might otherwise have +done. There were many things she wanted to do with Miss Britton when +allowed to get up, but in the meanwhile she had to content herself with +talking about them. She was much touched by the attention of +Mademoiselle Viré, who sent round by Jeannette wonderful home-made +dainties that, as Barbara explained to her aunt, "she ought to have +been eating herself." + +A fortnight after Miss Britton's arrival Barbara was allowed to go +downstairs, and, after having once been out, her health came back "like +a swallow's flight," as Mademoiselle Thérèse poetically, though a +little ambiguously, described it. She and her aunt spent as much time +out of doors as possible, going for so many excursions that Barbara +began to know the country round quite well; but, though many of the +drives were beautiful, none seemed to equal the one she had had with +Mademoiselle Viré, which was a thing apart. + +They drove to La Guimorais again one afternoon, and on their return the +girl told Denys Morton, who had been with them, the story of the +_manoir_. He was silent for a little at the close, then, as if it had +suggested another story to his mind, he looked towards where his uncle +and Miss Britton were walking up and down. + +"I would give anything--almost anything, at least--that he might be +happy now; he has had a great deal of the other thing in the past," he +said. + +"So would I," Barbara agreed. "You know, I couldn't quite understand +it before, but I do now. When you're ill--or supposed to be--you see +quite another side of Aunt Anne and one that she doesn't always show. +Of course, your uncle is just splendid. I can't understand how aunt +could have been so silly." + +Denys laughed softly, then grew grave, and when they spoke again it was +of other things, for both felt that it was a subject that must be +touched with no rough, everyday fingers. "They would hate to have it +discussed," was the thought in the mind of each. But the story of +Mademoiselle Viré, and all that he had heard about her, made Denys wish +to see her, and as Aunt Anne felt it a duty to call there before +leaving St. Servan, Barbara took them all in turns, and was delighted +because her old friend made a conquest of each one. Even Miss Britton, +who did not as a rule like French people, told her niece she was glad +she had not missed this visit. + +As neither Mademoiselle Viré nor Miss Britton knew the other's +language, the interview had been rather amusing, and Barbara's powers +as interpreter had been taxed to the uttermost, more especially as she +felt anxious to do her part well so as to please both ladies. When +Mademoiselle Viré saw that her pretty remarks were not understood, she +said gracefully-- + +"Ah! I see that, as I am unfortunate enough to know no English, +madame, I can only use the language of the eyes." + +Barbara translated the remark with fear and trembling, afraid that her +aunt would look grim as she did when she thought people were talking +humbug, but instead, she had bidden Barbara reply that Mademoiselle +Viré would probably be as far beyond her in elegance in that language +as in her own; and the girl thought that to draw such a speech from her +aunt's lips was indeed a triumph. + +The lady certainly did smile at the inscription Mademoiselle Viré wrote +on the fly-leaf of a book of poems she was giving the girl, and which, +Miss Britton declared, was like an inscription on a tombstone-- + + "A Mademoiselle Barbara Britton, + _Connue trop tard, perdue trop tôt._" + +But she did not laugh when she heard what the little lady had said on +Barbara's last visit. + +"We are of different faiths, _mon amie_, but you will not mind if I put +up a prayer for you sometimes. It can do you no harm, and if we do not +meet here again, perhaps the good God will let us make music together +up yonder." + +Miss Britton fixed the day of departure as soon as Barbara was ready +for the journey, proposing to go home in easy stages by Rouen and +Dieppe, so that they might see the churches of which Mr. Morton had +talked so much. The uncle and nephew had just come from that town, and +were now returning to Paris, and thence, Denys thought, to England. + +Mademoiselle Thérèse was "desolated" to hear that Barbara's visit was +really drawing to a close, and assured her aunt that a few more months +would make Barbara a "perfect speaker; for I have never known one of +your nation of such talent in our language," she declared. + +"Of course that isn't true," Miss Britton said coolly to Barbara +afterwards, "though I think you have been diligent, and both +Mademoiselle Viré and the queer little man next door say you speak +fairly well." + +The "queer little man next door" asked them both in to supper before +they went, to show Miss Britton, he said, what a Frenchman could do in +the cooking line. Barbara had some little difficulty in persuading her +aunt to go, though she relented at last, and the experience was +certainly very funny, though pathetic enough too. He and his sons +could talk very little English, and again Barbara had to play +interpreter, or correct the mistakes they made in English, which was +equally difficult. + +They had decorated the table gaily, and the father and son both looked +so hot, that Barbara was sure they had spent a long time over the +cooking. The first item was a soup which the widower had often spoken +of as being made better by himself than by many a _chef_, and consisted +of what seemed to Barbara a kind of beef-tea with pieces of bread +floating in it. But on this occasion the bread seemed to have swelled +to tremendous proportions, and absorbed the soup so that there was +hardly anything but what seemed damp, swollen rolls! Aunt Anne, +Barbara declared afterwards, was magnificent, and plodded her way +through bread sponges flavoured with soup, assuring the distressed cook +that it was really quite remarkable "potage," and that she had never +tasted anything like it before--all of which, of course, was perfectly +true. + +The chicken, which came next, was cooked very well, only it had been +stuffed with sage and onions, and Monsieur said, with pride, that they +had thought it would be nice to give Mademoiselle Britton and her niece +_one_ English dish, in case they did not like the other things! It was +during this course that Barbara's gravity was a little tried, not so +much because of the idea of chicken with sage and onions, as because of +the stolidity of her aunt's expression--the girl knowing that if there +was one thing that lady was particular about, it was the correct +cooking of poultry. + +There were various other items on the menu, and it was so evident that +their host and his eldest son had taken a great deal of trouble over +the preparation of the meal, that the visitors were really touched, and +did their best to show their appreciation of the attentions paid them. +In that they were successful, and when they left the house the widower +and his sons were wreathed in smiles. But when they had got to a safe +distance Aunt Anne exclaimed, "What a silly man not to keep a servant!" + +"Oh, but aunt," Barbara explained, "he thinks he could not manage a +servant, and he is really most devoted to his children." + +"It's all nonsense about the servant," Miss Britton retorted. "How can +a man keep house?" + +Nevertheless, when Mademoiselle Loiré began to question her rather +curiously as to the dinner, she said they had been entertained very +nicely, and that monsieur must be an extremely clever man to manage +things so well. + +One other visit Barbara made before leaving St. Servan, and that was to +say good-bye to the bath-boy. It had needed some persuasion on her +part to gain her aunt's permission for this visit. + +"But, aunt, dear," Barbara said persuasively, "he helped me with Alice, +and lost his place because of it. It would be so _very_ unkind to go +away without seeing how they are getting on." + +"Well, I suppose you must go, but if I had known what a capacity you +had for getting entangled in such plots, Barbara, really I should have +been afraid to trust you alone here. It was time I came out to put +matters right." + +"Yes, aunt," Barbara agreed sedately, but with a twinkle in her eyes, +"I really think it was," and she went to get ready for her visit to the +bath-boy. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE END OF THE STORY. + +When the day for parting came Barbara found that it cost her many pangs +to leave them all--Mademoiselle Viré first and foremost, and the others +in less degree, for she had grown fond even of Mademoiselle Thérèse. +The latter lady declared she and her household were inconsolable and +"unhappy enough to wear mourning," which remark Barbara took with a +grain of salt, as she did most things that lady said. + +But the two sisters and Marie all went to the station to say good-bye, +and each of them kissed her on both cheeks, weeping the while. Barbara +was not very fond of kisses from outsiders in any case, but "weeping +kisses," as she called them, were certainly a trial! What finally +dried Mademoiselle Thérèse's tears was to see the widower and his two +sons entering the station, each carrying a bouquet of flowers. + +"So pushing of them," she murmured in Barbara's ear, and turned coldly +upon them; but the girl and her aunt were touched by the kindness, and +the former felt horribly ashamed when she remembered that more than +once in private she had laughed at the quaint little man and his ways. + +Barbara heard her aunt muttering something about a "dreadful humbug" +once or twice, but she was very gracious to every one, and smiled upon +them all until the train left the station, when she sank back with an +air of relief and exclaimed, "Thank goodness! That's over--though, of +course, they meant it kindly." + +"They are very kind," Barbara said, looking down at the three bouquets +on the seat. "I really don't deserve that they should be so kind." + +"Probably not," Miss Britton returned calmly. "We sometimes get more +than our deserts, sometimes less, so perhaps things adjust themselves +in the end. I was really rather astonished not to see the bath-boy at +the station too--your acquaintance seems so varied." + +"Yes, I have learned a great deal since I went there," Barbara said +thoughtfully; "and just at the end I felt I didn't want to come away at +all." + +"I have no such feelings," her aunt remarked, though, perhaps, a little +thoughtfully also. But when they arrived at Rouen, the remembrance of +their pleasant time in Paris returned to them, and they both felt ready +for the delights of seeing a new town. + +Apart from the information given by the Mortons Barbara felt already +familiar with the great churches and quaint streets, and for her Rouen +never quite lost the halo of romance that Mademoiselle Viré had endowed +it with. + +It was to be connected with yet another story of the past, however, +before they left it, one which, for romance, was fully equal to +Mademoiselle Viré's, though its conclusion was so much happier. + +It was the second day of their stay, and after a morning of wandering +about the town, both Barbara and her aunt were resting, the former on +the balcony in front of her room, the latter on the terrace in the +garden. Although a book was in her lap, Barbara was not reading, but, +with hands clasped behind her head, was idly watching the passers-by, +when suddenly laziness vanished from her attitude, and her gaze became +intent on the figure of some one who had just turned into the portico +of the hotel. She rose from the low chair, her eyes shining with +excitement. + +"It certainly was he!" she said. "Now, Barbara--it is time for you to +eliminate yourself--you must lie on the couch and try to look pale." + +She pulled down the window blind, ran into her room, and had hardly +settled herself upon the couch when, as she had expected, a maid came +up with a message asking her to go down to the terrace. + +"Please tell Miss Britton I have a headache, and am lying down for a +little," Barbara said, congratulating herself upon the possession of +what had annoyed her considerably a short time before, though in an +ordinary way she would have scoffed at the idea of lying down for a +headache. A few minutes afterwards up came her aunt, looking very +concerned, and fearing lest they had been doing too much. Barbara's +heart smote her, but she told herself that she must be firm. + +"I sent for you to come to see Mr. Morton, senior," Aunt Anne +explained. "Strangely enough, he arrived this morning in Rouen, and +has put up at another hotel." + +"How nice. How very nice! I shall come down later, aunt. I expect I +shall be _quite_ all right shortly." + +She had a little difficulty in persuading her aunt that it was not +necessary to stay beside her, but at last succeeded in doing so, and +gave a chuckle of joy when the door closed. + +She had intended to go down to the garden later on, but, strange to +say, fell fast asleep, and did not awaken until the man tapped at her +door, saying the tea had been ordered for four o'clock, but now, +although it was half-past, madame had not returned, having gone along +the river bank, he believed, with monsieur. So Barbara hastily +descended and had tea--very much brewed--all by herself, and then +returned to her room to read. + +She had finished her book, and was thinking of getting ready for +dinner, when Aunt Anne came in--quite a different Aunt Anne from the +one she knew, with all her decision fled. She fidgeted about for some +time, saying nothing of importance, then at last turned round and began +hastily-- + +"I did a very silly thing once long ago, Barbara, and to-day I have +done what I am afraid people may think still sillier--I have promised +to marry Mr. Morton." + +Whereupon Barbara seized her rapturously. "Oh, aunt," she cried, "I'm +so glad, just gladder than of anything else I could have heard." + +"It--it is a great relief, Barbara," she said unsteadily, "to have you +take it so. I--was afraid you might laugh. You know, it needs some +courage for a person of my age to do a thing like that. It is +different for a girl like you, but I could not have done it, had I not +felt that since he desired it so urgently, I ought to right the wrong I +had done him long ago." + +"You can't help being very happy, aunt," said Barbara, "I'm sure, with +such a nice man as Mr. Morton. The only regret _I_ have is that you've +lost so much of the time----" + +Then, seeing her aunt's face, she felt inclined to strike herself for +having spoken foolishly. + +"Mr. Morton is in the garden," her aunt said after a moment. "It would +be nice if you went down and saw him." And Barbara sped away. + +That interview was apparently entirely satisfactory, for Miss Britton, +enjoining them later, found Barbara had just issued an invitation in +her mother's name and that it had been accepted. "And, of course, you +will come too, aunt," the girl added. + +There was one part in the arrangements that Barbara begged to be left +to her, and that was the letter home telling the news. + +"You see, Aunt Anne," she said, "I naturally feel as if I had rather a +big share in the matter." + +"I think surely it was Denys Morton's letter that brought me," Miss +Britton corrected; "but write if you like, Barbara." And, indeed, she +was rather glad to be relieved from the responsibility. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE CODA. + +If Barbara had been at home when her letter arrived, she would have +been quite content with the excitement it caused. At first Frances and +Donald were inclined to think it a huge joke, but having read to the +end of Barbara's letter they felt rather differently. Aunt Anne had +acted more wisely than she knew in allowing her niece to be the one to +write and tell of her engagement. + +"Of course," Donald said in his decided way, "we must do the proper +thing by her and treat her nicely--for after all, Frances, she's been +rather a brick about Barbara--and the last time she stayed she was much +improved." + +"It'll be interesting having a new uncle too," Frances remarked +complacently. "We're rather badly off for uncles, Don, and from what +Barbara says this Mr. Morton must be very--nice, though, of course, +Barbara isn't quite to be trusted, seeing she's such a friend of +Denys'. Let me see, now, what relation will _he_ be to us?" + +"Oh, don't bother about relationships at present--you may just have to +rearrange them again," Donald said impatiently. "Let's go and be +thinking of something to welcome Barbara back." + +On that matter they held a long consultation, Donald being in favour of +taking the horse out of the fly and drawing it home themselves, and +Frances inclining more to wreaths and decoration. + +She got her way in the end, as she pointed out to her brother that the +cabman would probably not allow them to take the horse out, and that +they would have to pay for it all the same, and worst of all, that they +would be so much out of breath with pulling that they would not be able +to ask any questions when they got home. It was probably the last +reason that weighed the most with Donald, who agreed to devote his +energies to making an archway over the garden path and setting off some +fireworks in the evening. + +On the whole, the arch was quite a success, and looked very pretty, +though it was not so secure as it might have been, and its makers felt +it safer to fasten to it a large label with the inscription, "Not to be +handled." + +The travellers were not to arrive till late in the afternoon, and poor +Mrs. Britton was driven nearly distracted by the intense excitement +pervading among the children during the morning. One of the twins had +actually suggested putting on her best frock the night before so as to +be quite ready on the following day. + +It is seldom that such an eagerly-expected event is not disappointing +in some detail of its fulfilment, but there was not a shade upon the +happiness on this occasion. Barbara and Miss Britton arrived at the +right time, _with_ their luggage; the archway remained firm until both +the travellers had passed underneath (though it collapsed shortly +afterwards); and the fireworks were as successful as such things +usually are. It is true that Donald was a trifle hurried over +displaying them, for Barbara was as anxious to unpack the treasures she +had brought home as the children were to see them. + +"You are still a _little_ thin, dear," Mrs. Britton said, as she +watched her daughter; but Barbara declared it was imagination, and +Donald and Frances gave it as their opinion that it was only the +"Frenchy kind of look she had." + +"You have dressed her in such jolly things, aunt," Frances said +admiringly. "I like a person to come home looking like the country +she's come from, and it'll be a great advantage to her teaching--she'll +get heaps of pupils, I'm sure." + +"Oh, we'll not talk about the teaching just yet," Mrs. Britton said +quickly. "She must have a week or two free first, and then it will be +time enough for us to think about it;" and to that there was no +dissentient voice--except Barbara's. + +Aunt Anne had brought home some treasures too; but was quite willing to +keep hers till later, and the children declared, with round eyes of +delight, that Barbara had brought enough to last for a very long time. + +"You really were a brick to bring so many lovely things, Barbara," said +Frances, trying to fix in a brooch with one hand while she stroked a +silk blouse with the other. "This brooch is so pretty, I'm really not +going to lose it, though I can't think how you got enough money to buy +so much." + +Miss Britton looked across at her niece, who hastily dived into her +trunk again; but the former confided to her sister-in-law afterwards, +that Barbara had distributed the remainder of the money she had given +her for riding lessons between the bath-boy and presents for the +home-people, which news made Mrs. Britton prize _her_ share of the +treasures more than ever. + +The only thing that a little disappointed the children was that "Uncle +Morton" had not arrived too. + +"It's a pity he didn't come with you, we're all so anxious to see him," +Frances remarked, looking at her aunt, whom Barbara relieved by +answering in her stead. + +"Both Mr. Morton and his nephew are coming soon to the inn," she said, +"so you haven't long to wait." + +But their curiosity rose to almost unbearable heights before the +fortnight was over, and Barbara had a little difficulty in making them +solemnly promise that they would not bother their aunt with questions +meanwhile. + +Frances and Donald both wished to go to the station to meet the train, +but this their mother forbade. + +"You will see them here to-night," she said; "they are coming up to +dinner. Meanwhile, content yourselves with Barbara." + +"Yes," remarked Donald; "we really didn't realise how much we missed +Barbara until she was back. It's just jolly having her." + +Nevertheless, they disappeared suddenly during the afternoon, and did +not return until about an hour before dinner, when they both wore the +half sheepish, half triumphant expression that Barbara knew of old +meant some escapade successfully carried through. Knowing they would +probably tell her what it was, she went on arranging the flowers on the +dinner-table while they fidgeted round the room. + +"I say," Donald said at last, "I really think Uncle Morton is one of +the nicest elderly men I've met for some time, perhaps ever." + +"Yes," Frances agreed; "I think so too. He'll be quite an exquisition +as an uncle. But we didn't go to the station," she hastened to add, as +Barbara turned round to listen. "Donald wanted to go up to the inn +this afternoon--at least we both did--to see Mr. Bates about the rabbit +he promised us, and we were talking to him quite comfortably when a +gentleman came and stood at the door looking into the passage." + +"'That's an American gentleman as has come to-day with his nephew,' Mr. +Bates remarked, and, of course, we knew it must be Uncle Morton, and we +thought since we _were_ there it would be rather unkind to go away +without ever giving him a welcoming word. Mr. Bates thought so too +when we asked his opinion, so we just went and introduced ourselves, +and told him we were glad to see him, and so on. We saw the nephew +too." + +"Yes," Donald went on, without giving Barbara a chance to speak, "and +as he seemed very glad to see us, and said it was kind of us to look in +on him, of course we stayed a little longer. He's an interesting man." + +"I'm glad you like him," Barbara said, bubbling over with laughter. +"I'm sure it must be a relief to him." + +"Yes," Donald nodded, "and to the nephew too. I think we'll be quite +good friends with him. You see, Barbara," he went on, fearing lest she +should feel disapproval about their visit, "it really was better for +them not to have to face us _all_ in a mass. Now they've got _us_ +over--they've only to get mother's approval." + +But this remark was altogether too much for Barbara's gravity, and she +drove her brother and sister off to make themselves presentable. + +But when their visitors had gone that evening and she was talking in +her mother's room, she told the story of the afternoon again, and they +laughed over it together. + +"Conceited little creatures," Mrs. Britton said. "But my judgment +coincides with theirs, Barbara--and yours. I think he is one of the +nicest men I have met, and it is splendid to see them so happy." + +"Yes," Barbara replied contentedly; "it was really rather a happy thing +that I was chased by that cyclist and met the 'American pretender,' +wasn't it, mother?" + +"I dare say it was," said Mrs. Britton; but she eyed her daughter +rather wistfully, then kissed her and bade her go to bed, though long +after the girl had left her she sit thinking. It was clear to her, as +it had been to Aunt Anne for some time, that Denys Morton was anxious +to make his uncle Barbara's, by a less round-about method than through +his connection with Aunt Anne; and before a week had passed he had +spoken of his desire, astonishing no one so much as Barbara herself. + +"Of course," said Donald, who had gone to his mother for information on +the matter, and was now discussing it in the privacy of the apple-tree +with Frances, "I felt, as eldest son, I ought to be told about it, +though I knew as soon as I saw Denys Morton that he wanted to marry +Barbara." + +"He would have been very foolish if he hadn't," Frances remarked. +"But, of course, Barbara is such an unself-conscious kind of person +that it was quite natural _she_ should be surprised. Aunt Anne says +she would choose Denys above every one for Barbara--only, naturally, +she's got a leaning to the family." + +Donald nodded. + +"So have I, though that's no good if Barbara doesn't want to make up +her mind, and she seems not to. In any case, mother thinks she's too +young, though I should have thought that Aunt Anne kind of balanced +it--being fairly old, you know; and besides, Denys is a lot older than +she is." + +"Well," said Frances, "_I_ shall give him all the encouragement I can, +for I think he's very nice. I believe, Donald, that he didn't go to +Rouen just because it's an infectious kind of thing, and he didn't want +to ask Barbara before he had told mother and us----" + +"There he is," interrupted Donald. "He looks rather down; let's go and +cheer him up," and the two dropped over the wall into the field that +bordered the garden. They sauntered towards the path leading to the +river, and surprised Denys not a little by suddenly joining him. + +[Illustration: "They surprised Denys by suddenly joining him."] + +"I say," Donald began, without giving him time to speak, "I don't think +you need be worried,--I've known Barbara a good long time, and I've +never known her to be so absent-minded before." + +To say that Denys was startled is keeping strictly within the limits of +truth, and at first he was not sure whether he felt angry or amused. +But he had grown pretty well accustomed to Donald and Frances by this +time, and after a moment of embarrassment accepted the situation. +"Thank you," he said, "it is kind of you to take an interest in--me." + +"Not at all," Frances said graciously, "we think it's really rather +hard lines on you, as, of course we knew all along you wanted to marry +Barbara." + +"By jove!" muttered Denys a little helplessly. + +"Yes, of course," Donald put in. "Anybody sensible would want to do +that. If I hadn't been her brother _I_ should have. But though it's +rather rough on you, I think two months' absence in America will just +be the thing for Barbara." + +The young man gazed at his youthful adviser, and was so overpowered +that he could think of nothing to say. + +"When do you go?" Donald continued. + +"Next week. I'm coming back in six weeks--not two months--for my +uncle's wedding," said Denys, finding his voice. + +There was a pause, and Frances, seeing from her brother's expression +that he was deep in thought, forbore to make any remark until she saw +him smile, then she said-- + +"Well, Donald?" + +But her brother addressed himself to Denys-- + +"Considering you've been here a good time now," he said, "you haven't +seen much of the country really. Suppose you came for a long walk on +the moor to-morrow with Frances and me--and Barbara?" + +Denys' eyes lighted up. "If Barbara will, I shall be charmed," he said. + +"I think she'll come," Donald said cheerfully; and moved by some +persuasion or force Barbara consented, and the four started off across +the moors. + +They started together--that was certain--but did not return in the same +manner, for Donald and Frances had got most thoroughly lost, although +as Donald said, with a grin, "he had walked that moor, man and boy, for +the past six years." + +But when the two truants returned they did not seem at all cast down by +their misfortune, while Denys certainly came back in a more cheerful +mood than that in which he had set out. + +"I think you'll find things all right when you come back again," Donald +whispered on the morning the visitors were to go, and Denys, nodding, +gripped his hand so tightly that the boy winced. + +"I think," said Frances, as she watched the carriage disappearing--"I +think, Donald, Aunt Anne ought to be very thankful she was so generous. +She has been rewarded, hasn't she, in finding Uncle Morton?" + +"Yes, virtue has had its reward. But you know, Frances, I think we're +being rather generous too." + +"Yes?" Frances said interrogatively. + +"Well, the end will be that we lose Barbara, and we haven't raised a +finger to prevent it--on the contrary we've helped--and you know we're +never likely to find another sister like her." + +"No, of course not. But all the same a wedding--and I suppose there'll +be two--will make a grand finale like the 'Codas' you have in marches." + +"Yes. You're really rather poetical, Frances. And perhaps by the time +you're ready for France another aunt will turn up to take you there." + +"I hope so, though they can't always expect to find Uncle Mortons as a +reward. But there's time enough to think of that; and at any rate, +Don, I'm going to be bride's-maid at the wedding." + +"Yes," said Donald. "And there'll be two wedding cakes running, +Fran--think of that!" + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Barbara in Brittany, by E. A. 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A. Gillie + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Barbara in Brittany + +Author: E. A. Gillie + +Illustrator: Frank Adams + +Release Date: September 26, 2007 [EBook #22774] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARBARA IN BRITTANY *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +</pre> + + +<A NAME="img-cover"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-cover.jpg" ALT="Cover artwork" BORDER="2" WIDTH="335" HEIGHT="431"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 335px"> +Cover artwork +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT=""'The farmer would spare you those, madam.'"" BORDER="2" WIDTH="411" HEIGHT="599"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 411px"> +"'The farmer would spare you those, madam.'" +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +BARBARA IN BRITTANY +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +E. A. Gillie +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-title"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-title.jpg" ALT="Title page artwork" BORDER="2" WIDTH="388" HEIGHT="401"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 388px"> +Title page artwork +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Illustrated by FRANK ADAMS +</H3> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +LONDON AND GLASGOW +<BR> +COLLINS' CLEAR-TYPE PRESS +<BR> +1915 +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TO +<BR> +MAISIE, MARGARET, AND CUTHBERT, +<BR> +IN REMEMBRANCE OF SEPTEMBER 1905. +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS. +</H2> + +<BR> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">CHAP.</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">AUNT ANNE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">NO. 14 RUE ST. SULPICE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">A NOCTURNAL ADVENTURE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">THE MAN IN BLUE GLASSES</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">GOOD-BYE TO PARIS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">THE REVOLT OF TWO</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">A WILD DRIVE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">MONT ST. MICHEL</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">MADEMOISELLE VIRÉ</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">THE "AMERICAN PRETENDER"</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">BARBARA TURNS PLOTTER</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">THE PLOT THICKENS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">THE ESCAPE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">A WAYSIDE INN</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">THE STRIKE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">BARBARA TURNS DETECTIVE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap17">A MEMORY AND A "MANOIR"</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap18">AUNT ANNE AGAIN</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap19">THE END OF THE STORY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap20">THE CODA</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +ILLUSTRATIONS +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-cover"> +Cover artwork +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-front"> +"'The farmer would spare you those, madam.'" . . . <I>Frontispiece</I> +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-title"> +Title page artwork +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-049"> +"Barbara was reading a guide book on Brittany." +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-064"> +"She glanced over her shoulder at the sea." +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-184"> +"They surprised Denys by suddenly joining him." +</A> +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +Barbara in Brittany. +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AUNT ANNE. +</H3> + +<P> +Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face. +"Aunt Anne is coming to-morrow, children," she announced. +</P> + +<P> +"To-morrow!" exclaimed a fair-haired boy, rising from the window-seat. +"Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines—in the holidays, +too." +</P> + +<P> +"Just as we were preparing to have a really exciting time," sighed +Frances, who was her brother's close companion and ally. +</P> + +<P> +"I know it's a little hard," Barbara said consolingly, sitting down +beside them and taking one of the twins on her lap, while the other +leaned up against her. "But you will all try to be good and nice to +her, won't you? She went away with a bad opinion of us last time, and +it worries mother. Besides, we mustn't forget that she was father's +sister." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't think how she ever came to be," sighed Frances. "She's so +dreadfully particular, and we always seem naughtier when she's here. +But we'll make an effort, Barbara." +</P> + +<P> +"And you won't run away as soon as she speaks to you, Lucy?" Barbara +went on, looking at the little girl in her lap. "It's rude, you know. +You must try to talk nicely when she wants you to." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes;" and the child nodded. "Only she does seem to make a lot of +concussions when she comes." +</P> + +<P> +"You mean discussions," Donald corrected. "You shouldn't use words you +don't understand, Lucy. But I must say I agree with you; I know she +always raises my corruption." +</P> + +<P> +"What!" gasped Barbara. +</P> + +<P> +"Raises my corruption," repeated her brother; "that's a good old +Scottish expression that I've just found in a book, and it +means—'makes you angry.'" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, don't use it before Aunt Anne, there's a dear," Barbara urged, +getting up. "She thinks we use quite enough queer expressions as it +is." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll speak like a regular infant prodigy. But surely you're not going +yet? You've just come!" +</P> + +<P> +"I must help to get things ready for Aunt Anne," Barbara said gaily, +for she had recovered her spirits since procuring the children's +promise of good behaviour. "I'll come to you later." +</P> + +<P> +"Barbara is really rather an angel," remarked Donald after she had +gone. "It's not many sisters would slave in the house, instead of +having another maid, to let a fellow go to a decent school." +</P> + +<P> +"You're quoting mother," Frances replied, hanging out of the window in +a dangerous position; "but, of course, it's true. If I only had time +I'd write a fascinating romance about her." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll read every page of it and buy a hundred copies," her brother +promised gallantly; but, as he knew that there was nothing Frances +hated more than writing, he felt pretty safe. "Of course," he pursued, +"Aunt Anne thinks mother spoils us. I don't quite think that—it's +just that she's so nice and sympathetic with us when we're naughty, and +Aunt Anne doesn't understand that. But still, to please Barbe, and as +we've promised, we must try to be respectable and good this time. +Remember, twins!" +</P> + +<P> +The twins were not noted for long memories, but their intentions were +good, and the first day of Aunt Anne's visit passed very well, the +children remembering to rub their feet on the mat, shut the door +softly, and not fidget at meals. But the exertion seemed too much for +them, and the second day began rather boisterously, and did not improve +as it went on. After lunch, when the twins came into the drawing-room, +Lucy drew a footstool near her aunt, and sat down meekly upon it, +thinking that the sooner Aunt Anne began to talk the sooner it would be +over. +</P> + +<P> +Aunt Anne was feeling almost as much embarrassed by the presence of so +many children as they were by that of their aunt, but her sense of duty +was strong, and she began to make conversation with the one nearest +her—who happened to be Lucy. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you doing in lessons now, Lucy?" +</P> + +<P> +Lucy looked solemn. +</P> + +<P> +"Chiefly history," she said. +</P> + +<P> +Frances laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"It's only stories," she exclaimed, "that Barbara tells her and Dick." +</P> + +<P> +"It's history," repeated Lucy indignantly; "isn't it, Dick? It's all +about England." +</P> + +<P> +"I should have thought writing was more suitable for a little girl like +you." +</P> + +<P> +Frances opened her mouth to retort, but caught a warning glance from +Barbara and subsided. Then conversation languished and Lucy looked +across longingly at her sister, to see if she had done her duty. But +not being able to catch her eye, she sighed, and supposing she had not +yet fulfilled her part, cast about in her mind for something else to +say. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you live far from here?" she began suddenly, staring at her aunt. +</P> + +<P> +"Quite a long way," Miss Britton replied. "In Wales—perhaps you know +where that is?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, yes," exclaimed Lucy, rising in her excitement. "It's where the +ancient Britons were sent. Barbara told us about them. Oh, please +Aunt Anne, aren't you an ancient Briton?" +</P> + +<P> +Aunt Anne smiled grimly. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I am not. They lived in quite the olden times, and were clothed +in skins." +</P> + +<P> +"But are you sure?" pressed the child. "It's just the skins seem +wanting. They were driven into Wales, and surely you're a Briton and +come from the olden times. You're really quite ancient aren't you, +Aunt Anne?" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara was thankful her aunt laughed, but she was not so glad that +Donald and Frances found their laughter so irrepressible that they had +to resort to the sofa-cushions; and when the twins were dismissed a +little later by Mrs. Britton, she was rather relieved to see them +follow. But from that moment the spirit of hilarity seemed to have +fallen upon all the children, and Barbara looked regretfully at the +falling rain and wondered how she should keep them occupied for the +rest of the day—for it was just the beginning of the holidays, when +they were usually allowed a good deal of liberty. +</P> + +<P> +She knew by the noise that presently sounded from upstairs that they +had begun "hide-and-seek," and she read disapproval of the uproar in +her aunt's face, and went upstairs to suggest something else. The +children good-temperedly betook themselves to "soap bubbles," Frances +consenting to fetch the tray "to keep things tidy" if Donald would take +it back; and Barbara left them, congratulating herself that they were +safely settled over something quiet. +</P> + +<P> +It was, therefore, surely an evil fate that made Aunt Anne begin to go +upstairs later in the afternoon, just as Donald was descending rapidly +with the tray—not in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"I <I>am</I> so sorry," he said, getting up in dismay after his rapid slide. +"What a comfort I didn't knock you over; but it's so much the quickest +way of bringing a tray down. I—— Have you ever tried it?" +</P> + +<P> +If he had not been considerably agitated he would not have asked such a +foolish question, and perhaps if Aunt Anne had really not got a severe +fright she would not have been so much annoyed. But as it was, she +stalked past him without saying a word and went up to her room. +</P> + +<P> +"There!" he said ruefully, "I've done it, and I really did mean to be +good." +</P> + +<P> +The incident subdued them all considerably, and Barbara hoped that now +they might get to the end of the visit without any further mishaps. +But next morning at breakfast that hope was banished, for her aunt came +downstairs with such an expression of annoyance upon her face, that +every one knew something really unpleasant was coming. +</P> + +<P> +"Is anything wrong?" Mrs. Britton asked anxiously. "Did you not sleep +well—or—surely the children did not—annoy you in any way?" Visions +of apple-pie beds were floating before her mind, although the +children's looks of innocence somewhat reassured her on that point. +</P> + +<P> +"Some one has annoyed me considerably," Aunt Anne said coldly, "by +interfering with my clothes. When I came to put on my blue blouse this +morning, I found that every other one of the silver buttons had been +cut off." +</P> + +<P> +There was a gasp of astonishment, and Barbara was just about to scorn +the notion that any of the children could have been concerned in the +matter, when her eyes fell on Dick's face. Miss Britton was looking in +the same direction. +</P> + +<P> +"I should think that little boy knows something about it," she said. +</P> + +<P> +"Dick!" Mrs. Britton exclaimed, for he was usually the least apt of the +three to get into mischief. +</P> + +<P> +"Dick, what did you do it for? Tell us why you did it?" Barbara +questioned eagerly, and the little boy was just about to reply when +Miss Britton spoke again. +</P> + +<P> +"I should think he had no reason at all except wanton mischief. +Perhaps he used the buttons for marbles; there cannot be any real +reason for such a silly deed, though he may make one up. Well, why did +you do it?" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara saw the obstinate expression that they dreaded creeping over +the little boy's face at her aunt's words, and knew that now they would +probably get nothing satisfactory from him; but she was not quite +prepared for the answer that came so defiantly. +</P> + +<P> +"I did it for ornament, of course." +</P> + +<P> +There was silence for a moment; then Mrs. Britton sent the little boy +to the nursery to stay there till he was sent for. +</P> + +<P> +"I <I>am</I> so sorry, Anne," she said in distress. "I cannot think what +has made him do it." +</P> + +<P> +"It is just the result of your upbringing. I always said you were +absurdly indulgent to the children." +</P> + +<P> +Then, because Barbara was sure that Dick had had some other reason that +would perhaps have explained his action, and because she saw tears in +her mother's eyes, and knew how lonely and tired she often felt, and +how anxious about the welfare of the children and the care of the +house, she turned wrathfully upon her aunt. +</P> + +<P> +"You have no right to criticise mother like that, Aunt Anne, and, of +course, she knows a great deal more about bringing up children than you +do. If you had not interfered, Dick would have given the proper +reason, and, certainly, if we do what we shouldn't it's <I>our</I> fault, +not mother's." +</P> + +<P> +At this there were confirmatory nods from the children, who continued +to gaze in startled, but admiring, astonishment at Barbara, whose +politeness was usually their example, and whom they hardly recognised +in this new role. They awaited—they knew not what—from their aunt, +but except for a horrified cry of "Barbara!" from Mrs. Britton, the +girl's outburst was received in silence, her aunt merely shrugging her +shoulders and continuing her breakfast. The children finished theirs +in uncomfortable silence, then slipped quietly away. +</P> + +<P> +"Well!" Donald said ruefully, when Frances and he had climbed into the +apple-tree where they usually discussed matters of importance. "She +did look fine, didn't she? But I'm afraid she's done it now. Aunt +will clear out soon enough, I should think, and Barbe will just be as +sorry as can be to have flared out like that at a guest, and father's +sister too." +</P> + +<P> +In that last supposition Donald was quite right, for Mrs. Britton +needed to say nothing to make Barbara feel very much ashamed of +herself. But in his conclusion about his aunt he was quite wrong, for, +to the children's astonishment, Miss Britton showed no signs of speedy +departure. Indeed, later in the day, the children felt honesty +demanded they must own her to be "rather a brick," for she accepted +Barbara's apology with good grace, and said that though, of course, she +had been rude, she would not deny that there had been some provocation, +and that if Barbara could find out anything more from Dick, she would +be glad to hear of it. +</P> + +<P> +It was then, after much manoeuvring, that the girl got to the truth of +the matter, which Dick related with tears. He had taken the buttons +for mother, he said. When he was out with her the other day they had +looked for quite a long time at some beautiful silver ones, and when he +asked his mother why she did not buy them, she had said she had not +enough money just then. They were very like the kind on Aunt Anne's +blouse, and having noticed that she did not use half of them to button +it up, Dick had not seen any reason why they should be left +on—although he had meant to tell her what he had done immediately +after breakfast. +</P> + +<P> +Miss Britton accepted the explanation, and said she thought there was +no need for the culprit to be punished this time, and she hoped he +would have more sense soon. But about Barbara she had something of +more importance to communicate. +</P> + +<P> +"In my opinion," she said, in a manner that inferred she expected her +advice to be taken, "the girl is much too young to have finished her +education—boys or no boys—and I am thinking of sending her to France +for a time, to learn more of the language and see something of the +world. It is not good for a girl of her age to have so much +responsibility." +</P> + +<P> +Now, it had been Barbara's dream to go abroad, but after the first gasp +of delight and astonishment she grew grave, and said she was afraid she +could not leave her mother and the children. +</P> + +<P> +"Fiddlesticks!" Aunt Anne replied, without allowing Mrs. Britton time +to speak. "You are far too young, my dear, to imagine yourself of such +importance in the world. I will send a good old-fashioned nurse that I +know of to take your place, and it will be good for the children to +have a stricter regime than yours has been for a while." +</P> + +<P> +Even if Aunt Anne had been accustomed to have her words +disregarded—which she was not—Mrs. Britton would not have needed much +persuasion to make her fall in with the proposal, for she had often +grieved in private over the fact that, since her husband's death, +Barbara's education had had to suffer that Donald's might advance. And +now, though she wondered how she would get on without her eldest +daughter, she was only too thankful to have such an opportunity thrown +in her way. +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot think why I never interfered before," Miss Britton said, "but +it is better late than never, and we will have as little delay now as +possible." +</P> + +<P> +In a few days the children were all as busy as bees helping to get +Barbara ready. They assisted in choosing her new frocks and hats, and +the style of making; and poor Miss Smith, who came to sew for her, was +nearly distracted by their popping in every now and then to see how she +was getting on. Even Donald, who hated talking about "girls' +fashions," bought a paper, because he saw it had a pattern of a blouse +advertised, and he thought it might be useful. +</P> + +<P> +The family were very curious to hear with whom she was going to France +and where she was going to be, for Aunt Anne had undertaken to make all +the arrangements, and it certainly was a slight shock to the children +when she wrote to say she had made up her mind to go herself for a +fortnight to Paris before sending Barbara off to Brittany, where she +had found a "most suitable place" for her in the house of two maiden +ladies who took in people wanting to learn French. +</P> + +<P> +Donald whistled when Mrs. Britton read that out. +</P> + +<P> +"Fancy a fortnight with Aunt Anne, and then the two maiden ladies. +Jiggers!" (that was a favourite expression of his)—"you'll be worried +out of your life, Barbe." +</P> + +<P> +The worst of it was, that Aunt Anne, who had not been abroad for many +years, said she was going to let Barbara manage the journey and the +sight-seeing in Paris, and sent her a guide-book to read up everything +of interest. She said she was doing this to give her niece experience +and prepare her for being by herself later on; but Donald declared she +wanted to see "what kind of stuff" she was made of, and that if Barbara +did not do things well, she would scoff at her greatly for thinking she +could manage a house and children while she could not succeed in +finding her way about France. +</P> + +<P> +"But I know the old lady, and we'll just show her you're <I>our</I> sister, +and before we've done you'll know that guide-book from cover to cover," +he assured her. +</P> + +<P> +They had only a week left, for Aunt Anne was very rapid in her +decisions and plans; but they studied the guide-book morning, noon, and +night. It was most instructive holiday work, Donald said, and when +Barbara had not time to read it, Frances and he read for her and poured +their knowledge into her ears at meal-times. +</P> + +<P> +They learned what coloured omnibus went to the different parts of +Paris, and on what days different buildings were open, and by the end +of the week they all felt they could "personally conduct" tours all +over Paris. +</P> + +<P> +It was rather hard when the last day came, because they knew that the +house would seem horribly empty without Barbara. The two little ones +were on the verge of crying all the afternoon, and Frances had to be +very stern, while Donald rose to flights of wit hitherto undreamed of, +to keep up every one's spirits. +</P> + +<P> +Of course the two elder ones knew it would be hardest on them after +Barbara left, because some of her responsibility would fall on their +shoulders. But they were quite determined she should have a cheerful +"send-off" next morning, so they bribed the children with promises of +sweets if they did not cry, and they succeeded in giving her quite a +hilarious good-bye at the station. +</P> + +<P> +After the train had gone, however, and they turned homewards, Frances +felt that if she had not promised Barbara to help her mother she would +have hidden herself in the attic and cried, although that would have +been so "horribly babyish" for a girl of twelve that she knew she would +have felt ashamed of herself afterwards; though perhaps, her pillow +could have told tales of a grief confided to it that the gay-hearted +Frances did not usually indulge in. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +NO. 14 RUE ST. SUPLICE. +</H3> + +<P> +Meanwhile, Barbara and her aunt pursued their journey, and in due time +arrived at Newhaven, where the first thing they were told was that the +tide was unusually low at Dieppe, which would prevent them entering +that harbour, and therefore they were not going to leave Newhaven for +another hour and a half. Aunt Anne gazed in indignation upon their +informant, and declared it was scandalous that a boat, timed to leave +at a certain hour, should be so irregular and unpunctual; whereupon the +captain, shrugging his shoulders, said that the lady should complain to +the moon about the tides rather than to him. +</P> + +<P> +They managed to fill in the time very well with lunch, however, and +after a little grumbling, Aunt Anne resigned herself to Fate, though +she was glad enough when they finally steamed out of the harbour. Miss +Britton was not a very good sailor, and in preparation for "the +voyage," as she called the crossing, had accumulated great stores of +knowledge as to how to treat seasickness. She established herself on +the upper deck, let down a deck-chair as low as it would go, and +replacing her hat by a weird little Tam o' Shanter, covered her eyes +with a handkerchief. +</P> + +<P> +"To avoid seasickness, Barbara," she said, "you must lie as flat as +possible, keep the eyes closed, and breathe in correspondence with the +ship's motion—though," she added, "I really cannot tell at present +which is its motion; perhaps there will be more when we get farther +out." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara chuckled, but deferred making similar preparations until the +motion <I>was</I> more defined, for she was much too interested in what was +going on around her to close her eyes to it all. +</P> + +<P> +Aunt Anne asked her at intervals if it was getting rougher, but though +her niece assured her there were no signs of such a thing, she did not +venture to sit up until they were quite near Dieppe. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, aunt!" Barbara exclaimed joyfully, "just look at all the officials +in their high-peaked hats. Don't they look nice, so Frenchy and +foreign!" +</P> + +<P> +"You would hardly expect them to look <I>English</I>," Aunt Anne returned +drily, and began to gather together her belongings preparatory to +leaving the boat. +</P> + +<P> +"It is some time since I have been in France, Barbara," she exclaimed, +"having been quite contented with our own beautiful land; but I +remember it was best to be very quick in going to the train so as to +get good seats. Follow me closely, child." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara obediently did as she was told, and having got safely through +the troubles of the <I>douane</I>, they chose their carriage and proceeded +to arrange their possessions. +</P> + +<P> +"My umbrella!" Aunt Anne cried suddenly, looking anxiously on the racks +and under the seat. "Barbara, I must have left it on the boat; why did +you not remind me? You must just run back for it now—but don't let +the train go without you. Run, child, run!" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara obediently hurried away, and after a halting and somewhat +lengthy explanation on the quay, was allowed to go on board again, and +spied the missing umbrella on the deck. When she returned, the train +had been moved higher up, and she could not distinguish the carriage +anywhere. The guard was already beginning to wave the signal, and +Barbara felt she was a lost passenger, when a dark, stout little man +dashed up to her and seized her by the arm. +</P> + +<P> +"Par ici, par ici," he cried, "votre maman vous attend, mademoiselle," +and they flew down the platform with the guard shouting warnings behind +them. They were barely in time, and Barbara sank panting into her seat. +</P> + +<P> +"Fancy!" Aunt Anne cried indignantly—"fancy getting lost like that! +It just shows that you are not fit to look after children when you +cannot manage an umbrella!" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara was too breathless to reply and too much amused, perhaps, +really to mind. The country was pretty enough, but it soon began to +grow dusk, and they wondered when they would arrive in Paris. The +train was due at 7.30, but there did not seem to be the least chance of +getting in at that hour, for, late as they already were, they continued +to lose time on the way. The little Frenchman was their only +companion, and he did not seem to know much English. +</P> + +<P> +However, between his shreds of that language and Barbara's scanty +French she managed to find out that they would not arrive in Paris +until midnight. Aunt Anne expressed her annoyance in no measured +terms, but he merely shrugged his shoulders and smiled, until she +collapsed into a corner speechless with disgust. He left them at +Rouen, and Barbara, watching her aunt sleeping in a corner, wondered +what they would do when they finally did arrive at the station. But, +as soon as the lights of the <I>Gare de Lazare</I> showed through the +darkness, Miss Britton began to bestir herself, and, when the train +stopped, marched boldly out of the carriage as if she had been in Paris +dozens of times. +</P> + +<P> +In a little while they were seated in a <I>fiacre</I>, going along through +brightly-lighted streets, feeling very satisfied that they were +actually nearing their destination. But their content did not last +long, for soon leaving the lighted thoroughfares, they turned into a +dark road with high walls on either side, and just a lamp now and then. +It really seemed rather lonely, and they both began to feel +uncomfortable and to wonder if they were being taken to the wrong +place. Stories of mysterious disappearances began to flit through +Barbara's brain, and she started when Aunt Anne said in a very emphatic +tone, "He looked a very nice cabman, quite respectable and honest." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Barbara said meekly, though she had hardly noticed him. +</P> + +<P> +"I knew it was some distance from the station, of course." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Barbara replied once more, and added, "of course," as Miss +Britton began to look rather fierce. +</P> + +<P> +"It was a little stupid of you not to think of proposing to stay in the +station hotel while I was collecting the wraps," she went on rather +sharply, and Barbara was trying to think of something soothing to say, +when the cab drew up suddenly and they were both precipitated on to the +hat-boxes on the other seat. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara put her hat straight and looked out of the window. It +certainly seemed to be a funny place to which they had come. The +houses were high and narrow, and the one they had stopped at had a +dirty archway without a single light; but, as the driver showed no +intention of getting down and ringing, Barbara stepped out and groped +about for a bell or a knocker of some kind. Then the cabman, pointing +with his whip up the archway, said, "Numero quatorze, par là." The +girl did not much relish going into the darkness by herself, for she +was sure there must be some mistake. But she was afraid that, if Miss +Britton got out too, the man might drive away and leave them, so she +begged her aunt to remain in the cab while she went into the archway to +make inquiries. After some groping she found a bell-rope, and rang +three times without receiving any answer. She was just about to ring +again, when she heard stealthy steps approaching the door, and the next +moment it was opened, disclosing to her frightened gaze a dirty-looking +man, wearing a red nightcap, and carrying a candle in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara recoiled a step, for though she had been sure there was some +mistake she had not expected anything as bad as this. However, she +managed to gasp out, "Madame Belvoir's?" and was intensely relieved to +see the fellow shake his head. But he leered at her so horribly that +she waited to make no more inquiries, but turned and fled back to the +<I>fiacre</I>. +</P> + +<P> +"This is not the right place," she pouted, "and I'm thankful it +isn't—there's <I>such</I> a horrid man." +</P> + +<P> +"A man! But she was a widow," Aunt Anne said vaguely; and her niece +could not help laughing, for if that <I>were</I> the case there might have +been brothers or sons. +</P> + +<P> +But the cabman was getting very impatient, and it was not an easy +matter to argue with him, for when they insisted that this could not be +14 Rue St. Sulpice, he merely shook his head and persisted that it was. +Then suddenly a light seemed to break upon him, and he asked, "14 Rue +St. Sulpice, Courcelles?" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara shook her head violently, and said, "Non, non, Neuilly." +Whereupon with much grumbling and torrents of words that, perhaps, it +was as well she did not understand, he whipped up his horse, and she +had hardly time to scramble into the cab before they swung off. +</P> + +<P> +They were very glad to leave the neighbourhood, for they saw the red +nightcap peeping out at the end of the archway, and it seemed as if +there were more friends of the same kind in the rear. +</P> + +<P> +"It is <I>most</I> absurd for the man to think <I>we</I> should have been staying +here. I think he must be mad." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," returned Barbara, not knowing what else to say, and they +continued to rumble over more cobble stones and down dark roads, till +they finally stopped in a dimly-lighted street, which, however, was +broad and clean, with fairly large houses on either side. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara got out with some misgivings, wondering what their fate would +be this time. She had to ring several times as before; but as there +was no dark archway, and the cab was close by, she had not the same +fear. When the door opened, she could distinguish nothing at first, +but presently espied a little woman, in a <I>white</I> nightcap, holding a +candle. +</P> + +<P> +"Dear me!" she thought, "candles and nightcaps seem to be the fashion +here;" but aloud, merely asked politely for Madame Belvoir, hoping that +she was not speaking to the lady in question. Before the <I>portière</I> +(for it was she) could answer, a bright light shone out at the far end +of the passage, and a girl came hurrying down, saying, "Madame Belvoir? +Mais oui, entrez, entrez. C'est Mademoiselle Britton, n'est-ce pas?" +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Britton was not a little relieved, and so, I am sure, was +her poor aunt, who came hurrying out of the cab, and was so glad to get +rid of it that she paid the ten francs the man demanded without a +murmur. +</P> + +<P> +The French girl explained in broken English that her mother greatly +regretted being absent, having been called away suddenly to an uncle +who was ill, but that she and her sister would do their utmost to make +Miss Britton comfortable. +</P> + +<P> +By that time they had reached the end of the passage and were led into +a comfortable room, where another girl was waiting. Tea was ready for +them too, and Barbara thought she had never appreciated it more. She +tried to explain the reason of their late arrival, and told some of +their adventures; but, although both the French girls listened politely +and smiled and nodded, Barbara thought that neither of them understood +much of what she said. However, she did not mind that, and presently +they led the way upstairs to a room that was a haven of delight to the +wanderers. The windows opened on to a garden whence the scent of lilac +floated, and the whole room—down to the hearth-brush, which charmed +Barbara—was decorated in blue. +</P> + +<P> +With the memory of that other Rue St. Sulpice still fresh in their +minds, their present quarters indeed seemed delightful; and Barbara +declared she could have fallen upon the necks of both girls and kissed +them. +</P> + +<P> +"A quite unnecessary and most impertinent proceeding," Aunt Anne +replied curtly. "They will much prefer pounds, shillings, and pence to +embraces," and Barbara thought that after all she was probably right. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A NOCTURNAL ADVENTURE. +</H3> + +<P> +It was very nice to waken the next morning and find the sunshine +streaming in at the windows. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara was ready to be charmed with everything, from the pretty little +maid in the mob cap, who carried in the breakfast, to the crisp rolls +and coffee. Both of the travellers were quite rested, and eager to +begin sight-seeing, and Miss Britton left the choice of place to her +niece. The latter diligently scanned the guide-book as she took her +breakfast, and kept calling out fresh suggestions every few moments; +but, finally, they determined on the Louvre as most worthy of their +first visit. +</P> + +<P> +I do not know whether it was the experience of the night before, but +Aunt Anne seemed to have a fixed idea that Paris was full of thieves, +and before starting out she made the most careful preparations for +encountering pickpockets. She sewed some of her money into a little +bag inside her dress, put some more into a pocket in her underskirt, +and said that Barbara might pay for things in general, as it would +teach her the use of French money. She herself kept only a few +centimes in a shabby purse in her dress pocket, "to disappoint any +thief who took it." +</P> + +<P> +As soon as the <I>fiacre</I> stopped in the court of the Louvre, they were +besieged by several disreputable and seedy-looking men wanting to act +as guides through the galleries. Partly to get rid of the rest, partly +because they thought it might be easier, they engaged the +tidiest-looking one who seemed to know most English, and, feeling +rather pleased with themselves, entered the first gallery. Of course, +Barbara wished to begin by seeing those pictures which she had heard +most about; but the guide had a particular way of his own of taking +people round, and did not like any interference. +</P> + +<P> +Indeed, he did not even like to let them stay longer than a few seconds +at each picture, and kept chattering the whole time, till at last they +grew annoyed, and Aunt Anne told him they would do the rest by +themselves. But it took some time to get rid of him, and then he went +sulkily, complaining that they had not given him enough, though Barbara +felt sure he had really got twice as much as was his due. +</P> + +<P> +They enjoyed themselves very much without him, and saw a great deal +before lunch-time. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of the meal, when Aunt Anne was going to take out her purse +to use the centimes in it for a tip for the waiter, she discovered her +preparations had not been in vain, and that the purse really had been +stolen. Perhaps, on the whole, she was rather glad, for she turned to +Barbara in triumph. +</P> + +<P> +"There now, Barbara," she said, "if I had had my other purse in my +pocket, it would have been just the same, and now whoever has it will +be properly disappointed!" +</P> + +<P> +They did not return to Neuilly until the evening, where they met the +rest of the pension at dinner. Besides two brothers of the Belvoir +family, there were a number of French visitors and one English family, +to whom Miss Britton and her niece took an immediate dislike. The +father, who, they were told, was a solicitor whose health had broken +down, was greedy and vulgar, and his son and daughter were pale, +frightened-looking creatures, who took no part in the gay conversation +which the French kept up. +</P> + +<P> +After dinner, when every one else went into the salon for music, the +solicitor and his children retired to their rooms, which Mademoiselle +Belvoir and her brothers seemed to resent. The former confided to +Barbara, in very quaint English, that they had never had such people in +their house before, and Aunt Anne, who overheard the remark, shook her +head sagely. +</P> + +<P> +"I would not trust them, Mademoiselle" (Miss Britton was English from +the sole of her foot to the tip of her tongue). "They seem unpleasant, +and I have a great power for reading faces." At which Mademoiselle +Belvoir murmured something about wishing her mother were back. +</P> + +<P> +However, the evening was a pleasant one, though Barbara was so tired +that she was hardly an intelligent listener to the music provided, and +fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. +</P> + +<P> +She was, therefore, a little surprised when she awoke suddenly two +hours later for apparently no reason at all. She had been dreaming +about something exciting, and lay trying to remember what it was, when +an eerie feeling stole over her, and it seemed as if she heard +breathing—which was not her aunt's—close beside her. She did not +dare to move for a moment. Then she turned her head very gently, and +between the two windows near the recess she was sure she saw a dark +figure. The longer she watched the surer she became, and she knew it +could not be her aunt, whom she heard breathing quietly in the other +bed. +</P> + +<P> +It was certainly a horrible sensation, and all the unpleasant stories +she had ever read crowded into her mind. At first she could not think +what to do, but at last made up her mind to go across the room to Miss +Britton's bed and tell her. +</P> + +<P> +Yawning, and pretending to wake up gradually, though all the time she +felt as if she had been lying there for hours, she called out, "Aunt +Anne, I can't sleep, so I'm coming into your bed." +</P> + +<P> +Miss Britton awoke at once—she was a light sleeper—and at first I +think she imagined her niece was mad. +</P> + +<P> +"If you can't sleep in your own bed," she said, "I'm quite sure you +won't sleep in mine, for it's not big enough for two." +</P> + +<P> +But Barbara persisted, and at last her aunt gave way. "Well," she said +at last, rather crossly, "be quick if you are coming. I don't want to +be kept awake all night." +</P> + +<P> +The truth was, it seemed so horrible to cross the room close to that +black figure—as she would have to do—that Barbara lingered a moment, +screwing up her courage. It was hard, certainly, to walk slowly +across, for she thought she should not run, feeling all the time as if +two hands would catch hold of her in the darkness. She was very glad +to creep in beside her aunt, and at first could not do anything but lie +and listen to that lady's grumblings. Then warning her not to scream, +she whispered very softly that there was a man beside the window. Miss +Britton took it wonderfully coolly, and after the first start said +nothing for a few minutes. Then she remarked in loud, cheerful tones, +"Well, child, as you are not sleepy, let us talk about our plans for +to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +They talked a long time, hoping that the man would give it up and go; +but still the black figure stood there motionless. +</P> + +<P> +At last Barbara, who could bear it no longer, said "Oh, aunt, since we +can't sleep let us put on the light and read up things in the +guide-book." +</P> + +<P> +At that moment she heard a rustle behind, and saw the man try to get +into the recess; but the trunks were there, and meeting that +obstruction, he turned and made a quick dash to the French window, and +was out in a moment, whereupon Aunt Anne and Barbara sat up in bed and +screamed. Then the girl leaped to the electric light, and her aunt to +the bell, and in a few moments the maids and the Misses Belvoir came +running in. +</P> + +<P> +"He's gone!" cried Barbara, looking out of the window and feeling quite +brave now that so many people had arrived. "He's gone, and it was too +dark to see his face." +</P> + +<P> +Aunt Anne, meanwhile, explained, as well as she could, what had +happened, and the Misses Belvoir looked so frightened and worried that +Barbara felt she must be a dreadful nuisance. But they were very nice +and extremely apologetic, declaring that such a thing had never +happened before, and that the police should be told in the morning, and +their brothers would search the garden at once and sit outside their +door all night if Miss Britton liked. But Aunt Anne, who had +delightful common-sense, said briskly— +</P> + +<P> +"Nonsense; whoever it was, he will be too frightened to think of coming +back to-night, so just go to your beds, and let us get to ours." And +she pushed them gently out. They continued to murmur apologies after +the door was shut; but Aunt Anne paid not the least heed. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, my dear," she said, turning to Barbara, "I am sure you know that +what I said to them is quite true, and that our friend will not return +to-night. So be sensible, and go back to bed, and we will talk about +it all in the morning." +</P> + +<P> +Of course, Barbara did as she was told, and, though she was sure she +would never get to sleep, strange to say, in a very little while she +was dreaming peacefully, and did not waken till late next morning. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE MAN IN BLUE GLASSES. +</H3> + +<P> +The nocturnal adventure caused quite an excitement in the house, and +very little else was talked of at lunch-time. Aunt Anne had asked +Mademoiselle Belvoir if she would rather nothing was said about the +affair; but the girl said it was impossible to keep it quiet, as +several people had heard the bustle in the night, and were anxious to +know all about it. So Miss Britton found that she and her niece were +objects of general interest, and they both struggled nobly to describe +the adventure intelligibly to the others, though Barbara knew that she +got horribly mixed in her French tenses, and was not quite sure whether +she understood all the questions the French people put to her. The +solicitor annoyed her most—he was so superior. +</P> + +<P> +"Why did you not rush upon the fellow and scream for help?" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"I was far too frightened to do anything of the kind," Barbara answered +indignantly. "I would never have dared to fling myself upon a dark +figure like that. If I had seen him, I shouldn't have minded so much." +</P> + +<P> +"So you did not see his face?" said the solicitor. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course I didn't," and Barbara spoke rather crossly. "If I had, I +should have gone and described him to the police the first thing this +morning." +</P> + +<P> +She felt inclined to add that it was a pity he could not inculcate his +own children with some of his apparent courage, for they both seemed +far more frightened than interested in the story, and the son's eyes +looked as if they would jump out of his head. Perhaps the poor youth +was scolded for his timidity afterwards, for when Barbara passed their +room in going upstairs to get ready to go out, she heard the father +speaking in very stern tones, and the boy murmuring piteously, "Oh, +father! oh, father!" +</P> + +<P> +Miss Britton was in a hurry to get out; but, as often happens, it +proved a case of "more haste, less speed," for they had just got into +the street when Barbara remembered she had left her purse behind, and +had to run back for it. +</P> + +<P> +What was her astonishment on opening the bedroom door to see the +solicitor's son standing near the window. She had come upstairs very +softly, and he had not heard her till she was in the room; then he +turned round suddenly, and sprang back with a face filled with terror. +</P> + +<P> +"What <I>are</I> you doing here?" she exclaimed in astonishment, and at +first he could not answer for fright. +</P> + +<P> +"I—I—came to look at the place where the man was last night," he +gasped at last, "and to see how he could get out of the window." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I think your curiosity has run away with your politeness," +Barbara said. "You might have seen from the garden that the balcony is +quite close enough to the tree for any one to get out easily. Is there +anything else you would like to examine?" +</P> + +<P> +She need hardly have asked, for he had hurried round to the door before +she had half finished speaking, and, only murmuring, "I'm sorry," fled +precipitately. She was really rather sorry for him; he looked so +abjectly miserable. Nevertheless, she took the precaution of locking +the door and putting the key under the mat. She went downstairs more +slowly than she had come up, for the boy's visit had made her feel +rather queer. +</P> + +<P> +The way he shrank back into the window when she came in had reminded +her so much of the manner in which the black figure had acted in the +night, and she felt there was something uncanny about the whole thing. +However, she made up her mind to say nothing to her aunt just then in +case of spoiling her afternoon's pleasure, but she was quite determined +to make some rather pointed remarks to the solicitor that evening when +no one else was listening, and see how he took them. +</P> + +<P> +Unfortunately, however, she had no opportunity of doing so, for when +they went down to dinner, none of the solicitor's family were visible, +and Mademoiselle Belvoir remarked that they had all gone out to the +theatre, and would not be back till late. The remarks, Barbara +supposed, must be postponed till the morrow; but, alas! she never had a +chance of making them, for early on the morrow the whole house learned +that the solicitor, with his son and daughter, had gone, with +apparently no intention of returning. +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Belvoir and her brother had waited up till long after the +time they should have returned, and then the brother had hurried to the +<I>préfecture</I> to report the matter. He had been growing very suspicious +of late, as the solicitor had not paid anything for three weeks: +"Waiting for his cheque-book, which had been mislaid," he had said. +But the suspicions had been acted on too late, and his mother was +cheated out of ever so much money. Every one was highly indignant, and +Miss Britton and her niece really felt very grieved that they should +have been <I>British</I> subjects who had behaved so badly. +</P> + +<P> +Aunt Anne said she almost felt as if she ought to pay for them and save +the honour of their country, but Barbara thought that would be too +quixotic. At first Mademoiselle Belvoir thought there might be +something inside the man's trunks that would repay them a little for +the money lost; but, on being opened, there proved to be nothing but a +few old clothes, and Mademoiselle and her brothers remembered that the +boy had often gone out carrying parcels, which they used to laugh at. +</P> + +<P> +When all this was being discussed, Barbara thought she might as well +tell about finding the boy in her room, and she mentioned her +suspicions that he and the nocturnal visitor were one and the same +person, and found to her surprise that the Belvoirs had thought the +same. Poor things! Barbara was heartily sorry for them, for it was an +unpleasant occurrence to happen in a <I>pension</I>, and might make a +difference to them in future, apart from the fact that they could hear +nothing of the lost money, nor yet of the runaways. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara felt that hitherto her adventures in France had been quite like +a story-book, and knew that when her brother Donald heard of them he +would be making all kind of wonderful plans for the discovery of the +miscreants. +</P> + +<P> +"He would fancy himself an amateur detective at once," she said to her +aunt. Whereupon that lady returned grimly she would gladly become a +detective for the time being if she thought there was any chance of +finding the wretches, but that such people usually hid their tracks too +well. Nevertheless, Barbara noticed that she eyed her fellow-men with +great suspicion, and one day she persisted in pursuing a stout +gentleman with blue glasses, whom she declared was the solicitor in +disguise, till he noticed them and began to be nervously agitated. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm sure it isn't he, aunt," Barbara whispered, after they had +followed him successfully from Notre Dame to St. Etienne, and from +there to Napoleon's Tomb. "He speaks French—I heard him. Besides, he +is too stout for the solicitor." +</P> + +<P> +"He may be padded," Aunt Anne said wisely. "People of that kind can do +anything. There is something in his walk that assures me it <I>is</I> he, +and I <I>must</I> see him without his spectacles." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara followed rather unwillingly, though she could not help thinking +with amusement how the family would laugh when she wrote and described +her aunt in the role of a detective. She was not to be very +successful, however, for, as they were sauntering after him down one of +the galleries of the Museum, the blue-spectacled gentleman suddenly +turned round, and in a torrent of French asked to what pleasure he owed +Madame's close interest, which, if continued, would cause him to call +up a <I>gendarme</I>. "If you think to steal from me, I am far too well +prepared for that," he concluded. +</P> + +<P> +"Steal!" Aunt Anne echoed indignantly. "<I>We</I> are certainly not +thieves, sir, whatever <I>you</I> may be." Barbara was thankful that +apparently his knowledge of English was so slight that he did not +understand the remark. It was not without difficulty that she +prevailed upon her aunt to pass on and cease the wordy argument, which, +she pointed out, was not of much good, as neither understood the +other's language sufficiently well to answer to the point. +</P> + +<P> +"We shall have all the visitors in the Museum round us soon," she +urged, with an apprehensive glance at the people who were curiously +drawing near, "and shall perhaps be turned out for making a +disturbance." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I should go at once to the English ambassador," Aunt Anne said +with dignity. "But, as I have now seen his eyes and am assured he is +<I>not</I> the man we want, we can pass on," and with a stately bow, and the +remark that if he annoyed her in future she would feel compelled to +complain, she moved away, Barbara following, crimson with mingled +amusement and vexation. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +GOOD-BYE TO PARIS. +</H3> + +<P> +The days in Paris flew past far too quickly for Barbara, who enjoyed +everything to the full. +</P> + +<P> +As she came to know her aunt better, and got accustomed to her dry +manner and rather exact ways, she found her to be a really good +companion, not altogether lacking in humour, and having untiring energy +in sight-seeing and a keen sympathy with Barbara's delight in what was +new. +</P> + +<P> +Perhaps Miss Britton, too, was gaining more pleasure from the trip than +she had expected, for up till now she had seen her niece only as one a +little sobered by responsibility and the constraint of her own +presence. Whatever the cause, it was certain that during the past +fortnight Miss Britton had felt the days of her youth nearer her than +for some time, and it was with mutual regret that they reached the last +day of their stay in Paris. +</P> + +<P> +They were sitting together on the balcony, with the bees very busy in +the lilac-bush near them, and the doves murmuring to each other at the +end of the garden. Barbara was reading a guide-book on Brittany, and +Miss Britton, with her knitting in her hands, was listening to bits the +girl read aloud, and watching a little frown grow between the eyebrows. +It was curious how the frown between the dark brows reminded her of her +dead brother; and after a moment she laid down her knitting. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-049"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-049.jpg" ALT=""Barbara was reading a guide book on Brittany."" BORDER="2" WIDTH="401" HEIGHT="613"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 401px"> +"Barbara was reading a guide book on Brittany." +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"You may think it a little unkind, Barbara," she began, "that I am not +coming with you to see what kind of place it is to which you are going, +but I think it is good for a girl to learn to be independent and +self-reliant. I made careful inquiries, and the people seem to be very +good at teaching French—they used to live in Paris—and they are quite +respectable. Of course, you may not find everything just as you like +it, and if it is really unpleasant, you can write me, and I shall +arrange for you to return here. But Paris would be more distracting +for you to live in, and in a week or two far too hot to be pleasant. +</P> + +<P> +"Besides, I should like you really to <I>study</I> the language, so that you +may profit by your stay in France, as well as enjoy it. If I stayed +with you you would never talk French all the time." She stopped a +moment, and took a stitch or two in her knitting, then added in a tone +quite different from her usual quick, precise way, "Your father was a +splendidly straight, strong man—in body and mind. Try to be like him +in every way. He would have wished his eldest daughter to be sensible +and courageous." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara flushed with pleasure at the praise of her father. She had +never heard her aunt mention him before, and she leaned forward +eagerly, "Thank you, Aunt Anne—I want to be like him." +</P> + +<P> +She would gladly have kissed her, but the family habit of reserve was +strong upon her. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me see," continued her aunt, "can you ride?" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"I used to ride Topsy—the Shetland, you know—long ago, but father +sold him." +</P> + +<P> +Her eyes followed her aunt's across the garden and the end of the +street, to the distant glimpse of the Bois de Boulogne, where riders +passed at frequent intervals, and her eyes glowed. "Doesn't it look +jolly?" she said. "I used to love it." +</P> + +<P> +Aunt Anne nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"I used to ride in my youth, and your father rode beautifully before he +was married, and when he could afford to keep a horse. He would like +you to have done so too, I think. If there is any place where you can +learn in St. Servan, you may. It will be a good change from your +studies." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, aunt!" and this time reserve was thrown to the winds, and Barbara +most heartily embraced her. "Oh, how perfectly splendid of you! It +has always been my dream to ride properly, but I never, never thought +it would come true." +</P> + +<P> +"Dreams do not often," Miss Britton returned, with a scarcely audible +sigh; then she gathered up her soft white wool. "There is the first +bell, child, and we have not changed for dinner. Come, be quick." +</P> + +<P> +The next morning a heavily-laden cab passed from the Rue St. Sulpice +through the gates into the city. Miss Britton, finding that a friend +of the Belvoirs was going almost the whole way to St. Servan, had +arranged for Barbara to go under her care. But it was with very +regretful eyes that the girl watched the train, bearing her aunt away, +leave the station, and she was rather a silent traveller when, later in +the morning, she was herself <I>en route</I> for St. Servan. +</P> + +<P> +Not so her companion, however, a most talkative personage, who was +hardly quiet five minutes consecutively. She poured forth all sorts of +confidences about her family and friends, and seemed quite satisfied if +Barbara merely nodded and murmured, "<I>Comme c'est interessant!</I>" though +she did not understand nearly all her companion said. The latter +pointed out places of interest in passing, and finally, with an +effusive good-bye, got out at the station before St. Servan. +</P> + +<P> +As the train neared its destination, Barbara looked anxiously to see +what the town was like, and her disappointment was great at the first +glimpse of the place. When the family had looked up the Encyclopaedia +for a description of St. Servan, it seemed to be that of a small, +old-fashioned place, and Barbara had pictured it little more than a +village with a picturesque beach. Instead of that, she saw many +houses, some tall chimneys, and quays with ships lying alongside. It +would have cheered her had she known that the station was really a +considerable distance from the town, and in the ugliest part of it; but +that she did not find out till later. +</P> + +<P> +Outside the station were many vociferous cab-drivers offering to take +her anywhere she liked, and, choosing the one whose horse seemed best +cared for, she inquired if he knew where the house of Mademoiselle +Loiré, Rue Calvados, was. Grinning broadly he bade her step in, and +presently they were rolling and bumping along rough cobble-stoned +streets. Barbara had further imagined, from the description of the +house that Mademoiselle Loiré had sent them, that it was a villa +standing by itself, and was rather surprised when the <I>fiacre</I>, after +climbing a very steep street, stopped at a door and deposited herself +and her trunks before it. Almost before she rang the bell she heard +hurried steps, and the door was opened by some one whom she imagined +might be the housekeeper. +</P> + +<P> +"Is Mademoiselle Loiré in?" she inquired of the thin and severe-looking +woman with hair parted tightly in the middle. +</P> + +<P> +"I am Mademoiselle Loiré," she replied stiffly in French, "and you, I +suppose, are Miss Britton! I am sorry there was no one at the station +to meet you, but we did not expect you so soon." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you not get my post-card?" Barbara asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I could not possibly do that," Mademoiselle Loiré returned +reprovingly; "it was posted in Paris far too late for <I>that</I>. However, +perhaps you will now come into the <I>salon</I>," and Barbara followed +meekly into a room looking out upon the garden, and very full of all +kinds of things. She had hardly got in before she heard a bustle on +the stairs, which was followed by the entrance of Mademoiselle Thérèse +Loiré. Her face was not so long nor her hair so tightly drawn back as +her sister's, and she came forward with a rush, smiling broadly, but, +somehow, Barbara felt she would like the prim sister better. +</P> + +<P> +After asking many questions about the journey they took her to her +room, and Barbara's heart sank a little. The house seemed dark and +cold after that in Neuilly, and her bedroom was paved with red brick, +as was the custom in those parts in old houses. +</P> + +<P> +The dining-room—smelling somewhat of damp—was a long, low room +leading straight into the garden, and the whole effect was rather +depressing. At supper-time, Barbara was made acquainted with the rest +of the household, which consisted of an adopted niece—a plump girl of +about seventeen, with very red cheeks and a very small waist—and two +boys about twelve, who were boarding with the Loirés so that they might +go to the Lycée[1] in the town. After supper, Mademoiselle Thérèse +explained that they usually went for a walk with the widower and his +children who lived next door. +</P> + +<P> +"Poor things!" she said, "they knew nobody when they came to the town, +and a widower in France is so shut off from companionship that we +thought we must be kind to them. They have not a woman in the house +except a charer, who comes in the first thing in the morning." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara, with a chuckle over the "charer," went to put on her hat, and +on coming into the dining-room again, found the widower and his sons +already there. Something in the shape of the back of the elder man +seemed familiar to her, and on his turning round to greet her, she +recognised her little friend of the train on their first arrival in +France. The recognition was mutual, and before she had time to speak +he rushed forward and poured forth a torrent of French, while +Mademoiselle Thérèse clamoured for an explanation, which he finally +gave her. +</P> + +<P> +At last he had to stop for want of breath, and Barbara had time to look +at his sons—boys of twelve and sixteen—who seemed a great care to +him. All the three, father and sons, wore cloaks with hoods to them, +which they called <I>capucines</I>, and as there was very little difference +in their heights, they made rather a quaint trio. Barbara was glad to +see him again, however, for it seemed to bring her aunt nearer. +</P> + +<P> +It amused her considerably to notice how Mademoiselle Thérèse flew from +one party to another, during the whole of the walk, evidently feeling +that she was the chaperon of each individual. She started out beside +the widower, but soon interrupted his conversation by dashing off to +give a word of warning to the boys, and what was supposed to be a word +of encouragement to Barbara, who was walking with Marie, the niece, and +the widower's eldest son. +</P> + +<P> +It did not make much difference to them, for Jean and Marie seemed to +have plenty to say; and after addressing a few careless remarks to +Barbara, to which, perhaps, she did not pay much attention, the latter +heard her say to her companion, "Bah! there is nothing to be made of +her; let us continue;" and she was glad they left her alone that first +evening, for she was not in the mood for talking. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] Public school. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE REVOLT OF TWO. +</H3> + +<P> +The days that followed were not as pleasant to Barbara as those she had +spent in Paris, for though St. Malo, just across the river, fascinated +her, she did not care much for St. Servant, and the people did not +prove congenial to her—especially Mademoiselle Thérèse. Though she +seemed to be a clever teacher, Barbara could never be sure that she was +speaking the truth, and in writing home she described her as "rather a +humbug." +</P> + +<P> +"Most English people," she told Barbara shortly after her arrival, +"pronounce French badly because their mouths are shaped differently +from ours, but <I>yours</I>, Miss Britton, is just right, therefore your +accent is already wonderfully good." +</P> + +<P> +The girl laughed; the family had never been in the habit of flattering +one another, and she did not appreciate it as much as Mademoiselle +Thérèse had meant she should. Indeed, Barbara wished that the lady +would be less suave to her and more uniform in temper towards the rest +of the household, who sometimes, she shrewdly surmised, suffered +considerably from the younger sister's irascibility. +</P> + +<P> +She had just been in St. Servan ten days, when she had an example of +what she described in a letter home as a "stage quarrel" between the +Mademoiselles Loiré. It began at second <I>déjeuner</I> over some trivial +point in the education of Marie, about whom they were very apt to be +jealous. Their voices gradually rose higher and higher, the remarks +made being anything but complimentary, till finally Mademoiselle Loiré +leaped from her seat, saying she would not stay there to be insulted, +and darted upstairs. Her sister promptly followed, continuing her +argument as she went, but arriving too late at the study door, which +was bolted on the inside by the fugitive. +</P> + +<P> +After various fruitless attempts to make herself heard, Mademoiselle +Thérèse returned to the dining-room, and after a few words of +politeness to Barbara, began once more on the subject of dispute, this +time with Marie, her niece. Apparently the latter took a leaf out of +her aunt's book, for after speaking noisily for a few minutes, she said +<I>she</I> would not be insulted either, and followed her upstairs. +Thereupon Mademoiselle Thérèse's anger knew no bounds, and finding that +Marie had taken refuge beside her aunt in the study, she began to beat +a lively tattoo upon the door. +</P> + +<P> +The two boys, full of curiosity, followed to see what was going on, so +Barbara was left in solitary grandeur, with the ruins of an omelette +before her, and she, "having hunger," went on stolidly with her meal. +She was, in truth, a little disgusted with the whole affair, and was +not sorry to escape to her room before Mademoiselle Thérèse returned. +They were making such a noise below that it was useless to attempt to +do any work, and she was just thinking of going out for a walk, when +her door burst open and in rushed Mademoiselle Loiré, dragging Marie +with her. +</P> + +<P> +"Keep her with you," she panted; "she says she will kill my sister. +Keep her with you while I go down and argue with Thérèse." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara looked sharply at the girl, and it seemed to her that though +she kept murmuring, "I'll kill her I—I'll kill her!" half her anger +was merely assumed, and that there was no necessity for alarm. +</P> + +<P> +"How can they be so silly and theatrical?" she muttered. Then, +glancing round the room to see if there were anything she could give +her, she noticed a bottle of Eno's Fruit Salts, and her eyes twinkled. +It was not exactly the same thing as sal volatile, of course, but at +any rate it would keep the girl quiet, so, pouring out a large +glassful, she bade Marie drink it. The latter obeyed meekly, and for +some time was reduced to silence by want of breath. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall certainly throw myself into the sea," she gasped at last. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, you will certainly be more foolish than I thought you were, if +you do," Barbara returned calmly. "Indeed, I can't think what all this +fuss is about." +</P> + +<P> +Marie stared. "Why, it's to show Aunt Thérèse that she must not +tyrannise over us like that," she said. "I told her I was going to +throw myself into the sea, and as she believes it, it is almost the +same thing." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara shrugged her shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +"A very comfortable way of doing things in cold weather," she remarked; +"but I want a little quiet now, and I think you had better have some +too." +</P> + +<P> +The French girl, somewhat overawed by the other's coolness, relapsed +into silence, and when the sounds downstairs seemed quieter Barbara got +up, and said she was going out for a walk. She found on descending, +however, that the "argument" had only been transferred to +mademoiselle's workroom, where a very funny sight met her eyes when she +looked in. +</P> + +<P> +The poor little widower, whom apparently the two sisters had fetched to +arbitrate between them, stood looking fearfully embarrassed in the +middle of the room, turning apologetically from one to the other. He +never got any further than the first few words, however, as they +brought a torrent of explanation from both his hearers, each giving him +dozens of reasons why the other was wrong. +</P> + +<P> +Marie, who watched for a moment or two, could not help joining in; and +Barbara, very tired of it all, left them to fight it out by themselves, +and went away by the winding streets to the look-out station, where she +sat down and watched the sun shining on the beautiful old walls of St. +Malo. She had only been once in that town with Mademoiselle Thérèse, +but the ramparts and the old houses had fascinated her, and if she had +been allowed, she would have crossed the little moving bridge daily. +</P> + +<P> +When she returned, the house seemed quiet again, for which she was very +thankful, and, mounting to her room, she prepared the French lesson +which was usually given her at that time. +</P> + +<P> +But when Mademoiselle Thérèse came up, she spent most of the time in +bewailing the ingratitude of one's fellow mortals, especially near +relations, and wondering if Marie were really going to drown herself, +and when her sister would unlock her door and come out of the room. +</P> + +<P> +Supper was rather a doleful meal, and immediately after it mademoiselle +went to look for her niece, who had not returned. Barbara laughed a +little scornfully at her fears, and even when she came back with the +news that Marie was not concealed next door, as she had thought, +refused to believe that the girl was not hiding somewhere else. +</P> + +<P> +"But where could she be except next door?" mademoiselle questioned; +"and when I went to ask, Monsieur Dubois was seated with his sons +having supper, and no signs of the truant. He had seen or heard +nothing of her, he said." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara wondered which had been deceived, and whether the widower +himself was deceived or deceiver, but, giving up the attempt to decide +the question, retired to bed, advising mademoiselle to do the same, +feeling some curiosity, but no anxiety, as to Marie's fate. She had +not been in bed very long when she heard some one move stealthily +downstairs and enter the dining-room. Mademoiselle Thérèse, she knew, +had locked all the doors and gone to her bedroom, which was in the +front of the house, and she immediately guessed that it must be +something to do with Marie. +</P> + +<P> +"The plot thickens," she said to herself, stealing to the window, which +looked out upon the garden. There, to her amazement, she saw +Mademoiselle Loiré emerging laboriously from the dining-room window. +She saw her in the moonlight creep down the garden towards the wall at +the end, but what happened after that she could only guess at, as the +trees cast a shadow which hid the lady from view. +</P> + +<P> +"The lady or the tiger?" she said, laughing, as she peered into the +shades of the trees, and about five minutes later was rewarded by +seeing two figures hurry back and enter the house by the same way that +Mademoiselle Loiré had got out. +</P> + +<P> +"Marie!" she thought triumphantly, wondering in what part of the garden +she had been hidden, as there was no gate in the direction from which +she had come. She lay awake for a little while, meditating on the +vagaries of the family she had fallen into, and then fell so soundly +asleep that she was surprised to find it broad daylight when she awoke, +and to see Marie sitting on the end of her bed, smiling beamingly upon +her. +</P> + +<P> +"So you're back?" Barbara inquired with a yawn. "I hope you didn't +find it too cold in the garden last night." +</P> + +<P> +"You saw us, then?" giggled Marie. "But you don't know where I came +from, do you? Nor does Aunt Thérèse. I'll tell you now; such an +exciting time I've had—just like a story-book heroine." +</P> + +<P> +"Penny novelette heroine," murmured Barbara, but her visitor was too +full of her adventure to notice the remark. +</P> + +<P> +"As you know, I told Aunt Thérèse I should drown myself," she began +complacently; "but, of course, such was not my intention." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course not," interpolated Barbara drily. +</P> + +<P> +"Instead, I confided my plan to Aunt Marie, then slipped out into the +street, and thence to our friends next door." +</P> + +<P> +"The widower's?" exclaimed the English girl in surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"The very same. I explained to him my project for giving my aunt a +wholesome lesson; and he, with true chivalry, invited me to sup with +them—he saw I was spent with hunger." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara, looking at the plump, rosy face of her companion, which had +assumed a tragic air, stifled a laugh, and the girl continued. +</P> + +<P> +"I spent a pleasant time, and was just finishing my repast when the +bell rang. 'My aunt!' I cried. 'Hide me from her wrath, Monsieur.' +'The coal-cellar,' he replied, after a moment's stern thought. In one +second I had disappeared—I was no more—and when my aunt entered she +found him at supper with his sons. When she had gone I returned, and +we spent the evening cheerfully in mutual congratulation. At +nightfall, when we considered all was secure, Aunt Marie came into the +garden, placed a ladder against the wall, and I passed from one garden +into the other and regained our room securely. I think Aunt Thérèse +suspected nothing—Monsieur Dubois is such a beautiful deceiver." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself," Barbara said +hotly. "Apart from the meanness and deceitfulness of it all, you have +behaved most childishly, and I shall always think less of Monsieur +Dubois for his untruthfulness." +</P> + +<P> +"Untruthfulness!" Marie returned in an offended tone. "He acted most +chivalrously; but you English have such barbarous ideas about chivalry." +</P> + +<P> +For a moment Barbara felt tempted to get up and shake the girl, then +came to the conclusion that it would be waste of time and energy to +argue with an individual whose ideas were so hopelessly dissimilar to +her own. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm going to get up now," she said shortly. "I'll be glad if you +would go." +</P> + +<P> +"But don't you want to know what we are going to do now?" queried +Marie, a little astonished that her companion should not show more +interest in such an exciting adventure. "Our campaign has only begun. +We will make Aunt Thérèse capitulate before we have done. After all, +she is the younger. We intend to stay in our rooms without descending +until she promises to ask pardon for her insults, and say no more of +the matter; and we will go out nightly to get air—carefully avoiding +meeting her—and will buy ourselves sausages and chocolate, and so live +until she sees how wrong she has been." +</P> + +<P> +She ended with great pride, feeling that at length she must have made +an impression on this prosaic English girl, and was much disconcerted +when Barbara broke into laughter, crying, "Oh, you goose; how can you +be so silly!" +</P> + +<P> +Marie rose with hurt dignity. "You have no feeling for romance," she +said. "Your horizon is most commonplace." Then, struck by a sudden +fear, she added, "But you surely will not be unpleasant enough to tell +Aunt Thérèse what I have confided to you? I trusted you." +</P> + +<P> +"No," Barbara said, a little unwillingly, "I won't tell her; but I wish +you had left me out of the matter entirely, for I certainly cannot lie +to her." And with that Marie had to be content. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A WILD DRIVE. +</H3> + +<P> +The uncomfortable "campaign," as Marie had called it, continued for +some days, and Barbara was in the unpleasant condition of having both +parties confide in her. At the end of that time, however, it seemed as +if the dainties that sustained the two upstairs began to pall upon +them, as housekeeping evidently did on Mademoiselle Thérèse, and +Barbara saw signs of a truce. +</P> + +<P> +This was doubtless hastened by the news that an old family friend was +coming with his wife and daughter on the next Sunday afternoon, and, as +Mademoiselle Thérèse explained, they must keep up appearances. He was +a lawyer who lived at Dol, and from the preparations that were made, +Barbara saw that they thought a great deal of him, for there was such +baking and cooking as had never been since her arrival. The salad even +was adorned with rose leaves, and looked charming, while the +Mesdemoiselles Loiré clothed themselves in their best garments. +</P> + +<P> +They all sat in state in the drawing-room as the hour for the arrival +of the visitors approached, trying to look as if they had never heard +of soufflet or mayonnaise salad, and Barbara, who had been called upon +to taste each of the dishes in turn and give an opinion on their worth, +almost felt as if she never wished to hear of such things again. About +twelve o'clock a <I>fiacre</I> stopped at the door, and a few minutes later +the visitors were announced—father, mother, and daughter. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara was agreeably surprised—as indeed she often was by the Loirés' +friends—to find that they were so nice. The mother and daughter were +both very fashionably dressed, but simple and frank, the father, +however, being most attractive to Barbara. He was clever and amusing, +and contradicted Mademoiselle Thérèse in such an audacious way, that +had it been any one else, she would have retired to her bedroom +offended for a week. The visit passed most successfully, Mademoiselle +Loiré's cooking being quite as much appreciated as she had expected, +and when the visitors said good-bye, Barbara left the sisters +congratulating themselves on their success. +</P> + +<P> +A few days later the final word was added to the truce between the +sisters by Mademoiselle Thérèse proposing that <I>she</I> should stay at +home and look after the house, while her sister took Barbara and Marie +for a visit to Cancale, whose beauties, Mademoiselle Thérèse assured +Barbara, had a world-wide renown. +</P> + +<P> +But the elder sister, though obviously pleased by the suggestion, +thought she would rather "Thérèse" went, while she stayed in St. Servan +and paid a few calls that she was desirous of making. +</P> + +<P> +After much discussion it was so determined, and the following day +Mademoiselle Thérèse, with the two girls, set off after lunch by the +train. The ride was a pleasant one, and the magnificent view of the +Bay of Cancale with the Mont St. Michel in the distance delighted +Barbara's heart. She much preferred the quaint little fishing village, +La Houle, nestling at the foot of the cliffs, to the more fashionable +quarter of the town; but Mademoiselle Thérèse, who was bent on "seeing +the fashions of the visitors," led the way with energy to the hotel +half way up the cliff. It was certainly gay enough there, and the +Frenchwoman explained to her pupil "that if one noticed the costumes at +seaside resorts it often saved buying fashion-books." +</P> + +<P> +They sat on the terrace, mademoiselle and Marie dividing their +attention between a stout lady, in a gorgeous toilet of purple trimmed +with blue, and oysters, which, the Frenchwoman assured Barbara, were +"one of the beauties of the place." But the latter contented herself +with tea, wondering idly, as she drank it, why the beverage so often +tasted of stewed hay. After their refreshment they strolled round the +town, and then sat upon the promenade, watching the sun travel slowly +down the sky towards the sea-line. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly mademoiselle remembered the time, and, looking at her watch, +declared they had but a few minutes in which to get to the train, and +that they must run if they wished to catch it. Off they started, +mademoiselle panting in the rear, calling upon the girls to wait, and +gasping out that it would be of no use to arrive without her. They +were extremely glad on arriving at the terminus to see that they had +still a minute or two to spare. +</P> + +<P> +"We are in time for the train?" mademoiselle asked of a <I>gendarme</I> +standing near the station house. +</P> + +<P> +The man stared at her. +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly, madame," he said at last; "but would it not be as well to +come here in the morning?" +</P> + +<P> +"In the morning!" she echoed. "You foolish fellow! We want to go by +this train—it should be here now—it leaves at 7.30." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah!" the man said, and he seemed to understand. "I fear you have lost +<I>that</I> train by several days; it went last Sunday." +</P> + +<P> +"What!" screamed mademoiselle. "How dare you mock me! I will report +you." +</P> + +<P> +"That must be as madame wishes," returned the man with horrible +calmness; "but the train madame wishes to get only runs on Sundays, +and, therefore, she must wait several days for the next. If any other +train will do, there is one in the morning at 9.30." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara wanted to laugh, but consideration—or fear—of Mademoiselle +Thérèse—kept her quiet, and they stood gazing at one another in +sorrowful silence. A ten-mile walk at 7.30 in the evening, unless with +very choice companions, is not an unmitigated pleasure, especially when +one has been walking during the day. However, there was nothing for it +but to walk, as a conveyance, if obtainable, would have been too +expensive for Mademoiselle Thérèse's economical ideas. +</P> + +<P> +They declared at first that it was a lovely evening, and began to cheer +their way by sprightly conversation, but a mile or two of dusty +highroad told upon them, and silence fell with the darkness. It was a +particularly hot evening too, and great heat, as every one knows, +frequently tends to irritation, so perhaps their silence was judicious. +Mademoiselle Thérèse kept murmuring at intervals that it really was +most annoying, as her sister would have been expecting them much +earlier, and would be so vexed. Perhaps visions of a second +retirement, which no "family friend" would come to relieve, floated +before her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +More than half the distance had been covered when they heard the sound +of wheels behind them. +</P> + +<P> +"A carriage!" cried mademoiselle, roused to sudden energy, "they <I>must</I> +give us a lift," and drawing up by the side of the road, they waited +anxiously to know their fate. It was fairly dark by this time, and +they could not distinguish things clearly, but they saw a big horse, +with a light, open cart behind. When mademoiselle first began to +speak, the driver took not the least notice, but after going a few +yards, pursued by her with praiseworthy diligence and surprising +vigour, he pulled up and pointed to the seat behind, the place beside +him being already filled by a trunk. +</P> + +<P> +The wanderers scrambled in joyfully, greatly pleased with their good +luck, and it was not until they were in their places, and near the man, +that they discovered he had been drinking freely and was not as +clear-headed as he might have been. If there had been time they would +all have got out again, but he whipped up so quickly that there was no +chance. He continued to whip up, moreover, till they were going at a +most break-neck speed. +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle, clinging madly to the side of the cart, begged him in the +midst of her gasps and exclamations to let them descend; but the more +she begged and the more desperate she became, the better pleased he +seemed, and it really looked as if they might all be thrown into the +ditch. Then mademoiselle, who was always rather nervous about driving, +broke into shrill screams, with Marie joining in at intervals—Gilpin's +flight was nothing to it—and the cart jolted and swayed so that calm +expostulation was impossible. +</P> + +<P> +A lesson in rough-riding to a beginner could not have proved a more +disjointing experience, and the man, chuckling over the +loudly-expressed fear of his companions, drove on. Fortunately, there +were not many turns, and the road was fairly wide all the way; but once +Barbara felt the hedge brush her face, and Marie's handkerchief, which +she had been using to mop up her tears, was borne away a few minutes +later by the bushes on the opposite side of the road. +</P> + +<P> +The only thing that could be said in favour of the drive was that they +covered the ground with great speed, and the thought occurred to +Barbara that it would be by no means pleasant to enter the streets of +St. Servan with their present driver and two screaming women, as, apart +from other considerations, they might meet the policeman, and the +encounter would be unpleasant. +</P> + +<P> +She told mademoiselle and Marie that if they did not want to be killed +or locked up in the <I>préfecture</I>, they must jump off the back of the +cart while going up the hill outside the town. The horse, after its +wild career, would calm down on the incline, besides which, a fall in +the road would be preferable to being thrown through a shop window. +</P> + +<P> +It took very forcible language to make Mademoiselle Thérèse face +present terror rather than await the future; but, when the horse really +did slow down to a walk, and the two girls had reached the ground in +safety, she made a mighty effort, and floundered out in a heap upon the +road, making so much noise that Barbara was afraid the man would +realise they were gone, and insist upon their getting in again. +</P> + +<P> +But he whipped up at that moment, and the noise of the cart drowned the +dolorous complaints. The girls soothed their companion by assuring her +that in ten minutes they would be home, when, most assuredly, her +sister's heart would be moved to pity by their sorry plight and the +tale of their adventures. +</P> + +<P> +Just as they arrived at their own door they met Mademoiselle Loiré +hurrying up, and her sister, thinking she was coming to look for them, +and not knowing the reception she might get, fell upon her neck, +pouring forth with incoherent sobs and explanations the tale of their +woes. +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Loiré was most sympathetic and unreproachful, and, having +dried her sister's tears, led her into the house, where the whole party +sat down to cake and cider, under the influence of which Mademoiselle +Thérèse quite recovered, and retold their adventures, Barbara realising +for the first time, as she listened, what heroines they had been! +</P> + +<P> +Their screaming advance along the highroad became a journey, where they +sat grimly, with set teeth, listening to the curses of a madman, and +bowing their heads to escape having them cut off repeatedly by the +branches of trees. +</P> + +<P> +Their ignominious exit from the cart on the hill became a desperate +leap into the darkness, when the vehicle was advancing at full gallop; +and when Barbara finally rose to say good-night, she felt as if they +had all been princesses in a fairy-tale, in which, alas! there had been +no prince. +</P> + +<P> +She learned two things on the morrow—not counting the conviction that +riding at a gallop in a cart made one desperately stiff. The first was +from Marie, who told her that Mademoiselle Loiré's forbearance with +their late return, and her intense sympathy with their adventures, +probably arose from the fact that she had just been returning from her +own expedition when she met the wanderers, and had been filled with +very similar fears concerning her reception as those which had filled +her sister's heart. +</P> + +<P> +The other fact, which Barbara read aloud to Mademoiselle Thérèse from +the newspaper, was that Jean Malet had been apprehended for furious +driving at a late hour the previous night, and would have to pay a +heavy fine. +</P> + +<P> +"How he had come safely through the streets at such speed," said the +journalist, "was a miracle. Fortunately, there was no one in the cart +but himself." +</P> + +<P> +"Fortunately, indeed, there was not," remarked Barbara, folding up the +paper. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MONT ST. MICHEL. +</H3> + +<P> +The following day Barbara was taken to a confirmation service at a +Roman Catholic church in the town, for one of Marie's younger brothers +was coming from the country to be confirmed. Barbara watched the +service curiously, feeling rather as if she were in a dream. The +bishop entered the church with much pomp, adorned in wonderful lace and +embroidered vestments. His progress up the aisle was slow, for there +were many mothers and sisters with little children, whom they presented +to him for his blessing, and he patiently stopped beside each, giving +them his ring to kiss. +</P> + +<P> +He was waited on by the clergy of the church and some from the country +round, and these latter amused Barbara not a little, for they carried +their rochets in newspapers, or in shabby brown bags, which they left +in corners of the seats, while they slipped on their rochets in full +view of every one. Then the boys, accompanied by their godfathers, the +girls by their godmothers, filed slowly up to the bishop, who blessed +each in turn. On leaving him they passed in front of two priests, the +first attended by a boy bearing a basket of cotton-wool pellets dipped +in oil, the second by a boy with a basket of towels. +</P> + +<P> +The first priest rubbed the forehead of each child with oil, and the +next one dried it. After which they went singing to their places. +</P> + +<P> +The ceremony was a very long one, and Barbara was not very sorry when +it was over. She grew weary before the close, and was glad when they +made their way home, accompanied by Marie's father—the Loirés' +half-brother—and the little boy. The former was a farmer in the +country, and Barbara thought he was much pleasanter to look upon than +either his daughter or sisters. +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Loiré had provided him at lunch with his favourite +dish—shrimps—and Barbara could hardly eat anything herself, being +completely fascinated with watching him. He had helped himself pretty +liberally, and, to her amazement, began to eat them with lightning +speed. He bent fairly low over his plate, resting an elbow on each +side, and, putting in the whole shrimp with his left hand, almost +immediately seemed to take out the head and tail with the other, +working with machine-like regularity. It was an accomplishment that +Barbara was sure would bring him in a lot of money at a show, and she +began to picture to herself a large advertisement, "Instantaneous +Shrimp-eater," and the products that might arise therefrom. +</P> + +<P> +When he had almost demolished the dish of shrimps he stopped, looked a +little regretfully at the <I>débris</I> on his plate, then straightened +himself in his chair, and began to take an interest in what was going +on around him. He smiled benignly on his sisters, teased his daughter, +and looked with shy curiosity at Barbara, to whom he did not dare to +address any remarks until nearly the end of lunch. Then he said very +slowly, and in a loud voice as if speaking to a deaf person, "Has the +English mademoiselle visited the Mont St. Michel yet?" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara shook her head. +</P> + +<P> +"It is a pleasure for the future, I hope," she said. +</P> + +<P> +"But certainly, of course, she must go there," he said, still speaking +laboriously. Then after that effort, as if exhausted, he relapsed into +silence. +</P> + +<P> +But Mademoiselle Thérèse pursued the idea, and before the meal was over +had fixed a day in the following week for the excursion. As her sister +had already been at the Mont more than once, it was decided she should +remain with Marie, so that the pleasant task of accompanying Barbara +fell, as usual, to Mademoiselle Thérèse. At the last moment the +numbers were increased by the little widower, who suddenly made up his +mind to join them, with his eldest son. +</P> + +<P> +"It is long since I have been," he declared, "and it is part of the +education of Jean to see the wonders of his native land. Therefore, +mademoiselle, if you permit us, we will join you to-morrow. It will be +doubly pleasant for us to go in the company of one so learned." +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Thérèse could not help bowing at such a compliment, but it +is doubtful whether she really appreciated the widower's proposal. The +little man was quite capable of contradicting information she might +give Barbara if he thought it incorrect, and when he was there she +could not keep the conversation entirely in her own hands. +</P> + +<P> +By the girl's most earnest request, she had agreed to stay the night at +the Mont, and they started off in highest spirits by an early morning +train. +</P> + +<P> +Her two companions poured into Barbara's ears a full historical account +of Mont St. Michel, sometimes agreeing, sometimes contradicting each +other, and the girl was glad that, when at last the long stretch of +weird and lonely sandflats was reached, they seemed to have exhausted +their eloquence. +</P> + +<P> +"But where is the sea?" she asked in surprise. "I thought you said the +sea would be all round it." +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Thérèse looked a little uncomfortable. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, the sea—of course. I expected the tide would be high. It ought +to be up, I am sure. You told me too that the tide would be high," and +she turned so quickly upon the widower that he jumped nervously. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, of course, that is to say—you told me the tide should be high at +present, and I said I did not doubt it since you said it; but I heard +some one remarking a few minutes ago that it would be up to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind," Barbara interposed, for she saw signs of a fresh +discussion. "It will be all the nicer to see it rise, I am sure." +And, fortunately, the widower and Mademoiselle Thérèse agreed with her. +</P> + +<P> +The train, crowded with visitors, puffed slowly towards St. Michel, and +Barbara watched the dim outline of gray stone become clearer, till the +full beauty of the Abbaye and the Merveille burst upon her sight. +</P> + +<P> +"St. Michael and All Angels," she murmured, looking up towards the +golden figure of the archangel on the top of the Abbaye. "He looks as +if guarding the place; but what cruel things went on below him." +</P> + +<P> +"Shocking tragedies!" mademoiselle assured her, having heard the last +words. "Shocking tragedies! But let us be quick and get out, or else +we shall not arrive in time for the first lunch. Now you are going to +taste Madame Poulard's omelettes—a food ambrosial. You will wonder! +They alone are worth coming to the Mont St. Michel for." +</P> + +<P> +They hurried out over the wooden gangway that led from the train lines +to the gate at the foot of the Mont, and entered the strange-stepped +streets, and marvelled at the houses clinging to the rock. They were +welcomed into the inn by Madame Poulard herself, who, resting for a +moment at the doorway from her labours in the kitchen, stood smiling +upon all comers. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara looked with interest at the long, low dining-room, whose walls +bore tokens of the visits of so many famous men and women, and at whose +table there usually gathered folk from so many different nations. +</P> + +<P> +"There is an Englishman!" she said eagerly to Mademoiselle Thérèse, for +it seemed quite a long time since she had seen one of her countrymen so +near. +</P> + +<P> +"But, yes, of course," mademoiselle answered, shrugging her shoulders. +"What did you expect? They go everywhere," and she turned her +attention to her plate. "One must be fortified by a good meal," she +said in a solemn whisper to Barbara as they rose, "to prepare one for +the blood-curdling tales we are about to hear while seeing over the +Abbaye." +</P> + +<P> +And though the girl allowed something for exaggeration, it was quite +true that, after hearing the stories, and seeing the pictures of those +who had perished in the dungeons, she felt very eerie when being taken +through them. In the damp darkness she seemed to realise the terror +that imprisonment there must have held, and she thought she could +almost hear the moans of the victims and the scraping of the rats, who +were waiting—for the end. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh!" she cried, drawing a long breath when they once more emerged into +the open air. "You seem hardly able to breathe down there even for a +little while—and for years——" She shuddered. "How could they bear +it?" +</P> + +<P> +"One learns to bear everything in this life," Mademoiselle Thérèse +replied sententiously, shaking her head and looking as if she knew what +it was to suffer acutely. "One is set on earth to learn to 'suffer and +grow strong,' as one of your English poets says." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara turned away impatiently, and felt she could gladly have shaken +her companion. +</P> + +<P> +"One wants to come to a place like this with nice companions or alone," +she thought, and it was this feeling that drove her out on to the +ramparts that evening after dinner. She was feeling happy at having +successfully escaped from the noisy room downstairs, and thankful to +the game of cards that had beguiled Mademoiselle Thérèse's attention +from her, when she heard footsteps close beside her, and, turning +round, saw Jean Dubois. +</P> + +<P> +"Whatever do you want here?" she said a little irritably; then, hearing +his humble answer that he had just come to enjoy the view, felt ashamed +of herself, and tried to be pleasant. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know," she said, suddenly determining to share an idea with him +to make up for her former rudeness, "we have seen Mont St. Michel from +every side but one—and that is the sea side. I should like to see it +every way, wouldn't you? I have just made a little plan, and that is +to get up early to-morrow morning, and go out across the sand till I +can see it." +</P> + +<P> +"Mademoiselle!" the boy exclaimed. "But is it safe? The sands are +treacherous, and many have been buried in them." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I know, but there are lots of footsteps going across them in all +directions, and I saw some people out there to-day. If I follow the +footprints it will be safe, for where many can go surely one may." +</P> + +<P> +It took some time for Jean to grow accustomed to the idea, and he drew +his <I>capucine</I> a little closer round him, as if the thought of such an +adventure chilled him; then he laid his hand on Barbara's arm. +</P> + +<P> +"I, too," he said, "will see the view from that side. Mademoiselle +Barbara, I will come with you." +</P> + +<P> +"But your father? Would he approve, do you think?" +</P> + +<P> +"But assuredly," Jean said hastily; "he wishes me to get an entire idea +of Mont St. Michel—to be permeated, in fact. It is to be an +educational visit, he said." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, then. But we must be very early and very quiet, so that we +may not disturb mademoiselle. I am not confiding in her, you +understand. Can you be ready at half-past five, so that we may be back +before coffee?" +</P> + +<P> +"Assuredly—at half-past five I shall be on the terrace," and Jean's +cheeks actually glowed at the thought of the adventure. "There was so +much romance in it," he thought, and pictured how nice it would be +telling the story to Marie afterwards. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara herself was very gleeful, for it was nice to be able to act +without wondering whether she was showing the younger ones a good +example or not. She felt almost as if she were back at school, and +that feeling was intensified by the little cubicle bedrooms with which +the visitors at Madame Poulard's were provided. She had been a little +anxious as to whether she would awaken at the right hour, but found, on +opening her eyes next morning, that she had plenty of time to spare. +</P> + +<P> +She dressed noiselessly, for mademoiselle was sleeping in the next +room, and she did not want to rouse her, and stole down the passage and +into the terrace, where Jean was waiting for her. They were early +risers at Mont St. Michel, and the servants looked with some curiosity, +mingled perhaps with disapproval, at the couple, but they recognised +the girl as being English, and of course there was no accounting for +what any of that nation did! It was a lovely morning, and Barbara, +picking her way over the rocks, hummed gaily to herself, for it was an +excursion after her own heart. +</P> + +<P> +Jean cast rather a doubtful eye from the rocks to the waste of sand in +front of them, but, seeing his companion did not hesitate, he could not +either, and stepped out boldly beside her. +</P> + +<P> +"You see," Barbara explained, "it is really perfectly hard here, and we +will keep quite close to the footsteps that lead right out to that +other rock out there." +</P> + +<P> +"But you are surely not going as far as that?" he inquired anxiously. +"We should never be back in time for coffee." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think so," Barbara returned gaily; "but we'll see how we get +on." +</P> + +<P> +When once Jean saw that the ground was perfectly sound beneath their +feet, and that the footprints went on unwaveringly, he felt reassured, +and really began to enjoy himself. They turned round every now and +then to look back at the Mont, but decided each time that they had not +got quite far enough away to get a really good effect. +</P> + +<P> +"You know," said Jean, some of his fears returning after a time, "one +usually has guides—people who know the sands—to take one out so far. +I trod on a very soft place just now." +</P> + +<P> +"Keep near the footprints then," Barbara answered. "The tide hasn't +been up yet, and the sands can't surely change in the night-time. Just +a little farther, and then we will stop." +</P> + +<P> +They stopped a few minutes later, and both declared that the view was +well worth the walk, the only thing that Barbara regretted being that +it was too damp to sit down and enjoy it at their ease. +</P> + +<P> +"It <I>would</I> have been nice to get as far as Tombelaine," the girl said +at last, turning from St. Michel to take another look at the rocky +islet farther out; "but I suppose we really must be going home again +now." +</P> + +<P> +Jean did not answer her. He had turned with her towards the rock; then +his eyes had wandered round the horizon, and had remained fixed in such +a stare that the girl wondered what he saw. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the matter?" she asked. "What is it you are seeing, Jean?" +</P> + +<P> +"The sea," he gasped, his face becoming ashen. "Mademoiselle—the +tide—it advances—we will be caught." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara looked across the long stretch of gray sand till her eyes found +the moving line of water. +</P> + +<P> +"It is nearer," she said slowly; "but of course it always comes in +every day." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes—but—to-day—I had forgotten—it is to be high tide—all round +the Mont. Did you not hear them say so?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Barbara owned; "I remember quite well now. But let us hurry—it +is a long way off yet. We have plenty of time." She spoke +consolingly, for Jean's face was blanched and she saw he was trembling. +</P> + +<P> +"But, mademoiselle, you do not understand. Did you not hear them +telling us also that the tide advances so rapidly that it catches the +quickest horse? Oh, I wish we had told some one of this journey—that +some one had seen us. They would have warned us. We should have been +safe." +</P> + +<P> +It was then for the first time that the thought of danger entered +Barbara's head, and she took her companion's hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us run, then. Quick!" she said. "We are not such a very long way +off." +</P> + +<P> +Jean hesitated only a moment, his eyes, as if fascinated, still on the +water; then he turned his face towards the Mont, and sped over the sand +more fleetly than Barbara would have believed possible to him—so +fleetly, indeed, that he began to leave the girl, who was swift of +foot, behind. +</P> + +<P> +She glanced over her shoulder at the sea, which certainly was drawing +in very rapidly, licking over the sand greedily, then forward at St. +Michel, and fell to a walk. She knew she could not run the whole +distance for it was not easy going on the sand, especially when an eye +had always to be kept un the guiding footprints. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-064"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-064.jpg" ALT=""She glanced over her shoulder at the sea."" BORDER="2" WIDTH="408" HEIGHT="602"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 408px"> +"She glanced over her shoulder at the sea." +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +It was some little time before Jean really realised she was not close +behind him; then he stopped running and waited for her. +</P> + +<P> +"Go on," she shouted. "Don't wait for me, I can catch you up later." +</P> + +<P> +"But it is impossible for me to leave you," he called back on regaining +his breath. "But, oh! run if you can, for the water comes very near." +</P> + +<P> +One more fleeting glance behind and Barbara broke into a run again, +though her breath came in gasps. +</P> + +<P> +"They are seeing us from the Mont," panted Jean. "They have come out +to watch the tide rise. Give me your hand. Do not stop! Do not stop!" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara felt that, do as she would, her breath could hold out no +longer, and she slackened her pace to a walk once more. Then a great +shout went up from the people on the ramparts, and they began waving +their hands and handkerchiefs wildly. To them the two figures seemed +to be moving so slowly and the great sea behind so terribly fast. +Barbara could hear its swish, swish, near enough now, and she felt +Jean's hand tremble in her own. "Run yourself," she said, dropping it. +"Run, and I'll follow." +</P> + +<P> +But he merely shook his head. To speak was waste of breath, and he +meant his to last him till he reached the rocks. +</P> + +<P> +He pulled the girl into a trot again, and they plodded on heavily. It +was impossible for him to speak now, but he pointed at the rocks below +St. Michel where two men were scrambling down, and Barbara understood +that they were coming to aid. +</P> + +<P> +The sea was very close—horribly close—when two fishermen met the +couple, and, taking Barbara's hands on either side, pulled her on, +while Jean panted a little way behind. The watching crowd above had +been still with fear until they saw the rocks reached; then they +shouted again and again, while the many who had scrambled down part of +the way hastened forward to see who the adventurous couple were, and to +give a helping hand if necessary. +</P> + +<P> +One of the first to reach them was the little widower, his cravate +loose, his hat off, and tears streaming down his cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +"Jean!" he wailed. "What have I done that you should treat me so? +What would your sainted mother say were she to see you thus?" +</P> + +<P> +But neither Jean nor Barbara was capable of saying a word, and though +the fishermen were urgently assuring the girl that she was not safe +yet, that they must go round the rocks to the gate on the other side, +she remained sitting doubled up on a rock, feeling that her breath +would never come into her body again. +</P> + +<P> +"Let her rest a moment," suggested one wiser than the rest. "She +cannot move till she breathes. There is yet time enough. Loosen her +collar, and let her breathe." +</P> + +<P> +The sea was gurgling at the foot of the rocks when Barbara regained her +breath sufficiently to move, and she was glad enough to have strong +arms to help her on her way. +</P> + +<P> +Jean and his father reached the gate first, and, therefore, +Mademoiselle Thérèse had already exhausted a little of her energy +before Barbara appeared. But she was about to fling herself in tears +upon the girl's neck when a bystander interposed. +</P> + +<P> +"Let her breathe," he said. "Let her go to the inn and get +nourishment." And Barbara, the centre of an eager, excited French +crowd, was thankful, indeed, to shelter herself within Madame Poulard's +hospitable walls. +</P> + +<P> +"We will probably have to stay here a week till she +recovers"—Mademoiselle Thérèse had a sympathetic audience—"she is of +delicate constitution;" and the good lady was perhaps a little +disappointed when Barbara declared herself perfectly able to go home in +the afternoon as had been arranged. +</P> + +<P> +"What should prevent us?" she asked, when after a rest and something to +eat she came down to the terrace. "It was only a long race, and a +fright which I quite deserved." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, indeed, a fright!" and the Frenchwoman threw up her hands. "Such +fear as I felt when I came out to see the tide and saw you fleeing +before it. Your aunt!—Your mother!—My charge! Such visions fleeted +before my eyes. But <I>never, never, never</I> will I trust you with Jean +any more," and she cast a vengeful look at the widower and his son, who +were seated a little farther off. +</P> + +<P> +"But it wasn't his fault at all," the girl explained. "On the +contrary, I proposed it, and he joined me out of kindness. He pulled +me along, too, over the sand. Oh, indeed, you must not be angry with +Jean." +</P> + +<P> +"It was very deceptive of him not to tell me—or his father. Then we +could both have come with you—or explained to you that the tide rose +early to-day. We heard it was to come early when you were out last +night. They say," she went on, shaking her head, "if it had been an +equinoctial tide, that neither of you would have escaped—there would +have been no shadow of a hope for either—you would both have been +drowned out there in the damp, wet sand." +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Thérèse showing signs of weeping again, Barbara hastened +to comfort her, assuring her that she would never again go out alone to +see St. Michel from that side, which she thought was a perfectly safe +promise to make. But her companion shook her head mournfully, +declaring that it would be a very long time before she brought any of +her pupils to Mont St. Michel again. +</P> + +<P> +"They might really get caught next time," she said, and Barbara knew it +was no good to point out that probably there would never be another +pupil who was quite so silly as she had been. +</P> + +<P> +"Nevertheless," the girl said to herself, looking back at the grand, +gray pile from the train, "except for the fright I gave them, it was +worth it all—worth it all, dear St. Michel, to see you from out +there." And Jean, looking pensively out of the window, was thinking +that since it was safely over, the adventure was one which any youth +might be proud to tell to his companions, and which few were fortunate +or brave enough to have experienced. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MADEMOISELLE VIRÉ. +</H3> + +<P> +"The Loirés' chief virtues are their friends," Barbara had written +home, and it was always a surprise to her to find that they knew so +many nice people. A few days after the adventurous visit to Mont St. +Michel she made the acquaintance of one whom she learned to love +dearly, and about whom there hung a halo of romance that charmed the +girl. +</P> + +<P> +"Her story is known to me," Mademoiselle Thérèse explained on the way +to her house, "and I will tell it you—in confidence, of course." She +paused a moment to impress Barbara and to arrange her thoughts, for she +dearly loved a romantic tale, and would add garnishing by the way if +she did not consider it had enough. +</P> + +<P> +"She is the daughter of a professor," she began presently. "They used +to live in Rouen—gray, beautiful, many-churched Rouen." The lady +glanced sideways at her companion to see if her rhetoric were +impressive enough, and Barbara waited gravely for her to continue, +though wondering if mademoiselle had ever read <I>The Lady of Shalott</I>. +</P> + +<P> +"An officer in one of the regiments stationed in the quaint old town," +pursued mademoiselle, "saw the professor's fair young daughter, and +fell rapturously in love with her. Whereupon they became betrothed." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara frowned a little. The setting of the story was too ornate, and +seemed almost barbarous. +</P> + +<P> +"And then?" she asked impatiently. +</P> + +<P> +"Then—ah, then!" sighed the story-teller, who thought she was making a +great impression—"then the sorrow came. As soon as his family knew, +they were grievously angry, furiously wrathful, because she had no +<I>dot</I>; and when she heard of their fury and wrath she nobly refused to +marry him until he gained their consent. 'Never,' she cried" (and it +was obvious that here mademoiselle was relying on her own invention), +"'never will I marry thee against thy parents' wish.'" +</P> + +<P> +She paused, and drew a long breath before proceeding. "A short time +after this, the regiment of her lover was ordered out to India, in +which pestiferous country he took a malicious fever and expired. She +has no relatives left now, though so frail and delicate, but lives with +an old maid in a very small domicile. She is cultivated to an extreme, +and is so fond of music that, though her house is too small to admit of +the pianoforte entering by the door, she had it introduced by the +window of the <I>salon</I>, which had to be unbricked—the window, I mean. +She has, moreover, three violins—one of which belonged to her +ever-to-be-lamented fiancé—and, though she is too frail to stand, she +will sit, when her health permits, and make music for hours together." +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Thérèse uttered the last words on the threshold of the +house, and Barbara did not know whether to laugh or to cry at such a +story being told in such a way. The door was opened by the old maid, +Jeannette, who wore a quaint mob cap and spotless apron, and who +followed the visitors into the room, and, having introduced them to her +mistress, seated herself in one corner and took up her knitting as +"company," Mademoiselle Thérèse whispered to Barbara. +</P> + +<P> +The latter thought she had never before seen such a charming old lady +as Mademoiselle Viré, who now rose to greet them, and she wondered how +any one who had known her in the "many-churched Rouen days" could have +parted from her. +</P> + +<P> +She talked for a little while to Mademoiselle Thérèse, then turned +gently to Barbara. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you play, mademoiselle?" +</P> + +<P> +"A little," the girl returned hesitatingly; "not enough, I'm afraid, to +give great pleasure." +</P> + +<P> +But Mademoiselle Viré rose with flushed cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! then, will you do me the kindness to play some accompaniments? +That is one of the few things my good Jeannette cannot do for me," and +almost before Barbara realised it she was sitting on a high-backed +chair before the piano in the little <I>salon</I>, while Mademoiselle Viré +sought eagerly for her music. +</P> + +<P> +The room was so small that, with Mademoiselle Thérèse and the maid +Jeannette—who seemed to be expected to follow her mistress—there +seemed hardly room to move in it, and Barbara was all the more nervous +by the nearness of her audience. +</P> + +<P> +It certainly was rather anxious work, for though the little lady was +charmingly courteous, she would not allow a passage played wrongly to +go without correction. "I think we were not quite together there—were +we?" she would say. "May we play it through again?" and Barbara would +blush up to her hair, for she knew the violinist had played <I>her</I> part +perfectly. She enjoyed it, though, in spite of her nervousness, and +was sorry when it was time to go. +</P> + +<P> +"You will come again, I hope?" her hostess asked. "You have given me a +happy time." Then turning eagerly to Jeannette, she added, "Did I play +well to-day, Jeannette?" +</P> + +<P> +The quaint old maid rose at once from her seat at the door, and came +across the room to put her mistress's cap straight. +</P> + +<P> +"Madame played better than I have ever heard her," she replied. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara had been so pleased with everything that she went again a few +days later by herself, and this time was led into the garden, which, +like the house, was very small, but full of roses and other +sweet-smelling things. Madame—for Barbara noticed that most people +seemed to call her so—was busy watering her flowers, and had on big +gloves and an apron. When she saw the girl coming, she came forward to +welcome her, saying, with a deprecatory movement towards her apron— +</P> + +<P> +"But this apron!—These gloves! Had I known it was you, mademoiselle, +I should have changed them and made myself seemly. Why did you not +warn me, Jeannette?" +</P> + +<P> +"Madame should not work in the garden and heat herself," the old woman +said doggedly; "she should let me do that." +</P> + +<P> +But madame laughed gaily. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, but my flowers know when I water them, and could not bear to have +me leave them altogether to others." Then, in explanation to her +visitor, "It is an old quarrel between Jeannette and me. Is it not, my +friend? Now I am hot and thirsty. Will you bring us some of your good +wine, Jeannette?" +</P> + +<P> +They were sitting in a little bower almost covered with roses, and +Barbara felt as if she must be in a pretty dream, when the maid came +back bearing two slender-stemmed wine-glasses and a musty bottle +covered with cobwebs. +</P> + +<P> +"It is very old indeed," madame explained. +</P> + +<P> +"Jeannette and I made it, when we were young, from the walnuts in our +garden in Rouen." +</P> + +<P> +Having filled both glasses, she raised her own, and said, with a +graceful bow, "Your health, mademoiselle," and after taking a sip she +turned to Jeannette, repeating, "Your health, Jeannette." Whereupon +the old woman curtsied wonderfully low considering her stiff knees. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara did not like the wine very much, but she would have drunk +several glasses to please her hostess, though, fortunately, she was not +asked to do so. They had a long talk, and the old lady related many +interesting tales about the life in Rouen and in Paris, where she had +often been, so that the time sped all too quickly for the girl. When +she got home she found two visitors, who were sitting under the trees +in the garden waiting to have tea. One was an English girl of about +fourteen, whom Barbara thought looked both unhappy and sulky. The +other was one of the ladies whose school she was at. +</P> + +<P> +"This is Alice Meynell," Mademoiselle Thérèse said with some fervour, +"and, Alice, <I>this</I> is a fellow-countrywoman of your own." But the +introduction did not seem to make the girl any happier, and she hardly +spoke all tea-time, though Marie did her best to carry on a +conversation. When she had returned to work with Mademoiselle Loiré, +the business of entertainment fell to Barbara, who proposed a walk +round the garden. +</P> + +<P> +At first the visitor did not seem to care for the idea, but when the +mistress with her suggested it was too hot to walk about, she +immediately jumped up and said there was nothing she would like better. +There seemed to be few subjects that interested her; but when, almost +in desperation, Barbara asked how she liked France, she suddenly burst +forth into speech. +</P> + +<P> +"I hate it," she cried viciously. "I detest it and the people I am +with, who never let me out of their sight. 'Spies,' I call +them—'spies,' not teachers. They even come with me to church—one of +them at least—and I feel as if I were in prison." +</P> + +<P> +"But surely there is no harm in their coming to church with you?" +Barbara said. "Besides, in France, you know, they have such strict +ideas about chaperones that it's quite natural for them to be careful. +Mademoiselle Thérèse goes almost everywhere with me, and I am a good +deal older than you are." +</P> + +<P> +"But they're <I>not</I> Protestants—I'm sure they're not," the girl +returned hotly. "They shouldn't come to church with me; they only +pretend. Besides, they don't follow the other girls about nearly as +carefully. The worst of it is that I have to stay here for the +holidays, too." +</P> + +<P> +She seemed very miserable about it, and Barbara thought it might +relieve her to confide in some one, and, after a little skilful +questioning, the whole story came out. +</P> + +<P> +Her mother was dead, and her father in the West Indies, and though she +wrote him often and fully about everything, she never got any answers +to her questions, so that she was sure people opened her letters and +put in different news. She was afraid the same thing was done with her +father's letters to her, because once something was said by mistake +that could have been learned only by reading the news intended for her +eyes alone. +</P> + +<P> +"He never saw the place," the girl continued. "He took me to my aunt +in England, who promised to find me a school. She thought the whole +business a nuisance, and was only too glad to find a place quickly +where they'd keep me for the holidays too. She never asks me to go to +England—not that I would if she wanted me to." +</P> + +<P> +There were angry tears in the girl's eyes, and Barbara thought the case +really did seem rather a hard one, though it was clear her companion +had been spoiled at home, and had probably had her own way before +coming to school. +</P> + +<P> +"It does sound rather horrid," Barbara agreed, "and three years must +seem a long time; but it will go at last, you know." +</P> + +<P> +The girl shook her head. +</P> + +<P> +"Too slowly, far too slowly—it just crawls. I never have any one to +talk things over with, either, you see, for I can't trust the French +girls; they carry tales, I know. Even now—look how she watches me; +she longs to know what I'm saying." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara looked round, and it was true that the visitor seemed more +interested in watching them than in Mademoiselle Thérèse's +conversation; and, directly she caught Barbara's eye, she got up +hastily and said they must go. Alice Meynell immediately relapsed into +sulkiness again; but, just as she was saying good-bye, she managed to +whisper— +</P> + +<P> +"I shall run away soon. I know I can't stand it much longer." +</P> + +<P> +The others were too near for Barbara to do more than give her a warm +squeeze of the hand; but she watched the girl out of sight, feeling +very sorry for her. If she had lived a free-and-easy life on her +father's plantation, never having known a mother's care, it was no +wonder that she should be a little wild and find her present life +irksome. +</P> + +<P> +"She looks quite equal to doing something desperate," Barbara thought, +as she turned to go in to supper. "I must try to see her again soon, +for who knows what mad ideas a girl of only fifteen may take into her +head!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE "AMERICAN PRETENDER." +</H3> + +<P> +"An invitation has come from Monsieur Dubois to visit them at Dol," +Mademoiselle Thérèse exclaimed with pride, on opening her letters one +morning. "It is really particularly kind and nice of him. He includes +<I>you</I>," she added, turning to Barbara. +</P> + +<P> +The girl had to think a few moments before remembering that Monsieur +Dubois was the "family friend" for whose sake the sisters had sunk +their grievances, and then she was genuinely pleased at the invitation. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, which of us shall go?" mademoiselle proceeded. "It is clear we +cannot <I>all</I> do so," and she looked inquiringly at her sister. +</P> + +<P> +"Marie and I are <I>much</I> too busy to accept invitations right and left +like that," Mademoiselle Loiré replied loftily. "For people like you +and Mademoiselle Barbara, who have plenty of leisure, it will be a very +suitable excursion, I imagine." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara looked a little anxiously at the younger sister, fearing she +might be stirred up to wrath by the veiled slur on her character; but +probably she was pleased enough to be the one to go, whatever excuse +Mademoiselle Loiré chose to give. Indeed, her mood had been +wonderfully amicable for several days. "Let me see," she said, looking +meditatively at Barbara. "You have been longing to ride <I>something</I> +ever since you came here, and since you have not been able to find a +horse, how would it do to hire a bicycle, and come only so far in the +train with me and ride the rest of the way?" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara's eyes shone. This <I>was</I> a concession on Mademoiselle +Thérèse's part, for she had hitherto apparently been most unwilling for +the girl to be out of her sight for any length of time, and had assured +her that there was no possibility of getting riding lessons in the +neighbourhood. What had brought her to make this proposal now Barbara +could not imagine. +</P> + +<P> +"That would be a perfectly lovely plan," she cried. "You are an angel +to think of it, mademoiselle." At which remark the lady in question +was much flattered. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning they started in gay spirits, Mademoiselle Thérèse +arrayed in her best, which always produced a feeling of wonderment in +Barbara. The lady certainly had not a Frenchwoman's usual taste, and +her choice of colours was not always happy, though she herself was +blissfully content about her appearance. +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad you put on that pretty watch and chain," she said +approvingly to her companion, when they were in the train. "I always +try to make an impression when I go to Dol, for Madame Dubois is a +<I>very</I> fashionable lady." +</P> + +<P> +She stroked down her mauve skirt complacently, and Barbara thought that +she could not fail to make an impression of some kind. She was +entertained as they went along, by stories about the cleverness and +position of the lawyer, and the charms of his wife, and the delights of +his daughter, till Barbara felt quite nervous at the idea of meeting +such an amount of goodness, fashion, and wit in its own house. +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Thérèse allowed herself just a little time to give +directions as to the route the girl was to take on leaving her, and +Barbara repeated the turnings she had to take again and again till +there seemed no possibility of making a mistake. +</P> + +<P> +"After the first short distance you reach the highroad," mademoiselle +called after her as she left the carriage, "so I have no fear about +allowing you to go; it is a well-trodden highroad, too, and not many +kilometres." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be all right, thank you," Barbara said gleefully, thinking how +nice it was to escape into the fresh, sunny air after the close +third-class carriage. "There is no sea to catch me <I>this</I> time, you +know." +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle shook her finger at her. "Naughty, naughty! to remind me +of that terrible time—it almost makes me fear to let you go." At +which Barbara mounted hastily, in case she should be called back, +although the train had begun to move. +</P> + +<P> +"Repeat your directions," her companion shrieked after her, and the +girl, with a laugh, murmured to herself, "Turn to the right, then the +left, by a large house, then through a narrow lane, and <I>voilà</I> the +high-road!" She had no doubt at all about knowing them perfectly. +Unfortunately for her calculations, when she came to the turning-point +there were <I>two</I> lanes leading off right and left, and on this point +Mademoiselle Thérèse had given her no instructions. There was nobody +near to ask. So, after considering them both, she decided to take the +one that looked widest. After all, if it were wrong, she could easily +turn back. +</P> + +<P> +She had gone but a little way, however, when she saw another cyclist +approaching, and, thinking that here was a chance to find out if she +were right before going any farther, she jumped off her machine and +stood waiting. When the new-comer was quite close to her she noticed +that he was not a very prepossessing individual, and remembered that +she had been warned in foreign countries always to look at people +before speaking to them. But it was too late then. So making the best +of it, she asked boldly which was the nearest way to Dol. The man +stared at her for a moment, then said she should go straight on, and +would soon arrive at the highroad. +</P> + +<P> +"But I will conduct you so far if you like, madame," he added. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara had seen him looking rather intently at her watch and chain, +however, and began to feel a little uneasy. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no, thank you," she rejoined hastily. "I can manage very well +myself," and, springing on to her bicycle, set off at a good speed. He +stood in the road for a few minutes as if meditating; but, when she +looked back at the corner, she saw that he had mounted too, and was +coming down the road after her. There might be no harm in that; but it +did not add to her happiness; and the watch and chain, which had been +Aunt Anne's last gift to her, seemed to weigh heavily upon her neck. +</P> + +<P> +There was no thought now of turning; but, though she pedalled her +hardest, she could not see any signs of a highroad in front of her, and +was sure she must have taken the wrong lane. Indeed, to her dismay, +when she got a little farther down the road, it narrowed still more and +ran through a wood. She was quite sure now that the man was chasing +her, and wondered if she would ever get to Dol at all. It seemed to be +her fate to be chased by something on her excursions, and she was not +quite sure whether she preferred escaping on her own feet or a bicycle. +</P> + +<P> +At first he did not gain upon her much, and, if she had had her own +machine, and had been in good training, perhaps she might have +outdistanced him; but there did not appear to be much chance of that at +present. She was thankful to see a sharp descent in front of her, and +let herself go at a break-neck speed; but, unfortunately, there was an +equally steep hill to climb on the other side, and she would have to +get off and walk. +</P> + +<P> +She was just making up her mind to turn round and brave it out, and +keep her watch—if possible—when she saw something on the grass by the +roadside, a little ahead of her, that made her heart leap with relief +and pleasure—namely, a puff of smoke, and a figure clad in a brown +tweed suit. She was sure, even after a mere hurried glance, that the +owner of the suit must be English, for it bore the stamp of an English +tailor, and the breeze bore her unmistakable whiffs of "Harris." +</P> + +<P> +She did not wait a moment, but leaped from her bicycle and sank down +panting on the grass near, alarming the stranger—who had been nearly +asleep—considerably. He jerked himself into a sitting position, and +burned himself with his cigarette. +</P> + +<P> +"Who the dickens——" he began; then hastily took off his cap and +begged the girl's pardon, to which she could not reply for +breathlessness. But he seemed to understand what was needed at once, +for, after a swift glance from her to the man who was close at hand +now, he said in loud, cheerful tones— +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! Here you are at last. I am glad you caught me up. We'll just +have a little rest, then go calmly on our way. You should not ride so +quickly on a hot day." +</P> + +<P> +The man was abreast of them now, and looked very hard at both as he +passed, but did not stop, and Barbara heaved a long sigh of relief. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm so very sorry," she said at last. "Please understand I am not in +the habit of leaping down beside people like that, only I've had this +watch and chain such a <I>very</I> short time, and I was so afraid he'd take +them." +</P> + +<P> +"And how do you know that they will be any safer with me?" he asked, +with a wicked twinkle in his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Because I saw you were an Englishman, of course," she rejoined calmly. +</P> + +<P> +The young man laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"Pardon me, you are wrong, for I am an American." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara's cheeks could hardly grow more flushed, but she felt +uncomfortably hot. +</P> + +<P> +"I am so sorry," she stammered, getting up hurriedly; "I really thought +it was an Englishman, and felt—at home, you know." +</P> + +<P> +"Please continue to think so if it makes you any happier; and—I think +you had better stay a little longer before going on—the fellow might +be waiting farther down the road." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara subsided again. She had no desire to have any further +encounter with the French cyclist. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile, the stranger had taken one or two rapid glances at her, and +the surprise on his face grew. "Where are the rest of the party?" he +asked presently. +</P> + +<P> +"The rest of the party has gone on by train," and Barbara laughed. +"Poor party, it would be so horribly alarmed if it could see me now. I +always seem to be alarming it." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't wonder, if it is always as careless as on the present +occasion. Whatever possessed he, she, or it, to let you come along by +yourself like this? It was most culpably careless." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no, indeed. It is what I have been begging for since I came to +Brittany—indeed it is. She gave me <I>most</I> careful directions as to +what turnings to take"—and Barbara repeated them merrily—"it was only +that I was silly enough to take the wrong one. And now I really must +be getting on, or poor Mademoiselle Thérèse will be distracted. +Please, does this road lead to Dol?" +</P> + +<P> +"Dol?" he repeated quickly. "Yes, certainly. I am just going there, +and—and intend to pass the night in the place. I'm on a walking tour, +and—if you don't mind walking—I know there's a short cut that would +be almost as quick as cycling; the high road is a good distance off +yet." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara hesitated. The fear of meeting any more tramps was strong upon +her, and her present companion had a frank, honest face, and steady +gray eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't want Mademoiselle Thérèse to be frightened by being any later +than necessary," she said doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"I really think this will be as quick as the other road—if you will +trust me," he returned. And Barbara yielded. +</P> + +<P> +It certainly was a very pretty way, leading across the fields and +through a beech wood, and they managed to lift the bicycle over the +gates without any difficulty. The girl was a little surprised by the +unerring manner in which her companion seemed to go forward without +even once consulting a map; but when she complimented him on the fact +he looked a little uncomfortable, and assured her that he had an +excellent head for "direction." +</P> + +<P> +It was very nice meeting some one who was "almost an Englishman," and +they talked gaily all the time, till the square tower of Dol Cathedral +came into view—one of the grandest, her guide assured her, that he had +seen in Brittany. They had just entered the outskirts of the town when +they passed a little <I>auberge</I>, where the innkeeper was standing at the +door. He stared very hard at them, then lifted his hat, and cried with +surprise, "Back again, monsieur; why, I thought you were half way to +St. Malo by this time." +</P> + +<P> +Then the truth struck Barbara in a flash, and she had only to look at +her companion's face to know she was right. +</P> + +<P> +"You were going the other way," she cried—"of course you were—and you +turned back on my account. No wonder you knew your way through the +wood!" +</P> + +<P> +He gave an embarrassed laugh. "I'm sorry—I really did not mean to +deceive you exactly. I <I>have</I> a good head for 'direction.'" +</P> + +<P> +"And you came all that long way back with me I It <I>was</I> good of you. I +really——" +</P> + +<P> +But he interrupted her. "Please don't give me thanks when I don't +deserve them. This town is such a quaint old place I am quite glad to +spend the night here. And—I really think you ought not to go hither +and thither without the rest of the party—I don't think your aunt +would like it. The house you want is straight ahead." Then he took +off his cap and turned away, and Barbara never remembered, until he had +gone, that though he had seen her name on the label on her bicycle she +did not know his. +</P> + +<P> +She christened him, therefore, the "American Pretender," firstly, +because he looked like an Englishman, and secondly, because he +pretended to be going where he was not. After all, she was not very +much behind her time, and, fortunately, Mademoiselle Thérèse had been +so interested in the lawyer's conversation that she had not worried +about her. Barbara did not speak of her encounter with the cyclist, +but merely said she had got out of her way a little, and had found a +kind American who had helped her to find it; which explanation quite +satisfied "the party." +</P> + +<P> +The lawyer's château, as it was called, seemed to Barbara to be very +like what French houses must have been long ago, and she imagined grand +ladies of the Empire time sweeping up the long flight of steps to the +terrace, and across the polished floors. The <I>salon</I>, with its thick +terra-cotta paper, and gilded chairs set in stiff rows along the walls, +fascinated her too, and she half expected the lady of the house to come +in, clad in heavy brocade of ancient pattern. But everything about the +lady of the house was very modern, and Barbara thought Mademoiselle +Thérèse's garments had never looked so ugly. The girl enjoyed sitting +down to a meal which was really well served, and she found that the +lawyer, though clever, was by no means alarming, and that his wife made +a very charming hostess. +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Thérèse was radiating pride and triumph at having been +able to introduce her charge into such a "distinguished" family, and as +each dish was brought upon the table, she shot a glance across at +Barbara as much as to say, "See what we can do!—these are <I>my</I> +friends!" +</P> + +<P> +Poor Mademoiselle Thérèse! After all, when she enjoyed such things so +much, it was a pity, Barbara thought, that she could not have them at +home. +</P> + +<P> +She was enjoying, too, discussing various matters with the lawyer, for +discussion was to her like the very breath of life. +</P> + +<P> +"She will discuss with the cat if there is no one else by," her sister +had once said dryly, "and will argue with Death when he comes to fetch +her." +</P> + +<P> +At present the topic was schools, and Barbara and Madame Dubois sat +quietly by, listening. +</P> + +<P> +"I am not learned," madame whispered to the girl, with a little shrug, +"and I know that nothing she can say will shake my husband's +opinion—therefore, I let her speak." +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle was very anxious that his little girl should go to school, +and was pointing out the advantages of such education to the lawyer. +</P> + +<P> +The latter smiled incredulously. "Would you have me send her to the +convent school, where they use the same-knife and fork all the week +round, and wash them only once a week?" he asked contemptuously. +</P> + +<P> +"No," mademoiselle agreed. "As you know, Marie used to be there, and +learned very little—nothing much, except to sew. No, I would not send +her to the convent school. But there are others. A young English +friend of mine, now—Mademoiselle Barbara knows her too—she is at a +very select establishment—just about six girls—and so well watched +and cared for." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara looked up quickly. She wondered if she dared interrupt and say +she did not think it was such an ideal place, when the lawyer spoke +before her. +</P> + +<P> +"<I>Parbleu!</I>" he said with a laugh, "I should prefer the convent! There +at least the religion is honest, but—with those ladies you +mention—there is deceit. They pretend to be what they are not." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, but no!" Mademoiselle Thérèse exclaimed. "Why, they <I>are</I> +Protestants." +</P> + +<P> +The lawyer shrugged his shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +"Believe it if you will, my dear friend, but we lawyers know most +things, and I know that what I say is true. When my little Hélène goes +to school she shall not go to such. Meanwhile, I am content to keep +her at home." +</P> + +<P> +"So am I," murmured Madame Dubois. "Schools are such vulgar places, +are they not?" +</P> + +<P> +But Barbara, to whom the remark was addressed, was too much interested +in this last piece of news to do more than answer shortly. For if what +the lawyer said were true—and he did not seem a man likely to make +mistakes—then Alice Meynell might really have sufficient cause to be +miserable, and Barbara wondered when she would see her again, which was +to be sooner than she expected. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BARBARA TURNS PLOTTER. +</H3> + +<P> +The day after her expedition to Dol, Barbara saw Alice Meynell again, +and in rather a strange meeting-place—namely, the public bath-house. +The house in which the Loirés lived was an old-fashioned one, and had +no bath, and at first Barbara had looked with horror upon the +bath-house. She had become more reconciled to it of late, and, as it +was the only means of obtaining a hot bath, had tried to make the best +of it. It was a funny little place, entered by a narrow passage, at +one end of which there was a booking-office, and a swing door, where +you could buy a "season-ticket," or pay for each visit separately. +</P> + +<P> +On one side of the passage there were rows of little bathrooms, +containing what Barbara thought the narrowest most uncomfortable baths +imaginable. A boy in felt slippers ran up and down, turning on the +water, and a woman sat working at a little table at one end—"to see +you did not steal the towels," Barbara declared. It was here she met +Alice Meynell, under the care of an old attendant, whom the girl said +she knew was a spy sent to report everything she said or did. +</P> + +<P> +"Mademoiselle, who came with me to call the other day, has taken a +great dislike to you," Alice whispered hurriedly in passing; "and when +I asked if I might go to see you again, said, 'No, it was such a pity +to talk English when I was here to learn French.' I am <I>quite</I> +determined to run away." +</P> + +<P> +The boy announced that the bath was ready, and the old attendant, +putting her watch on the table, said— +</P> + +<P> +"Be quick, mademoiselle. Only twenty minutes, you know." +</P> + +<P> +Before leaving the place, Barbara managed to get a moment's speech, in +which she begged Alice not to do anything until they met again, and +meanwhile she would try hard to think of some plan to make things +easier; for the girl really looked very desperate, and Barbara had so +often acted as the confidante of her own brother and sister that she +was accustomed to playing the part of comforter. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed to her that if Alice wanted to run away, she had better do it +as well as possible, for the girl was wilful enough to try to carry out +any wild plan she might conceive. Barbara thought of many things, but +they all seemed silly or impossible, and finally got no further than +making up her mind to meet Alice again at the bath-house. +</P> + +<P> +The events of the afternoon, moreover, put her countrywoman out of her +head for the time being, for she found what she had been longing for +ever since she came—a riding-master. +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Thérèse had long talked of taking her across the bay to +Dinard, to visit some friends there, but hitherto no suitable occasion +had been found. The delights of a boot and shoe sale, of which +mademoiselle had received notice, reminded her of her intentions of +showing Barbara "that famous seaside resort," and after an early lunch +they set out for Dinard. +</P> + +<P> +"Business first," mademoiselle said on landing; "we will hasten to the +sale, and when I have made my purchases we will stroll into the park, +and then visit my friend." +</P> + +<P> +"If you don't mind I will stay outside and watch the people," Barbara +proposed, on reaching the shop and seeing the crowds inside. "I won't +stray from just near the window, so you may leave me quite safely—and +it looks so hot in there." +</P> + +<P> +Her companion demurred for a moment, but finally agreed, and Barbara +with relief turned round to watch the people passing to and fro. +</P> + +<P> +Dinard seemed very gay and fashionable, she thought, and there was +quite a number of English and Americans there. Surely in such a place +one might find a riding-school. There was a row of <I>fiacres</I> quite +close to the pavement, and, seized by this new idea, she hurried up to +one of the drivers and asked him if he knew of any horses to be hired +in the town. +</P> + +<P> +She had feared her French might not be equal to the explanation, and +was very glad when he understood, and still more pleased to hear that +there was an excellent <I>manège</I>,[1] which many people visited. After +inquiring the name of the street, she returned to her shop window, +longing for mademoiselle to come out. Her patience was nearly +exhausted when that lady finally appeared, having bought nothing. +</P> + +<P> +"I tried on a great many boots and some shoes," she explained, "and did +not care for any. Indeed, I really did not need new ones; but I have +seen samples of much of their stock." +</P> + +<P> +In the midst of the intense satisfaction of this performance, the girl +brought her news of a riding-school, which evidently was not very +welcome to her companion. She had, as a matter of fact, known of the +existence of such a place, but did not approve of "equestrian exercise +for women "; moreover, she had pictured so much exertion to herself in +connection with the idea of riding lessons, that she had been very +undesirous of Barbara's beginning them, and had, therefore, not +encouraged the idea. But the secret of the school being out, she +resolved to make the best of it, and agreed to go round at once and see +the place. +</P> + +<P> +They had little difficulty in finding it, and were ushered into an +office, where a very immaculate Frenchman received them, and inquired +how he could serve them. On hearing their errand he smiled still more +pleasantly, and in a few minutes everything was settled. Barbara was +to come over twice a week and have lessons, and, if she cared, might +begin that afternoon. The only drawback was that she had no skirt, +which, he assured her with a sweeping bow, he could easily remedy, for +he had an almost new one on the premises, and would think it an honour +to lend it to her. +</P> + +<P> +He was politeness itself, and seemed not in the least damped by +Mademoiselle Thérèse's evident gloom. He conducted her up to the +gallery at one end of the school, and explained that she could watch +every movement from that vantage-point. +</P> + +<P> +"It will be almost as good as having a lesson yourself, madame," he +said politely, twirling his fierce gray mustachios. +</P> + +<P> +At the other end of the school was a large looking-glass, which he told +Barbara was to enable the pupils to observe their deportment; but she +noticed that he always stood in the middle of the ring, where he +watched his own actions with great pleasure. +</P> + +<P> +The girl thought it a little dull at first, for she had been given an +amiable old horse who knew the words of command so well that the reins +were almost useless, and who ambled along in a slow and peaceful +manner. But Monsieur Pirenne was entirely satisfied with his pupil, +and he assured her, "if she continued to make such stupendous progress +in the next lesson, he would have the felicity of taking her out in the +following one." +</P> + +<P> +At this Mademoiselle Thérèse shook her head pensively. +</P> + +<P> +"Then I must take a carriage and follow you," she said. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, dear, mademoiselle, do think how impossible that would be," she +explained, seeing the lady looked somewhat offended. "If we took to +the fields how could you follow us in a carriage? No; just think how +nice it will be to see so much of your friend while I am out." +</P> + +<P> +This view of the case somewhat reconciled Mademoiselle Thérèse to the +idea, though her contentment vanished when she found that the wind had +increased considerably during the afternoon, and that the mouth of the +river was beginning to look a little disturbed. +</P> + +<P> +They stood on the end of the quay, waiting the arrival of the +steamboat, and mademoiselle shook her head gloomily. +</P> + +<P> +"It is not that I am a bad sailor, you know," she explained; "but, when +there is much movement, it affects my nerves and makes me feel faint." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara looked steadfastly out to sea. She did not want to hurt +Mademoiselle Thérèse's feelings by openly showing her amusement. +</P> + +<P> +"It is very unpleasant to have such delicate nerves," her companion +continued; "but I was ever thus—from a child." +</P> + +<P> +"But at this time of year we shall not often have a stormy passage," +comforted Barbara. +</P> + +<P> +At that moment a gust of wind, more sudden than usual, playfully caught +Mademoiselle Thérèse's hat, and bore it over the quay into the water. +</P> + +<P> +"My hat!" she shrieked. "Oh, save my hat!" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara ran forward to the edge, but it had been carried too far for +her to reach even with a stick or umbrella. +</P> + +<P> +"My hat!" mademoiselle cried again, turning to the people on the pier, +who were waiting for the ferry. "Rescue my hat—my <I>best</I> hat!" +</P> + +<P> +At this stirring appeal several moved forward and looked smilingly at +the doomed head-gear; and one kind little Frenchman stooped down and +tried to catch it with the end of his stick, but failed. Mademoiselle +grew desperate. +</P> + +<P> +"If you cannot get the hat, get the hat-pins," she wailed. "They are +silver-gilt—and presents. Four fine large hat-pins." +</P> + +<P> +Then, seeing that several people were laughing, she grew angry. +</P> + +<P> +"And you call yourselves <I>men</I>, and Frenchmen! Can none of you swim? +Why do you stand there mocking?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is such an ugly hat," an Englishman murmured near Barbara. "It +would be a sin to save such an inartistic creation." +</P> + +<P> +"But she will get another just as bad," Barbara said, with dancing +eyes. "And—it is her best one!" +</P> + +<P> +"Cowards!" mademoiselle cried again, leaning futilely over the quay. +"I tell you, it is not only the hat, but the hat-pins. Oh! to see it +drown before my eyes, and none brave enough to bring it back!" +</P> + +<P> +This piece of rhetoric seemed to move one French youth, who slowly +began to unlace his boots, though with what object one could not be +quite sure. +</P> + +<P> +"It is such a particularly ugly hat," the Englishman continued +critically. "Those great roses like staring eyes on each side, with no +regard for colour or anything else." +</P> + +<P> +"But the colour won't be nearly so bright after this bath," Barbara +suggested; then added persuasively, "And really, you know, she took a +long time over it. Couldn't you reach it easily from that boat—the +ferry is so near now, and it would drive her distracted to see the +roses churned up by the paddle-wheels." +</P> + +<P> +The Englishman looked from the agitated Frenchwoman to the blots of +colour on the water, that were becoming pale and shapeless; then he +moved lazily towards the boat. Just as he was getting into it he +looked back at Barbara. +</P> + +<P> +"She won't embrace me—will she?" he asked. "If so——" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no," Barbara assured him. "Hand it up to her on the end of the +oar." +</P> + +<P> +"Well," he said, unshipping one, "it is against my conscience to save +anything so hideous. But the fault lies with you, and as you will +probably go on seeing it, you will have punishment enough." +</P> + +<P> +A few minutes later Mademoiselle Thérèse received the sodden hat with +rapture, anxiously counting over the hat-pins, while the French youth, +with some relief, laced up his boot again. +</P> + +<P> +"How noble!" mademoiselle exclaimed. "How kind! Your countryman too, +Miss Barbara! Where is he that I may thank him?" +</P> + +<P> +"If you linger you will miss the ferry," Barbara interposed. "See, +here it is, mademoiselle," and her companion reluctantly turned from +the pursuit of the stranger to go on board, clasping her hat in +triumph. Barbara thought, as she followed her, that if the fastidious +rescuer had but seen her joy in her recovered treasure, he would have +felt rewarded for his exertions in saving a thing so ugly. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] Riding-School. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE PLOT THICKENS. +</H3> + +<P> +The next time Barbara went to the baths she chose the day and the hour +at which Alice had told her she was usually taken, and was greatly +pleased when she saw the girl waiting in the passage. But as soon as +the old servant saw her she edged farther off with her charge, who +lifted her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, as if to say, "You see, my +spy has been warned." It seemed as if it would be impossible to hold +any conversation at all, but, fortunately, they were put into adjoining +cubicles, and Barbara found a crack, which she enlarged with her +pocket-knife. +</P> + +<P> +She felt as if she might be Guy Fawkes, or some such plotter from olden +times, and wondered what he would have done if he really had been +present. But having seen how difficult it was even to speak to Alice, +she was afraid the girl would take things into her own hands and do +something silly. +</P> + +<P> +Probably it was this feeling of urgency that stimulated her, and the +vague ideas which had been floating in her brain suddenly crystallised, +and a plan took shape which she promptly communicated to Alice. The +latter, she proposed, should go to Paris, to the pastor's family at +Neuilly, Barbara lending her the necessary money, for the girl was only +given a very little at a time. From Paris she could write to her +father and explain things, without any danger of having the letter +examined or altered. +</P> + +<P> +The only, and certainly most important, difficulty in the carrying out +of this plan was that there seemed no opportunity to escape except at +night, and even then it would need great care to slip past Mademoiselle +Eugénie, who slept at one end of the dormitory. Barbara did not like +the night plan, because it would mean climbing out of the window and +wandering about in the dark, or—supposing there were a +train—travelling to Paris; and either alternative was too risky for a +girl in a foreign country, who did not know her way about. +</P> + +<P> +Gazing up at the ceiling in perplexity over this new hitch, Barbara +discovered a way out of it, for there was a glazed window not so high +but that Alice could manage to climb up, and if she got safely out +(this was another inspiration), she was to run to the widower's house +and hide there till the time for a train to Paris. Once safely in that +city, Barbara felt it would be a weight lifted from her mind, for she +really was not very happy at sharing in an enterprise which, even to +her inexperience, seemed more fitted for some desperado than a sane +English girl. +</P> + +<P> +Having begun, however, she felt she must go through with it to the best +of her ability, and undertook to write to Neuilly, to arrange with the +widower's son, and to bribe the bath-boy to give the girl the only +cubicle with a window. As a matter of fact, Barbara would have rather +sent the girl to Mademoiselle Viré's, but the latter was so frail that +the excitement might be injurious to her, and it was hardly fair to +introduce such a whirlwind into her haven of peace. +</P> + +<P> +She had an opportunity of speaking to Jean that very day, for he had +offered to give her some lessons in photography, and she was going to +have her first one in the afternoon. The boy was quite delighted with +the thought of having something "to break the monotony of existence," +and declared that it was an honour to share in any plan for the secure +of the oppressed. +</P> + +<P> +"We will inclose her in the photographic cupboard, mademoiselle," he +said eagerly, "so that none can see her. Oh, we will manage well, I +assure you." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara sighed, fearing she was doing almost as mean a thing as Marie, +and was very doubtful as to what her mother and Aunt Anne would say +when they heard of the adventure. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall go to the look-out station and blow away these mysteries," she +said to herself, when the photography lesson was over; and the very +sight and smell of the sea made her feel better. The steamer from +Dinard had just unloaded its passengers, and was steaming hurriedly +back again with a fresh load, when among those who had landed she +noticed one that seemed not altogether strange to her. She drew +nearer, and was sure of it, and the visitor turning round at the same +moment, the recognition was mutual. It was the "American Pretender." +</P> + +<P> +"I was just going to ask where Mademoiselle Loiré lived," he said +gaily, "with the intent of calling upon you. How obliging of you to be +here when the steamboat arrived." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"I often come here to look across at dear St. Malo, and get the breeze +from the sea," she explained. "Besides, I like watching the ferries, +they are so fussy—and the people in them too, sometimes. But how did +you get here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not having met any more rash and runaway damsels whom I had to escort +back to Dol, I succeeded in reaching St. Malo, and it is not unusual +for visitors to go to Dinard and St. Servan from there. But, apart +from that," he went on, "I found out something so interesting that I +thought I must call and tell you—being in the neighbourhood." +</P> + +<P> +"That was awfully nice of you," said Barbara gratefully, "and I'm so +curious to hear. Please begin at once. You have plenty time to tell +me before we reach the house, and mademoiselle must excuse me talking +just a <I>little</I> English." +</P> + +<P> +"I think the occasion justifies it," he agreed, smiling; then added +apologetically, "I hope you won't mind it being a little personal. I +told you I had come to Europe with my uncle, didn't I? My father left +me to his care when I was quite a little chap, and he has been +immensely good to me. We are great friends, and always share +things—when we can. He could not share this walking tour because he +had business in Paris, but I write him long screeds to keep him up in +my movements. In answer to the letter about our Dol adventure, my +uncle wrote back to say that he had known an English lady long ago +called Miss Anne Britton, and he wondered if this were any +relation—the name was rather uncommon." +</P> + +<P> +The American paused, and looked at his companion. +</P> + +<P> +"Please go on," she cried, "it is so very exciting, and surely it must +have been Aunt Anne." +</P> + +<P> +"He knew her so well," the young man continued slowly, "that—he asked +her to marry him, and—she refused." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara drew a long breath. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh! Fancy Aunt Anne having a romantic story like that! I <I>should</I> +like to write and ask her about it. But, of course, I can't; she might +not like it." Then, turning quickly to the American, she added, "I +suppose your uncle won't mind your having told me, will he?" +</P> + +<P> +The young man flushed. "I hope not. He doesn't often speak of such +things; and, though I knew there had been something of the kind, I +didn't know her name. Of course——" He hesitated. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes?" said Barbara. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course, I know you will consider it a story to think about—and not +to speak of. But I thought, as it was your aunt, it would interest +you." +</P> + +<P> +"It does. I'm very glad you told me, because it makes me understand +Aunt Anne better, I think. Poor Aunt Anne! Although, perhaps, you +think your uncle is the one to be sorriest for." +</P> + +<P> +"I am going to join him in Paris to-morrow," he replied a little +irrelevantly. +</P> + +<P> +"To Paris! To-morrow!" echoed Barbara, the thought of Alice rushing +into her mind. "Oh, I wonder—it would be much better—I wonder if you +could do me a favour? It <I>would</I> be such a relief to tell an English +person about it." +</P> + +<P> +"An American," he corrected. "But perhaps that would do as well. I +hope it is not another runaway bicycle?" +</P> + +<P> +"But it just <I>is</I> another runaway expedition—though not a bicycle," +said the girl, and thereupon poured into his ears the story of Alice +Meynell and her woes. +</P> + +<P> +At first he laughed, and said she was in danger of becoming quite an +accomplished plotter; but, as the story went on, he grew grave. +</P> + +<P> +"It is a mad idea, Miss Britton," he said. "I am sorry you are mixed +up in the matter. Would it not have been better for you to write to +the girl's father and tell him all this?" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara looked vexed. +</P> + +<P> +"How silly of me!" she exclaimed. "Do you know, I never thought of +that; and, of course, it would have been quite simple. It <I>was</I> +foolish!" +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind now," he said consolingly, seeing how downcast she looked. +"I am sure it must have been difficult to decide; and now that the +enterprise is fairly embarked on, we must carry it through as well as +possible. I think the station here would be one of the first places +they would send to when they found she had gone; but we can cycle to +the next one and send the machines back by train—she will be so much +sooner out of St. Servan." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara agreed gratefully. She was glad that there would be no need +for the dark cupboard, and felt much happier now that the immediate +carrying out of the plan was in some one else's hands. So she fixed an +approximate hour for the "Pretender" to be ready next day, and then +said good-bye. +</P> + +<P> +"I will postpone my call on Mademoiselle Loiré till another time," he +remarked. "I only hope that nothing will prevent that terrible young +lady of yours getting off to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope not," sighed Barbara. "She may not even manage to get to the +baths at all. If so, we'll have to think of something else." +</P> + +<P> +"<I>Komm Tag, komm Rat</I>," he said cheerily, as he turned away. "Perhaps +we may yet want the cupboard." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara hoped not, although Jean was greatly disappointed when he heard +of the alteration in the plans, and the only way the girl could console +him was by telling him that, if ever she wanted to hide, she would +remember the cupboard, which, she thought was a very safe promise! +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ESCAPE. +</H3> + +<P> +The following day was damp and dark, and the weather showed no signs of +improving, which was depressing for those who had great plans afoot. +Mademoiselle Thérèse thought Barbara was showing signs of madness when +she proposed going to the baths, and was not a little annoyed when her +disapproval failed to turn the girl from her purpose. Barbara had +grave doubts about Alice being allowed to go, but she felt <I>she</I>, at +least, must at all costs be there. She had time to remind the bath-boy +of his bargain, and to promise him something extra when next she came, +if he were true to his word, and was just ready to return home, when +Alice arrived with the old maid. She succeeded in giving her a little +piece of paper with some directions on it, but was able to say nothing; +and, after a mere nod, left the bath-house. +</P> + +<P> +She was very curious to see where the window by which the girl was to +escape opened, and, going down the passage that ran along the side of +the building, found that it opened into a yard, which seemed the +storehouse for old rubbish—a safe enough place to alight in. When she +returned to the street she saw the "Pretender" coming along, wheeling +two bicycles; and her relief at seeing him was mingled with compunction +at giving him such a lot of trouble. +</P> + +<P> +It really was rather cool to drag a comparative stranger into such a +matter, even if his good nature had prompted him to offer his +assistance. But, somehow, the mere fact of his talking English had +seemed to do away with the need of formal introduction, and the +knowledge that his uncle had known Miss Britton in bygone days would be +a certificate of respectability sufficient to satisfy her mother, she +thought. +</P> + +<P> +"I <I>am</I> so sorry it's wet," she said. "It makes it so much worse for +you to be hanging about." +</P> + +<P> +"It <I>is</I> hardly the day one would choose for a bicycle ride," he +returned cheerfully; "but, like the conductors in Cook's Tours, I feel +I have been chartered for the run, and weather must make no difference. +But you should go straight home. It would be too conspicuous to have +<I>two</I> people loitering about. I will let you know as soon as possible +how things go, and if you don't hear till to-morrow, it will mean we +are safely on our journey." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara saw the wisdom of returning at once, but did so with +reluctance, and, finding that she was quite unable to give proper +attention to her work, wrote a long letter home, relieving her mind by +recounting the adventure in full. It was a good thing that the first +plan—of hiding Alice in the neighbouring house—had not been carried +out, for, about three quarters of an hour later, Mademoiselle Eugénie +came hurrying up to see if the girl was with them, and on hearing she +was not, at once proposed—with a suspicious glance at Barbara—that +she should inquire at the next house. +</P> + +<P> +She asked the girl no questions, however, perhaps guessing that if she +did know anything she would not be very likely to tell. It was +Mademoiselle Thérèse who, in the wildest state of excitement, +questioned every one in the house, Barbara included, and the latter +felt a little guilty when she replied that the last time she had seen +the missing girl was in the baths. +</P> + +<P> +Before very long the bellman was going round proclaiming her loss, and +describing the exact clothes she wore; and Barbara was afraid, when she +heard him, that there would soon be news of her; for she had been +wearing the little black hat and coat that all the girls at +Mademoiselle Eugénie's were dressed in. But the evening came, and +apparently nothing had been heard of the truant. Mademoiselle Loiré +and Marie did hardly any lessons, such was the general excitement in +the house, but discussed, instead, the various possibilities in +connection with the escape. +</P> + +<P> +Perhaps there was a little triumph in the hearts of the two elder +women, for they had always felt rather jealous that Mademoiselle +Eugénie had more boarders than they, even although they did not lay any +claim to being a school. They would have given a great deal to be able +to read Barbara's thoughts, but she looked so very unapproachable that +they shrugged their shoulders and resigned themselves, with what +patience they could, to wait. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara's anxiety was greatly relieved the next evening by letters +which she received from both the "Pretender" and Alice. The first +wrote briefly, and to the point. He said he had delivered the girl +safely to the people at Neuilly, whom Alice had taken to, and that +there seemed to be "good stuff" in her, too, for he had given her some +very straight advice about making the best of things, which she had not +resented. Further, that Barbara need have no more anxiety, as he had +cabled to her father to get permission for her to stay at Neuilly, in +case of any trouble arising when it was discovered where she was. +Barbara folded up the letter with a sigh of relief that the matter had +gone so well thus far, and opened Alice's communication, which was +largely made up of exclamation marks and dashes. +</P> + +<P> +She was very enthusiastic about Neuilly, and was sure she would be +quite happy there, and that the heat would only make her feel at home. +She had smiled with delight at intervals all day, she said, when she +thought of the rage of Mademoiselle Eugénie, and her futile efforts to +trace her. She supposed a full description of her clothes had been +given, but that would be no good, as the American had brought her a +tweed cap and a cycling cape, and they had thrown her hat away by the +roadside. She concluded by saying that Mr. Morton had been very kind, +though he did not seem to have a very high opinion of her character, +and had given her enough grandfatherly advice to last her a lifetime, +and made her promise to write to Mademoiselle Eugénie. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara tore up both letters, and then went out to visit Mademoiselle +Viré, and relieved her mind by telling her all about it. +</P> + +<P> +"It seems so deceptive and horrid to keep quiet when they are +discussing things and wondering where she is," she concluded. "But she +was to write to Mademoiselle Eugénie to-day, and I really don't feel +inclined to tell her or the Loirés the share I had in it." +</P> + +<P> +"I hardly think you need, my child," Mademoiselle Viré said, patting +her on the shoulder. "Sometimes silence is wisest, and, of <I>course</I>, +you tell your own people. I do not know, indeed, if I had been young +like you, that I should not have done just the same; and perhaps, even +if I had been Alice, I might have done as she did." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara laughed, and shook her head. She could never imagine the +elegant little Mademoiselle Viré conniving at anybody's escape, +especially through a bath-house window! But it cheered her to think +that the little lady was not shocked at the escapade; and she went back +quite fortified, and ready for supper in the garden with the widower +and his family, whom Mademoiselle Thérèse had been magnanimous enough +to invite. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A WAYSIDE INN. +</H3> + +<P> +It was wonderful how quickly the excitement about Alice Meynell died +down. Mademoiselle Thérèse went to call upon her former instructress, +who told her, with evident reluctance, that the girl had gone to Paris +with a friend who had appeared unexpectedly, and her father wished her +to remain there for the present. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course," Mademoiselle Thérèse said, in retailing her visit, "she +will wish to keep it quiet; such things are not a good advertisement, +and they will speak of it no more. I think, indeed, that Mademoiselle +Eugénie will call here no more. She suspects that we helped to make +the child discontented. I am thankful that <I>we</I> have no such +unpleasant matters in <I>our</I> establishment. We have always had an +excellent reputation!" and the sisters congratulated each other for +some time on the successful way in which they had always arranged +matters for <I>their</I> boarders. +</P> + +<P> +It was while her sister was still in this pleasant mood of +self-satisfaction that Mademoiselle Loiré proposed to go to St. Sauveur +(a little town about twelve miles away), and collect the rent from one +or two houses they owned there. As Mademoiselle Thérèse talked English +best, and had the care of the English visitors, she had most of the +pleasant excursions, so that Barbara was quite glad to think the elder +sister was now to have a turn. Marie always went to St. Sauveur with +her aunt, as she had a cousin living in the town, with whom they +usually dined in the evening; and an invitation was graciously given to +Barbara to accompany them both. +</P> + +<P> +The girl often thought, in making these excursions here and there, how +nice it would have been could she have shared them with her mother and +the children; and then she used to make up her mind more firmly than +ever that she would begin teaching French directly she got home, so +that some day she could help to give the pleasure to Frances that her +aunt was giving to her. +</P> + +<P> +Donald had written on one occasion, that in view of so many excursions +he wondered when the work came in; to which she had replied that it was +<I>all</I> work, as she had to talk French hard the whole time! And, +indeed, a day never passed without her getting in her lesson and some +grammatical work, though it sometimes had to come before breakfast or +after supper. +</P> + +<P> +On this occasion they were to start very early, as Mademoiselle Loiré +explained that they would stop for a little while at a wayside inn, +where an old nurse of theirs had settled down. It was therefore +arranged to drive so far, and take the train the rest of the way, and +Barbara, who had heard a great deal about "the carriage," pictured to +herself a little pony and trap, and was looking forward to the drive +immensely. What was her astonishment, therefore, when she saw drawn up +before the door next day, a little spring cart with a brown donkey in +it. +</P> + +<P> +"The carriage!" she gasped, and hastily climbed into the cart lest +Mademoiselle Loiré should see her face. They all three sat close +together on the one backless seat, and drove off gaily, Mademoiselle +Loiré "handling the ribbons," and all the little boys in the street +shouting encouragement in the rear. +</P> + +<P> +The donkey went along at an excellent, though somewhat erratic, pace, +for every now and then he sprang forward with a lurch that was somewhat +disconcerting to the occupants of the cart. The first time, indeed, +that he did so, Barbara was quite unprepared, and, after clutching +wildly at the side of the cart and missing it, she subsided into the +straw at the back, from which she was extricated by her companions, +amid much laughter. +</P> + +<P> +"Would you prefer to sit between us?" Mademoiselle Loiré asked her, +when she was once more reinstated in her position. "You would perhaps +feel firmer?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no, thank you," said Barbara hastily. "I will hold on to the side +now, and be prepared." +</P> + +<P> +"He does have rather a queer motion," Mademoiselle Loiré; remarked +complacently; "but he's swift, and that is a great matter, and you soon +get used to his leaps. I should think," she went on, looking at the +donkey's long gray ears critically, "he would make a good jumper." +</P> + +<P> +"I should think he might," replied Barbara, subduing her merriment. "I +don't think our English donkeys jump much, as a rule; but the Brittany +ones seem much more accomplished." +</P> + +<P> +"Undoubtedly," her companion continued calmly. "My sister says when +<I>she</I> was in England she tried to drive a donkey, and it backed the +carriage into the ditch. They must be an inferior breed." To which +remark Barbara was powerless to reply for the time being. +</P> + +<P> +The drive was a very pretty one, and the donkey certainly deserved his +driver's praises, for he brought them to the inn in good time. It was +a quaint little place, standing close to the roadside, but, in spite of +that fact, looking as if it were not greatly frequented. As they drove +up, they saw an old woman sitting outside under a tree, reading a +newspaper; but, on hearing the sound of wheels, she jumped up and ran +to the gate. As soon as Mademoiselle Loiré had descended she flung +herself upon her; and Barbara wondered how the latter, who was spare +and thin, supported the substantial form of her nurse. +</P> + +<P> +She had time to look about her, for her three companions were making a +great hubbub, and, as they all spoke together, at the top of their +voices, it took some minutes to understand what each was saying. Then +Barbara was remembered and introduced, and for a moment she thought the +nurse was going to embrace her too, and wondered if it would be worse +than a rush at hockey; but, fortunately, she was spared the shock, and +instead, was led with the others into a musty parlour. +</P> + +<P> +"I am so pleased to see you," the landlady said, beaming upon them all, +"for few people pass this way now the trams and the railway go the +other route; and since my dear second husband died it has seemed +quieter than ever." Here she shook her head dolefully, and dabbed her +bright, black eyes, where Barbara could see no trace of tears. +</P> + +<P> +"Sundays are the longest days," the woman went on, trying to make her +hopelessly plump and cheery face look pathetic, "because I am so far +away from church. But I read my little newspaper, and say my little +prayer—and mention all your names in it" (which Barbara knew was +impossible, as she had never heard hers before that morning)—"and +think of my little priest." +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Loiré nodded to show she was listening, and Marie hastily +stifled a yawn. +</P> + +<P> +"I call him mine," the landlady explained, turning more particularly to +Barbara, "because he married me the last time, and my second husband +the first time." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara thought of the guessing story about "A blind beggar had a son," +and decided she would try to find out later exactly <I>whom</I> the priest +had married, for the explanation was still going on. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course, therefore, he took an interest in his death," and the +widow's voice grew pathetic. "So he always keeps an eye on me, and +sends me little holy newspapers, over which I always shed a tear. My +second husband always loved his newspaper so—and his coffee." +</P> + +<P> +The word coffee had a magical effect, and her face becoming wreathed in +smiles again, she sprang to her feet in a wonderfully agile way, +considering her size, and ran to a cupboard in the corner, calling +loudly for a maid as she went. +</P> + +<P> +"You must have thirst!" she exclaimed, "terrible thirst and hunger; but +I will give you a sip of a favourite beverage of mine that will restore +you instantly." +</P> + +<P> +And she placed upon the table a black bottle, which proved to be full +of cold coffee sweetened to such a degree that it resembled syrup. +Poor Barbara! She was not very fond of hot coffee <I>un</I>sweetened, so +that this cold concoction seemed to her most sickly. But she managed +to drink the whole glassful, except a mouthful of extreme syrup at the +end, though feeling afterwards that she could not bear even to look at +coffee caramels for a very long time. They sat some time over the +refreshments provided for them, and their donkey was stabled at the inn +to await their return in the evening. Then bidding a temporary adieu +to their hostess, they went on to the town by train. +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Loiré went at once to get her rent, which, she explained, +always took her some time, "for the people were not good at paying," +and left the girls to look at the church, which was a very old one. +After they were joined by mademoiselle they strolled along to Marie's +relations. The husband was a seller of cider, which, Marie explained +to Barbara, was quite a different occupation from keeping an inn, and +much more respectable. Both he and his wife were very hospitable and +kind, and especially attentive to the "English miss." +</P> + +<P> +It was quite a unique experience for her, for they dined behind a +trellis-work at one end of the shop, and, during the whole of dinner, +either the father or daughter was kept jumping up to serve the +customers with cider. The son was present too, but no one would allow +him to rise to serve anybody, for he was at college in Paris, and had +taken one of the first prizes in France for literature. It was quite +touching to see how proud his parents and sister were of him, and he +seemed to Barbara to be wonderfully unspoiled, considering the +attention he received. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed her fate to have strange food offered her that day, and when +the first dish that appeared proved to be stewed eels, Barbara began to +dread what the rest of the menu might reveal. Fortunately, there was +nothing worse than beans boiled in cream, though it was with some +relief that she saw the long meal draw to a close. Coffee and +sweetmeats were served in a room upstairs, in which all the young man's +prizes were kept, and which were displayed with most loving pride and +reverence by the mother and sister, while the owner of them looked on +rather bashfully from a corner. +</P> + +<P> +The young man was one of the type of Frenchmen who wear their hair cut +and brushed the wrong way, like a clothes-brush. Barbara was beginning +to divide all Frenchmen into two classes according to their <I>frisure</I>: +those that wore their hair brush-fashion, and those that had it long +and oiled—sometimes curled. These latter sometimes allowed it to fall +in locks upon their foreheads, tossing it back every now and then with +an abstracted air and easy grace that fascinated Barbara. They were +usually engaged in the Fine Arts, and she could never quite decide +whether the hair had been the result of the profession, or vice versa. +</P> + +<P> +After talking for some time, Barbara had her first lesson in écarté, +which she welcomed gladly, as helping to keep her awake. Then the +whole family escorted their visitors to the station, where they stood +in a row and waved hats and hands for a long time after the train had +left. It was getting rather late when they reached the little inn once +more, and Barbara was thankful that she had the excuse of a substantial +dinner to fall back upon when she was offered more of the landlady's +"pleasant beverage." +</P> + +<P> +When the good-byes had been said it was growing dark, and the girl, +thinking of their last adventurous drive, wondered if Mademoiselle +Loiré was any more reliable. However, after the first mile, she cast +dignity aside, and begged to be allowed to sit down in the hay at the +back of the cart and go to sleep, either the eel or her efforts to make +herself agreeable having created an overpowering desire for slumber, +and she was still dreaming peacefully when they drove into St. Servan, +and rattled up the narrow street to their own door. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE STRIKE. +</H3> + +<P> +It was now the beginning of August, and just "grilling," as Donald +would have expressed it. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed almost as difficult to Barbara to leave the sea as it is to +get out of bed on a winter morning. +</P> + +<P> +"It must be so very nice to be a mermaid—in summer," she said, looking +back at the water, as she and Marie went up the beach one morning. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," returned Marie, "If they had short hair. It must take such a +lot of combing." +</P> + +<P> +Marie was not so enthusiastic about bathing as her companion. Perhaps +her want of enthusiasm was due to the fact that she was not allowed to +bathe every day, because "it took up so much time that might be devoted +to her studies." At first Mademoiselle Thérèse had tried to persuade +Barbara that it would be much better for her to go only once or twice a +week too. +</P> + +<P> +"There are so many English at the <I>plage</I>," she complained, "that I +know you will talk with them; and it is a pity to come to France to +learn the language and waste your time talking with English, whom you +can meet in your own country." +</P> + +<P> +"But I won't talk with them," Barbara had assured her. "You know how +careful I have been always to speak French—even when I could hardly +make myself understood." +</P> + +<P> +The girl's eyes twinkled, for Mademoiselle Thérèse had a mania for +speaking English whenever possible, and at first always used that +language when with her pupil, until Barbara had asked her if she had +got so accustomed to speaking English that it was more familiar to her +than French! Since then, she only used English in public places, or +when she thought English people were near. +</P> + +<P> +"It is such a good advertisement," she explained complacently. "You +never know what introductions it may make for you." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara had used the same argument in favour of bathing every day, and +had prevailed, though she had really been very particular about +speaking French—not, I fear, from the desire of pleasing Mademoiselle +Thérèse, but because of the thought of the home people, and what she +meant to do for them. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't understand how you can bear riding in this weather," Marie +remarked, as they toiled slowly home in the sun. "It would kill me to +jog up and down on a horse in a sun as hot as this." +</P> + +<P> +"Not when you're accustomed to it," Barbara assured her. "You would +want to do it everyday then. I'm going to ride to St. Lunaire this +afternoon." +</P> + +<P> +"Then Aunt Thérèse won't go for the walk after supper. What a +happiness!" Marie cried, for Mademoiselle Loiré was not so strict as +her sister. +</P> + +<P> +The latter had grown quite reconciled to her journeys to Dinard now, +and, as a matter of fact, was looking forward with regret to the time +they must cease. She found the afternoons in the Casino Gardens with +her friend very pleasant, and came back each time full of ideas for +altering everybody's clothes. +</P> + +<P> +This she was not permitted to do, however, for Mademoiselle Loiré had +an unpleasant remembrance of similar plans on a previous occasion, +which had resulted in many garments being unpicked, and then left in a +dismembered condition until Marie and she had laboriously sewed them up +again! This particular afternoon Mademoiselle Thérèse was in a very +complacent mood, having just retrimmed her hat for the second time +since its immersion, and feeling that it was wonderfully successful. +</P> + +<P> +"If I had not been acquainted with the English language, and had so +many pressing offers to teach it," she said, as they were walking up to +the riding-school, "I should have made a wonderful success as a +<I>modiste</I>. Indeed, I sometimes wonder if it might not have been less +trying work." +</P> + +<P> +"That would depend on the customers, wouldn't it?" Barbara returned; +but did not hear her reply, for she had caught sight of Monsieur +Pirenne at the <I>manège</I> door, and knew that he did not like to be kept +waiting. Mademoiselle Thérèse always waited to see them mounted, +feeling that thereby she ensured a certain amount of safety on the +ride; moreover, there was a ceremony about the matter that appealed to +her. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur Pirenne always liked to mount Barbara in the street, and, +before getting on to his own horse, he lingered a while to see that +there were a few people present to witness the departure, for, like +Mademoiselle Thérèse, he had a great feeling for effect. After seeing +Barbara safely up, he glanced carelessly round, flicked a little dust +from his elegantly-cut coat, twirled his mustachios, and leaped nimbly +into the saddle, without the help of the stirrup. +</P> + +<P> +A flutter of approval went round the bystanders, and Mademoiselle +Thérèse called out a parting word of warning to Barbara—just to show +she was connected with the couple—before they moved off. Their +progress down the street was as picturesque as Monsieur Pirenne could +make it; for whatever horse he might be on, he succeeded in making it +caracole and curvet, saying at intervals, with a careless smile— +</P> + +<P> +"Not <I>too</I> near, mademoiselle. Manon is not to be trusted." +</P> + +<P> +"I believe he would do the same on a rocking-horse," Barbara had once +written home; but she admired and liked him in spite of these little +affectations—admired him for his skill in horsemanship, and liked him +for his patience as a master. +</P> + +<P> +This ride was one of the nicest she had yet had, as the road, being +bordered for a great part of the way by the links, made capital going. +It was when they had turned their faces homeward, and were just +entering the town, that something very exciting happened. They had +fallen into a walk, and Barbara was watching the people idly, when she +recognised among the passers-by the face of the "solicitor" of Neuilly! +She felt sure it was he, although he was just turning down a side +street; and after the shock of surprise she followed her first impulse, +and, putting her horse at a gallop, dashed after him. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur Pirenne, who was in the middle of saying something, received a +great fright, and wondered whether she or her horse had gone mad. He +followed her at once, calling after her anxiously, "Pull up, +mademoiselle, pull up! You will be killed!" +</P> + +<P> +The solicitor did not see her, but just before she reached him he +stepped on to a passing tram and was whirled away, and before Barbara +had decided whether to pursue an electric tram or not, Monsieur Pirenne +had reached her side and seized her reins. He looked really +frightened, and annoyed too, but when Barbara told him that the horse +had only been running in accordance with the will of her mistress, he +composed himself a little, merely remarking that it was hardly <I>comme +il faut</I> to gallop in the streets like that. +</P> + +<P> +"But, Monsieur Pirenne," Barbara said eagerly, "I know you would have +done the same if you had known the story;" and therewith she began to +tell it to him. He was immensely interested, for there is nothing a +Frenchman enjoys more than an adventure, and at the end of the tale he +was almost as excited as she was. +</P> + +<P> +"Could we trace him now?" he questioned eagerly. "But—I fear the +chance is small—the description is so vague, and you did not even see +the name on the tram, and we have no proofs. Yet, mademoiselle, if you +will go to the <I>préfecture</I> with me, I will do my best." +</P> + +<P> +But Barbara shook her head decidedly. The thought of police courts, +especially French ones, alarmed her, and the warnings she had received +to keep out of any more "complications" were still very fresh in her +mind. +</P> + +<P> +"I think I should rather not go to the <I>préfecture</I>, monsieur," she +said quickly. "I do not think it would be any good either." +</P> + +<P> +"I agree with you perfectly." And Monsieur Pirenne bowed gallantly. +"Therefore, shall we proceed on our way? Does mademoiselle regret that +she did not catch him?" he asked, after a while. +</P> + +<P> +"I am sorry he is not caught—but I am not sorry <I>I</I> did not catch him, +though that seems rather contradictory, doesn't it?" +</P> + +<P> +"By which mademoiselle means that she does not know what she would have +done with one hand on the miscreant's collar, the other on the reins, +and a crowd around her?" the Frenchman inquired politely. +</P> + +<P> +"That's just it," laughed Barbara. "You have exactly described +it—though I should be glad if <I>some one</I> caught him and made him give +back the money." +</P> + +<P> +"I will keep my eyes open on your behalf, and shall let you know if +anything happens," he said sympathetically; and Barbara, remembering +his kindness, did not like to remind him that, never having seen the +man, he could not possibly be of much service to her. +</P> + +<P> +When Mademoiselle Thérèse heard that she had seen the solicitor again, +she was almost as excited as Barbara had been, and at once proposed +that they should spend the rest of the evening in Dinard, looking for +him; and it was not until the girl pointed out that he might now be on +his way to England, or a long way off in another direction, that she +became reconciled to returning home. +</P> + +<P> +Excitement seemed in the air that evening, and when they arrived at the +St. Servan quay there were more idlers than usual. They wondered what +was the cause, and when Mademoiselle Thérèse, with her customary desire +to get at the bottom of everything, asked the reason, she was told that +the strike among the timber-yard men, which had been threatened for +some time, had begun that afternoon, and that work was suspended. +</P> + +<P> +It was all the more astonishing because it had come so suddenly, and +Barbara could hardly tear mademoiselle away from the spot until she +suggested that those at home might not have heard of it yet, and that +she might be the first to tell it to them. Hurrying through the town, +they heard great shouting from the other side of the quay, which made +mademoiselle nearly break into a run with eagerness. As it happened, +however, the news had already spread to their street, and they found +Mademoiselle Loiré equally anxious to tell the new-comers what <I>she</I> +knew of the matter. +</P> + +<P> +As it was the first strike for many years, the townspeople looked upon +it with a strange mingling of pride and fear. It was stirred up by an +agitator called Mars, and had broken out simultaneously in other ports +too. More <I>gendarmes</I> were sent for in case of need, though +Mademoiselle Loiré said it was hoped matters might be arranged amicably +by a meeting between masters and men. +</P> + +<P> +They were still discussing the subject, when a loud shouting was heard, +and they all ran to a disused bedroom in the front of the house and +looked out. +</P> + +<P> +A crowd of men, marching in fours, were coming up the street, led by +one beating a drum, and another carrying a dirty banner with "Liberté, +Equalité, Fraternité" upon it. Barbara's eyes sparkled with +excitement, and she felt almost as if she were back in the times of the +Revolution, for they looked rather a fierce and vicious crew. +</P> + +<P> +"They are some of the strikers," Mademoiselle Thérèse cried. "We must +withdraw our heads from the windows in case the men get annoyed with us +for staring." But she promptly leaned still farther out, and began +making loud remarks to her sister, on the disgracefulness of such +behaviour. +</P> + +<P> +"You will be heard," Mademoiselle Loiré returned, shaking her head at +her sister. "You are a silly woman to say such things so loudly when +the strikers are marching beneath." +</P> + +<P> +But the remonstrance had no effect, and the sight of all the other +windows in the street full of spectators encouraged and inspired +Mademoiselle Thérèse, and made her long for fame and glory. +</P> + +<P> +"It is ridiculous of the mayor to allow such things," she said loudly, +with an evident desire to be heard. "The men should be sharply dealt +with, and sent back to their work." +</P> + +<P> +The result of her words was unexpected; for several of the crowd, +annoyed at the little serious attention they had hitherto received, and +worked up to considerable excitement, by the shouting and drumming +began to pick up stones and fling them at the house. At first they +were merely thrown <I>against</I> the house, then, the spirit of mischief +increasing, they were sent with better aim, and one crashed through the +window above Mademoiselle Thérèse's head. +</P> + +<P> +"We shall all be killed!" shrieked her sister, "and just because of +your meddling ways, Thérèse." But she called to deaf ears, for now +Mademoiselle Thérèse, enjoying notoriety, kept popping her head in and +out of the window, dodging the stones and shouting out threats and +menaces, which were returned by the crowd, till at last Mademoiselle +Loiré cried out pitifully that some one must go and fetch the widower. +</P> + +<P> +"One man even might be a protection," she moaned, though how, and +whether against her sister or the strikers, did not seem very clear to +Barbara. But as that seemed to be Mademoiselle Loiré's one idea, and +as Marie and the maid-servants were all crying in a corner, she thought +she had better fetch him. Running downstairs and across the garden, +she climbed over the wall by the wood pile, and boldly knocked at the +widower's back door, thereby frightening him not a little. He came +very cautiously along the passage, and inquired in rather shaky tones +who was there. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as Barbara had assured him that this was not an attack in the +rear, he flung open the door, and welcomed her most cordially. Barbara +wondered where he had been not to have heard Mademoiselle Loiré's +wailings, and suspected that perhaps he <I>had</I> heard them and had +retired hastily in consequence! He certainly looked a little depressed +when he received the message, which was to the effect that he should +come and address the crowd from the Loirés' window, and bid it to +proceed on its way. +</P> + +<P> +"I think," he said pensively, after some moments' consideration, "that +if I am to go at all, I had better go out by my own front door and +speak to the crowd from the street. They will be more likely to listen +to me there, than if they thought I was one of Mademoiselle Loiré's +household." +</P> + +<P> +"That is <I>very</I> brave of you, monsieur," Barbara said, and the little +man swelled with pride. Perhaps it was the thought of the glorious +part he was about to play before the whole street that upheld him, as +he certainly was rather timid by nature. +</P> + +<P> +"If <I>you</I> are going out to face that mob," said Jean, drawing himself +up, "I will accompany you." +</P> + +<P> +"Noble boy!" cried the little man, embracing him. "We will live or die +together. Come!" And off they went, while Barbara hurried across the +garden and over the wall again, not wishing to miss the spectacle in +the street. But her dress caught in the wood, and, as it took her some +time to disentangle it, the widower had finished his speech by the time +she arrived at the window. But he seemed to have made an impression, +for the crowd was beginning slowly to move on, urged by what +persuasions or threats she could not discover, as the Loirés had not +heard much either. +</P> + +<P> +But as long as the strikers went, the ladies did not much mind how they +had been persuaded, and when the last man had straggled out of sight, +and the sound of the drum was dying away, both the sisters, followed by +Marie, rushed downstairs and flung open the front door. +</P> + +<P> +"Enter!" Mademoiselle Loiré cried. "Enter, our preserver—our +rescuer!" and, as soon as he crossed the threshold, Mademoiselle +Thérèse seized one hand and her sister the other, till Barbara wondered +how the poor little man's arms remained on. Marie, meanwhile, did her +part by the son, and, as they all spoke at once, there was almost as +much noise in the house as previously there had been outside. +</P> + +<P> +"Our noble preserver, what do we not owe to you!" shouted Mademoiselle +Thérèse, trying to drown her sister, who was speaking at his other ear. +</P> + +<P> +"Facing the mob like a lion at bay—one man against a thousand!" +Barbara knew there had not been a hundred, but supposed a poetical +imagination must be allowed free play. +</P> + +<P> +"He stood there as calmly as in church," Marie interpolated, though she +knew that the widower never went there, "with a cool smile playing +about his lips—it was a beautiful sight;" and Barbara regretted +exceedingly that her dress had detained her so long that she had missed +it. +</P> + +<P> +Compliments continued to fly for some time, like butterflies in June; +then, from sheer exhaustion, the sisters released him, and wiped their +eyes from excess of emotion. Barbara was just assuring herself that +the widower's arms <I>did</I> seem to be all right, when he turned round, +and, seizing both her hands, began to shake them as violently as his +had been shaken a few minutes before. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara was much bewildered, not knowing what she had done to deserve +this tribute, and wondering if the widower were doing it out of a +spirit of revenge, and a desire to make somebody else's hands as tired +as his own. But one glance at his glowing, kindly face dispelling that +idea, Barbara concentrated all her attention on the best way to free +herself, and avoid going through a similar ordeal with all the others, +which, she began to fear, might be her fate. +</P> + +<P> +She escaped it, however, for Mademoiselle Loiré had hastened away to +bring up some wine from the cellar, in honour of the occasion, and they +were all invited into the <I>salon</I> to drink to each other's healths +before parting. The widower was called upon to give a speech, to which +Mademoiselle Thérèse replied at some length, without being called upon; +and it was getting quite late before the two "noble preservers" retired +to their own home. +</P> + +<P> +When they had gone, Mademoiselle Loiré suggested that all danger might +not yet be past, and, as the men might return again later, she thought +it would be wiser to make preparations. So the two frightened +maid-servants being called in to assist, the shutters were closed +before all the windows, and heavy furniture dragged in front of them. +When this was done, and all the doors bolted and barred, Mademoiselle +Thérèse proposed to take turns in sitting up and keeping watch. +Barbara promptly vetoed the motion, declaring she was going to bed at +once, and, as no one else seemed inclined to take the part of sentinel, +they all retired. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope we may be spared to see the morning light," Mademoiselle +Thérèse said solemnly. "I feel there is great risk in our going to bed +in this manner." +</P> + +<P> +"Then why don't you sit up, sister?" Mademoiselle Loiré said crossly, +for the last hour or two had really been very tiring. But to this her +sister did not deign to reply, and, taking up her candle, went up to +bed. When Barbara gained the safe precincts of her own room she +laughed long and heartily, and longed that Donald or Frances could have +been there to see the meeting between rescuer and rescued. +</P> + +<P> +In spite of their fears of evil they all spent a peaceful night, the +only result of their careful barricading being that it made the +servants cross, as they had to restore things to their places. The +town was apparently quiet enough too—though Mademoiselle Thérèse would +not allow any one to go out "in case of riot"—and when the additional +<I>gendarmes</I> came in the evening there was little for them to do. It +was supposed that the men and employers had come to some understanding, +and that the strikers would soon return to their work. +</P> + +<P> +"But, you see," Mademoiselle Thérèse said to Barbara, "how easily a +revolution arises in our country. With a little more provocation there +would have been barricades and the guillotine just as before." +</P> + +<P> +"But while the widower and his son live so near us," Barbara replied, +"we need surely have no fear." +</P> + +<P> +And, though Mademoiselle Thérèse looked at her sharply, the girl's face +was so sedate that the lady supposed she was treating the matter with +seriousness. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BARBARA PLAYS DETECTIVE. +</H3> + +<P> +The morning lesson was over, and Mademoiselle Thérèse had betaken herself +to Barbara's couch, which the girl knew always meant that she was going +to make her an indefinite visit, and tell her some long story. This +time, it was about her visit to England and what she had done when +teaching there; and, as Barbara had heard it all before more than once, +it was a little difficult to show a proper interest in it. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," mademoiselle went on, "it was a time full of new experiences for +me, by which I hope I profited. I got on extremely well with your +countrywomen, too, and the girls all loved me, and, indeed, so did your +countrymen, for I received a great many offers of marriage while there. +I grew weary of refusing them, and was <I>so</I> afraid of hurting their +feelings—but one cannot marry every one, can one?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly not, mademoiselle," Barbara returned gravely. "It would be +most unwise." +</P> + +<P> +"That is just what I felt. Now, the German fräulein——" +</P> + +<P> +Barbara sighed, wondering if it were the tenth or eleventh time she had +heard the tale of the "German fräulein"; but before she had decided the +point, there was a knock at the door, and the maid-servant brought up the +message that mademoiselle was wanted below by a visitor. +</P> + +<P> +She rose at once, shook out her skirt, and patted her hair. +</P> + +<P> +"That is just the way," she said. "I am never allowed much time for +rest. You would not believe how many people seek me to obtain my advice. +I will return in a few minutes and finish my story." +</P> + +<P> +When she had gone, Barbara looked longingly at the couch. It was <I>such</I> +a hot day, and the lesson had been a long one; but she was afraid it was +not much good to settle down with the promise of the story hanging over +her head. The result proved she was right, for very soon Mademoiselle +Thérèse came hurrying back again, full of smiles and importance. The +landlady of the inn, <I>Au Jacques Cartier</I>, wished her to go there, she +said, to act as interpreter between herself and an Englishman, who could +speak hardly any French. Would Barbara like to come too? +</P> + +<P> +Thinking it might be entertaining, Barbara got ready hastily and ran down +to join Mademoiselle Thérèse and the landlady, who had come in person "to +better make clear matters." +</P> + +<P> +"This Englishman and his son," she explained, as they went along, "have +only been with us a day or two, but already we wish them to go, yet +cannot make them understand. Of course, I do not wish to hurt his +feelings, but now, in August, I could let the room twice over to people +who would be much less trouble, and whom the other guests would like +better." +</P> + +<P> +"But what is wrong with these?" asked Mademoiselle Thérèse critically. +"I must know all the affair or I cannot act in it." +</P> + +<P> +She drew herself up very straight, and Barbara wondered if she were +thinking of Portia in the <I>Merchant of Venice</I>. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, this gentleman asked for a 'bath every morning,'" the landlady +replied in an injured tone, "and after we procured for him a nice little +washing-tub, with much trouble, he said it was too small." +</P> + +<P> +"That is not sufficient reason to send him away;" and Mademoiselle +Thérèse shook her head. +</P> + +<P> +"No. But then he cannot understand what goes on at <I>table d'hôte</I>, and +he and his son are such silent companions that it casts a gloom over the +rest. Of course," with an apologetic glance at Barbara, "some Englishmen +are very nice to have; but this one"—she shook her head as if the matter +were quite beyond her—"this one I do not like, and perhaps without +hurting his feelings, you, mademoiselle, could make quite clear to him +that he must go." +</P> + +<P> +By this time they had arrived at the hotel, which was close to the +Rosalba Bathing Place, and overlooked that little bay. Barbara, thinking +the interview would be a delicate one, and that she would but add to the +unpleasantness of the situation, said she would wait in the orchard till +she was called. +</P> + +<P> +From it one could get a beautiful view across the River Rance, to the +wooded slopes beside Dinard, and, finding a seat beneath a lime-tree, +Barbara sat down. She had been there about a quarter of an hour, and was +almost asleep, when she heard stealthy footsteps coming through the grass +beside her, and the next moment her startled eyes fell upon the +solicitor's son of Neuilly remembrance! +</P> + +<P> +She got rather a fright at first, but he certainly got a much worse one; +and before he had recovered it had flashed across her mind quite clearly +that the man who was at that moment talking to Mademoiselle Thérèse, was +the solicitor himself. Before she could move from her place, the son had +cast himself down on his knees, and was begging her incoherently to spare +him and his father—not to inform against them. The thought of going to +prison, he said, would kill him, as it had his mother, as it nearly had +his sister; and if she would spare them, he would take his father away at +once. +</P> + +<P> +To see the boy crying there like a child almost made Barbara give way and +let things go as they liked; but then she remembered how meanly his +father had cheated the people in Neuilly—a widow's family too—and what +a life he seemed to have led his own wife and children; then, calling to +mind his horrid manner and cruel, sensuous face, she steeled herself +against him. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall certainly inform against your father," she said gravely. "And I +think the best thing that you and your sister can do, is to get away at +once, before it is too late." +</P> + +<P> +The boy wrung his hands. "My sister has gone already," he moaned, "to +some Scotch relations—simple people—who said they would take her in if +she would have nothing more to do with our father. But I could not +go—there was money only for one." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara looked at the pathetic figure before her, and suddenly forgot all +her promises not to get entangled in any more plots or other dangerous +enterprises, and almost before she realised what she was doing, she was +scribbling a message in French on the back of an envelope. +</P> + +<P> +From where they stood they could see the little house of Mademoiselle +Viré, and the entrance to the lane in which it stood. Pointing out the +roof of the house to her companion, she told him to run there with the +note, and, if the people let him in, to wait until she came. +</P> + +<P> +She felt it was a very bold, and perhaps an impertinent thing to do, but +she was almost sure that Mademoiselle Viré would do as she asked. As +soon as she saw him so far on his way, she ran to the inn, and went +through to the kitchen, where a maid was cooking. +</P> + +<P> +"Bring your master to me, as quickly as possible," the girl said +peremptorily. "You need not be afraid" she added, seeing that the +woman—not unnaturally—looked upon her with suspicion. "I will touch +nothing, and the quicker you come back the better I shall be pleased." +</P> + +<P> +The maid eyed her doubtfully for a few minutes, then shrugged her +shoulders and ran out of the room. Her master would, at least, be able +to get rid of this obnoxious stranger, she thought. He came quickly +enough, with an anxious expression on his rosy face, and Barbara had to +tell the story twice or thrice before he seemed to understand. It was +rather unpleasant work telling a foreigner about the evil deeds of a +fellow-countryman, but it seemed the right thing to do, though the +thought of it haunted the girl for some time. +</P> + +<P> +When once the landlord understood matters, he acted very promptly, +sending some one for the police, and then with a telegram to Neuilly. He +said he had had his doubts all along, because the gentleman had seemed +queer, and the people sleeping next him had complained that they were +sure he beat his son, for they used to hear the boy crying. +</P> + +<P> +The landlord then went down into the hall to wait until Mademoiselle +Thérèse's interview was over, and Barbara, leaving a message to the +effect that she had grown tired and had gone on, ran back to their house. +</P> + +<P> +Having succeeded in entering unobserved, she got her purse and hurried +off to Mademoiselle Viré. +</P> + +<P> +The old maid looked at her with a mingling of relief and curiosity, but +was much too polite to ask any questions. +</P> + +<P> +"The young man is here," she said, and led the way into the little +dining-room, where her mistress was sitting opposite the boy with a very +puzzled face, but doing her best to make him take some wine and biscuit. +Mademoiselle Viré had always appeared to Barbara as the most courteous +woman she had ever met, and, in presence of the frightened, awkward +youth, her gracious air impressed the girl more than ever. +</P> + +<P> +Knowing that he could not understand French she told his story at once, +and her listener never showed by a glance in his direction that he was +the subject of conversation. They both came to the conclusion that the +best thing he could do would be to go to St. Malo, and take the first +boat to England. It left in the evening about seven, so that by next +morning he would be safe at Southampton. +</P> + +<P> +Then Barbara said, in the way she had been wont to advise Donald, "I +think you should go straight to your sister, and take counsel with her as +to what you should do. I will lend you money enough for what you need." +</P> + +<P> +"You <I>are</I> kind," the boy said, with tears in his eyes. "I'll pay you +back as soon as I get any money—as soon as ever I can, I do promise +you—if only I get safely to England." He had such a pitiful, frightened +way of looking over his shoulder, as if he expected to see his father +behind him all the time, that Barbara's wrath against the man arose anew, +and she felt she could not be sorry, whatever his punishment might be. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-bye," she said kindly. "I must go away now. I think, when you +arrive in England, you might write to Mademoiselle Viré, and say you +arrived safely. I shall be anxious till I hear." +</P> + +<P> +The boy almost embarrassed Barbara by the assurances of his gratitude, +and she breathed more freely when she got into the open air. +</P> + +<P> +"How glad I ought to be that Donald isn't like that," she thought, the +remembrance of her frank, sturdy brother rising in vivid contrast in her +mind. +</P> + +<P> +When she got back, Mademoiselle Thérèse was enjoying herself thoroughly, +recounting the adventure to her own household and to the widower and his +sons whom she had called in to add to her audience. She described the +whole scene most graphically and with much gesticulation, perhaps also +with a little exaggeration. +</P> + +<P> +"The anger of the man when he found he must accompany the officers was +herculean," she said, casting up her eyes; "he stormed, he raged, he tore +his hair" (Barbara remembered him as almost quite bald!), "he insisted +that his son must come too." +</P> + +<P> +"How mean!" the girl cried indignantly. +</P> + +<P> +"But the son," mademoiselle paused, and looked round her audience—"the +son," she concluded in a thrilling whisper, "had gone—fled—disappeared. +One moment he was there, the next he was nowhere. Whereupon the papa was +still more angry, and with hasty words gave an exact and particular +description of him in every detail. 'He must be caught,' he shouted, 'he +must keep me company.' Such a father!" Mademoiselle rolled her eyes +wildly. "Such an inhuman monster repelled me, and—I fled." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara, feeling as if they should applaud, looked round vaguely to see +if the others were thinking of beginning; but at that moment she was +overpowered by Mademoiselle Thérèse suddenly flinging herself upon her +and kissing her on both cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +"This!" she said solemnly, holding Barbara with one hand and +gesticulating with the other—"this is the one we must thank for the +capture. She directed the landlord—her brains planned the arrest—<I>she</I> +will appear against him in court." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no!" Barbara cried in distress, "I really can't do that. They have +telegraphed for Madame Belvoir's son from Neuilly—he will do. I really +could not appear in court." +</P> + +<P> +"But you can speak French quite well enough now—you need not mind about +that; and it will be quite an event to appear in court. It is not +<I>every</I> girl of your age who can do that." +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle spoke almost enviously; but the idea was abhorrent to +Barbara, who determined, if possible, to avoid such an ordeal. +</P> + +<P> +The next afternoon they had a visit from one of Madame Belvoir's sons, +who had come across to see what was to be done about the "solicitor." +Barbara was very glad to see him, for it brought back remembrances of the +first happy fortnight in Paris. +</P> + +<P> +It was rather comforting to know, too, that the result of one of the +plots she had been concerned in had been satisfactory, for the news about +Alice was good. She was getting on well with French, and all the +Belvoirs liked her very much. The "American gentleman" had been to see +her twice, and her father had not only given her permission to stay, but +had written to Mademoiselle Eugenie to that effect, and was coming over +himself to see her. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A MEMORY AND A "MANOIR." +</H3> + +<P> +No amount of wishing on Barbara's part could do away with the necessity +for her appearing in court, and the ordeal had to be gone through. +</P> + +<P> +"If I were a novelist, now," she said ruefully to Mademoiselle Thérèse, +"I might be able to make some use of it, but as I am just a plain, +ordinary person——" +</P> + +<P> +Her chief consolation was that the boy had written saying he had joined +his sister and that he "had never been so happy in his life." He was +going to be a farmer, he said, and Barbara wondered why, of all +occupations, he had fixed upon one that appeared to be so unsuitable; +but, as a proof of his good intentions, poor boy, he had sent her ten +shillings of the money she had lent him, and promised to forward the +rest as soon as he could. It was some comfort also, as Mademoiselle +Viré pointed out, that the man would be safely out of the way of doing +further harm for the present. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara quite agreed with her, but thought she would have felt the +comfort more if some one else had played her part. But when the whole +unpleasant business was over, and Barbara had vowed that nothing would +ever prevail upon her to go into court again—even if it were to +receive sentence herself—she sought out Mademoiselle Viré, with a +proposal to do something to "take away the bad feeling." +</P> + +<P> +"Make music," the little lady said. "That is, I think, the only thing +I can offer you, my child. Music is very good for 'bad feelings.'" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, oh, yes, it is; but this is something I have been wanting for a +long time, and now I feel it is the right time for it. <I>Dear</I> +Mademoiselle Viré, will you come for a drive with me?" +</P> + +<P> +A delicate flush coloured the old lady's cheeks, and Barbara watched +her anxiously. She knew she was very poor, and could not afford to do +such things for herself, and she was too frail to walk beyond the +garden, but she also greatly feared that she might have made the offer +in a way to hurt her friend's feelings. +</P> + +<P> +The little lady did not answer for some time, then she looked into the +eager face before her and smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"<I>If</I> I said I would go, where could you get a carriage to take us?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I have found out all about that," the girl replied joyfully. "I +shall not ask you to go in a donkey-cart, nor yet in a <I>fiacre</I>. I +have found out quite a nice low chaise and a quiet pony that can be +hired, and I will drive you myself." +</P> + +<P> +It took only a little consideration after that, and then mademoiselle +gave her consent to go next day if it were fine. +</P> + +<P> +"If Jeannette would care to come," Barbara said, before leaving; and +the old woman, who had been sitting very quietly in her corner while +the arrangements were being made, looked at her mistress with a beaming +face, and read her pleasure in the plan before she spoke. +</P> + +<P> +"I am so glad you thought of her," Mademoiselle Viré whispered as she +said good-bye to her visitor, "for though, of course, I should never +have asked you to include her, yet she has been so patient and faithful +in going through sorrows and labour with me, that it is but fair she +should share my pleasures, and I should have felt grieved to leave her +at home on such a day." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara had one more invitation to give, which went rather against the +grain, and that was to Mademoiselle Thérèse, whom she felt she could +not leave out; but she was unfeignedly glad when the lady refused on +the score of too much English correspondence. +</P> + +<P> +The following day being gloriously fine, they started for the drive in +great contentment, going by Mademoiselle Viré's choice towards La +Guimorais, a little village some seven kilometres away on the coast. +The pony was tractable and well behaved, and they rolled along slowly +under the shady trees and past the old farms and cottages, Mademoiselle +Viré's face alone, Barbara thought, being worth watching, while +Jeannette sat opposite, her hands folded in her lap. +</P> + +<P> +Just before reaching La Guimorais the road branched off towards a +lonely <I>manoir</I>, empty now, and used by some farmer for a storehouse. +Yet there was still a dignity about it that neither uncared-for garden +nor ruined beauty could destroy. +</P> + +<P> +"May we go close, quite close to it?" Mademoiselle Viré asked, and +Barbara turning the pony's head into the lane, pulled up beside the +high gray walls. +</P> + +<P> +"The master once, the servant now, but still noble," the old lady +whispered, as her eyes, wandering lovingly over it all, lingered at +last upon a bush of roses near the gate. The flowers were almost wild, +through neglect and lack of pruning, and not half so fine as many in +the little lady's own garden; but Barbara, noticing the longing look, +slipped out and gathered a handful. +</P> + +<P> +"The farmer would spare you those, I think, madame, if it pleases you +to have them." +</P> + +<P> +"He would surely spare them to me," madame repeated, and buried her +face in their fragrance. Then she laid them in her lap. +</P> + +<P> +"Drive on, my dear, I have seen all I wish," she said. She was silent +till they passed into the main road again. Then she said, with a +backward look at the <I>manoir</I>— +</P> + +<P> +"I once stayed there for a very happy summer with my father, and a +well-beloved friend. They are both in Paradise now, and I hope, by +God's good grace and the intercessions of our Lady, I am nearer them +each year." +</P> + +<P> +Her face was perfectly serene, but poor old Jeannette's was all +puckered up, and the tears rolled heavily down her cheeks. As for +Barbara, she did not speak for a time. +</P> + +<P> +The village was a quaint little place, just a few houses dropped +together beside the sea, which sang to them for ever. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us not go in out of the clean, strong air," Mademoiselle Viré +said, as they stopped in front of the inn. "May we drink tea at the +door?" +</P> + +<P> +They slipped the reins through a ring in the flags in front of the +house, and sipped their tea, while the children of the place came and +stared solemnly at the strangers. +</P> + +<P> +They drove home in the evening sunlight between the orchards, where the +apples hung heavy on the trees, Mademoiselle Viré talking in her happy +way as usual, entertaining Barbara with tales of what she had seen and +heard. But when they drew up at her door, and the girl helped her out, +she looked anxiously into her friend's face. Had it been too tiring +for her? +</P> + +<P> +"You are thinking I may be tired!" the old lady said, smiling at her. +"Then I will tell you, my dear. I am just tired enough to go to bed +and have dreams, happy dreams. When one is so old, one is so near the +end of memory, so near the beginning of realities, that the former +ceases to be sad. I thank you for the pleasure you have given +Jeannette and myself, it will last us long; and now, good-night." +</P> + +<P> +She kissed her, and Barbara turned back to the pony chaise. +</P> + +<P> +"For her sake," she said softly to herself, "one would like the +realities to begin soon." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap18"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AUNT ANNE AGAIN. +</H3> + +<P> +Barbara had not been so frequently at the bath-house of late, the sea +proving more attractive, and she was therefore surprised one day on +going there to find a new bath-boy. She missed her old plain-faced +friend and wondered what had become of him. "Is he ill?" she asked at +the office on her way out. +</P> + +<P> +The woman pursed up her lips; "No, he is not ill," she said. "But we +found that he was not of the character that we thought." +</P> + +<P> +"But he had been with you some years," Barbara expostulated, for the +boy had confided that fact to her. +</P> + +<P> +"He had, but he had degenerated, we found." +</P> + +<P> +A dreadful doubt seized Barbara that his dismissal might be due to the +help he had given her in Alice's escape, and in that case she would be +partly responsible for him. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you kindly give me his address?" she said, turning back again to +the office. The woman looked doubtful, and said she was not sure if +she had it. +</P> + +<P> +"I think if he has been with you several years, you must surely know +where he lives," Barbara persisted; and seeing her determined look, the +woman apparently thought it would be the quickest way to get rid of +her, and did as she was asked. Barbara repeated the name of the street +and the number once or twice as she went out, and wondered how she +should begin to find her way there, though consoling herself by +thinking it was not the first time she had hunted up unknown addresses +successfully since she had come to France. +</P> + +<P> +It was very hot, and for a moment she hesitated, wondering whether she +would not put off her search till another time; then she decided it was +her duty to look the boy up at once. Asking a kindly postman if he +could direct her to the address, she found that the house was in one of +the streets near the quays. Though rather a long way off, it was not +difficult to find, and once found it was not easily forgotten, for the +smells were mingled and many. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara wandered down between the high old houses, looking at the +numbers—when she could see them—and finally found the one she sought. +She had not to wait long after knocking, and the door was opened by the +bath-boy himself, who stared at her in astonishment. +</P> + +<P> +"Ma'm'selle?" he said doubtfully, as if uncertain whether she were a +messenger of ill omen or not. +</P> + +<P> +"I have come to call," Barbara explained. "May I please come in?" +</P> + +<P> +His face broadened into the familiar grin, and he shuffled down the +passage before her, wearing the same heelless list slippers that had +first attracted Barbara's attention to him in the bath-house. The room +he took her into smelt fresh and clean, and indeed was half full of +clean clothes of all descriptions. +</P> + +<P> +"My mother is <I>blanchisseuse</I>," the boy said, lifting a heap of +pinafores from a chair. "I am desolated that she is out." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Guillaume, will you please tell me why you were sent away from +the bath-house?" +</P> + +<P> +Guillaume looked uncomfortable, and moved his foot in and out of his +slipper. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, ma'm'selle—I was dismissed. They said it was my character, but +that is quite good. I do not drink, nor lie, nor steal; my mother was +always a good bringer up." +</P> + +<P> +"Then was it because of helping the English lady to escape? Was it +that, Guillaume?" The boy swung his slipper dexterously to and fro on +his bare toes. +</P> + +<P> +"It was doubtless that, ma'm'selle, for it was after the visit of the +lady she belonged to that I was dismissed. My mother warned me at the +time. 'It is unwise,' she said, 'for such as you to play thus.' But +the little English lady looked so sad." +</P> + +<P> +"I <I>am</I> sorry, Guillaume. I do wish it had not happened." +</P> + +<P> +"So do we, ma'm'selle," said the boy simply, "for my mother, who is +<I>blanchisseuse</I>, has lost some customers since then, too, and I cannot +get anything here. To-morrow I go to St. Malo or Paramé to try—but +they are much farther away. Yet we must have money to keep the little +Hélène. She is so beautiful and so tender." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is Hélène?" inquired Barbara; and at the question the boy's face +glowed with pride and pleasure. +</P> + +<P> +"I will bring her to you, ma'm'selle; she is now in the garden. She is +with me while I am at home." +</P> + +<P> +He shuffled off, and returned in a few minutes with a little girl in +his arms: so pretty a child that Barbara marvelled at the contrast +between them. +</P> + +<P> +"She is not like me, hein?" he asked, laughing. "Hélène, greet the +lady," and Barbara held out both hands to the little girl, who, after a +long stare, ran across to her. In amusing her and being herself +amused, Barbara forgot the reason of her visit, and only remembered it +when the little girl asked her brother suddenly if he would fetch her a +roll that evening. +</P> + +<P> +The boy looked uncomfortable. "Not to-night," he hastened to say, "but +the mama, she will bring you something to-night for supper. I used to +bring her a white roll on my way home from the baths," he explained to +Barbara. +</P> + +<P> +"May I give her one to-night?" the girl asked quickly, putting her hand +into her pocket. "I would like to." +</P> + +<P> +But the boy shook his head. "No, no, the mama would not like it—the +first time you were in the house. Some other time, if ma'm'selle does +us the honour to come again." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course I will. I want to see how you get on at St. Malo or +Paramé," she said, "and whether Hélène's doll gets better from the +measles." +</P> + +<P> +"Or whether she grows wings," put in Hélène in waving her hand in +farewell. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara was very thoughtful on her way back, and before reaching the +house, she had determined to give up her riding for the present. One +more excursion she would have, in which to say good-bye to Monsieur +Pirenne, who had been very kind to her; but it seemed rather selfish to +use up any more of the liberal fund which her aunt had supplied her +with for that purpose. After all, it was hard that the bath-boy, +through her fault, could not even supply his little sister with rolls +for her supper. +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Thérèse was somewhat surprised at the sudden decision, and +perhaps a little annoyed by it, for she had grown accustomed to the +trips to Dinard, and would miss them greatly. Monsieur Pirenne was +also disturbed, because he feared "Mademoiselle had grown tired of his +<I>manège</I>." Barbara assured him to the contrary, and tried to satisfy +them both with explanations which were as satisfactory as such can be +when they are not the real ones. As to connecting the girl's visits to +the ex-bath-boy—which Mademoiselle Thérèse thought were due merely to +a passing whim—and the cessation of rides, she never dreamed of such a +thing. +</P> + +<P> +The result of the boy's inquiries at St. Malo and Paramé were fruitless +at first, and Barbara had paid several visits, and was beginning to +feel almost as anxious as the mother and son themselves before the boy +succeeded in his search. But one afternoon when she arrived she found +him beaming with happiness, having found at least a temporary job at +Paramé, and one which probably would become permanent. +</P> + +<P> +"That news," she said, shaking the boy's hand warmly in congratulation, +"will send me home quite light-hearted." +</P> + +<P> +But somehow, though she was honestly glad, it did not make her feel as +happy as it should have done, and she thought the road back had never +seemed so long, nor the sun so hot. She would gladly have missed her +evening lesson and supper, but she feared that of the two evils +Mademoiselle Thérèse's questions would probably be the worse. Indeed, +when in the best of health, that lady's conversation was apt to be +wearisome, but when one felt—as Barbara had for the past few +days—that bed was the only satisfactory place, and <I>that</I> even harder +than it used to be, then mademoiselle's chatter became a penance not +easily borne. +</P> + +<P> +"You are getting tired of us, and beginning to want home," the +Frenchwoman said in rather offended tones two days later, when Barbara +declined to go with her to Dol. "I am sorry we have not been able to +amuse you sufficiently well." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, that isn't it at all," Barbara assured her. "It is just that I +have never known such hot weather before, and it makes me disinclined +for things." +</P> + +<P> +"You are looking whitish, but that is because you have been staying in +the house too much lately. Dol would do you good and cheer you up." +</P> + +<P> +"Another time," the girl pleaded. "I think I won't go to-day," and the +lady left her with a shrug, and the remark that she would not go +either. She was evidently annoyed, and Barbara wondered what she +should do to atone for it; but later in the day she had a visit that +drove the thoughts of Dol from both her mind and mademoiselle's. +</P> + +<P> +She was sitting in her room trying to read, and wondering why she could +not understand the paragraph, though she had read it three or four +times, when Mademoiselle Thérèse came running in excitedly to say there +were two American gentlemen downstairs in the <I>salon</I> to see her—one +old, one young. "Mr. Morton," was the name on the card. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, it must be the American pretender!" cried Barbara; who, seeing +her companion's look of surprise, added hastily, "the elder one used to +know my Aunt Anne, and they have both been in Paris; it was the younger +one who helped Alice Meynell there." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, indeed, I must descend and inquire after her," said mademoiselle +joyfully. "I will just run and make my toilet again. In the +meanwhile, do you go down and entertain them till I come." +</P> + +<P> +But Barbara was already out of the room, for she thought she would like +to have a few minutes conversation before Mademoiselle Thérèse came in, +as there might not be much opportunity afterwards. +</P> + +<P> +"How nice of you to call on me," she said, as she entered the <I>salon</I>. +"I was just longing for one of the English-speaking race." +</P> + +<P> +The elder Mr. Morton was tall and thin, with something in his carriage +that suggested a military upbringing; his hair and eyes gray, the +latter very like his nephew's grown sad. +</P> + +<P> +"The place does not suit you?" the elder man inquired, looking at her +face. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, yes, I think so; it is just very hot at present." +</P> + +<P> +"Like the day you tried to ride to Dol," the nephew remarked, wondering +if it were only the ride that had given her so much more colour the +first time he had seen her, and the sea breeze that had reddened her +cheeks the last time. +</P> + +<P> +But there were so many things the girl was anxious to hear about, that +she did not allow the conversation to lapse to herself or the weather +again before Mademoiselle Thérèse, arrayed in her best, made her +appearance. She at once seized upon the younger man, and began to pour +out questions about Alice. +</P> + +<P> +"You need not fear any bad results," Mr. Morton said to Barbara. "My +nephew is very discreet;" and Barbara, hearing scraps of the +conversation, thought he was not only discreet but lawyer-like in his +replies. +</P> + +<P> +The visit was not a very long one, Mr. Morton declining an invitation +to supper that evening, with promises to come some other time. But +before they went, he seized a moment when Barbara's attention was +engaged by his nephew to say something that his hostess rather resented. +</P> + +<P> +"The young lady does not look so well as I had imagined she would. I +suppose her health is quite good at present?" +</P> + +<P> +"She has complained of nothing," Mademoiselle Thérèse returned, +bridling. "Why should she be ill? The food is excellent and abundant, +and we do everything imaginable for the comfort of our inmates." +</P> + +<P> +"I am sure you do, madame," he replied, bowing. "I shall have the +pleasure of calling upon you again, I hope, before long. As I knew +Miss Britton it is natural for me to take an interest in her niece when +in a foreign land. Your aunt, I suppose, is now in England?" he added +casually to Barbara. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes—staying with us for a day or two; but I hope she will come here +before I go, and we could make an excursion on our way home." +</P> + +<P> +"That would be pleasant for both, I am sure," Mr. Morton replied, +taking a ceremonious leave of Mademoiselle Thérèse, and a simple, +though warmer one of Barbara. The young man said little in parting, +but as soon as they were in the street he laid his hand hurriedly on +his uncle's arm. +</P> + +<P> +"The girl is ill, uncle, I am sure of it; she is not like the same +person I met before; and that Mademoiselle Thérèse would drive me crazy +if I weren't feeling up to the mark." +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt; what a tongue the woman has! But what do you want to do, +Denys, for, of course, you have made up your mind to do something?" +</P> + +<P> +Denys frowned. "Of course I don't want to seem interfering, but I +won't say anything at home in case of frightening her mother. But——" +he paused and looked up at his uncle—"do you think it would seem +impertinent to write to the aunt? She might come a little sooner, +perhaps, and, being at Mrs. Britton's, could use her judgment about +telling her or not." +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Morton pondered, his mind not wholly on the girl whom they had just +left; then remembering his nephew he brought his thoughts down to the +present. "I should risk the impertinence if I were you, Denys. But +what about the address?" +</P> + +<P> +"I know the village and the county," Denys said eagerly. "I should +think that would find her. I will do it when I get back." +</P> + +<P> +But it proved more difficult to write than he imagined, and it was some +time before—having succeeded to his satisfaction—he brought the +letter to his uncle for criticism. It ran thus:— +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"DEAR MADAM,—I am afraid you may think it rather impertinent on my +part to write to you, but I hope you will forgive that, and my apparent +interference. I am Denys Morton, whom your niece met some time ago on +the way to Dol, and, as my uncle and I were passing this way in +returning from a little tour, we called on Miss Britton, and both +thought her looking ill. The doctor here is, I believe, quite good, +but Mademoiselle Thérèse, though doubtless a worthy lady, would, to me, +be rather trying in time of illness. I should not write to you, but I +fear Miss Britton will not, being unwilling to worry you or any of +those at home. My uncle made a suggestion on the matter to +Mademoiselle Thérèse, which was not very much liked by that lady, +therefore he thought I might write you. He asks me—if you still +remember him as a 'past acquaintance'—to give you his regards. +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"Hoping you will forgive my officiousness. +<BR><BR> +"Yours truly,<BR> +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1em">"DENYS MORTON."</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"That is quite passable," Mr. Morton said when he had read it. "I +think you will hardly give offence. I wonder if she remembers me?" +</P> + +<P> +"She could hardly help doing that," and Denys nodded affectionately at +his uncle. "But I shall be much happier when this letter arrives at +its destination. The address is not very exact. However, we will see, +and we can call again to-morrow—it would be kind, don't you think, to +one of our 'kith,' so to speak, and in a foreign land?" +</P> + +<P> +The uncle smiled. "It would be kind, as you say, Denys, so we will do +it." +</P> + +<P> +But when they called the following afternoon they were told that Miss +Britton was in bed and Mademoiselle Thérèse engaged. As a matter of +fact, she was in the midst of composing a letter to Mrs. Britton, for +when Barbara had said as carelessly as she could, that she would stay +in bed just for one day, Mademoiselle Thérèse, remembering her +visitor's "remarks the previous afternoon, had taken alarm and sent for +the doctor, and now thought it would be wiser to write to Mrs. Britton. +Having wasted a good many sheets of paper, and murmured the letter over +several times to herself, she sought her sister out. +</P> + +<P> +"Listen," she said proudly, "I think I have succeeded admirably in +telling Mrs. Britton the truth and yet not alarming her, at the same +time showing her that by my knowledge of her language I am not unfitted +to teach others." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"HONOURED MADAM,—I am permitting myself to write to you about your +dear daughter, who has entwined herself much into our hearts. There +are now some few days she has seemed a little indisposed, and at last +we succeeded in persuading her to retire to bed, and called in the +worthy and most respectable, not to say gifted, family doctor who gives +us his attention in times of illness. He expressed his opinion that it +was a species of low fever, what the dear young lady had contracted, +out of the kindness of her good heart, in visiting in time of sickness +the small sister of the bath-boy (a profession which you do not have in +England)—— +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"That shows my knowledge of their customs, you see," the reader could +not refrain from interpolating; then she continued with a flourish— +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"and the daughter of a worthy <I>blanchisseuse</I>, who is in every respect +very clean and orderly, therefore we thought to be trusted with the +presence of your daughter, but whom, in the future, we will urge the +advisability of leaving unvisited." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Mademoiselle paused a moment for breath, for the sentence was a long +one, and she had rolled it out with enjoyment. "Of course," she said +to her sister, "I have not yet visited the house of this +<I>blanchisseuse</I>, but I inquired if it was clean, and, would not have +allowed the girl to go if the report had not been favourable; but to +continue— +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"Your daughter, in the excellence of her heart, would not, perhaps, +desire to rouse your anxieties by mentioning her indisposition, but we +felt it incumbent upon us, in whose charge she lies, to inform her +relatives, and, above all, her devoted mother. +<BR><BR> +"With affectuous regards,<BR> +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1em">"Yours respectably,</SPAN><BR> +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 2em">"THÉRÈSE LOIRÉ."</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"There!" exclaimed the writer in conclusion. "Do you not think that is +a fine letter?" +</P> + +<P> +Her sister shrugged her shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +"Probably it is, but you forget I cannot understand English. But pray +do not trouble to translate it," she added hastily; "I quite believe it +is all that you say." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, you may believe that," and Mademoiselle Thérèse closed the +envelope. "I think it will make an impression." +</P> + +<P> +In that belief she was perfectly right, and perhaps it was a fortunate +thing that Aunt Anne was there to help to remove the impression; for, +that lady having already had Denys Morton's letter, was prepared for +this one, and was glad she had been able to tell the news in her own +way to her sister-in-law the day before. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't look so scared, Lucy," she said. "I don't suppose there is +anything much amiss, though I shall just pack up and go at once. What +an irritating woman this must be—quite enough to make any one ill if +she talks as she writes." +</P> + +<P> +With characteristic promptitude Miss Britton began to make her +preparations immediately, and only halted over them once, and that was +when she hesitated about packing a dress that had just come home, which +she said was ridiculously young for her. +</P> + +<P> +"It will get very crushed," she muttered discontentedly. "But then—— +Oh, well, I might as well put it in," and in it went. Mrs. Britton +hovered anxiously about her, and watched her proceedings wistfully. +</P> + +<P> +"You don't think I should go too, do you, Anne?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Not at present, certainly," Miss Britton returned promptly, regarding +her with her head on one side. "I promise I will let you know exactly +how things are, and whether you would be better there. I would say +'Don't worry' if I thought it were the least good, but, of course, you +will." +</P> + +<P> +Then she stooped and fastened a strap of her trunk. "It was a most +sensible thing of the young Morton to write straight away, and, +probably, if they are there, they will be quite sure to see Barbara has +all she wants—the uncle always was a kind-hearted man." +</P> + +<P> +Then she straightened her back and declared everything was ready. +</P> + +<P> +She crossed by night from Southampton to St. Malo, and was greatly +afraid that she would arrive "looking a wreck," and, to prevent that +she partook largely of a medicine she had seen advertised as a "certain +cure for sea-sickness." Her surprise equalled her delight when she +awoke in the morning, having slept peacefully all night, and she +refused to believe that her good night was probably owing to the +calmness of the sea and not to the medicine. +</P> + +<P> +She looked with a little dismay at the shouting, pushing crowd of +porters and hotel touts waiting on the quay, wondering how she would +manage to keep hold of her bag among them all, and, as she crossed the +gangway, clutched it more tightly than before. +</P> + +<P> +"No," she said, as some one took hold of it as soon as her foot touched +the quay. "You shall not take my bag—I would not trust it to any one +of you. You should be ashamed of yourselves, screaming like wild +Indians." +</P> + +<P> +It was just then that Denys Morton and his uncle came through the +crowd. "That is she—there," the elder man said, recognising her after +fourteen years. "Go and help; I will wait here." +</P> + +<P> +It was at a crucial moment, when Miss Britton was really getting +exasperated and rather desperate, that the young man came up, and she +accepted his assistance and explanation with relief. +</P> + +<P> +"My uncle is down here," he said. "We have a <I>fiacre</I> waiting. There +is always such a crush and rout on the quay, we thought we had better +come to pilot you through." +</P> + +<P> +The young man, in spite of his easy bearing, had been a little anxious +as to how the two would meet again, and dreaded lest there might be +some embarrassment. But beyond an air of shyness that sat strangely on +both, and a kind of amused wonder at meeting after so many years, there +was nothing to show that they had been more than mere acquaintances, +and the talk centred chiefly on Barbara. +</P> + +<P> +"She does not know you are coming yet," Denys said. "Mademoiselle +Thérèse got your telegram, but said it would be better not to tell your +niece in case the ship went down on the way!" +</P> + +<P> +"What a cheerful person to live with!" Miss Britton ejaculated. "I'm +afraid I may be very rude to her." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope not," Mr. Morton said. "It would do no good, and she seems to +be an excellent lady in many ways." +</P> + +<P> +"We shall see!" Miss Britton replied grimly, getting out of the +<I>fiacre</I>; and Denys felt rather sorry for Mademoiselle Thérèse. +</P> + +<P> +But Miss Britton was often worse in imagination than in reality, and +she behaved with all due politeness to both the sisters, who met her at +the door, and led her into the <I>salon</I>. She even bore a certain amount +of Mademoiselle Thérèse's explanations with patience, then she got up. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, well, I would rather hear all that afterwards, mademoiselle, and +if I may just take off my hat and coat I will go straight up to my +niece. I had breakfast on board." +</P> + +<P> +A few minutes later Aunt Anne opened Barbara's door and entered, a +little doubtful lest her sudden appearance might not be bad for her +niece, but thinking it could not be much worse than a preparation "by +that foolish woman." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara was lying with her back to the door, but something different in +the step made her turn round, and she sprang up in bed. +</P> + +<P> +"Aunt Anne! Aunt Anne!" and dropping her face into the pillow began to +cry. +</P> + +<P> +Aunt Anne stood a moment in doubt. It was such a rare thing to see any +of "the family" cry that she was startled—but not for long; then she +crossed the room and began to comfort her niece. +</P> + +<P> +"It was dreadfully foolish of me," the girl said after a while, "but it +was <I>so</I> nice to see you again. Mademoiselle Thérèse is very kind, +but—she creaks about, you know, and—and fusses, and it is a little +trying to have foreigners about when you are—out of sorts." +</P> + +<P> +"Trying! She would drive me distracted. Indeed, if I had only her to +nurse me I should die just to get rid of her!" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, she's not quite so bad as <I>that</I>," Barbara returned. "She has +been very kind indeed, aunt, and is a very good teacher; and you get +used to her, you know." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps. But now I'll just tell you how they are at home. Then you +must be quiet, and, as I crossed in the night, I shall be glad of a +rest too. I can stay in here quietly beside you." +</P> + +<P> +Miss Britton having had a little experience in sickness, saw that, +though probably there was no need for anxiety, Barbara was certainly +<I>ill</I>. She felt more reassured after she had seen the doctor, who she +allowed "seemed sensible enough for a Frenchman," and wrote her +sister-in-law a cheery letter, saying the girl had probably been doing +too much, and had felt the strain of the affair of the "solicitor" more +than they had realised. +</P> + +<P> +"The doctor says it is a kind of low fever," she told the Mortons; "but +<I>I</I> say, heat, smells, and fussiness." +</P> + +<P> +After a few days' experience, she owned that the Loirés were certainly +not lacking in kindness, but still she did not care to stay there very +long; and she told Denys Morton that she had never been so polite, +under provocation, in her life before. The uncle and nephew, who had +not yet moved on, did not speak of continuing their travels for the +present, and Miss Britton was very glad to know they were in the town. +</P> + +<P> +One of Barbara's regrets was that she had missed seeing the meeting +between Mr. Morton and her aunt, and that she was perhaps keeping the +latter from enjoying as much of his company as she might otherwise have +done. There were many things she wanted to do with Miss Britton when +allowed to get up, but in the meanwhile she had to content herself with +talking about them. She was much touched by the attention of +Mademoiselle Viré, who sent round by Jeannette wonderful home-made +dainties that, as Barbara explained to her aunt, "she ought to have +been eating herself." +</P> + +<P> +A fortnight after Miss Britton's arrival Barbara was allowed to go +downstairs, and, after having once been out, her health came back "like +a swallow's flight," as Mademoiselle Thérèse poetically, though a +little ambiguously, described it. She and her aunt spent as much time +out of doors as possible, going for so many excursions that Barbara +began to know the country round quite well; but, though many of the +drives were beautiful, none seemed to equal the one she had had with +Mademoiselle Viré, which was a thing apart. +</P> + +<P> +They drove to La Guimorais again one afternoon, and on their return the +girl told Denys Morton, who had been with them, the story of the +<I>manoir</I>. He was silent for a little at the close, then, as if it had +suggested another story to his mind, he looked towards where his uncle +and Miss Britton were walking up and down. +</P> + +<P> +"I would give anything—almost anything, at least—that he might be +happy now; he has had a great deal of the other thing in the past," he +said. +</P> + +<P> +"So would I," Barbara agreed. "You know, I couldn't quite understand +it before, but I do now. When you're ill—or supposed to be—you see +quite another side of Aunt Anne and one that she doesn't always show. +Of course, your uncle is just splendid. I can't understand how aunt +could have been so silly." +</P> + +<P> +Denys laughed softly, then grew grave, and when they spoke again it was +of other things, for both felt that it was a subject that must be +touched with no rough, everyday fingers. "They would hate to have it +discussed," was the thought in the mind of each. But the story of +Mademoiselle Viré, and all that he had heard about her, made Denys wish +to see her, and as Aunt Anne felt it a duty to call there before +leaving St. Servan, Barbara took them all in turns, and was delighted +because her old friend made a conquest of each one. Even Miss Britton, +who did not as a rule like French people, told her niece she was glad +she had not missed this visit. +</P> + +<P> +As neither Mademoiselle Viré nor Miss Britton knew the other's +language, the interview had been rather amusing, and Barbara's powers +as interpreter had been taxed to the uttermost, more especially as she +felt anxious to do her part well so as to please both ladies. When +Mademoiselle Viré saw that her pretty remarks were not understood, she +said gracefully— +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! I see that, as I am unfortunate enough to know no English, +madame, I can only use the language of the eyes." +</P> + +<P> +Barbara translated the remark with fear and trembling, afraid that her +aunt would look grim as she did when she thought people were talking +humbug, but instead, she had bidden Barbara reply that Mademoiselle +Viré would probably be as far beyond her in elegance in that language +as in her own; and the girl thought that to draw such a speech from her +aunt's lips was indeed a triumph. +</P> + +<P> +The lady certainly did smile at the inscription Mademoiselle Viré wrote +on the fly-leaf of a book of poems she was giving the girl, and which, +Miss Britton declared, was like an inscription on a tombstone— +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"A Mademoiselle Barbara Britton,<BR> +<I>Connue trop tard, perdue trop tôt.</I>"<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +But she did not laugh when she heard what the little lady had said on +Barbara's last visit. +</P> + +<P> +"We are of different faiths, <I>mon amie</I>, but you will not mind if I put +up a prayer for you sometimes. It can do you no harm, and if we do not +meet here again, perhaps the good God will let us make music together +up yonder." +</P> + +<P> +Miss Britton fixed the day of departure as soon as Barbara was ready +for the journey, proposing to go home in easy stages by Rouen and +Dieppe, so that they might see the churches of which Mr. Morton had +talked so much. The uncle and nephew had just come from that town, and +were now returning to Paris, and thence, Denys thought, to England. +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle Thérèse was "desolated" to hear that Barbara's visit was +really drawing to a close, and assured her aunt that a few more months +would make Barbara a "perfect speaker; for I have never known one of +your nation of such talent in our language," she declared. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course that isn't true," Miss Britton said coolly to Barbara +afterwards, "though I think you have been diligent, and both +Mademoiselle Viré and the queer little man next door say you speak +fairly well." +</P> + +<P> +The "queer little man next door" asked them both in to supper before +they went, to show Miss Britton, he said, what a Frenchman could do in +the cooking line. Barbara had some little difficulty in persuading her +aunt to go, though she relented at last, and the experience was +certainly very funny, though pathetic enough too. He and his sons +could talk very little English, and again Barbara had to play +interpreter, or correct the mistakes they made in English, which was +equally difficult. +</P> + +<P> +They had decorated the table gaily, and the father and son both looked +so hot, that Barbara was sure they had spent a long time over the +cooking. The first item was a soup which the widower had often spoken +of as being made better by himself than by many a <I>chef</I>, and consisted +of what seemed to Barbara a kind of beef-tea with pieces of bread +floating in it. But on this occasion the bread seemed to have swelled +to tremendous proportions, and absorbed the soup so that there was +hardly anything but what seemed damp, swollen rolls! Aunt Anne, +Barbara declared afterwards, was magnificent, and plodded her way +through bread sponges flavoured with soup, assuring the distressed cook +that it was really quite remarkable "potage," and that she had never +tasted anything like it before—all of which, of course, was perfectly +true. +</P> + +<P> +The chicken, which came next, was cooked very well, only it had been +stuffed with sage and onions, and Monsieur said, with pride, that they +had thought it would be nice to give Mademoiselle Britton and her niece +<I>one</I> English dish, in case they did not like the other things! It was +during this course that Barbara's gravity was a little tried, not so +much because of the idea of chicken with sage and onions, as because of +the stolidity of her aunt's expression—the girl knowing that if there +was one thing that lady was particular about, it was the correct +cooking of poultry. +</P> + +<P> +There were various other items on the menu, and it was so evident that +their host and his eldest son had taken a great deal of trouble over +the preparation of the meal, that the visitors were really touched, and +did their best to show their appreciation of the attentions paid them. +In that they were successful, and when they left the house the widower +and his sons were wreathed in smiles. But when they had got to a safe +distance Aunt Anne exclaimed, "What a silly man not to keep a servant!" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, but aunt," Barbara explained, "he thinks he could not manage a +servant, and he is really most devoted to his children." +</P> + +<P> +"It's all nonsense about the servant," Miss Britton retorted. "How can +a man keep house?" +</P> + +<P> +Nevertheless, when Mademoiselle Loiré began to question her rather +curiously as to the dinner, she said they had been entertained very +nicely, and that monsieur must be an extremely clever man to manage +things so well. +</P> + +<P> +One other visit Barbara made before leaving St. Servan, and that was to +say good-bye to the bath-boy. It had needed some persuasion on her +part to gain her aunt's permission for this visit. +</P> + +<P> +"But, aunt, dear," Barbara said persuasively, "he helped me with Alice, +and lost his place because of it. It would be so <I>very</I> unkind to go +away without seeing how they are getting on." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I suppose you must go, but if I had known what a capacity you +had for getting entangled in such plots, Barbara, really I should have +been afraid to trust you alone here. It was time I came out to put +matters right." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, aunt," Barbara agreed sedately, but with a twinkle in her eyes, +"I really think it was," and she went to get ready for her visit to the +bath-boy. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap19"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE END OF THE STORY. +</H3> + +<P> +When the day for parting came Barbara found that it cost her many pangs +to leave them all—Mademoiselle Viré first and foremost, and the others +in less degree, for she had grown fond even of Mademoiselle Thérèse. +The latter lady declared she and her household were inconsolable and +"unhappy enough to wear mourning," which remark Barbara took with a +grain of salt, as she did most things that lady said. +</P> + +<P> +But the two sisters and Marie all went to the station to say good-bye, +and each of them kissed her on both cheeks, weeping the while. Barbara +was not very fond of kisses from outsiders in any case, but "weeping +kisses," as she called them, were certainly a trial! What finally +dried Mademoiselle Thérèse's tears was to see the widower and his two +sons entering the station, each carrying a bouquet of flowers. +</P> + +<P> +"So pushing of them," she murmured in Barbara's ear, and turned coldly +upon them; but the girl and her aunt were touched by the kindness, and +the former felt horribly ashamed when she remembered that more than +once in private she had laughed at the quaint little man and his ways. +</P> + +<P> +Barbara heard her aunt muttering something about a "dreadful humbug" +once or twice, but she was very gracious to every one, and smiled upon +them all until the train left the station, when she sank back with an +air of relief and exclaimed, "Thank goodness! That's over—though, of +course, they meant it kindly." +</P> + +<P> +"They are very kind," Barbara said, looking down at the three bouquets +on the seat. "I really don't deserve that they should be so kind." +</P> + +<P> +"Probably not," Miss Britton returned calmly. "We sometimes get more +than our deserts, sometimes less, so perhaps things adjust themselves +in the end. I was really rather astonished not to see the bath-boy at +the station too—your acquaintance seems so varied." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I have learned a great deal since I went there," Barbara said +thoughtfully; "and just at the end I felt I didn't want to come away at +all." +</P> + +<P> +"I have no such feelings," her aunt remarked, though, perhaps, a little +thoughtfully also. But when they arrived at Rouen, the remembrance of +their pleasant time in Paris returned to them, and they both felt ready +for the delights of seeing a new town. +</P> + +<P> +Apart from the information given by the Mortons Barbara felt already +familiar with the great churches and quaint streets, and for her Rouen +never quite lost the halo of romance that Mademoiselle Viré had endowed +it with. +</P> + +<P> +It was to be connected with yet another story of the past, however, +before they left it, one which, for romance, was fully equal to +Mademoiselle Viré's, though its conclusion was so much happier. +</P> + +<P> +It was the second day of their stay, and after a morning of wandering +about the town, both Barbara and her aunt were resting, the former on +the balcony in front of her room, the latter on the terrace in the +garden. Although a book was in her lap, Barbara was not reading, but, +with hands clasped behind her head, was idly watching the passers-by, +when suddenly laziness vanished from her attitude, and her gaze became +intent on the figure of some one who had just turned into the portico +of the hotel. She rose from the low chair, her eyes shining with +excitement. +</P> + +<P> +"It certainly was he!" she said. "Now, Barbara—it is time for you to +eliminate yourself—you must lie on the couch and try to look pale." +</P> + +<P> +She pulled down the window blind, ran into her room, and had hardly +settled herself upon the couch when, as she had expected, a maid came +up with a message asking her to go down to the terrace. +</P> + +<P> +"Please tell Miss Britton I have a headache, and am lying down for a +little," Barbara said, congratulating herself upon the possession of +what had annoyed her considerably a short time before, though in an +ordinary way she would have scoffed at the idea of lying down for a +headache. A few minutes afterwards up came her aunt, looking very +concerned, and fearing lest they had been doing too much. Barbara's +heart smote her, but she told herself that she must be firm. +</P> + +<P> +"I sent for you to come to see Mr. Morton, senior," Aunt Anne +explained. "Strangely enough, he arrived this morning in Rouen, and +has put up at another hotel." +</P> + +<P> +"How nice. How very nice! I shall come down later, aunt. I expect I +shall be <I>quite</I> all right shortly." +</P> + +<P> +She had a little difficulty in persuading her aunt that it was not +necessary to stay beside her, but at last succeeded in doing so, and +gave a chuckle of joy when the door closed. +</P> + +<P> +She had intended to go down to the garden later on, but, strange to +say, fell fast asleep, and did not awaken until the man tapped at her +door, saying the tea had been ordered for four o'clock, but now, +although it was half-past, madame had not returned, having gone along +the river bank, he believed, with monsieur. So Barbara hastily +descended and had tea—very much brewed—all by herself, and then +returned to her room to read. +</P> + +<P> +She had finished her book, and was thinking of getting ready for +dinner, when Aunt Anne came in—quite a different Aunt Anne from the +one she knew, with all her decision fled. She fidgeted about for some +time, saying nothing of importance, then at last turned round and began +hastily— +</P> + +<P> +"I did a very silly thing once long ago, Barbara, and to-day I have +done what I am afraid people may think still sillier—I have promised +to marry Mr. Morton." +</P> + +<P> +Whereupon Barbara seized her rapturously. "Oh, aunt," she cried, "I'm +so glad, just gladder than of anything else I could have heard." +</P> + +<P> +"It—it is a great relief, Barbara," she said unsteadily, "to have you +take it so. I—was afraid you might laugh. You know, it needs some +courage for a person of my age to do a thing like that. It is +different for a girl like you, but I could not have done it, had I not +felt that since he desired it so urgently, I ought to right the wrong I +had done him long ago." +</P> + +<P> +"You can't help being very happy, aunt," said Barbara, "I'm sure, with +such a nice man as Mr. Morton. The only regret <I>I</I> have is that you've +lost so much of the time——" +</P> + +<P> +Then, seeing her aunt's face, she felt inclined to strike herself for +having spoken foolishly. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Morton is in the garden," her aunt said after a moment. "It would +be nice if you went down and saw him." And Barbara sped away. +</P> + +<P> +That interview was apparently entirely satisfactory, for Miss Britton, +enjoining them later, found Barbara had just issued an invitation in +her mother's name and that it had been accepted. "And, of course, you +will come too, aunt," the girl added. +</P> + +<P> +There was one part in the arrangements that Barbara begged to be left +to her, and that was the letter home telling the news. +</P> + +<P> +"You see, Aunt Anne," she said, "I naturally feel as if I had rather a +big share in the matter." +</P> + +<P> +"I think surely it was Denys Morton's letter that brought me," Miss +Britton corrected; "but write if you like, Barbara." And, indeed, she +was rather glad to be relieved from the responsibility. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap20"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CODA. +</H3> + +<P> +If Barbara had been at home when her letter arrived, she would have +been quite content with the excitement it caused. At first Frances and +Donald were inclined to think it a huge joke, but having read to the +end of Barbara's letter they felt rather differently. Aunt Anne had +acted more wisely than she knew in allowing her niece to be the one to +write and tell of her engagement. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course," Donald said in his decided way, "we must do the proper +thing by her and treat her nicely—for after all, Frances, she's been +rather a brick about Barbara—and the last time she stayed she was much +improved." +</P> + +<P> +"It'll be interesting having a new uncle too," Frances remarked +complacently. "We're rather badly off for uncles, Don, and from what +Barbara says this Mr. Morton must be very—nice, though, of course, +Barbara isn't quite to be trusted, seeing she's such a friend of +Denys'. Let me see, now, what relation will <I>he</I> be to us?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, don't bother about relationships at present—you may just have to +rearrange them again," Donald said impatiently. "Let's go and be +thinking of something to welcome Barbara back." +</P> + +<P> +On that matter they held a long consultation, Donald being in favour of +taking the horse out of the fly and drawing it home themselves, and +Frances inclining more to wreaths and decoration. +</P> + +<P> +She got her way in the end, as she pointed out to her brother that the +cabman would probably not allow them to take the horse out, and that +they would have to pay for it all the same, and worst of all, that they +would be so much out of breath with pulling that they would not be able +to ask any questions when they got home. It was probably the last +reason that weighed the most with Donald, who agreed to devote his +energies to making an archway over the garden path and setting off some +fireworks in the evening. +</P> + +<P> +On the whole, the arch was quite a success, and looked very pretty, +though it was not so secure as it might have been, and its makers felt +it safer to fasten to it a large label with the inscription, "Not to be +handled." +</P> + +<P> +The travellers were not to arrive till late in the afternoon, and poor +Mrs. Britton was driven nearly distracted by the intense excitement +pervading among the children during the morning. One of the twins had +actually suggested putting on her best frock the night before so as to +be quite ready on the following day. +</P> + +<P> +It is seldom that such an eagerly-expected event is not disappointing +in some detail of its fulfilment, but there was not a shade upon the +happiness on this occasion. Barbara and Miss Britton arrived at the +right time, <I>with</I> their luggage; the archway remained firm until both +the travellers had passed underneath (though it collapsed shortly +afterwards); and the fireworks were as successful as such things +usually are. It is true that Donald was a trifle hurried over +displaying them, for Barbara was as anxious to unpack the treasures she +had brought home as the children were to see them. +</P> + +<P> +"You are still a <I>little</I> thin, dear," Mrs. Britton said, as she +watched her daughter; but Barbara declared it was imagination, and +Donald and Frances gave it as their opinion that it was only the +"Frenchy kind of look she had." +</P> + +<P> +"You have dressed her in such jolly things, aunt," Frances said +admiringly. "I like a person to come home looking like the country +she's come from, and it'll be a great advantage to her teaching—she'll +get heaps of pupils, I'm sure." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, we'll not talk about the teaching just yet," Mrs. Britton said +quickly. "She must have a week or two free first, and then it will be +time enough for us to think about it;" and to that there was no +dissentient voice—except Barbara's. +</P> + +<P> +Aunt Anne had brought home some treasures too; but was quite willing to +keep hers till later, and the children declared, with round eyes of +delight, that Barbara had brought enough to last for a very long time. +</P> + +<P> +"You really were a brick to bring so many lovely things, Barbara," said +Frances, trying to fix in a brooch with one hand while she stroked a +silk blouse with the other. "This brooch is so pretty, I'm really not +going to lose it, though I can't think how you got enough money to buy +so much." +</P> + +<P> +Miss Britton looked across at her niece, who hastily dived into her +trunk again; but the former confided to her sister-in-law afterwards, +that Barbara had distributed the remainder of the money she had given +her for riding lessons between the bath-boy and presents for the +home-people, which news made Mrs. Britton prize <I>her</I> share of the +treasures more than ever. +</P> + +<P> +The only thing that a little disappointed the children was that "Uncle +Morton" had not arrived too. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a pity he didn't come with you, we're all so anxious to see him," +Frances remarked, looking at her aunt, whom Barbara relieved by +answering in her stead. +</P> + +<P> +"Both Mr. Morton and his nephew are coming soon to the inn," she said, +"so you haven't long to wait." +</P> + +<P> +But their curiosity rose to almost unbearable heights before the +fortnight was over, and Barbara had a little difficulty in making them +solemnly promise that they would not bother their aunt with questions +meanwhile. +</P> + +<P> +Frances and Donald both wished to go to the station to meet the train, +but this their mother forbade. +</P> + +<P> +"You will see them here to-night," she said; "they are coming up to +dinner. Meanwhile, content yourselves with Barbara." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," remarked Donald; "we really didn't realise how much we missed +Barbara until she was back. It's just jolly having her." +</P> + +<P> +Nevertheless, they disappeared suddenly during the afternoon, and did +not return until about an hour before dinner, when they both wore the +half sheepish, half triumphant expression that Barbara knew of old +meant some escapade successfully carried through. Knowing they would +probably tell her what it was, she went on arranging the flowers on the +dinner-table while they fidgeted round the room. +</P> + +<P> +"I say," Donald said at last, "I really think Uncle Morton is one of +the nicest elderly men I've met for some time, perhaps ever." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Frances agreed; "I think so too. He'll be quite an exquisition +as an uncle. But we didn't go to the station," she hastened to add, as +Barbara turned round to listen. "Donald wanted to go up to the inn +this afternoon—at least we both did—to see Mr. Bates about the rabbit +he promised us, and we were talking to him quite comfortably when a +gentleman came and stood at the door looking into the passage." +</P> + +<P> +"'That's an American gentleman as has come to-day with his nephew,' Mr. +Bates remarked, and, of course, we knew it must be Uncle Morton, and we +thought since we <I>were</I> there it would be rather unkind to go away +without ever giving him a welcoming word. Mr. Bates thought so too +when we asked his opinion, so we just went and introduced ourselves, +and told him we were glad to see him, and so on. We saw the nephew +too." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Donald went on, without giving Barbara a chance to speak, "and +as he seemed very glad to see us, and said it was kind of us to look in +on him, of course we stayed a little longer. He's an interesting man." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm glad you like him," Barbara said, bubbling over with laughter. +"I'm sure it must be a relief to him." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Donald nodded, "and to the nephew too. I think we'll be quite +good friends with him. You see, Barbara," he went on, fearing lest she +should feel disapproval about their visit, "it really was better for +them not to have to face us <I>all</I> in a mass. Now they've got <I>us</I> +over—they've only to get mother's approval." +</P> + +<P> +But this remark was altogether too much for Barbara's gravity, and she +drove her brother and sister off to make themselves presentable. +</P> + +<P> +But when their visitors had gone that evening and she was talking in +her mother's room, she told the story of the afternoon again, and they +laughed over it together. +</P> + +<P> +"Conceited little creatures," Mrs. Britton said. "But my judgment +coincides with theirs, Barbara—and yours. I think he is one of the +nicest men I have met, and it is splendid to see them so happy." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Barbara replied contentedly; "it was really rather a happy thing +that I was chased by that cyclist and met the 'American pretender,' +wasn't it, mother?" +</P> + +<P> +"I dare say it was," said Mrs. Britton; but she eyed her daughter +rather wistfully, then kissed her and bade her go to bed, though long +after the girl had left her she sit thinking. It was clear to her, as +it had been to Aunt Anne for some time, that Denys Morton was anxious +to make his uncle Barbara's, by a less round-about method than through +his connection with Aunt Anne; and before a week had passed he had +spoken of his desire, astonishing no one so much as Barbara herself. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course," said Donald, who had gone to his mother for information on +the matter, and was now discussing it in the privacy of the apple-tree +with Frances, "I felt, as eldest son, I ought to be told about it, +though I knew as soon as I saw Denys Morton that he wanted to marry +Barbara." +</P> + +<P> +"He would have been very foolish if he hadn't," Frances remarked. +"But, of course, Barbara is such an unself-conscious kind of person +that it was quite natural <I>she</I> should be surprised. Aunt Anne says +she would choose Denys above every one for Barbara—only, naturally, +she's got a leaning to the family." +</P> + +<P> +Donald nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"So have I, though that's no good if Barbara doesn't want to make up +her mind, and she seems not to. In any case, mother thinks she's too +young, though I should have thought that Aunt Anne kind of balanced +it—being fairly old, you know; and besides, Denys is a lot older than +she is." +</P> + +<P> +"Well," said Frances, "<I>I</I> shall give him all the encouragement I can, +for I think he's very nice. I believe, Donald, that he didn't go to +Rouen just because it's an infectious kind of thing, and he didn't want +to ask Barbara before he had told mother and us——" +</P> + +<P> +"There he is," interrupted Donald. "He looks rather down; let's go and +cheer him up," and the two dropped over the wall into the field that +bordered the garden. They sauntered towards the path leading to the +river, and surprised Denys not a little by suddenly joining him. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-184"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-184.jpg" ALT=""They surprised Denys by suddenly joining him."" BORDER="2" WIDTH="409" HEIGHT="608"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 409px"> +"They surprised Denys by suddenly joining him." +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"I say," Donald began, without giving him time to speak, "I don't think +you need be worried,—I've known Barbara a good long time, and I've +never known her to be so absent-minded before." +</P> + +<P> +To say that Denys was startled is keeping strictly within the limits of +truth, and at first he was not sure whether he felt angry or amused. +But he had grown pretty well accustomed to Donald and Frances by this +time, and after a moment of embarrassment accepted the situation. +"Thank you," he said, "it is kind of you to take an interest in—me." +</P> + +<P> +"Not at all," Frances said graciously, "we think it's really rather +hard lines on you, as, of course we knew all along you wanted to marry +Barbara." +</P> + +<P> +"By jove!" muttered Denys a little helplessly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, of course," Donald put in. "Anybody sensible would want to do +that. If I hadn't been her brother <I>I</I> should have. But though it's +rather rough on you, I think two months' absence in America will just +be the thing for Barbara." +</P> + +<P> +The young man gazed at his youthful adviser, and was so overpowered +that he could think of nothing to say. +</P> + +<P> +"When do you go?" Donald continued. +</P> + +<P> +"Next week. I'm coming back in six weeks—not two months—for my +uncle's wedding," said Denys, finding his voice. +</P> + +<P> +There was a pause, and Frances, seeing from her brother's expression +that he was deep in thought, forbore to make any remark until she saw +him smile, then she said— +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Donald?" +</P> + +<P> +But her brother addressed himself to Denys— +</P> + +<P> +"Considering you've been here a good time now," he said, "you haven't +seen much of the country really. Suppose you came for a long walk on +the moor to-morrow with Frances and me—and Barbara?" +</P> + +<P> +Denys' eyes lighted up. "If Barbara will, I shall be charmed," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"I think she'll come," Donald said cheerfully; and moved by some +persuasion or force Barbara consented, and the four started off across +the moors. +</P> + +<P> +They started together—that was certain—but did not return in the same +manner, for Donald and Frances had got most thoroughly lost, although +as Donald said, with a grin, "he had walked that moor, man and boy, for +the past six years." +</P> + +<P> +But when the two truants returned they did not seem at all cast down by +their misfortune, while Denys certainly came back in a more cheerful +mood than that in which he had set out. +</P> + +<P> +"I think you'll find things all right when you come back again," Donald +whispered on the morning the visitors were to go, and Denys, nodding, +gripped his hand so tightly that the boy winced. +</P> + +<P> +"I think," said Frances, as she watched the carriage disappearing—"I +think, Donald, Aunt Anne ought to be very thankful she was so generous. +She has been rewarded, hasn't she, in finding Uncle Morton?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, virtue has had its reward. But you know, Frances, I think we're +being rather generous too." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes?" Frances said interrogatively. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, the end will be that we lose Barbara, and we haven't raised a +finger to prevent it—on the contrary we've helped—and you know we're +never likely to find another sister like her." +</P> + +<P> +"No, of course not. But all the same a wedding—and I suppose there'll +be two—will make a grand finale like the 'Codas' you have in marches." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. You're really rather poetical, Frances. And perhaps by the time +you're ready for France another aunt will turn up to take you there." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope so, though they can't always expect to find Uncle Mortons as a +reward. But there's time enough to think of that; and at any rate, +Don, I'm going to be bride's-maid at the wedding." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Donald. "And there'll be two wedding cakes running, +Fran—think of that!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Barbara in Brittany, by E. A. Gillie + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARBARA IN BRITTANY *** + +***** This file should be named 22774-h.htm or 22774-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/7/7/22774/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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A. Gillie + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Barbara in Brittany + +Author: E. A. Gillie + +Illustrator: Frank Adams + +Release Date: September 26, 2007 [EBook #22774] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARBARA IN BRITTANY *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Cover artwork] + + + +[Frontispiece: "'The farmer would spare you those, madam.'"] + + + +BARBARA IN BRITTANY + + +E. A. Gillie + + + +[Illustration: Title page artwork] + + + +Illustrated by FRANK ADAMS + + + +LONDON AND GLASGOW + +COLLINS' CLEAR-TYPE PRESS + +1915 + + + + +TO + +MAISIE, MARGARET, AND CUTHBERT, + +IN REMEMBRANCE OF SEPTEMBER 1905. + + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAP. + + I. AUNT ANNE + II. NO. 14 RUE ST. SULPICE + III. A NOCTURNAL ADVENTURE + IV. THE MAN IN BLUE GLASSES + V. GOOD-BYE TO PARIS + VI. THE REVOLT OF TWO + VII. A WILD DRIVE + VIII. MONT ST. MICHEL + IX. MADEMOISELLE VIRE + X. THE "AMERICAN PRETENDER" + XI. BARBARA TURNS PLOTTER + XII. THE PLOT THICKENS + XIII. THE ESCAPE + XIV. A WAYSIDE INN + XV. THE STRIKE + XVI. BARBARA TURNS DETECTIVE + XVII. A MEMORY AND A "MANOIR" + XVIII. AUNT ANNE AGAIN + XIX. THE END OF THE STORY + XX. THE CODA + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Cover artwork + +"'The farmer would spare you those, madam.'" . . . _Frontispiece_ + +Title page artwork + +"Barbara was reading a guide book on Brittany." + +"She glanced over her shoulder at the sea." + +"They surprised Denys by suddenly joining him." + + + + +Barbara in Brittany. + + +CHAPTER I. + +AUNT ANNE. + +Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face. +"Aunt Anne is coming to-morrow, children," she announced. + +"To-morrow!" exclaimed a fair-haired boy, rising from the window-seat. +"Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, +too." + +"Just as we were preparing to have a really exciting time," sighed +Frances, who was her brother's close companion and ally. + +"I know it's a little hard," Barbara said consolingly, sitting down +beside them and taking one of the twins on her lap, while the other +leaned up against her. "But you will all try to be good and nice to +her, won't you? She went away with a bad opinion of us last time, and +it worries mother. Besides, we mustn't forget that she was father's +sister." + +"I can't think how she ever came to be," sighed Frances. "She's so +dreadfully particular, and we always seem naughtier when she's here. +But we'll make an effort, Barbara." + +"And you won't run away as soon as she speaks to you, Lucy?" Barbara +went on, looking at the little girl in her lap. "It's rude, you know. +You must try to talk nicely when she wants you to." + +"Yes;" and the child nodded. "Only she does seem to make a lot of +concussions when she comes." + +"You mean discussions," Donald corrected. "You shouldn't use words you +don't understand, Lucy. But I must say I agree with you; I know she +always raises my corruption." + +"What!" gasped Barbara. + +"Raises my corruption," repeated her brother; "that's a good old +Scottish expression that I've just found in a book, and it +means--'makes you angry.'" + +"Well, don't use it before Aunt Anne, there's a dear," Barbara urged, +getting up. "She thinks we use quite enough queer expressions as it +is." + +"I'll speak like a regular infant prodigy. But surely you're not going +yet? You've just come!" + +"I must help to get things ready for Aunt Anne," Barbara said gaily, +for she had recovered her spirits since procuring the children's +promise of good behaviour. "I'll come to you later." + +"Barbara is really rather an angel," remarked Donald after she had +gone. "It's not many sisters would slave in the house, instead of +having another maid, to let a fellow go to a decent school." + +"You're quoting mother," Frances replied, hanging out of the window in +a dangerous position; "but, of course, it's true. If I only had time +I'd write a fascinating romance about her." + +"I'll read every page of it and buy a hundred copies," her brother +promised gallantly; but, as he knew that there was nothing Frances +hated more than writing, he felt pretty safe. "Of course," he pursued, +"Aunt Anne thinks mother spoils us. I don't quite think that--it's +just that she's so nice and sympathetic with us when we're naughty, and +Aunt Anne doesn't understand that. But still, to please Barbe, and as +we've promised, we must try to be respectable and good this time. +Remember, twins!" + +The twins were not noted for long memories, but their intentions were +good, and the first day of Aunt Anne's visit passed very well, the +children remembering to rub their feet on the mat, shut the door +softly, and not fidget at meals. But the exertion seemed too much for +them, and the second day began rather boisterously, and did not improve +as it went on. After lunch, when the twins came into the drawing-room, +Lucy drew a footstool near her aunt, and sat down meekly upon it, +thinking that the sooner Aunt Anne began to talk the sooner it would be +over. + +Aunt Anne was feeling almost as much embarrassed by the presence of so +many children as they were by that of their aunt, but her sense of duty +was strong, and she began to make conversation with the one nearest +her--who happened to be Lucy. + +"What are you doing in lessons now, Lucy?" + +Lucy looked solemn. + +"Chiefly history," she said. + +Frances laughed. + +"It's only stories," she exclaimed, "that Barbara tells her and Dick." + +"It's history," repeated Lucy indignantly; "isn't it, Dick? It's all +about England." + +"I should have thought writing was more suitable for a little girl like +you." + +Frances opened her mouth to retort, but caught a warning glance from +Barbara and subsided. Then conversation languished and Lucy looked +across longingly at her sister, to see if she had done her duty. But +not being able to catch her eye, she sighed, and supposing she had not +yet fulfilled her part, cast about in her mind for something else to +say. + +"Do you live far from here?" she began suddenly, staring at her aunt. + +"Quite a long way," Miss Britton replied. "In Wales--perhaps you know +where that is?" + +"Oh, yes," exclaimed Lucy, rising in her excitement. "It's where the +ancient Britons were sent. Barbara told us about them. Oh, please +Aunt Anne, aren't you an ancient Briton?" + +Aunt Anne smiled grimly. + +"No, I am not. They lived in quite the olden times, and were clothed +in skins." + +"But are you sure?" pressed the child. "It's just the skins seem +wanting. They were driven into Wales, and surely you're a Briton and +come from the olden times. You're really quite ancient aren't you, +Aunt Anne?" + +Barbara was thankful her aunt laughed, but she was not so glad that +Donald and Frances found their laughter so irrepressible that they had +to resort to the sofa-cushions; and when the twins were dismissed a +little later by Mrs. Britton, she was rather relieved to see them +follow. But from that moment the spirit of hilarity seemed to have +fallen upon all the children, and Barbara looked regretfully at the +falling rain and wondered how she should keep them occupied for the +rest of the day--for it was just the beginning of the holidays, when +they were usually allowed a good deal of liberty. + +She knew by the noise that presently sounded from upstairs that they +had begun "hide-and-seek," and she read disapproval of the uproar in +her aunt's face, and went upstairs to suggest something else. The +children good-temperedly betook themselves to "soap bubbles," Frances +consenting to fetch the tray "to keep things tidy" if Donald would take +it back; and Barbara left them, congratulating herself that they were +safely settled over something quiet. + +It was, therefore, surely an evil fate that made Aunt Anne begin to go +upstairs later in the afternoon, just as Donald was descending rapidly +with the tray--not in his hand. + +"I _am_ so sorry," he said, getting up in dismay after his rapid slide. +"What a comfort I didn't knock you over; but it's so much the quickest +way of bringing a tray down. I---- Have you ever tried it?" + +If he had not been considerably agitated he would not have asked such a +foolish question, and perhaps if Aunt Anne had really not got a severe +fright she would not have been so much annoyed. But as it was, she +stalked past him without saying a word and went up to her room. + +"There!" he said ruefully, "I've done it, and I really did mean to be +good." + +The incident subdued them all considerably, and Barbara hoped that now +they might get to the end of the visit without any further mishaps. +But next morning at breakfast that hope was banished, for her aunt came +downstairs with such an expression of annoyance upon her face, that +every one knew something really unpleasant was coming. + +"Is anything wrong?" Mrs. Britton asked anxiously. "Did you not sleep +well--or--surely the children did not--annoy you in any way?" Visions +of apple-pie beds were floating before her mind, although the +children's looks of innocence somewhat reassured her on that point. + +"Some one has annoyed me considerably," Aunt Anne said coldly, "by +interfering with my clothes. When I came to put on my blue blouse this +morning, I found that every other one of the silver buttons had been +cut off." + +There was a gasp of astonishment, and Barbara was just about to scorn +the notion that any of the children could have been concerned in the +matter, when her eyes fell on Dick's face. Miss Britton was looking in +the same direction. + +"I should think that little boy knows something about it," she said. + +"Dick!" Mrs. Britton exclaimed, for he was usually the least apt of the +three to get into mischief. + +"Dick, what did you do it for? Tell us why you did it?" Barbara +questioned eagerly, and the little boy was just about to reply when +Miss Britton spoke again. + +"I should think he had no reason at all except wanton mischief. +Perhaps he used the buttons for marbles; there cannot be any real +reason for such a silly deed, though he may make one up. Well, why did +you do it?" + +Barbara saw the obstinate expression that they dreaded creeping over +the little boy's face at her aunt's words, and knew that now they would +probably get nothing satisfactory from him; but she was not quite +prepared for the answer that came so defiantly. + +"I did it for ornament, of course." + +There was silence for a moment; then Mrs. Britton sent the little boy +to the nursery to stay there till he was sent for. + +"I _am_ so sorry, Anne," she said in distress. "I cannot think what +has made him do it." + +"It is just the result of your upbringing. I always said you were +absurdly indulgent to the children." + +Then, because Barbara was sure that Dick had had some other reason that +would perhaps have explained his action, and because she saw tears in +her mother's eyes, and knew how lonely and tired she often felt, and +how anxious about the welfare of the children and the care of the +house, she turned wrathfully upon her aunt. + +"You have no right to criticise mother like that, Aunt Anne, and, of +course, she knows a great deal more about bringing up children than you +do. If you had not interfered, Dick would have given the proper +reason, and, certainly, if we do what we shouldn't it's _our_ fault, +not mother's." + +At this there were confirmatory nods from the children, who continued +to gaze in startled, but admiring, astonishment at Barbara, whose +politeness was usually their example, and whom they hardly recognised +in this new role. They awaited--they knew not what--from their aunt, +but except for a horrified cry of "Barbara!" from Mrs. Britton, the +girl's outburst was received in silence, her aunt merely shrugging her +shoulders and continuing her breakfast. The children finished theirs +in uncomfortable silence, then slipped quietly away. + +"Well!" Donald said ruefully, when Frances and he had climbed into the +apple-tree where they usually discussed matters of importance. "She +did look fine, didn't she? But I'm afraid she's done it now. Aunt +will clear out soon enough, I should think, and Barbe will just be as +sorry as can be to have flared out like that at a guest, and father's +sister too." + +In that last supposition Donald was quite right, for Mrs. Britton +needed to say nothing to make Barbara feel very much ashamed of +herself. But in his conclusion about his aunt he was quite wrong, for, +to the children's astonishment, Miss Britton showed no signs of speedy +departure. Indeed, later in the day, the children felt honesty +demanded they must own her to be "rather a brick," for she accepted +Barbara's apology with good grace, and said that though, of course, she +had been rude, she would not deny that there had been some provocation, +and that if Barbara could find out anything more from Dick, she would +be glad to hear of it. + +It was then, after much manoeuvring, that the girl got to the truth of +the matter, which Dick related with tears. He had taken the buttons +for mother, he said. When he was out with her the other day they had +looked for quite a long time at some beautiful silver ones, and when he +asked his mother why she did not buy them, she had said she had not +enough money just then. They were very like the kind on Aunt Anne's +blouse, and having noticed that she did not use half of them to button +it up, Dick had not seen any reason why they should be left +on--although he had meant to tell her what he had done immediately +after breakfast. + +Miss Britton accepted the explanation, and said she thought there was +no need for the culprit to be punished this time, and she hoped he +would have more sense soon. But about Barbara she had something of +more importance to communicate. + +"In my opinion," she said, in a manner that inferred she expected her +advice to be taken, "the girl is much too young to have finished her +education--boys or no boys--and I am thinking of sending her to France +for a time, to learn more of the language and see something of the +world. It is not good for a girl of her age to have so much +responsibility." + +Now, it had been Barbara's dream to go abroad, but after the first gasp +of delight and astonishment she grew grave, and said she was afraid she +could not leave her mother and the children. + +"Fiddlesticks!" Aunt Anne replied, without allowing Mrs. Britton time +to speak. "You are far too young, my dear, to imagine yourself of such +importance in the world. I will send a good old-fashioned nurse that I +know of to take your place, and it will be good for the children to +have a stricter regime than yours has been for a while." + +Even if Aunt Anne had been accustomed to have her words +disregarded--which she was not--Mrs. Britton would not have needed much +persuasion to make her fall in with the proposal, for she had often +grieved in private over the fact that, since her husband's death, +Barbara's education had had to suffer that Donald's might advance. And +now, though she wondered how she would get on without her eldest +daughter, she was only too thankful to have such an opportunity thrown +in her way. + +"I cannot think why I never interfered before," Miss Britton said, "but +it is better late than never, and we will have as little delay now as +possible." + +In a few days the children were all as busy as bees helping to get +Barbara ready. They assisted in choosing her new frocks and hats, and +the style of making; and poor Miss Smith, who came to sew for her, was +nearly distracted by their popping in every now and then to see how she +was getting on. Even Donald, who hated talking about "girls' +fashions," bought a paper, because he saw it had a pattern of a blouse +advertised, and he thought it might be useful. + +The family were very curious to hear with whom she was going to France +and where she was going to be, for Aunt Anne had undertaken to make all +the arrangements, and it certainly was a slight shock to the children +when she wrote to say she had made up her mind to go herself for a +fortnight to Paris before sending Barbara off to Brittany, where she +had found a "most suitable place" for her in the house of two maiden +ladies who took in people wanting to learn French. + +Donald whistled when Mrs. Britton read that out. + +"Fancy a fortnight with Aunt Anne, and then the two maiden ladies. +Jiggers!" (that was a favourite expression of his)--"you'll be worried +out of your life, Barbe." + +The worst of it was, that Aunt Anne, who had not been abroad for many +years, said she was going to let Barbara manage the journey and the +sight-seeing in Paris, and sent her a guide-book to read up everything +of interest. She said she was doing this to give her niece experience +and prepare her for being by herself later on; but Donald declared she +wanted to see "what kind of stuff" she was made of, and that if Barbara +did not do things well, she would scoff at her greatly for thinking she +could manage a house and children while she could not succeed in +finding her way about France. + +"But I know the old lady, and we'll just show her you're _our_ sister, +and before we've done you'll know that guide-book from cover to cover," +he assured her. + +They had only a week left, for Aunt Anne was very rapid in her +decisions and plans; but they studied the guide-book morning, noon, and +night. It was most instructive holiday work, Donald said, and when +Barbara had not time to read it, Frances and he read for her and poured +their knowledge into her ears at meal-times. + +They learned what coloured omnibus went to the different parts of +Paris, and on what days different buildings were open, and by the end +of the week they all felt they could "personally conduct" tours all +over Paris. + +It was rather hard when the last day came, because they knew that the +house would seem horribly empty without Barbara. The two little ones +were on the verge of crying all the afternoon, and Frances had to be +very stern, while Donald rose to flights of wit hitherto undreamed of, +to keep up every one's spirits. + +Of course the two elder ones knew it would be hardest on them after +Barbara left, because some of her responsibility would fall on their +shoulders. But they were quite determined she should have a cheerful +"send-off" next morning, so they bribed the children with promises of +sweets if they did not cry, and they succeeded in giving her quite a +hilarious good-bye at the station. + +After the train had gone, however, and they turned homewards, Frances +felt that if she had not promised Barbara to help her mother she would +have hidden herself in the attic and cried, although that would have +been so "horribly babyish" for a girl of twelve that she knew she would +have felt ashamed of herself afterwards; though perhaps, her pillow +could have told tales of a grief confided to it that the gay-hearted +Frances did not usually indulge in. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +NO. 14 RUE ST. SUPLICE. + +Meanwhile, Barbara and her aunt pursued their journey, and in due time +arrived at Newhaven, where the first thing they were told was that the +tide was unusually low at Dieppe, which would prevent them entering +that harbour, and therefore they were not going to leave Newhaven for +another hour and a half. Aunt Anne gazed in indignation upon their +informant, and declared it was scandalous that a boat, timed to leave +at a certain hour, should be so irregular and unpunctual; whereupon the +captain, shrugging his shoulders, said that the lady should complain to +the moon about the tides rather than to him. + +They managed to fill in the time very well with lunch, however, and +after a little grumbling, Aunt Anne resigned herself to Fate, though +she was glad enough when they finally steamed out of the harbour. Miss +Britton was not a very good sailor, and in preparation for "the +voyage," as she called the crossing, had accumulated great stores of +knowledge as to how to treat seasickness. She established herself on +the upper deck, let down a deck-chair as low as it would go, and +replacing her hat by a weird little Tam o' Shanter, covered her eyes +with a handkerchief. + +"To avoid seasickness, Barbara," she said, "you must lie as flat as +possible, keep the eyes closed, and breathe in correspondence with the +ship's motion--though," she added, "I really cannot tell at present +which is its motion; perhaps there will be more when we get farther +out." + +Barbara chuckled, but deferred making similar preparations until the +motion _was_ more defined, for she was much too interested in what was +going on around her to close her eyes to it all. + +Aunt Anne asked her at intervals if it was getting rougher, but though +her niece assured her there were no signs of such a thing, she did not +venture to sit up until they were quite near Dieppe. + +"Oh, aunt!" Barbara exclaimed joyfully, "just look at all the officials +in their high-peaked hats. Don't they look nice, so Frenchy and +foreign!" + +"You would hardly expect them to look _English_," Aunt Anne returned +drily, and began to gather together her belongings preparatory to +leaving the boat. + +"It is some time since I have been in France, Barbara," she exclaimed, +"having been quite contented with our own beautiful land; but I +remember it was best to be very quick in going to the train so as to +get good seats. Follow me closely, child." + +Barbara obediently did as she was told, and having got safely through +the troubles of the _douane_, they chose their carriage and proceeded +to arrange their possessions. + +"My umbrella!" Aunt Anne cried suddenly, looking anxiously on the racks +and under the seat. "Barbara, I must have left it on the boat; why did +you not remind me? You must just run back for it now--but don't let +the train go without you. Run, child, run!" + +Barbara obediently hurried away, and after a halting and somewhat +lengthy explanation on the quay, was allowed to go on board again, and +spied the missing umbrella on the deck. When she returned, the train +had been moved higher up, and she could not distinguish the carriage +anywhere. The guard was already beginning to wave the signal, and +Barbara felt she was a lost passenger, when a dark, stout little man +dashed up to her and seized her by the arm. + +"Par ici, par ici," he cried, "votre maman vous attend, mademoiselle," +and they flew down the platform with the guard shouting warnings behind +them. They were barely in time, and Barbara sank panting into her seat. + +"Fancy!" Aunt Anne cried indignantly--"fancy getting lost like that! +It just shows that you are not fit to look after children when you +cannot manage an umbrella!" + +Barbara was too breathless to reply and too much amused, perhaps, +really to mind. The country was pretty enough, but it soon began to +grow dusk, and they wondered when they would arrive in Paris. The +train was due at 7.30, but there did not seem to be the least chance of +getting in at that hour, for, late as they already were, they continued +to lose time on the way. The little Frenchman was their only +companion, and he did not seem to know much English. + +However, between his shreds of that language and Barbara's scanty +French she managed to find out that they would not arrive in Paris +until midnight. Aunt Anne expressed her annoyance in no measured +terms, but he merely shrugged his shoulders and smiled, until she +collapsed into a corner speechless with disgust. He left them at +Rouen, and Barbara, watching her aunt sleeping in a corner, wondered +what they would do when they finally did arrive at the station. But, +as soon as the lights of the _Gare de Lazare_ showed through the +darkness, Miss Britton began to bestir herself, and, when the train +stopped, marched boldly out of the carriage as if she had been in Paris +dozens of times. + +In a little while they were seated in a _fiacre_, going along through +brightly-lighted streets, feeling very satisfied that they were +actually nearing their destination. But their content did not last +long, for soon leaving the lighted thoroughfares, they turned into a +dark road with high walls on either side, and just a lamp now and then. +It really seemed rather lonely, and they both began to feel +uncomfortable and to wonder if they were being taken to the wrong +place. Stories of mysterious disappearances began to flit through +Barbara's brain, and she started when Aunt Anne said in a very emphatic +tone, "He looked a very nice cabman, quite respectable and honest." + +"Yes," Barbara said meekly, though she had hardly noticed him. + +"I knew it was some distance from the station, of course." + +"Yes," Barbara replied once more, and added, "of course," as Miss +Britton began to look rather fierce. + +"It was a little stupid of you not to think of proposing to stay in the +station hotel while I was collecting the wraps," she went on rather +sharply, and Barbara was trying to think of something soothing to say, +when the cab drew up suddenly and they were both precipitated on to the +hat-boxes on the other seat. + +Barbara put her hat straight and looked out of the window. It +certainly seemed to be a funny place to which they had come. The +houses were high and narrow, and the one they had stopped at had a +dirty archway without a single light; but, as the driver showed no +intention of getting down and ringing, Barbara stepped out and groped +about for a bell or a knocker of some kind. Then the cabman, pointing +with his whip up the archway, said, "Numero quatorze, par la." The +girl did not much relish going into the darkness by herself, for she +was sure there must be some mistake. But she was afraid that, if Miss +Britton got out too, the man might drive away and leave them, so she +begged her aunt to remain in the cab while she went into the archway to +make inquiries. After some groping she found a bell-rope, and rang +three times without receiving any answer. She was just about to ring +again, when she heard stealthy steps approaching the door, and the next +moment it was opened, disclosing to her frightened gaze a dirty-looking +man, wearing a red nightcap, and carrying a candle in his hand. + +Barbara recoiled a step, for though she had been sure there was some +mistake she had not expected anything as bad as this. However, she +managed to gasp out, "Madame Belvoir's?" and was intensely relieved to +see the fellow shake his head. But he leered at her so horribly that +she waited to make no more inquiries, but turned and fled back to the +_fiacre_. + +"This is not the right place," she pouted, "and I'm thankful it +isn't--there's _such_ a horrid man." + +"A man! But she was a widow," Aunt Anne said vaguely; and her niece +could not help laughing, for if that _were_ the case there might have +been brothers or sons. + +But the cabman was getting very impatient, and it was not an easy +matter to argue with him, for when they insisted that this could not be +14 Rue St. Sulpice, he merely shook his head and persisted that it was. +Then suddenly a light seemed to break upon him, and he asked, "14 Rue +St. Sulpice, Courcelles?" + +Barbara shook her head violently, and said, "Non, non, Neuilly." +Whereupon with much grumbling and torrents of words that, perhaps, it +was as well she did not understand, he whipped up his horse, and she +had hardly time to scramble into the cab before they swung off. + +They were very glad to leave the neighbourhood, for they saw the red +nightcap peeping out at the end of the archway, and it seemed as if +there were more friends of the same kind in the rear. + +"It is _most_ absurd for the man to think _we_ should have been staying +here. I think he must be mad." + +"Yes," returned Barbara, not knowing what else to say, and they +continued to rumble over more cobble stones and down dark roads, till +they finally stopped in a dimly-lighted street, which, however, was +broad and clean, with fairly large houses on either side. + +Barbara got out with some misgivings, wondering what their fate would +be this time. She had to ring several times as before; but as there +was no dark archway, and the cab was close by, she had not the same +fear. When the door opened, she could distinguish nothing at first, +but presently espied a little woman, in a _white_ nightcap, holding a +candle. + +"Dear me!" she thought, "candles and nightcaps seem to be the fashion +here;" but aloud, merely asked politely for Madame Belvoir, hoping that +she was not speaking to the lady in question. Before the _portiere_ +(for it was she) could answer, a bright light shone out at the far end +of the passage, and a girl came hurrying down, saying, "Madame Belvoir? +Mais oui, entrez, entrez. C'est Mademoiselle Britton, n'est-ce pas?" + +Mademoiselle Britton was not a little relieved, and so, I am sure, was +her poor aunt, who came hurrying out of the cab, and was so glad to get +rid of it that she paid the ten francs the man demanded without a +murmur. + +The French girl explained in broken English that her mother greatly +regretted being absent, having been called away suddenly to an uncle +who was ill, but that she and her sister would do their utmost to make +Miss Britton comfortable. + +By that time they had reached the end of the passage and were led into +a comfortable room, where another girl was waiting. Tea was ready for +them too, and Barbara thought she had never appreciated it more. She +tried to explain the reason of their late arrival, and told some of +their adventures; but, although both the French girls listened politely +and smiled and nodded, Barbara thought that neither of them understood +much of what she said. However, she did not mind that, and presently +they led the way upstairs to a room that was a haven of delight to the +wanderers. The windows opened on to a garden whence the scent of lilac +floated, and the whole room--down to the hearth-brush, which charmed +Barbara--was decorated in blue. + +With the memory of that other Rue St. Sulpice still fresh in their +minds, their present quarters indeed seemed delightful; and Barbara +declared she could have fallen upon the necks of both girls and kissed +them. + +"A quite unnecessary and most impertinent proceeding," Aunt Anne +replied curtly. "They will much prefer pounds, shillings, and pence to +embraces," and Barbara thought that after all she was probably right. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A NOCTURNAL ADVENTURE. + +It was very nice to waken the next morning and find the sunshine +streaming in at the windows. + +Barbara was ready to be charmed with everything, from the pretty little +maid in the mob cap, who carried in the breakfast, to the crisp rolls +and coffee. Both of the travellers were quite rested, and eager to +begin sight-seeing, and Miss Britton left the choice of place to her +niece. The latter diligently scanned the guide-book as she took her +breakfast, and kept calling out fresh suggestions every few moments; +but, finally, they determined on the Louvre as most worthy of their +first visit. + +I do not know whether it was the experience of the night before, but +Aunt Anne seemed to have a fixed idea that Paris was full of thieves, +and before starting out she made the most careful preparations for +encountering pickpockets. She sewed some of her money into a little +bag inside her dress, put some more into a pocket in her underskirt, +and said that Barbara might pay for things in general, as it would +teach her the use of French money. She herself kept only a few +centimes in a shabby purse in her dress pocket, "to disappoint any +thief who took it." + +As soon as the _fiacre_ stopped in the court of the Louvre, they were +besieged by several disreputable and seedy-looking men wanting to act +as guides through the galleries. Partly to get rid of the rest, partly +because they thought it might be easier, they engaged the +tidiest-looking one who seemed to know most English, and, feeling +rather pleased with themselves, entered the first gallery. Of course, +Barbara wished to begin by seeing those pictures which she had heard +most about; but the guide had a particular way of his own of taking +people round, and did not like any interference. + +Indeed, he did not even like to let them stay longer than a few seconds +at each picture, and kept chattering the whole time, till at last they +grew annoyed, and Aunt Anne told him they would do the rest by +themselves. But it took some time to get rid of him, and then he went +sulkily, complaining that they had not given him enough, though Barbara +felt sure he had really got twice as much as was his due. + +They enjoyed themselves very much without him, and saw a great deal +before lunch-time. + +At the end of the meal, when Aunt Anne was going to take out her purse +to use the centimes in it for a tip for the waiter, she discovered her +preparations had not been in vain, and that the purse really had been +stolen. Perhaps, on the whole, she was rather glad, for she turned to +Barbara in triumph. + +"There now, Barbara," she said, "if I had had my other purse in my +pocket, it would have been just the same, and now whoever has it will +be properly disappointed!" + +They did not return to Neuilly until the evening, where they met the +rest of the pension at dinner. Besides two brothers of the Belvoir +family, there were a number of French visitors and one English family, +to whom Miss Britton and her niece took an immediate dislike. The +father, who, they were told, was a solicitor whose health had broken +down, was greedy and vulgar, and his son and daughter were pale, +frightened-looking creatures, who took no part in the gay conversation +which the French kept up. + +After dinner, when every one else went into the salon for music, the +solicitor and his children retired to their rooms, which Mademoiselle +Belvoir and her brothers seemed to resent. The former confided to +Barbara, in very quaint English, that they had never had such people in +their house before, and Aunt Anne, who overheard the remark, shook her +head sagely. + +"I would not trust them, Mademoiselle" (Miss Britton was English from +the sole of her foot to the tip of her tongue). "They seem unpleasant, +and I have a great power for reading faces." At which Mademoiselle +Belvoir murmured something about wishing her mother were back. + +However, the evening was a pleasant one, though Barbara was so tired +that she was hardly an intelligent listener to the music provided, and +fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. + +She was, therefore, a little surprised when she awoke suddenly two +hours later for apparently no reason at all. She had been dreaming +about something exciting, and lay trying to remember what it was, when +an eerie feeling stole over her, and it seemed as if she heard +breathing--which was not her aunt's--close beside her. She did not +dare to move for a moment. Then she turned her head very gently, and +between the two windows near the recess she was sure she saw a dark +figure. The longer she watched the surer she became, and she knew it +could not be her aunt, whom she heard breathing quietly in the other +bed. + +It was certainly a horrible sensation, and all the unpleasant stories +she had ever read crowded into her mind. At first she could not think +what to do, but at last made up her mind to go across the room to Miss +Britton's bed and tell her. + +Yawning, and pretending to wake up gradually, though all the time she +felt as if she had been lying there for hours, she called out, "Aunt +Anne, I can't sleep, so I'm coming into your bed." + +Miss Britton awoke at once--she was a light sleeper--and at first I +think she imagined her niece was mad. + +"If you can't sleep in your own bed," she said, "I'm quite sure you +won't sleep in mine, for it's not big enough for two." + +But Barbara persisted, and at last her aunt gave way. "Well," she said +at last, rather crossly, "be quick if you are coming. I don't want to +be kept awake all night." + +The truth was, it seemed so horrible to cross the room close to that +black figure--as she would have to do--that Barbara lingered a moment, +screwing up her courage. It was hard, certainly, to walk slowly +across, for she thought she should not run, feeling all the time as if +two hands would catch hold of her in the darkness. She was very glad +to creep in beside her aunt, and at first could not do anything but lie +and listen to that lady's grumblings. Then warning her not to scream, +she whispered very softly that there was a man beside the window. Miss +Britton took it wonderfully coolly, and after the first start said +nothing for a few minutes. Then she remarked in loud, cheerful tones, +"Well, child, as you are not sleepy, let us talk about our plans for +to-morrow." + +They talked a long time, hoping that the man would give it up and go; +but still the black figure stood there motionless. + +At last Barbara, who could bear it no longer, said "Oh, aunt, since we +can't sleep let us put on the light and read up things in the +guide-book." + +At that moment she heard a rustle behind, and saw the man try to get +into the recess; but the trunks were there, and meeting that +obstruction, he turned and made a quick dash to the French window, and +was out in a moment, whereupon Aunt Anne and Barbara sat up in bed and +screamed. Then the girl leaped to the electric light, and her aunt to +the bell, and in a few moments the maids and the Misses Belvoir came +running in. + +"He's gone!" cried Barbara, looking out of the window and feeling quite +brave now that so many people had arrived. "He's gone, and it was too +dark to see his face." + +Aunt Anne, meanwhile, explained, as well as she could, what had +happened, and the Misses Belvoir looked so frightened and worried that +Barbara felt she must be a dreadful nuisance. But they were very nice +and extremely apologetic, declaring that such a thing had never +happened before, and that the police should be told in the morning, and +their brothers would search the garden at once and sit outside their +door all night if Miss Britton liked. But Aunt Anne, who had +delightful common-sense, said briskly-- + +"Nonsense; whoever it was, he will be too frightened to think of coming +back to-night, so just go to your beds, and let us get to ours." And +she pushed them gently out. They continued to murmur apologies after +the door was shut; but Aunt Anne paid not the least heed. + +"Now, my dear," she said, turning to Barbara, "I am sure you know that +what I said to them is quite true, and that our friend will not return +to-night. So be sensible, and go back to bed, and we will talk about +it all in the morning." + +Of course, Barbara did as she was told, and, though she was sure she +would never get to sleep, strange to say, in a very little while she +was dreaming peacefully, and did not waken till late next morning. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE MAN IN BLUE GLASSES. + +The nocturnal adventure caused quite an excitement in the house, and +very little else was talked of at lunch-time. Aunt Anne had asked +Mademoiselle Belvoir if she would rather nothing was said about the +affair; but the girl said it was impossible to keep it quiet, as +several people had heard the bustle in the night, and were anxious to +know all about it. So Miss Britton found that she and her niece were +objects of general interest, and they both struggled nobly to describe +the adventure intelligibly to the others, though Barbara knew that she +got horribly mixed in her French tenses, and was not quite sure whether +she understood all the questions the French people put to her. The +solicitor annoyed her most--he was so superior. + +"Why did you not rush upon the fellow and scream for help?" he said. + +"I was far too frightened to do anything of the kind," Barbara answered +indignantly. "I would never have dared to fling myself upon a dark +figure like that. If I had seen him, I shouldn't have minded so much." + +"So you did not see his face?" said the solicitor. + +"Of course I didn't," and Barbara spoke rather crossly. "If I had, I +should have gone and described him to the police the first thing this +morning." + +She felt inclined to add that it was a pity he could not inculcate his +own children with some of his apparent courage, for they both seemed +far more frightened than interested in the story, and the son's eyes +looked as if they would jump out of his head. Perhaps the poor youth +was scolded for his timidity afterwards, for when Barbara passed their +room in going upstairs to get ready to go out, she heard the father +speaking in very stern tones, and the boy murmuring piteously, "Oh, +father! oh, father!" + +Miss Britton was in a hurry to get out; but, as often happens, it +proved a case of "more haste, less speed," for they had just got into +the street when Barbara remembered she had left her purse behind, and +had to run back for it. + +What was her astonishment on opening the bedroom door to see the +solicitor's son standing near the window. She had come upstairs very +softly, and he had not heard her till she was in the room; then he +turned round suddenly, and sprang back with a face filled with terror. + +"What _are_ you doing here?" she exclaimed in astonishment, and at +first he could not answer for fright. + +"I--I--came to look at the place where the man was last night," he +gasped at last, "and to see how he could get out of the window." + +"Well, I think your curiosity has run away with your politeness," +Barbara said. "You might have seen from the garden that the balcony is +quite close enough to the tree for any one to get out easily. Is there +anything else you would like to examine?" + +She need hardly have asked, for he had hurried round to the door before +she had half finished speaking, and, only murmuring, "I'm sorry," fled +precipitately. She was really rather sorry for him; he looked so +abjectly miserable. Nevertheless, she took the precaution of locking +the door and putting the key under the mat. She went downstairs more +slowly than she had come up, for the boy's visit had made her feel +rather queer. + +The way he shrank back into the window when she came in had reminded +her so much of the manner in which the black figure had acted in the +night, and she felt there was something uncanny about the whole thing. +However, she made up her mind to say nothing to her aunt just then in +case of spoiling her afternoon's pleasure, but she was quite determined +to make some rather pointed remarks to the solicitor that evening when +no one else was listening, and see how he took them. + +Unfortunately, however, she had no opportunity of doing so, for when +they went down to dinner, none of the solicitor's family were visible, +and Mademoiselle Belvoir remarked that they had all gone out to the +theatre, and would not be back till late. The remarks, Barbara +supposed, must be postponed till the morrow; but, alas! she never had a +chance of making them, for early on the morrow the whole house learned +that the solicitor, with his son and daughter, had gone, with +apparently no intention of returning. + +Mademoiselle Belvoir and her brother had waited up till long after the +time they should have returned, and then the brother had hurried to the +_prefecture_ to report the matter. He had been growing very suspicious +of late, as the solicitor had not paid anything for three weeks: +"Waiting for his cheque-book, which had been mislaid," he had said. +But the suspicions had been acted on too late, and his mother was +cheated out of ever so much money. Every one was highly indignant, and +Miss Britton and her niece really felt very grieved that they should +have been _British_ subjects who had behaved so badly. + +Aunt Anne said she almost felt as if she ought to pay for them and save +the honour of their country, but Barbara thought that would be too +quixotic. At first Mademoiselle Belvoir thought there might be +something inside the man's trunks that would repay them a little for +the money lost; but, on being opened, there proved to be nothing but a +few old clothes, and Mademoiselle and her brothers remembered that the +boy had often gone out carrying parcels, which they used to laugh at. + +When all this was being discussed, Barbara thought she might as well +tell about finding the boy in her room, and she mentioned her +suspicions that he and the nocturnal visitor were one and the same +person, and found to her surprise that the Belvoirs had thought the +same. Poor things! Barbara was heartily sorry for them, for it was an +unpleasant occurrence to happen in a _pension_, and might make a +difference to them in future, apart from the fact that they could hear +nothing of the lost money, nor yet of the runaways. + +Barbara felt that hitherto her adventures in France had been quite like +a story-book, and knew that when her brother Donald heard of them he +would be making all kind of wonderful plans for the discovery of the +miscreants. + +"He would fancy himself an amateur detective at once," she said to her +aunt. Whereupon that lady returned grimly she would gladly become a +detective for the time being if she thought there was any chance of +finding the wretches, but that such people usually hid their tracks too +well. Nevertheless, Barbara noticed that she eyed her fellow-men with +great suspicion, and one day she persisted in pursuing a stout +gentleman with blue glasses, whom she declared was the solicitor in +disguise, till he noticed them and began to be nervously agitated. + +"I'm sure it isn't he, aunt," Barbara whispered, after they had +followed him successfully from Notre Dame to St. Etienne, and from +there to Napoleon's Tomb. "He speaks French--I heard him. Besides, he +is too stout for the solicitor." + +"He may be padded," Aunt Anne said wisely. "People of that kind can do +anything. There is something in his walk that assures me it _is_ he, +and I _must_ see him without his spectacles." + +Barbara followed rather unwillingly, though she could not help thinking +with amusement how the family would laugh when she wrote and described +her aunt in the role of a detective. She was not to be very +successful, however, for, as they were sauntering after him down one of +the galleries of the Museum, the blue-spectacled gentleman suddenly +turned round, and in a torrent of French asked to what pleasure he owed +Madame's close interest, which, if continued, would cause him to call +up a _gendarme_. "If you think to steal from me, I am far too well +prepared for that," he concluded. + +"Steal!" Aunt Anne echoed indignantly. "_We_ are certainly not +thieves, sir, whatever _you_ may be." Barbara was thankful that +apparently his knowledge of English was so slight that he did not +understand the remark. It was not without difficulty that she +prevailed upon her aunt to pass on and cease the wordy argument, which, +she pointed out, was not of much good, as neither understood the +other's language sufficiently well to answer to the point. + +"We shall have all the visitors in the Museum round us soon," she +urged, with an apprehensive glance at the people who were curiously +drawing near, "and shall perhaps be turned out for making a +disturbance." + +"Then I should go at once to the English ambassador," Aunt Anne said +with dignity. "But, as I have now seen his eyes and am assured he is +_not_ the man we want, we can pass on," and with a stately bow, and the +remark that if he annoyed her in future she would feel compelled to +complain, she moved away, Barbara following, crimson with mingled +amusement and vexation. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +GOOD-BYE TO PARIS. + +The days in Paris flew past far too quickly for Barbara, who enjoyed +everything to the full. + +As she came to know her aunt better, and got accustomed to her dry +manner and rather exact ways, she found her to be a really good +companion, not altogether lacking in humour, and having untiring energy +in sight-seeing and a keen sympathy with Barbara's delight in what was +new. + +Perhaps Miss Britton, too, was gaining more pleasure from the trip than +she had expected, for up till now she had seen her niece only as one a +little sobered by responsibility and the constraint of her own +presence. Whatever the cause, it was certain that during the past +fortnight Miss Britton had felt the days of her youth nearer her than +for some time, and it was with mutual regret that they reached the last +day of their stay in Paris. + +They were sitting together on the balcony, with the bees very busy in +the lilac-bush near them, and the doves murmuring to each other at the +end of the garden. Barbara was reading a guide-book on Brittany, and +Miss Britton, with her knitting in her hands, was listening to bits the +girl read aloud, and watching a little frown grow between the eyebrows. +It was curious how the frown between the dark brows reminded her of her +dead brother; and after a moment she laid down her knitting. + +[Illustration: "Barbara was reading a guide book on Brittany."] + +"You may think it a little unkind, Barbara," she began, "that I am not +coming with you to see what kind of place it is to which you are going, +but I think it is good for a girl to learn to be independent and +self-reliant. I made careful inquiries, and the people seem to be very +good at teaching French--they used to live in Paris--and they are quite +respectable. Of course, you may not find everything just as you like +it, and if it is really unpleasant, you can write me, and I shall +arrange for you to return here. But Paris would be more distracting +for you to live in, and in a week or two far too hot to be pleasant. + +"Besides, I should like you really to _study_ the language, so that you +may profit by your stay in France, as well as enjoy it. If I stayed +with you you would never talk French all the time." She stopped a +moment, and took a stitch or two in her knitting, then added in a tone +quite different from her usual quick, precise way, "Your father was a +splendidly straight, strong man--in body and mind. Try to be like him +in every way. He would have wished his eldest daughter to be sensible +and courageous." + +Barbara flushed with pleasure at the praise of her father. She had +never heard her aunt mention him before, and she leaned forward +eagerly, "Thank you, Aunt Anne--I want to be like him." + +She would gladly have kissed her, but the family habit of reserve was +strong upon her. + +"Let me see," continued her aunt, "can you ride?" + +Barbara laughed. + +"I used to ride Topsy--the Shetland, you know--long ago, but father +sold him." + +Her eyes followed her aunt's across the garden and the end of the +street, to the distant glimpse of the Bois de Boulogne, where riders +passed at frequent intervals, and her eyes glowed. "Doesn't it look +jolly?" she said. "I used to love it." + +Aunt Anne nodded. + +"I used to ride in my youth, and your father rode beautifully before he +was married, and when he could afford to keep a horse. He would like +you to have done so too, I think. If there is any place where you can +learn in St. Servan, you may. It will be a good change from your +studies." + +"Oh, aunt!" and this time reserve was thrown to the winds, and Barbara +most heartily embraced her. "Oh, how perfectly splendid of you! It +has always been my dream to ride properly, but I never, never thought +it would come true." + +"Dreams do not often," Miss Britton returned, with a scarcely audible +sigh; then she gathered up her soft white wool. "There is the first +bell, child, and we have not changed for dinner. Come, be quick." + +The next morning a heavily-laden cab passed from the Rue St. Sulpice +through the gates into the city. Miss Britton, finding that a friend +of the Belvoirs was going almost the whole way to St. Servan, had +arranged for Barbara to go under her care. But it was with very +regretful eyes that the girl watched the train, bearing her aunt away, +leave the station, and she was rather a silent traveller when, later in +the morning, she was herself _en route_ for St. Servan. + +Not so her companion, however, a most talkative personage, who was +hardly quiet five minutes consecutively. She poured forth all sorts of +confidences about her family and friends, and seemed quite satisfied if +Barbara merely nodded and murmured, "_Comme c'est interessant!_" though +she did not understand nearly all her companion said. The latter +pointed out places of interest in passing, and finally, with an +effusive good-bye, got out at the station before St. Servan. + +As the train neared its destination, Barbara looked anxiously to see +what the town was like, and her disappointment was great at the first +glimpse of the place. When the family had looked up the Encyclopaedia +for a description of St. Servan, it seemed to be that of a small, +old-fashioned place, and Barbara had pictured it little more than a +village with a picturesque beach. Instead of that, she saw many +houses, some tall chimneys, and quays with ships lying alongside. It +would have cheered her had she known that the station was really a +considerable distance from the town, and in the ugliest part of it; but +that she did not find out till later. + +Outside the station were many vociferous cab-drivers offering to take +her anywhere she liked, and, choosing the one whose horse seemed best +cared for, she inquired if he knew where the house of Mademoiselle +Loire, Rue Calvados, was. Grinning broadly he bade her step in, and +presently they were rolling and bumping along rough cobble-stoned +streets. Barbara had further imagined, from the description of the +house that Mademoiselle Loire had sent them, that it was a villa +standing by itself, and was rather surprised when the _fiacre_, after +climbing a very steep street, stopped at a door and deposited herself +and her trunks before it. Almost before she rang the bell she heard +hurried steps, and the door was opened by some one whom she imagined +might be the housekeeper. + +"Is Mademoiselle Loire in?" she inquired of the thin and severe-looking +woman with hair parted tightly in the middle. + +"I am Mademoiselle Loire," she replied stiffly in French, "and you, I +suppose, are Miss Britton! I am sorry there was no one at the station +to meet you, but we did not expect you so soon." + +"Did you not get my post-card?" Barbara asked. + +"I could not possibly do that," Mademoiselle Loire returned +reprovingly; "it was posted in Paris far too late for _that_. However, +perhaps you will now come into the _salon_," and Barbara followed +meekly into a room looking out upon the garden, and very full of all +kinds of things. She had hardly got in before she heard a bustle on +the stairs, which was followed by the entrance of Mademoiselle Therese +Loire. Her face was not so long nor her hair so tightly drawn back as +her sister's, and she came forward with a rush, smiling broadly, but, +somehow, Barbara felt she would like the prim sister better. + +After asking many questions about the journey they took her to her +room, and Barbara's heart sank a little. The house seemed dark and +cold after that in Neuilly, and her bedroom was paved with red brick, +as was the custom in those parts in old houses. + +The dining-room--smelling somewhat of damp--was a long, low room +leading straight into the garden, and the whole effect was rather +depressing. At supper-time, Barbara was made acquainted with the rest +of the household, which consisted of an adopted niece--a plump girl of +about seventeen, with very red cheeks and a very small waist--and two +boys about twelve, who were boarding with the Loires so that they might +go to the Lycee[1] in the town. After supper, Mademoiselle Therese +explained that they usually went for a walk with the widower and his +children who lived next door. + +"Poor things!" she said, "they knew nobody when they came to the town, +and a widower in France is so shut off from companionship that we +thought we must be kind to them. They have not a woman in the house +except a charer, who comes in the first thing in the morning." + +Barbara, with a chuckle over the "charer," went to put on her hat, and +on coming into the dining-room again, found the widower and his sons +already there. Something in the shape of the back of the elder man +seemed familiar to her, and on his turning round to greet her, she +recognised her little friend of the train on their first arrival in +France. The recognition was mutual, and before she had time to speak +he rushed forward and poured forth a torrent of French, while +Mademoiselle Therese clamoured for an explanation, which he finally +gave her. + +At last he had to stop for want of breath, and Barbara had time to look +at his sons--boys of twelve and sixteen--who seemed a great care to +him. All the three, father and sons, wore cloaks with hoods to them, +which they called _capucines_, and as there was very little difference +in their heights, they made rather a quaint trio. Barbara was glad to +see him again, however, for it seemed to bring her aunt nearer. + +It amused her considerably to notice how Mademoiselle Therese flew from +one party to another, during the whole of the walk, evidently feeling +that she was the chaperon of each individual. She started out beside +the widower, but soon interrupted his conversation by dashing off to +give a word of warning to the boys, and what was supposed to be a word +of encouragement to Barbara, who was walking with Marie, the niece, and +the widower's eldest son. + +It did not make much difference to them, for Jean and Marie seemed to +have plenty to say; and after addressing a few careless remarks to +Barbara, to which, perhaps, she did not pay much attention, the latter +heard her say to her companion, "Bah! there is nothing to be made of +her; let us continue;" and she was glad they left her alone that first +evening, for she was not in the mood for talking. + + + +[1] Public school. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE REVOLT OF TWO. + +The days that followed were not as pleasant to Barbara as those she had +spent in Paris, for though St. Malo, just across the river, fascinated +her, she did not care much for St. Servant, and the people did not +prove congenial to her--especially Mademoiselle Therese. Though she +seemed to be a clever teacher, Barbara could never be sure that she was +speaking the truth, and in writing home she described her as "rather a +humbug." + +"Most English people," she told Barbara shortly after her arrival, +"pronounce French badly because their mouths are shaped differently +from ours, but _yours_, Miss Britton, is just right, therefore your +accent is already wonderfully good." + +The girl laughed; the family had never been in the habit of flattering +one another, and she did not appreciate it as much as Mademoiselle +Therese had meant she should. Indeed, Barbara wished that the lady +would be less suave to her and more uniform in temper towards the rest +of the household, who sometimes, she shrewdly surmised, suffered +considerably from the younger sister's irascibility. + +She had just been in St. Servan ten days, when she had an example of +what she described in a letter home as a "stage quarrel" between the +Mademoiselles Loire. It began at second _dejeuner_ over some trivial +point in the education of Marie, about whom they were very apt to be +jealous. Their voices gradually rose higher and higher, the remarks +made being anything but complimentary, till finally Mademoiselle Loire +leaped from her seat, saying she would not stay there to be insulted, +and darted upstairs. Her sister promptly followed, continuing her +argument as she went, but arriving too late at the study door, which +was bolted on the inside by the fugitive. + +After various fruitless attempts to make herself heard, Mademoiselle +Therese returned to the dining-room, and after a few words of +politeness to Barbara, began once more on the subject of dispute, this +time with Marie, her niece. Apparently the latter took a leaf out of +her aunt's book, for after speaking noisily for a few minutes, she said +_she_ would not be insulted either, and followed her upstairs. +Thereupon Mademoiselle Therese's anger knew no bounds, and finding that +Marie had taken refuge beside her aunt in the study, she began to beat +a lively tattoo upon the door. + +The two boys, full of curiosity, followed to see what was going on, so +Barbara was left in solitary grandeur, with the ruins of an omelette +before her, and she, "having hunger," went on stolidly with her meal. +She was, in truth, a little disgusted with the whole affair, and was +not sorry to escape to her room before Mademoiselle Therese returned. +They were making such a noise below that it was useless to attempt to +do any work, and she was just thinking of going out for a walk, when +her door burst open and in rushed Mademoiselle Loire, dragging Marie +with her. + +"Keep her with you," she panted; "she says she will kill my sister. +Keep her with you while I go down and argue with Therese." + +Barbara looked sharply at the girl, and it seemed to her that though +she kept murmuring, "I'll kill her I--I'll kill her!" half her anger +was merely assumed, and that there was no necessity for alarm. + +"How can they be so silly and theatrical?" she muttered. Then, +glancing round the room to see if there were anything she could give +her, she noticed a bottle of Eno's Fruit Salts, and her eyes twinkled. +It was not exactly the same thing as sal volatile, of course, but at +any rate it would keep the girl quiet, so, pouring out a large +glassful, she bade Marie drink it. The latter obeyed meekly, and for +some time was reduced to silence by want of breath. + +"I shall certainly throw myself into the sea," she gasped at last. + +"Well, you will certainly be more foolish than I thought you were, if +you do," Barbara returned calmly. "Indeed, I can't think what all this +fuss is about." + +Marie stared. "Why, it's to show Aunt Therese that she must not +tyrannise over us like that," she said. "I told her I was going to +throw myself into the sea, and as she believes it, it is almost the +same thing." + +Barbara shrugged her shoulders. + +"A very comfortable way of doing things in cold weather," she remarked; +"but I want a little quiet now, and I think you had better have some +too." + +The French girl, somewhat overawed by the other's coolness, relapsed +into silence, and when the sounds downstairs seemed quieter Barbara got +up, and said she was going out for a walk. She found on descending, +however, that the "argument" had only been transferred to +mademoiselle's workroom, where a very funny sight met her eyes when she +looked in. + +The poor little widower, whom apparently the two sisters had fetched to +arbitrate between them, stood looking fearfully embarrassed in the +middle of the room, turning apologetically from one to the other. He +never got any further than the first few words, however, as they +brought a torrent of explanation from both his hearers, each giving him +dozens of reasons why the other was wrong. + +Marie, who watched for a moment or two, could not help joining in; and +Barbara, very tired of it all, left them to fight it out by themselves, +and went away by the winding streets to the look-out station, where she +sat down and watched the sun shining on the beautiful old walls of St. +Malo. She had only been once in that town with Mademoiselle Therese, +but the ramparts and the old houses had fascinated her, and if she had +been allowed, she would have crossed the little moving bridge daily. + +When she returned, the house seemed quiet again, for which she was very +thankful, and, mounting to her room, she prepared the French lesson +which was usually given her at that time. + +But when Mademoiselle Therese came up, she spent most of the time in +bewailing the ingratitude of one's fellow mortals, especially near +relations, and wondering if Marie were really going to drown herself, +and when her sister would unlock her door and come out of the room. + +Supper was rather a doleful meal, and immediately after it mademoiselle +went to look for her niece, who had not returned. Barbara laughed a +little scornfully at her fears, and even when she came back with the +news that Marie was not concealed next door, as she had thought, +refused to believe that the girl was not hiding somewhere else. + +"But where could she be except next door?" mademoiselle questioned; +"and when I went to ask, Monsieur Dubois was seated with his sons +having supper, and no signs of the truant. He had seen or heard +nothing of her, he said." + +Barbara wondered which had been deceived, and whether the widower +himself was deceived or deceiver, but, giving up the attempt to decide +the question, retired to bed, advising mademoiselle to do the same, +feeling some curiosity, but no anxiety, as to Marie's fate. She had +not been in bed very long when she heard some one move stealthily +downstairs and enter the dining-room. Mademoiselle Therese, she knew, +had locked all the doors and gone to her bedroom, which was in the +front of the house, and she immediately guessed that it must be +something to do with Marie. + +"The plot thickens," she said to herself, stealing to the window, which +looked out upon the garden. There, to her amazement, she saw +Mademoiselle Loire emerging laboriously from the dining-room window. +She saw her in the moonlight creep down the garden towards the wall at +the end, but what happened after that she could only guess at, as the +trees cast a shadow which hid the lady from view. + +"The lady or the tiger?" she said, laughing, as she peered into the +shades of the trees, and about five minutes later was rewarded by +seeing two figures hurry back and enter the house by the same way that +Mademoiselle Loire had got out. + +"Marie!" she thought triumphantly, wondering in what part of the garden +she had been hidden, as there was no gate in the direction from which +she had come. She lay awake for a little while, meditating on the +vagaries of the family she had fallen into, and then fell so soundly +asleep that she was surprised to find it broad daylight when she awoke, +and to see Marie sitting on the end of her bed, smiling beamingly upon +her. + +"So you're back?" Barbara inquired with a yawn. "I hope you didn't +find it too cold in the garden last night." + +"You saw us, then?" giggled Marie. "But you don't know where I came +from, do you? Nor does Aunt Therese. I'll tell you now; such an +exciting time I've had--just like a story-book heroine." + +"Penny novelette heroine," murmured Barbara, but her visitor was too +full of her adventure to notice the remark. + +"As you know, I told Aunt Therese I should drown myself," she began +complacently; "but, of course, such was not my intention." + +"Of course not," interpolated Barbara drily. + +"Instead, I confided my plan to Aunt Marie, then slipped out into the +street, and thence to our friends next door." + +"The widower's?" exclaimed the English girl in surprise. + +"The very same. I explained to him my project for giving my aunt a +wholesome lesson; and he, with true chivalry, invited me to sup with +them--he saw I was spent with hunger." + +Barbara, looking at the plump, rosy face of her companion, which had +assumed a tragic air, stifled a laugh, and the girl continued. + +"I spent a pleasant time, and was just finishing my repast when the +bell rang. 'My aunt!' I cried. 'Hide me from her wrath, Monsieur.' +'The coal-cellar,' he replied, after a moment's stern thought. In one +second I had disappeared--I was no more--and when my aunt entered she +found him at supper with his sons. When she had gone I returned, and +we spent the evening cheerfully in mutual congratulation. At +nightfall, when we considered all was secure, Aunt Marie came into the +garden, placed a ladder against the wall, and I passed from one garden +into the other and regained our room securely. I think Aunt Therese +suspected nothing--Monsieur Dubois is such a beautiful deceiver." + +"Well, I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself," Barbara said +hotly. "Apart from the meanness and deceitfulness of it all, you have +behaved most childishly, and I shall always think less of Monsieur +Dubois for his untruthfulness." + +"Untruthfulness!" Marie returned in an offended tone. "He acted most +chivalrously; but you English have such barbarous ideas about chivalry." + +For a moment Barbara felt tempted to get up and shake the girl, then +came to the conclusion that it would be waste of time and energy to +argue with an individual whose ideas were so hopelessly dissimilar to +her own. + +"I'm going to get up now," she said shortly. "I'll be glad if you +would go." + +"But don't you want to know what we are going to do now?" queried +Marie, a little astonished that her companion should not show more +interest in such an exciting adventure. "Our campaign has only begun. +We will make Aunt Therese capitulate before we have done. After all, +she is the younger. We intend to stay in our rooms without descending +until she promises to ask pardon for her insults, and say no more of +the matter; and we will go out nightly to get air--carefully avoiding +meeting her--and will buy ourselves sausages and chocolate, and so live +until she sees how wrong she has been." + +She ended with great pride, feeling that at length she must have made +an impression on this prosaic English girl, and was much disconcerted +when Barbara broke into laughter, crying, "Oh, you goose; how can you +be so silly!" + +Marie rose with hurt dignity. "You have no feeling for romance," she +said. "Your horizon is most commonplace." Then, struck by a sudden +fear, she added, "But you surely will not be unpleasant enough to tell +Aunt Therese what I have confided to you? I trusted you." + +"No," Barbara said, a little unwillingly, "I won't tell her; but I wish +you had left me out of the matter entirely, for I certainly cannot lie +to her." And with that Marie had to be content. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +A WILD DRIVE. + +The uncomfortable "campaign," as Marie had called it, continued for +some days, and Barbara was in the unpleasant condition of having both +parties confide in her. At the end of that time, however, it seemed as +if the dainties that sustained the two upstairs began to pall upon +them, as housekeeping evidently did on Mademoiselle Therese, and +Barbara saw signs of a truce. + +This was doubtless hastened by the news that an old family friend was +coming with his wife and daughter on the next Sunday afternoon, and, as +Mademoiselle Therese explained, they must keep up appearances. He was +a lawyer who lived at Dol, and from the preparations that were made, +Barbara saw that they thought a great deal of him, for there was such +baking and cooking as had never been since her arrival. The salad even +was adorned with rose leaves, and looked charming, while the +Mesdemoiselles Loire clothed themselves in their best garments. + +They all sat in state in the drawing-room as the hour for the arrival +of the visitors approached, trying to look as if they had never heard +of soufflet or mayonnaise salad, and Barbara, who had been called upon +to taste each of the dishes in turn and give an opinion on their worth, +almost felt as if she never wished to hear of such things again. About +twelve o'clock a _fiacre_ stopped at the door, and a few minutes later +the visitors were announced--father, mother, and daughter. + +Barbara was agreeably surprised--as indeed she often was by the Loires' +friends--to find that they were so nice. The mother and daughter were +both very fashionably dressed, but simple and frank, the father, +however, being most attractive to Barbara. He was clever and amusing, +and contradicted Mademoiselle Therese in such an audacious way, that +had it been any one else, she would have retired to her bedroom +offended for a week. The visit passed most successfully, Mademoiselle +Loire's cooking being quite as much appreciated as she had expected, +and when the visitors said good-bye, Barbara left the sisters +congratulating themselves on their success. + +A few days later the final word was added to the truce between the +sisters by Mademoiselle Therese proposing that _she_ should stay at +home and look after the house, while her sister took Barbara and Marie +for a visit to Cancale, whose beauties, Mademoiselle Therese assured +Barbara, had a world-wide renown. + +But the elder sister, though obviously pleased by the suggestion, +thought she would rather "Therese" went, while she stayed in St. Servan +and paid a few calls that she was desirous of making. + +After much discussion it was so determined, and the following day +Mademoiselle Therese, with the two girls, set off after lunch by the +train. The ride was a pleasant one, and the magnificent view of the +Bay of Cancale with the Mont St. Michel in the distance delighted +Barbara's heart. She much preferred the quaint little fishing village, +La Houle, nestling at the foot of the cliffs, to the more fashionable +quarter of the town; but Mademoiselle Therese, who was bent on "seeing +the fashions of the visitors," led the way with energy to the hotel +half way up the cliff. It was certainly gay enough there, and the +Frenchwoman explained to her pupil "that if one noticed the costumes at +seaside resorts it often saved buying fashion-books." + +They sat on the terrace, mademoiselle and Marie dividing their +attention between a stout lady, in a gorgeous toilet of purple trimmed +with blue, and oysters, which, the Frenchwoman assured Barbara, were +"one of the beauties of the place." But the latter contented herself +with tea, wondering idly, as she drank it, why the beverage so often +tasted of stewed hay. After their refreshment they strolled round the +town, and then sat upon the promenade, watching the sun travel slowly +down the sky towards the sea-line. + +Suddenly mademoiselle remembered the time, and, looking at her watch, +declared they had but a few minutes in which to get to the train, and +that they must run if they wished to catch it. Off they started, +mademoiselle panting in the rear, calling upon the girls to wait, and +gasping out that it would be of no use to arrive without her. They +were extremely glad on arriving at the terminus to see that they had +still a minute or two to spare. + +"We are in time for the train?" mademoiselle asked of a _gendarme_ +standing near the station house. + +The man stared at her. + +"Certainly, madame," he said at last; "but would it not be as well to +come here in the morning?" + +"In the morning!" she echoed. "You foolish fellow! We want to go by +this train--it should be here now--it leaves at 7.30." + +"Ah!" the man said, and he seemed to understand. "I fear you have lost +_that_ train by several days; it went last Sunday." + +"What!" screamed mademoiselle. "How dare you mock me! I will report +you." + +"That must be as madame wishes," returned the man with horrible +calmness; "but the train madame wishes to get only runs on Sundays, +and, therefore, she must wait several days for the next. If any other +train will do, there is one in the morning at 9.30." + +Barbara wanted to laugh, but consideration--or fear--of Mademoiselle +Therese--kept her quiet, and they stood gazing at one another in +sorrowful silence. A ten-mile walk at 7.30 in the evening, unless with +very choice companions, is not an unmitigated pleasure, especially when +one has been walking during the day. However, there was nothing for it +but to walk, as a conveyance, if obtainable, would have been too +expensive for Mademoiselle Therese's economical ideas. + +They declared at first that it was a lovely evening, and began to cheer +their way by sprightly conversation, but a mile or two of dusty +highroad told upon them, and silence fell with the darkness. It was a +particularly hot evening too, and great heat, as every one knows, +frequently tends to irritation, so perhaps their silence was judicious. +Mademoiselle Therese kept murmuring at intervals that it really was +most annoying, as her sister would have been expecting them much +earlier, and would be so vexed. Perhaps visions of a second +retirement, which no "family friend" would come to relieve, floated +before her eyes. + +More than half the distance had been covered when they heard the sound +of wheels behind them. + +"A carriage!" cried mademoiselle, roused to sudden energy, "they _must_ +give us a lift," and drawing up by the side of the road, they waited +anxiously to know their fate. It was fairly dark by this time, and +they could not distinguish things clearly, but they saw a big horse, +with a light, open cart behind. When mademoiselle first began to +speak, the driver took not the least notice, but after going a few +yards, pursued by her with praiseworthy diligence and surprising +vigour, he pulled up and pointed to the seat behind, the place beside +him being already filled by a trunk. + +The wanderers scrambled in joyfully, greatly pleased with their good +luck, and it was not until they were in their places, and near the man, +that they discovered he had been drinking freely and was not as +clear-headed as he might have been. If there had been time they would +all have got out again, but he whipped up so quickly that there was no +chance. He continued to whip up, moreover, till they were going at a +most break-neck speed. + +Mademoiselle, clinging madly to the side of the cart, begged him in the +midst of her gasps and exclamations to let them descend; but the more +she begged and the more desperate she became, the better pleased he +seemed, and it really looked as if they might all be thrown into the +ditch. Then mademoiselle, who was always rather nervous about driving, +broke into shrill screams, with Marie joining in at intervals--Gilpin's +flight was nothing to it--and the cart jolted and swayed so that calm +expostulation was impossible. + +A lesson in rough-riding to a beginner could not have proved a more +disjointing experience, and the man, chuckling over the +loudly-expressed fear of his companions, drove on. Fortunately, there +were not many turns, and the road was fairly wide all the way; but once +Barbara felt the hedge brush her face, and Marie's handkerchief, which +she had been using to mop up her tears, was borne away a few minutes +later by the bushes on the opposite side of the road. + +The only thing that could be said in favour of the drive was that they +covered the ground with great speed, and the thought occurred to +Barbara that it would be by no means pleasant to enter the streets of +St. Servan with their present driver and two screaming women, as, apart +from other considerations, they might meet the policeman, and the +encounter would be unpleasant. + +She told mademoiselle and Marie that if they did not want to be killed +or locked up in the _prefecture_, they must jump off the back of the +cart while going up the hill outside the town. The horse, after its +wild career, would calm down on the incline, besides which, a fall in +the road would be preferable to being thrown through a shop window. + +It took very forcible language to make Mademoiselle Therese face +present terror rather than await the future; but, when the horse really +did slow down to a walk, and the two girls had reached the ground in +safety, she made a mighty effort, and floundered out in a heap upon the +road, making so much noise that Barbara was afraid the man would +realise they were gone, and insist upon their getting in again. + +But he whipped up at that moment, and the noise of the cart drowned the +dolorous complaints. The girls soothed their companion by assuring her +that in ten minutes they would be home, when, most assuredly, her +sister's heart would be moved to pity by their sorry plight and the +tale of their adventures. + +Just as they arrived at their own door they met Mademoiselle Loire +hurrying up, and her sister, thinking she was coming to look for them, +and not knowing the reception she might get, fell upon her neck, +pouring forth with incoherent sobs and explanations the tale of their +woes. + +Mademoiselle Loire was most sympathetic and unreproachful, and, having +dried her sister's tears, led her into the house, where the whole party +sat down to cake and cider, under the influence of which Mademoiselle +Therese quite recovered, and retold their adventures, Barbara realising +for the first time, as she listened, what heroines they had been! + +Their screaming advance along the highroad became a journey, where they +sat grimly, with set teeth, listening to the curses of a madman, and +bowing their heads to escape having them cut off repeatedly by the +branches of trees. + +Their ignominious exit from the cart on the hill became a desperate +leap into the darkness, when the vehicle was advancing at full gallop; +and when Barbara finally rose to say good-night, she felt as if they +had all been princesses in a fairy-tale, in which, alas! there had been +no prince. + +She learned two things on the morrow--not counting the conviction that +riding at a gallop in a cart made one desperately stiff. The first was +from Marie, who told her that Mademoiselle Loire's forbearance with +their late return, and her intense sympathy with their adventures, +probably arose from the fact that she had just been returning from her +own expedition when she met the wanderers, and had been filled with +very similar fears concerning her reception as those which had filled +her sister's heart. + +The other fact, which Barbara read aloud to Mademoiselle Therese from +the newspaper, was that Jean Malet had been apprehended for furious +driving at a late hour the previous night, and would have to pay a +heavy fine. + +"How he had come safely through the streets at such speed," said the +journalist, "was a miracle. Fortunately, there was no one in the cart +but himself." + +"Fortunately, indeed, there was not," remarked Barbara, folding up the +paper. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +MONT ST. MICHEL. + +The following day Barbara was taken to a confirmation service at a +Roman Catholic church in the town, for one of Marie's younger brothers +was coming from the country to be confirmed. Barbara watched the +service curiously, feeling rather as if she were in a dream. The +bishop entered the church with much pomp, adorned in wonderful lace and +embroidered vestments. His progress up the aisle was slow, for there +were many mothers and sisters with little children, whom they presented +to him for his blessing, and he patiently stopped beside each, giving +them his ring to kiss. + +He was waited on by the clergy of the church and some from the country +round, and these latter amused Barbara not a little, for they carried +their rochets in newspapers, or in shabby brown bags, which they left +in corners of the seats, while they slipped on their rochets in full +view of every one. Then the boys, accompanied by their godfathers, the +girls by their godmothers, filed slowly up to the bishop, who blessed +each in turn. On leaving him they passed in front of two priests, the +first attended by a boy bearing a basket of cotton-wool pellets dipped +in oil, the second by a boy with a basket of towels. + +The first priest rubbed the forehead of each child with oil, and the +next one dried it. After which they went singing to their places. + +The ceremony was a very long one, and Barbara was not very sorry when +it was over. She grew weary before the close, and was glad when they +made their way home, accompanied by Marie's father--the Loires' +half-brother--and the little boy. The former was a farmer in the +country, and Barbara thought he was much pleasanter to look upon than +either his daughter or sisters. + +Mademoiselle Loire had provided him at lunch with his favourite +dish--shrimps--and Barbara could hardly eat anything herself, being +completely fascinated with watching him. He had helped himself pretty +liberally, and, to her amazement, began to eat them with lightning +speed. He bent fairly low over his plate, resting an elbow on each +side, and, putting in the whole shrimp with his left hand, almost +immediately seemed to take out the head and tail with the other, +working with machine-like regularity. It was an accomplishment that +Barbara was sure would bring him in a lot of money at a show, and she +began to picture to herself a large advertisement, "Instantaneous +Shrimp-eater," and the products that might arise therefrom. + +When he had almost demolished the dish of shrimps he stopped, looked a +little regretfully at the _debris_ on his plate, then straightened +himself in his chair, and began to take an interest in what was going +on around him. He smiled benignly on his sisters, teased his daughter, +and looked with shy curiosity at Barbara, to whom he did not dare to +address any remarks until nearly the end of lunch. Then he said very +slowly, and in a loud voice as if speaking to a deaf person, "Has the +English mademoiselle visited the Mont St. Michel yet?" + +Barbara shook her head. + +"It is a pleasure for the future, I hope," she said. + +"But certainly, of course, she must go there," he said, still speaking +laboriously. Then after that effort, as if exhausted, he relapsed into +silence. + +But Mademoiselle Therese pursued the idea, and before the meal was over +had fixed a day in the following week for the excursion. As her sister +had already been at the Mont more than once, it was decided she should +remain with Marie, so that the pleasant task of accompanying Barbara +fell, as usual, to Mademoiselle Therese. At the last moment the +numbers were increased by the little widower, who suddenly made up his +mind to join them, with his eldest son. + +"It is long since I have been," he declared, "and it is part of the +education of Jean to see the wonders of his native land. Therefore, +mademoiselle, if you permit us, we will join you to-morrow. It will be +doubly pleasant for us to go in the company of one so learned." + +Mademoiselle Therese could not help bowing at such a compliment, but it +is doubtful whether she really appreciated the widower's proposal. The +little man was quite capable of contradicting information she might +give Barbara if he thought it incorrect, and when he was there she +could not keep the conversation entirely in her own hands. + +By the girl's most earnest request, she had agreed to stay the night at +the Mont, and they started off in highest spirits by an early morning +train. + +Her two companions poured into Barbara's ears a full historical account +of Mont St. Michel, sometimes agreeing, sometimes contradicting each +other, and the girl was glad that, when at last the long stretch of +weird and lonely sandflats was reached, they seemed to have exhausted +their eloquence. + +"But where is the sea?" she asked in surprise. "I thought you said the +sea would be all round it." + +Mademoiselle Therese looked a little uncomfortable. + +"Yes, the sea--of course. I expected the tide would be high. It ought +to be up, I am sure. You told me too that the tide would be high," and +she turned so quickly upon the widower that he jumped nervously. + +"Yes, of course, that is to say--you told me the tide should be high at +present, and I said I did not doubt it since you said it; but I heard +some one remarking a few minutes ago that it would be up to-morrow." + +"Never mind," Barbara interposed, for she saw signs of a fresh +discussion. "It will be all the nicer to see it rise, I am sure." +And, fortunately, the widower and Mademoiselle Therese agreed with her. + +The train, crowded with visitors, puffed slowly towards St. Michel, and +Barbara watched the dim outline of gray stone become clearer, till the +full beauty of the Abbaye and the Merveille burst upon her sight. + +"St. Michael and All Angels," she murmured, looking up towards the +golden figure of the archangel on the top of the Abbaye. "He looks as +if guarding the place; but what cruel things went on below him." + +"Shocking tragedies!" mademoiselle assured her, having heard the last +words. "Shocking tragedies! But let us be quick and get out, or else +we shall not arrive in time for the first lunch. Now you are going to +taste Madame Poulard's omelettes--a food ambrosial. You will wonder! +They alone are worth coming to the Mont St. Michel for." + +They hurried out over the wooden gangway that led from the train lines +to the gate at the foot of the Mont, and entered the strange-stepped +streets, and marvelled at the houses clinging to the rock. They were +welcomed into the inn by Madame Poulard herself, who, resting for a +moment at the doorway from her labours in the kitchen, stood smiling +upon all comers. + +Barbara looked with interest at the long, low dining-room, whose walls +bore tokens of the visits of so many famous men and women, and at whose +table there usually gathered folk from so many different nations. + +"There is an Englishman!" she said eagerly to Mademoiselle Therese, for +it seemed quite a long time since she had seen one of her countrymen so +near. + +"But, yes, of course," mademoiselle answered, shrugging her shoulders. +"What did you expect? They go everywhere," and she turned her +attention to her plate. "One must be fortified by a good meal," she +said in a solemn whisper to Barbara as they rose, "to prepare one for +the blood-curdling tales we are about to hear while seeing over the +Abbaye." + +And though the girl allowed something for exaggeration, it was quite +true that, after hearing the stories, and seeing the pictures of those +who had perished in the dungeons, she felt very eerie when being taken +through them. In the damp darkness she seemed to realise the terror +that imprisonment there must have held, and she thought she could +almost hear the moans of the victims and the scraping of the rats, who +were waiting--for the end. + +"Oh!" she cried, drawing a long breath when they once more emerged into +the open air. "You seem hardly able to breathe down there even for a +little while--and for years----" She shuddered. "How could they bear +it?" + +"One learns to bear everything in this life," Mademoiselle Therese +replied sententiously, shaking her head and looking as if she knew what +it was to suffer acutely. "One is set on earth to learn to 'suffer and +grow strong,' as one of your English poets says." + +Barbara turned away impatiently, and felt she could gladly have shaken +her companion. + +"One wants to come to a place like this with nice companions or alone," +she thought, and it was this feeling that drove her out on to the +ramparts that evening after dinner. She was feeling happy at having +successfully escaped from the noisy room downstairs, and thankful to +the game of cards that had beguiled Mademoiselle Therese's attention +from her, when she heard footsteps close beside her, and, turning +round, saw Jean Dubois. + +"Whatever do you want here?" she said a little irritably; then, hearing +his humble answer that he had just come to enjoy the view, felt ashamed +of herself, and tried to be pleasant. + +"Do you know," she said, suddenly determining to share an idea with him +to make up for her former rudeness, "we have seen Mont St. Michel from +every side but one--and that is the sea side. I should like to see it +every way, wouldn't you? I have just made a little plan, and that is +to get up early to-morrow morning, and go out across the sand till I +can see it." + +"Mademoiselle!" the boy exclaimed. "But is it safe? The sands are +treacherous, and many have been buried in them." + +"Yes; I know, but there are lots of footsteps going across them in all +directions, and I saw some people out there to-day. If I follow the +footprints it will be safe, for where many can go surely one may." + +It took some time for Jean to grow accustomed to the idea, and he drew +his _capucine_ a little closer round him, as if the thought of such an +adventure chilled him; then he laid his hand on Barbara's arm. + +"I, too," he said, "will see the view from that side. Mademoiselle +Barbara, I will come with you." + +"But your father? Would he approve, do you think?" + +"But assuredly," Jean said hastily; "he wishes me to get an entire idea +of Mont St. Michel--to be permeated, in fact. It is to be an +educational visit, he said." + +"Very well, then. But we must be very early and very quiet, so that we +may not disturb mademoiselle. I am not confiding in her, you +understand. Can you be ready at half-past five, so that we may be back +before coffee?" + +"Assuredly--at half-past five I shall be on the terrace," and Jean's +cheeks actually glowed at the thought of the adventure. "There was so +much romance in it," he thought, and pictured how nice it would be +telling the story to Marie afterwards. + +Barbara herself was very gleeful, for it was nice to be able to act +without wondering whether she was showing the younger ones a good +example or not. She felt almost as if she were back at school, and +that feeling was intensified by the little cubicle bedrooms with which +the visitors at Madame Poulard's were provided. She had been a little +anxious as to whether she would awaken at the right hour, but found, on +opening her eyes next morning, that she had plenty of time to spare. + +She dressed noiselessly, for mademoiselle was sleeping in the next +room, and she did not want to rouse her, and stole down the passage and +into the terrace, where Jean was waiting for her. They were early +risers at Mont St. Michel, and the servants looked with some curiosity, +mingled perhaps with disapproval, at the couple, but they recognised +the girl as being English, and of course there was no accounting for +what any of that nation did! It was a lovely morning, and Barbara, +picking her way over the rocks, hummed gaily to herself, for it was an +excursion after her own heart. + +Jean cast rather a doubtful eye from the rocks to the waste of sand in +front of them, but, seeing his companion did not hesitate, he could not +either, and stepped out boldly beside her. + +"You see," Barbara explained, "it is really perfectly hard here, and we +will keep quite close to the footsteps that lead right out to that +other rock out there." + +"But you are surely not going as far as that?" he inquired anxiously. +"We should never be back in time for coffee." + +"I don't think so," Barbara returned gaily; "but we'll see how we get +on." + +When once Jean saw that the ground was perfectly sound beneath their +feet, and that the footprints went on unwaveringly, he felt reassured, +and really began to enjoy himself. They turned round every now and +then to look back at the Mont, but decided each time that they had not +got quite far enough away to get a really good effect. + +"You know," said Jean, some of his fears returning after a time, "one +usually has guides--people who know the sands--to take one out so far. +I trod on a very soft place just now." + +"Keep near the footprints then," Barbara answered. "The tide hasn't +been up yet, and the sands can't surely change in the night-time. Just +a little farther, and then we will stop." + +They stopped a few minutes later, and both declared that the view was +well worth the walk, the only thing that Barbara regretted being that +it was too damp to sit down and enjoy it at their ease. + +"It _would_ have been nice to get as far as Tombelaine," the girl said +at last, turning from St. Michel to take another look at the rocky +islet farther out; "but I suppose we really must be going home again +now." + +Jean did not answer her. He had turned with her towards the rock; then +his eyes had wandered round the horizon, and had remained fixed in such +a stare that the girl wondered what he saw. + +"What is the matter?" she asked. "What is it you are seeing, Jean?" + +"The sea," he gasped, his face becoming ashen. "Mademoiselle--the +tide--it advances--we will be caught." + +Barbara looked across the long stretch of gray sand till her eyes found +the moving line of water. + +"It is nearer," she said slowly; "but of course it always comes in +every day." + +"Yes--but--to-day--I had forgotten--it is to be high tide--all round +the Mont. Did you not hear them say so?" + +"Yes," Barbara owned; "I remember quite well now. But let us hurry--it +is a long way off yet. We have plenty of time." She spoke +consolingly, for Jean's face was blanched and she saw he was trembling. + +"But, mademoiselle, you do not understand. Did you not hear them +telling us also that the tide advances so rapidly that it catches the +quickest horse? Oh, I wish we had told some one of this journey--that +some one had seen us. They would have warned us. We should have been +safe." + +It was then for the first time that the thought of danger entered +Barbara's head, and she took her companion's hand. + +"Let us run, then. Quick!" she said. "We are not such a very long way +off." + +Jean hesitated only a moment, his eyes, as if fascinated, still on the +water; then he turned his face towards the Mont, and sped over the sand +more fleetly than Barbara would have believed possible to him--so +fleetly, indeed, that he began to leave the girl, who was swift of +foot, behind. + +She glanced over her shoulder at the sea, which certainly was drawing +in very rapidly, licking over the sand greedily, then forward at St. +Michel, and fell to a walk. She knew she could not run the whole +distance for it was not easy going on the sand, especially when an eye +had always to be kept un the guiding footprints. + +[Illustration: "She glanced over her shoulder at the sea."] + +It was some little time before Jean really realised she was not close +behind him; then he stopped running and waited for her. + +"Go on," she shouted. "Don't wait for me, I can catch you up later." + +"But it is impossible for me to leave you," he called back on regaining +his breath. "But, oh! run if you can, for the water comes very near." + +One more fleeting glance behind and Barbara broke into a run again, +though her breath came in gasps. + +"They are seeing us from the Mont," panted Jean. "They have come out +to watch the tide rise. Give me your hand. Do not stop! Do not stop!" + +Barbara felt that, do as she would, her breath could hold out no +longer, and she slackened her pace to a walk once more. Then a great +shout went up from the people on the ramparts, and they began waving +their hands and handkerchiefs wildly. To them the two figures seemed +to be moving so slowly and the great sea behind so terribly fast. +Barbara could hear its swish, swish, near enough now, and she felt +Jean's hand tremble in her own. "Run yourself," she said, dropping it. +"Run, and I'll follow." + +But he merely shook his head. To speak was waste of breath, and he +meant his to last him till he reached the rocks. + +He pulled the girl into a trot again, and they plodded on heavily. It +was impossible for him to speak now, but he pointed at the rocks below +St. Michel where two men were scrambling down, and Barbara understood +that they were coming to aid. + +The sea was very close--horribly close--when two fishermen met the +couple, and, taking Barbara's hands on either side, pulled her on, +while Jean panted a little way behind. The watching crowd above had +been still with fear until they saw the rocks reached; then they +shouted again and again, while the many who had scrambled down part of +the way hastened forward to see who the adventurous couple were, and to +give a helping hand if necessary. + +One of the first to reach them was the little widower, his cravate +loose, his hat off, and tears streaming down his cheeks. + +"Jean!" he wailed. "What have I done that you should treat me so? +What would your sainted mother say were she to see you thus?" + +But neither Jean nor Barbara was capable of saying a word, and though +the fishermen were urgently assuring the girl that she was not safe +yet, that they must go round the rocks to the gate on the other side, +she remained sitting doubled up on a rock, feeling that her breath +would never come into her body again. + +"Let her rest a moment," suggested one wiser than the rest. "She +cannot move till she breathes. There is yet time enough. Loosen her +collar, and let her breathe." + +The sea was gurgling at the foot of the rocks when Barbara regained her +breath sufficiently to move, and she was glad enough to have strong +arms to help her on her way. + +Jean and his father reached the gate first, and, therefore, +Mademoiselle Therese had already exhausted a little of her energy +before Barbara appeared. But she was about to fling herself in tears +upon the girl's neck when a bystander interposed. + +"Let her breathe," he said. "Let her go to the inn and get +nourishment." And Barbara, the centre of an eager, excited French +crowd, was thankful, indeed, to shelter herself within Madame Poulard's +hospitable walls. + +"We will probably have to stay here a week till she +recovers"--Mademoiselle Therese had a sympathetic audience--"she is of +delicate constitution;" and the good lady was perhaps a little +disappointed when Barbara declared herself perfectly able to go home in +the afternoon as had been arranged. + +"What should prevent us?" she asked, when after a rest and something to +eat she came down to the terrace. "It was only a long race, and a +fright which I quite deserved." + +"Yes, indeed, a fright!" and the Frenchwoman threw up her hands. "Such +fear as I felt when I came out to see the tide and saw you fleeing +before it. Your aunt!--Your mother!--My charge! Such visions fleeted +before my eyes. But _never, never, never_ will I trust you with Jean +any more," and she cast a vengeful look at the widower and his son, who +were seated a little farther off. + +"But it wasn't his fault at all," the girl explained. "On the +contrary, I proposed it, and he joined me out of kindness. He pulled +me along, too, over the sand. Oh, indeed, you must not be angry with +Jean." + +"It was very deceptive of him not to tell me--or his father. Then we +could both have come with you--or explained to you that the tide rose +early to-day. We heard it was to come early when you were out last +night. They say," she went on, shaking her head, "if it had been an +equinoctial tide, that neither of you would have escaped--there would +have been no shadow of a hope for either--you would both have been +drowned out there in the damp, wet sand." + +Mademoiselle Therese showing signs of weeping again, Barbara hastened +to comfort her, assuring her that she would never again go out alone to +see St. Michel from that side, which she thought was a perfectly safe +promise to make. But her companion shook her head mournfully, +declaring that it would be a very long time before she brought any of +her pupils to Mont St. Michel again. + +"They might really get caught next time," she said, and Barbara knew it +was no good to point out that probably there would never be another +pupil who was quite so silly as she had been. + +"Nevertheless," the girl said to herself, looking back at the grand, +gray pile from the train, "except for the fright I gave them, it was +worth it all--worth it all, dear St. Michel, to see you from out +there." And Jean, looking pensively out of the window, was thinking +that since it was safely over, the adventure was one which any youth +might be proud to tell to his companions, and which few were fortunate +or brave enough to have experienced. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +MADEMOISELLE VIRE. + +"The Loires' chief virtues are their friends," Barbara had written +home, and it was always a surprise to her to find that they knew so +many nice people. A few days after the adventurous visit to Mont St. +Michel she made the acquaintance of one whom she learned to love +dearly, and about whom there hung a halo of romance that charmed the +girl. + +"Her story is known to me," Mademoiselle Therese explained on the way +to her house, "and I will tell it you--in confidence, of course." She +paused a moment to impress Barbara and to arrange her thoughts, for she +dearly loved a romantic tale, and would add garnishing by the way if +she did not consider it had enough. + +"She is the daughter of a professor," she began presently. "They used +to live in Rouen--gray, beautiful, many-churched Rouen." The lady +glanced sideways at her companion to see if her rhetoric were +impressive enough, and Barbara waited gravely for her to continue, +though wondering if mademoiselle had ever read _The Lady of Shalott_. + +"An officer in one of the regiments stationed in the quaint old town," +pursued mademoiselle, "saw the professor's fair young daughter, and +fell rapturously in love with her. Whereupon they became betrothed." + +Barbara frowned a little. The setting of the story was too ornate, and +seemed almost barbarous. + +"And then?" she asked impatiently. + +"Then--ah, then!" sighed the story-teller, who thought she was making a +great impression--"then the sorrow came. As soon as his family knew, +they were grievously angry, furiously wrathful, because she had no +_dot_; and when she heard of their fury and wrath she nobly refused to +marry him until he gained their consent. 'Never,' she cried" (and it +was obvious that here mademoiselle was relying on her own invention), +"'never will I marry thee against thy parents' wish.'" + +She paused, and drew a long breath before proceeding. "A short time +after this, the regiment of her lover was ordered out to India, in +which pestiferous country he took a malicious fever and expired. She +has no relatives left now, though so frail and delicate, but lives with +an old maid in a very small domicile. She is cultivated to an extreme, +and is so fond of music that, though her house is too small to admit of +the pianoforte entering by the door, she had it introduced by the +window of the _salon_, which had to be unbricked--the window, I mean. +She has, moreover, three violins--one of which belonged to her +ever-to-be-lamented fiance--and, though she is too frail to stand, she +will sit, when her health permits, and make music for hours together." + +Mademoiselle Therese uttered the last words on the threshold of the +house, and Barbara did not know whether to laugh or to cry at such a +story being told in such a way. The door was opened by the old maid, +Jeannette, who wore a quaint mob cap and spotless apron, and who +followed the visitors into the room, and, having introduced them to her +mistress, seated herself in one corner and took up her knitting as +"company," Mademoiselle Therese whispered to Barbara. + +The latter thought she had never before seen such a charming old lady +as Mademoiselle Vire, who now rose to greet them, and she wondered how +any one who had known her in the "many-churched Rouen days" could have +parted from her. + +She talked for a little while to Mademoiselle Therese, then turned +gently to Barbara. + +"Do you play, mademoiselle?" + +"A little," the girl returned hesitatingly; "not enough, I'm afraid, to +give great pleasure." + +But Mademoiselle Vire rose with flushed cheeks. + +"Ah! then, will you do me the kindness to play some accompaniments? +That is one of the few things my good Jeannette cannot do for me," and +almost before Barbara realised it she was sitting on a high-backed +chair before the piano in the little _salon_, while Mademoiselle Vire +sought eagerly for her music. + +The room was so small that, with Mademoiselle Therese and the maid +Jeannette--who seemed to be expected to follow her mistress--there +seemed hardly room to move in it, and Barbara was all the more nervous +by the nearness of her audience. + +It certainly was rather anxious work, for though the little lady was +charmingly courteous, she would not allow a passage played wrongly to +go without correction. "I think we were not quite together there--were +we?" she would say. "May we play it through again?" and Barbara would +blush up to her hair, for she knew the violinist had played _her_ part +perfectly. She enjoyed it, though, in spite of her nervousness, and +was sorry when it was time to go. + +"You will come again, I hope?" her hostess asked. "You have given me a +happy time." Then turning eagerly to Jeannette, she added, "Did I play +well to-day, Jeannette?" + +The quaint old maid rose at once from her seat at the door, and came +across the room to put her mistress's cap straight. + +"Madame played better than I have ever heard her," she replied. + +Barbara had been so pleased with everything that she went again a few +days later by herself, and this time was led into the garden, which, +like the house, was very small, but full of roses and other +sweet-smelling things. Madame--for Barbara noticed that most people +seemed to call her so--was busy watering her flowers, and had on big +gloves and an apron. When she saw the girl coming, she came forward to +welcome her, saying, with a deprecatory movement towards her apron-- + +"But this apron!--These gloves! Had I known it was you, mademoiselle, +I should have changed them and made myself seemly. Why did you not +warn me, Jeannette?" + +"Madame should not work in the garden and heat herself," the old woman +said doggedly; "she should let me do that." + +But madame laughed gaily. + +"Oh, but my flowers know when I water them, and could not bear to have +me leave them altogether to others." Then, in explanation to her +visitor, "It is an old quarrel between Jeannette and me. Is it not, my +friend? Now I am hot and thirsty. Will you bring us some of your good +wine, Jeannette?" + +They were sitting in a little bower almost covered with roses, and +Barbara felt as if she must be in a pretty dream, when the maid came +back bearing two slender-stemmed wine-glasses and a musty bottle +covered with cobwebs. + +"It is very old indeed," madame explained. + +"Jeannette and I made it, when we were young, from the walnuts in our +garden in Rouen." + +Having filled both glasses, she raised her own, and said, with a +graceful bow, "Your health, mademoiselle," and after taking a sip she +turned to Jeannette, repeating, "Your health, Jeannette." Whereupon +the old woman curtsied wonderfully low considering her stiff knees. + +Barbara did not like the wine very much, but she would have drunk +several glasses to please her hostess, though, fortunately, she was not +asked to do so. They had a long talk, and the old lady related many +interesting tales about the life in Rouen and in Paris, where she had +often been, so that the time sped all too quickly for the girl. When +she got home she found two visitors, who were sitting under the trees +in the garden waiting to have tea. One was an English girl of about +fourteen, whom Barbara thought looked both unhappy and sulky. The +other was one of the ladies whose school she was at. + +"This is Alice Meynell," Mademoiselle Therese said with some fervour, +"and, Alice, _this_ is a fellow-countrywoman of your own." But the +introduction did not seem to make the girl any happier, and she hardly +spoke all tea-time, though Marie did her best to carry on a +conversation. When she had returned to work with Mademoiselle Loire, +the business of entertainment fell to Barbara, who proposed a walk +round the garden. + +At first the visitor did not seem to care for the idea, but when the +mistress with her suggested it was too hot to walk about, she +immediately jumped up and said there was nothing she would like better. +There seemed to be few subjects that interested her; but when, almost +in desperation, Barbara asked how she liked France, she suddenly burst +forth into speech. + +"I hate it," she cried viciously. "I detest it and the people I am +with, who never let me out of their sight. 'Spies,' I call +them--'spies,' not teachers. They even come with me to church--one of +them at least--and I feel as if I were in prison." + +"But surely there is no harm in their coming to church with you?" +Barbara said. "Besides, in France, you know, they have such strict +ideas about chaperones that it's quite natural for them to be careful. +Mademoiselle Therese goes almost everywhere with me, and I am a good +deal older than you are." + +"But they're _not_ Protestants--I'm sure they're not," the girl +returned hotly. "They shouldn't come to church with me; they only +pretend. Besides, they don't follow the other girls about nearly as +carefully. The worst of it is that I have to stay here for the +holidays, too." + +She seemed very miserable about it, and Barbara thought it might +relieve her to confide in some one, and, after a little skilful +questioning, the whole story came out. + +Her mother was dead, and her father in the West Indies, and though she +wrote him often and fully about everything, she never got any answers +to her questions, so that she was sure people opened her letters and +put in different news. She was afraid the same thing was done with her +father's letters to her, because once something was said by mistake +that could have been learned only by reading the news intended for her +eyes alone. + +"He never saw the place," the girl continued. "He took me to my aunt +in England, who promised to find me a school. She thought the whole +business a nuisance, and was only too glad to find a place quickly +where they'd keep me for the holidays too. She never asks me to go to +England--not that I would if she wanted me to." + +There were angry tears in the girl's eyes, and Barbara thought the case +really did seem rather a hard one, though it was clear her companion +had been spoiled at home, and had probably had her own way before +coming to school. + +"It does sound rather horrid," Barbara agreed, "and three years must +seem a long time; but it will go at last, you know." + +The girl shook her head. + +"Too slowly, far too slowly--it just crawls. I never have any one to +talk things over with, either, you see, for I can't trust the French +girls; they carry tales, I know. Even now--look how she watches me; +she longs to know what I'm saying." + +Barbara looked round, and it was true that the visitor seemed more +interested in watching them than in Mademoiselle Therese's +conversation; and, directly she caught Barbara's eye, she got up +hastily and said they must go. Alice Meynell immediately relapsed into +sulkiness again; but, just as she was saying good-bye, she managed to +whisper-- + +"I shall run away soon. I know I can't stand it much longer." + +The others were too near for Barbara to do more than give her a warm +squeeze of the hand; but she watched the girl out of sight, feeling +very sorry for her. If she had lived a free-and-easy life on her +father's plantation, never having known a mother's care, it was no +wonder that she should be a little wild and find her present life +irksome. + +"She looks quite equal to doing something desperate," Barbara thought, +as she turned to go in to supper. "I must try to see her again soon, +for who knows what mad ideas a girl of only fifteen may take into her +head!" + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE "AMERICAN PRETENDER." + +"An invitation has come from Monsieur Dubois to visit them at Dol," +Mademoiselle Therese exclaimed with pride, on opening her letters one +morning. "It is really particularly kind and nice of him. He includes +_you_," she added, turning to Barbara. + +The girl had to think a few moments before remembering that Monsieur +Dubois was the "family friend" for whose sake the sisters had sunk +their grievances, and then she was genuinely pleased at the invitation. + +"Now, which of us shall go?" mademoiselle proceeded. "It is clear we +cannot _all_ do so," and she looked inquiringly at her sister. + +"Marie and I are _much_ too busy to accept invitations right and left +like that," Mademoiselle Loire replied loftily. "For people like you +and Mademoiselle Barbara, who have plenty of leisure, it will be a very +suitable excursion, I imagine." + +Barbara looked a little anxiously at the younger sister, fearing she +might be stirred up to wrath by the veiled slur on her character; but +probably she was pleased enough to be the one to go, whatever excuse +Mademoiselle Loire chose to give. Indeed, her mood had been +wonderfully amicable for several days. "Let me see," she said, looking +meditatively at Barbara. "You have been longing to ride _something_ +ever since you came here, and since you have not been able to find a +horse, how would it do to hire a bicycle, and come only so far in the +train with me and ride the rest of the way?" + +Barbara's eyes shone. This _was_ a concession on Mademoiselle +Therese's part, for she had hitherto apparently been most unwilling for +the girl to be out of her sight for any length of time, and had assured +her that there was no possibility of getting riding lessons in the +neighbourhood. What had brought her to make this proposal now Barbara +could not imagine. + +"That would be a perfectly lovely plan," she cried. "You are an angel +to think of it, mademoiselle." At which remark the lady in question +was much flattered. + +The next morning they started in gay spirits, Mademoiselle Therese +arrayed in her best, which always produced a feeling of wonderment in +Barbara. The lady certainly had not a Frenchwoman's usual taste, and +her choice of colours was not always happy, though she herself was +blissfully content about her appearance. + +"I am glad you put on that pretty watch and chain," she said +approvingly to her companion, when they were in the train. "I always +try to make an impression when I go to Dol, for Madame Dubois is a +_very_ fashionable lady." + +She stroked down her mauve skirt complacently, and Barbara thought that +she could not fail to make an impression of some kind. She was +entertained as they went along, by stories about the cleverness and +position of the lawyer, and the charms of his wife, and the delights of +his daughter, till Barbara felt quite nervous at the idea of meeting +such an amount of goodness, fashion, and wit in its own house. + +Mademoiselle Therese allowed herself just a little time to give +directions as to the route the girl was to take on leaving her, and +Barbara repeated the turnings she had to take again and again till +there seemed no possibility of making a mistake. + +"After the first short distance you reach the highroad," mademoiselle +called after her as she left the carriage, "so I have no fear about +allowing you to go; it is a well-trodden highroad, too, and not many +kilometres." + +"I shall be all right, thank you," Barbara said gleefully, thinking how +nice it was to escape into the fresh, sunny air after the close +third-class carriage. "There is no sea to catch me _this_ time, you +know." + +Mademoiselle shook her finger at her. "Naughty, naughty! to remind me +of that terrible time--it almost makes me fear to let you go." At +which Barbara mounted hastily, in case she should be called back, +although the train had begun to move. + +"Repeat your directions," her companion shrieked after her, and the +girl, with a laugh, murmured to herself, "Turn to the right, then the +left, by a large house, then through a narrow lane, and _voila_ the +high-road!" She had no doubt at all about knowing them perfectly. +Unfortunately for her calculations, when she came to the turning-point +there were _two_ lanes leading off right and left, and on this point +Mademoiselle Therese had given her no instructions. There was nobody +near to ask. So, after considering them both, she decided to take the +one that looked widest. After all, if it were wrong, she could easily +turn back. + +She had gone but a little way, however, when she saw another cyclist +approaching, and, thinking that here was a chance to find out if she +were right before going any farther, she jumped off her machine and +stood waiting. When the new-comer was quite close to her she noticed +that he was not a very prepossessing individual, and remembered that +she had been warned in foreign countries always to look at people +before speaking to them. But it was too late then. So making the best +of it, she asked boldly which was the nearest way to Dol. The man +stared at her for a moment, then said she should go straight on, and +would soon arrive at the highroad. + +"But I will conduct you so far if you like, madame," he added. + +Barbara had seen him looking rather intently at her watch and chain, +however, and began to feel a little uneasy. + +"Oh, no, thank you," she rejoined hastily. "I can manage very well +myself," and, springing on to her bicycle, set off at a good speed. He +stood in the road for a few minutes as if meditating; but, when she +looked back at the corner, she saw that he had mounted too, and was +coming down the road after her. There might be no harm in that; but it +did not add to her happiness; and the watch and chain, which had been +Aunt Anne's last gift to her, seemed to weigh heavily upon her neck. + +There was no thought now of turning; but, though she pedalled her +hardest, she could not see any signs of a highroad in front of her, and +was sure she must have taken the wrong lane. Indeed, to her dismay, +when she got a little farther down the road, it narrowed still more and +ran through a wood. She was quite sure now that the man was chasing +her, and wondered if she would ever get to Dol at all. It seemed to be +her fate to be chased by something on her excursions, and she was not +quite sure whether she preferred escaping on her own feet or a bicycle. + +At first he did not gain upon her much, and, if she had had her own +machine, and had been in good training, perhaps she might have +outdistanced him; but there did not appear to be much chance of that at +present. She was thankful to see a sharp descent in front of her, and +let herself go at a break-neck speed; but, unfortunately, there was an +equally steep hill to climb on the other side, and she would have to +get off and walk. + +She was just making up her mind to turn round and brave it out, and +keep her watch--if possible--when she saw something on the grass by the +roadside, a little ahead of her, that made her heart leap with relief +and pleasure--namely, a puff of smoke, and a figure clad in a brown +tweed suit. She was sure, even after a mere hurried glance, that the +owner of the suit must be English, for it bore the stamp of an English +tailor, and the breeze bore her unmistakable whiffs of "Harris." + +She did not wait a moment, but leaped from her bicycle and sank down +panting on the grass near, alarming the stranger--who had been nearly +asleep--considerably. He jerked himself into a sitting position, and +burned himself with his cigarette. + +"Who the dickens----" he began; then hastily took off his cap and +begged the girl's pardon, to which she could not reply for +breathlessness. But he seemed to understand what was needed at once, +for, after a swift glance from her to the man who was close at hand +now, he said in loud, cheerful tones-- + +"Ah! Here you are at last. I am glad you caught me up. We'll just +have a little rest, then go calmly on our way. You should not ride so +quickly on a hot day." + +The man was abreast of them now, and looked very hard at both as he +passed, but did not stop, and Barbara heaved a long sigh of relief. + +"I'm so very sorry," she said at last. "Please understand I am not in +the habit of leaping down beside people like that, only I've had this +watch and chain such a _very_ short time, and I was so afraid he'd take +them." + +"And how do you know that they will be any safer with me?" he asked, +with a wicked twinkle in his eyes. + +"Because I saw you were an Englishman, of course," she rejoined calmly. + +The young man laughed. + +"Pardon me, you are wrong, for I am an American." + +Barbara's cheeks could hardly grow more flushed, but she felt +uncomfortably hot. + +"I am so sorry," she stammered, getting up hurriedly; "I really thought +it was an Englishman, and felt--at home, you know." + +"Please continue to think so if it makes you any happier; and--I think +you had better stay a little longer before going on--the fellow might +be waiting farther down the road." + +Barbara subsided again. She had no desire to have any further +encounter with the French cyclist. + +Meanwhile, the stranger had taken one or two rapid glances at her, and +the surprise on his face grew. "Where are the rest of the party?" he +asked presently. + +"The rest of the party has gone on by train," and Barbara laughed. +"Poor party, it would be so horribly alarmed if it could see me now. I +always seem to be alarming it." + +"I don't wonder, if it is always as careless as on the present +occasion. Whatever possessed he, she, or it, to let you come along by +yourself like this? It was most culpably careless." + +"Oh, no, indeed. It is what I have been begging for since I came to +Brittany--indeed it is. She gave me _most_ careful directions as to +what turnings to take"--and Barbara repeated them merrily--"it was only +that I was silly enough to take the wrong one. And now I really must +be getting on, or poor Mademoiselle Therese will be distracted. +Please, does this road lead to Dol?" + +"Dol?" he repeated quickly. "Yes, certainly. I am just going there, +and--and intend to pass the night in the place. I'm on a walking tour, +and--if you don't mind walking--I know there's a short cut that would +be almost as quick as cycling; the high road is a good distance off +yet." + +Barbara hesitated. The fear of meeting any more tramps was strong upon +her, and her present companion had a frank, honest face, and steady +gray eyes. + +"I don't want Mademoiselle Therese to be frightened by being any later +than necessary," she said doubtfully. + +"I really think this will be as quick as the other road--if you will +trust me," he returned. And Barbara yielded. + +It certainly was a very pretty way, leading across the fields and +through a beech wood, and they managed to lift the bicycle over the +gates without any difficulty. The girl was a little surprised by the +unerring manner in which her companion seemed to go forward without +even once consulting a map; but when she complimented him on the fact +he looked a little uncomfortable, and assured her that he had an +excellent head for "direction." + +It was very nice meeting some one who was "almost an Englishman," and +they talked gaily all the time, till the square tower of Dol Cathedral +came into view--one of the grandest, her guide assured her, that he had +seen in Brittany. They had just entered the outskirts of the town when +they passed a little _auberge_, where the innkeeper was standing at the +door. He stared very hard at them, then lifted his hat, and cried with +surprise, "Back again, monsieur; why, I thought you were half way to +St. Malo by this time." + +Then the truth struck Barbara in a flash, and she had only to look at +her companion's face to know she was right. + +"You were going the other way," she cried--"of course you were--and you +turned back on my account. No wonder you knew your way through the +wood!" + +He gave an embarrassed laugh. "I'm sorry--I really did not mean to +deceive you exactly. I _have_ a good head for 'direction.'" + +"And you came all that long way back with me I It _was_ good of you. I +really----" + +But he interrupted her. "Please don't give me thanks when I don't +deserve them. This town is such a quaint old place I am quite glad to +spend the night here. And--I really think you ought not to go hither +and thither without the rest of the party--I don't think your aunt +would like it. The house you want is straight ahead." Then he took +off his cap and turned away, and Barbara never remembered, until he had +gone, that though he had seen her name on the label on her bicycle she +did not know his. + +She christened him, therefore, the "American Pretender," firstly, +because he looked like an Englishman, and secondly, because he +pretended to be going where he was not. After all, she was not very +much behind her time, and, fortunately, Mademoiselle Therese had been +so interested in the lawyer's conversation that she had not worried +about her. Barbara did not speak of her encounter with the cyclist, +but merely said she had got out of her way a little, and had found a +kind American who had helped her to find it; which explanation quite +satisfied "the party." + +The lawyer's chateau, as it was called, seemed to Barbara to be very +like what French houses must have been long ago, and she imagined grand +ladies of the Empire time sweeping up the long flight of steps to the +terrace, and across the polished floors. The _salon_, with its thick +terra-cotta paper, and gilded chairs set in stiff rows along the walls, +fascinated her too, and she half expected the lady of the house to come +in, clad in heavy brocade of ancient pattern. But everything about the +lady of the house was very modern, and Barbara thought Mademoiselle +Therese's garments had never looked so ugly. The girl enjoyed sitting +down to a meal which was really well served, and she found that the +lawyer, though clever, was by no means alarming, and that his wife made +a very charming hostess. + +Mademoiselle Therese was radiating pride and triumph at having been +able to introduce her charge into such a "distinguished" family, and as +each dish was brought upon the table, she shot a glance across at +Barbara as much as to say, "See what we can do!--these are _my_ +friends!" + +Poor Mademoiselle Therese! After all, when she enjoyed such things so +much, it was a pity, Barbara thought, that she could not have them at +home. + +She was enjoying, too, discussing various matters with the lawyer, for +discussion was to her like the very breath of life. + +"She will discuss with the cat if there is no one else by," her sister +had once said dryly, "and will argue with Death when he comes to fetch +her." + +At present the topic was schools, and Barbara and Madame Dubois sat +quietly by, listening. + +"I am not learned," madame whispered to the girl, with a little shrug, +"and I know that nothing she can say will shake my husband's +opinion--therefore, I let her speak." + +Mademoiselle was very anxious that his little girl should go to school, +and was pointing out the advantages of such education to the lawyer. + +The latter smiled incredulously. "Would you have me send her to the +convent school, where they use the same-knife and fork all the week +round, and wash them only once a week?" he asked contemptuously. + +"No," mademoiselle agreed. "As you know, Marie used to be there, and +learned very little--nothing much, except to sew. No, I would not send +her to the convent school. But there are others. A young English +friend of mine, now--Mademoiselle Barbara knows her too--she is at a +very select establishment--just about six girls--and so well watched +and cared for." + +Barbara looked up quickly. She wondered if she dared interrupt and say +she did not think it was such an ideal place, when the lawyer spoke +before her. + +"_Parbleu!_" he said with a laugh, "I should prefer the convent! There +at least the religion is honest, but--with those ladies you +mention--there is deceit. They pretend to be what they are not." + +"Oh, but no!" Mademoiselle Therese exclaimed. "Why, they _are_ +Protestants." + +The lawyer shrugged his shoulders. + +"Believe it if you will, my dear friend, but we lawyers know most +things, and I know that what I say is true. When my little Helene goes +to school she shall not go to such. Meanwhile, I am content to keep +her at home." + +"So am I," murmured Madame Dubois. "Schools are such vulgar places, +are they not?" + +But Barbara, to whom the remark was addressed, was too much interested +in this last piece of news to do more than answer shortly. For if what +the lawyer said were true--and he did not seem a man likely to make +mistakes--then Alice Meynell might really have sufficient cause to be +miserable, and Barbara wondered when she would see her again, which was +to be sooner than she expected. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +BARBARA TURNS PLOTTER. + +The day after her expedition to Dol, Barbara saw Alice Meynell again, +and in rather a strange meeting-place--namely, the public bath-house. +The house in which the Loires lived was an old-fashioned one, and had +no bath, and at first Barbara had looked with horror upon the +bath-house. She had become more reconciled to it of late, and, as it +was the only means of obtaining a hot bath, had tried to make the best +of it. It was a funny little place, entered by a narrow passage, at +one end of which there was a booking-office, and a swing door, where +you could buy a "season-ticket," or pay for each visit separately. + +On one side of the passage there were rows of little bathrooms, +containing what Barbara thought the narrowest most uncomfortable baths +imaginable. A boy in felt slippers ran up and down, turning on the +water, and a woman sat working at a little table at one end--"to see +you did not steal the towels," Barbara declared. It was here she met +Alice Meynell, under the care of an old attendant, whom the girl said +she knew was a spy sent to report everything she said or did. + +"Mademoiselle, who came with me to call the other day, has taken a +great dislike to you," Alice whispered hurriedly in passing; "and when +I asked if I might go to see you again, said, 'No, it was such a pity +to talk English when I was here to learn French.' I am _quite_ +determined to run away." + +The boy announced that the bath was ready, and the old attendant, +putting her watch on the table, said-- + +"Be quick, mademoiselle. Only twenty minutes, you know." + +Before leaving the place, Barbara managed to get a moment's speech, in +which she begged Alice not to do anything until they met again, and +meanwhile she would try hard to think of some plan to make things +easier; for the girl really looked very desperate, and Barbara had so +often acted as the confidante of her own brother and sister that she +was accustomed to playing the part of comforter. + +It seemed to her that if Alice wanted to run away, she had better do it +as well as possible, for the girl was wilful enough to try to carry out +any wild plan she might conceive. Barbara thought of many things, but +they all seemed silly or impossible, and finally got no further than +making up her mind to meet Alice again at the bath-house. + +The events of the afternoon, moreover, put her countrywoman out of her +head for the time being, for she found what she had been longing for +ever since she came--a riding-master. + +Mademoiselle Therese had long talked of taking her across the bay to +Dinard, to visit some friends there, but hitherto no suitable occasion +had been found. The delights of a boot and shoe sale, of which +mademoiselle had received notice, reminded her of her intentions of +showing Barbara "that famous seaside resort," and after an early lunch +they set out for Dinard. + +"Business first," mademoiselle said on landing; "we will hasten to the +sale, and when I have made my purchases we will stroll into the park, +and then visit my friend." + +"If you don't mind I will stay outside and watch the people," Barbara +proposed, on reaching the shop and seeing the crowds inside. "I won't +stray from just near the window, so you may leave me quite safely--and +it looks so hot in there." + +Her companion demurred for a moment, but finally agreed, and Barbara +with relief turned round to watch the people passing to and fro. + +Dinard seemed very gay and fashionable, she thought, and there was +quite a number of English and Americans there. Surely in such a place +one might find a riding-school. There was a row of _fiacres_ quite +close to the pavement, and, seized by this new idea, she hurried up to +one of the drivers and asked him if he knew of any horses to be hired +in the town. + +She had feared her French might not be equal to the explanation, and +was very glad when he understood, and still more pleased to hear that +there was an excellent _manege_,[1] which many people visited. After +inquiring the name of the street, she returned to her shop window, +longing for mademoiselle to come out. Her patience was nearly +exhausted when that lady finally appeared, having bought nothing. + +"I tried on a great many boots and some shoes," she explained, "and did +not care for any. Indeed, I really did not need new ones; but I have +seen samples of much of their stock." + +In the midst of the intense satisfaction of this performance, the girl +brought her news of a riding-school, which evidently was not very +welcome to her companion. She had, as a matter of fact, known of the +existence of such a place, but did not approve of "equestrian exercise +for women "; moreover, she had pictured so much exertion to herself in +connection with the idea of riding lessons, that she had been very +undesirous of Barbara's beginning them, and had, therefore, not +encouraged the idea. But the secret of the school being out, she +resolved to make the best of it, and agreed to go round at once and see +the place. + +They had little difficulty in finding it, and were ushered into an +office, where a very immaculate Frenchman received them, and inquired +how he could serve them. On hearing their errand he smiled still more +pleasantly, and in a few minutes everything was settled. Barbara was +to come over twice a week and have lessons, and, if she cared, might +begin that afternoon. The only drawback was that she had no skirt, +which, he assured her with a sweeping bow, he could easily remedy, for +he had an almost new one on the premises, and would think it an honour +to lend it to her. + +He was politeness itself, and seemed not in the least damped by +Mademoiselle Therese's evident gloom. He conducted her up to the +gallery at one end of the school, and explained that she could watch +every movement from that vantage-point. + +"It will be almost as good as having a lesson yourself, madame," he +said politely, twirling his fierce gray mustachios. + +At the other end of the school was a large looking-glass, which he told +Barbara was to enable the pupils to observe their deportment; but she +noticed that he always stood in the middle of the ring, where he +watched his own actions with great pleasure. + +The girl thought it a little dull at first, for she had been given an +amiable old horse who knew the words of command so well that the reins +were almost useless, and who ambled along in a slow and peaceful +manner. But Monsieur Pirenne was entirely satisfied with his pupil, +and he assured her, "if she continued to make such stupendous progress +in the next lesson, he would have the felicity of taking her out in the +following one." + +At this Mademoiselle Therese shook her head pensively. + +"Then I must take a carriage and follow you," she said. + +Barbara laughed. + +"Oh, dear, mademoiselle, do think how impossible that would be," she +explained, seeing the lady looked somewhat offended. "If we took to +the fields how could you follow us in a carriage? No; just think how +nice it will be to see so much of your friend while I am out." + +This view of the case somewhat reconciled Mademoiselle Therese to the +idea, though her contentment vanished when she found that the wind had +increased considerably during the afternoon, and that the mouth of the +river was beginning to look a little disturbed. + +They stood on the end of the quay, waiting the arrival of the +steamboat, and mademoiselle shook her head gloomily. + +"It is not that I am a bad sailor, you know," she explained; "but, when +there is much movement, it affects my nerves and makes me feel faint." + +Barbara looked steadfastly out to sea. She did not want to hurt +Mademoiselle Therese's feelings by openly showing her amusement. + +"It is very unpleasant to have such delicate nerves," her companion +continued; "but I was ever thus--from a child." + +"But at this time of year we shall not often have a stormy passage," +comforted Barbara. + +At that moment a gust of wind, more sudden than usual, playfully caught +Mademoiselle Therese's hat, and bore it over the quay into the water. + +"My hat!" she shrieked. "Oh, save my hat!" + +Barbara ran forward to the edge, but it had been carried too far for +her to reach even with a stick or umbrella. + +"My hat!" mademoiselle cried again, turning to the people on the pier, +who were waiting for the ferry. "Rescue my hat--my _best_ hat!" + +At this stirring appeal several moved forward and looked smilingly at +the doomed head-gear; and one kind little Frenchman stooped down and +tried to catch it with the end of his stick, but failed. Mademoiselle +grew desperate. + +"If you cannot get the hat, get the hat-pins," she wailed. "They are +silver-gilt--and presents. Four fine large hat-pins." + +Then, seeing that several people were laughing, she grew angry. + +"And you call yourselves _men_, and Frenchmen! Can none of you swim? +Why do you stand there mocking?" + +"It is such an ugly hat," an Englishman murmured near Barbara. "It +would be a sin to save such an inartistic creation." + +"But she will get another just as bad," Barbara said, with dancing +eyes. "And--it is her best one!" + +"Cowards!" mademoiselle cried again, leaning futilely over the quay. +"I tell you, it is not only the hat, but the hat-pins. Oh! to see it +drown before my eyes, and none brave enough to bring it back!" + +This piece of rhetoric seemed to move one French youth, who slowly +began to unlace his boots, though with what object one could not be +quite sure. + +"It is such a particularly ugly hat," the Englishman continued +critically. "Those great roses like staring eyes on each side, with no +regard for colour or anything else." + +"But the colour won't be nearly so bright after this bath," Barbara +suggested; then added persuasively, "And really, you know, she took a +long time over it. Couldn't you reach it easily from that boat--the +ferry is so near now, and it would drive her distracted to see the +roses churned up by the paddle-wheels." + +The Englishman looked from the agitated Frenchwoman to the blots of +colour on the water, that were becoming pale and shapeless; then he +moved lazily towards the boat. Just as he was getting into it he +looked back at Barbara. + +"She won't embrace me--will she?" he asked. "If so----" + +"Oh, no," Barbara assured him. "Hand it up to her on the end of the +oar." + +"Well," he said, unshipping one, "it is against my conscience to save +anything so hideous. But the fault lies with you, and as you will +probably go on seeing it, you will have punishment enough." + +A few minutes later Mademoiselle Therese received the sodden hat with +rapture, anxiously counting over the hat-pins, while the French youth, +with some relief, laced up his boot again. + +"How noble!" mademoiselle exclaimed. "How kind! Your countryman too, +Miss Barbara! Where is he that I may thank him?" + +"If you linger you will miss the ferry," Barbara interposed. "See, +here it is, mademoiselle," and her companion reluctantly turned from +the pursuit of the stranger to go on board, clasping her hat in +triumph. Barbara thought, as she followed her, that if the fastidious +rescuer had but seen her joy in her recovered treasure, he would have +felt rewarded for his exertions in saving a thing so ugly. + + + +[1] Riding-School. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE PLOT THICKENS. + +The next time Barbara went to the baths she chose the day and the hour +at which Alice had told her she was usually taken, and was greatly +pleased when she saw the girl waiting in the passage. But as soon as +the old servant saw her she edged farther off with her charge, who +lifted her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, as if to say, "You see, my +spy has been warned." It seemed as if it would be impossible to hold +any conversation at all, but, fortunately, they were put into adjoining +cubicles, and Barbara found a crack, which she enlarged with her +pocket-knife. + +She felt as if she might be Guy Fawkes, or some such plotter from olden +times, and wondered what he would have done if he really had been +present. But having seen how difficult it was even to speak to Alice, +she was afraid the girl would take things into her own hands and do +something silly. + +Probably it was this feeling of urgency that stimulated her, and the +vague ideas which had been floating in her brain suddenly crystallised, +and a plan took shape which she promptly communicated to Alice. The +latter, she proposed, should go to Paris, to the pastor's family at +Neuilly, Barbara lending her the necessary money, for the girl was only +given a very little at a time. From Paris she could write to her +father and explain things, without any danger of having the letter +examined or altered. + +The only, and certainly most important, difficulty in the carrying out +of this plan was that there seemed no opportunity to escape except at +night, and even then it would need great care to slip past Mademoiselle +Eugenie, who slept at one end of the dormitory. Barbara did not like +the night plan, because it would mean climbing out of the window and +wandering about in the dark, or--supposing there were a +train--travelling to Paris; and either alternative was too risky for a +girl in a foreign country, who did not know her way about. + +Gazing up at the ceiling in perplexity over this new hitch, Barbara +discovered a way out of it, for there was a glazed window not so high +but that Alice could manage to climb up, and if she got safely out +(this was another inspiration), she was to run to the widower's house +and hide there till the time for a train to Paris. Once safely in that +city, Barbara felt it would be a weight lifted from her mind, for she +really was not very happy at sharing in an enterprise which, even to +her inexperience, seemed more fitted for some desperado than a sane +English girl. + +Having begun, however, she felt she must go through with it to the best +of her ability, and undertook to write to Neuilly, to arrange with the +widower's son, and to bribe the bath-boy to give the girl the only +cubicle with a window. As a matter of fact, Barbara would have rather +sent the girl to Mademoiselle Vire's, but the latter was so frail that +the excitement might be injurious to her, and it was hardly fair to +introduce such a whirlwind into her haven of peace. + +She had an opportunity of speaking to Jean that very day, for he had +offered to give her some lessons in photography, and she was going to +have her first one in the afternoon. The boy was quite delighted with +the thought of having something "to break the monotony of existence," +and declared that it was an honour to share in any plan for the secure +of the oppressed. + +"We will inclose her in the photographic cupboard, mademoiselle," he +said eagerly, "so that none can see her. Oh, we will manage well, I +assure you." + +Barbara sighed, fearing she was doing almost as mean a thing as Marie, +and was very doubtful as to what her mother and Aunt Anne would say +when they heard of the adventure. + +"I shall go to the look-out station and blow away these mysteries," she +said to herself, when the photography lesson was over; and the very +sight and smell of the sea made her feel better. The steamer from +Dinard had just unloaded its passengers, and was steaming hurriedly +back again with a fresh load, when among those who had landed she +noticed one that seemed not altogether strange to her. She drew +nearer, and was sure of it, and the visitor turning round at the same +moment, the recognition was mutual. It was the "American Pretender." + +"I was just going to ask where Mademoiselle Loire lived," he said +gaily, "with the intent of calling upon you. How obliging of you to be +here when the steamboat arrived." + +Barbara laughed. + +"I often come here to look across at dear St. Malo, and get the breeze +from the sea," she explained. "Besides, I like watching the ferries, +they are so fussy--and the people in them too, sometimes. But how did +you get here?" + +"Not having met any more rash and runaway damsels whom I had to escort +back to Dol, I succeeded in reaching St. Malo, and it is not unusual +for visitors to go to Dinard and St. Servan from there. But, apart +from that," he went on, "I found out something so interesting that I +thought I must call and tell you--being in the neighbourhood." + +"That was awfully nice of you," said Barbara gratefully, "and I'm so +curious to hear. Please begin at once. You have plenty time to tell +me before we reach the house, and mademoiselle must excuse me talking +just a _little_ English." + +"I think the occasion justifies it," he agreed, smiling; then added +apologetically, "I hope you won't mind it being a little personal. I +told you I had come to Europe with my uncle, didn't I? My father left +me to his care when I was quite a little chap, and he has been +immensely good to me. We are great friends, and always share +things--when we can. He could not share this walking tour because he +had business in Paris, but I write him long screeds to keep him up in +my movements. In answer to the letter about our Dol adventure, my +uncle wrote back to say that he had known an English lady long ago +called Miss Anne Britton, and he wondered if this were any +relation--the name was rather uncommon." + +The American paused, and looked at his companion. + +"Please go on," she cried, "it is so very exciting, and surely it must +have been Aunt Anne." + +"He knew her so well," the young man continued slowly, "that--he asked +her to marry him, and--she refused." + +Barbara drew a long breath. + +"Oh! Fancy Aunt Anne having a romantic story like that! I _should_ +like to write and ask her about it. But, of course, I can't; she might +not like it." Then, turning quickly to the American, she added, "I +suppose your uncle won't mind your having told me, will he?" + +The young man flushed. "I hope not. He doesn't often speak of such +things; and, though I knew there had been something of the kind, I +didn't know her name. Of course----" He hesitated. + +"Yes?" said Barbara. + +"Of course, I know you will consider it a story to think about--and not +to speak of. But I thought, as it was your aunt, it would interest +you." + +"It does. I'm very glad you told me, because it makes me understand +Aunt Anne better, I think. Poor Aunt Anne! Although, perhaps, you +think your uncle is the one to be sorriest for." + +"I am going to join him in Paris to-morrow," he replied a little +irrelevantly. + +"To Paris! To-morrow!" echoed Barbara, the thought of Alice rushing +into her mind. "Oh, I wonder--it would be much better--I wonder if you +could do me a favour? It _would_ be such a relief to tell an English +person about it." + +"An American," he corrected. "But perhaps that would do as well. I +hope it is not another runaway bicycle?" + +"But it just _is_ another runaway expedition--though not a bicycle," +said the girl, and thereupon poured into his ears the story of Alice +Meynell and her woes. + +At first he laughed, and said she was in danger of becoming quite an +accomplished plotter; but, as the story went on, he grew grave. + +"It is a mad idea, Miss Britton," he said. "I am sorry you are mixed +up in the matter. Would it not have been better for you to write to +the girl's father and tell him all this?" + +Barbara looked vexed. + +"How silly of me!" she exclaimed. "Do you know, I never thought of +that; and, of course, it would have been quite simple. It _was_ +foolish!" + +"Never mind now," he said consolingly, seeing how downcast she looked. +"I am sure it must have been difficult to decide; and now that the +enterprise is fairly embarked on, we must carry it through as well as +possible. I think the station here would be one of the first places +they would send to when they found she had gone; but we can cycle to +the next one and send the machines back by train--she will be so much +sooner out of St. Servan." + +Barbara agreed gratefully. She was glad that there would be no need +for the dark cupboard, and felt much happier now that the immediate +carrying out of the plan was in some one else's hands. So she fixed an +approximate hour for the "Pretender" to be ready next day, and then +said good-bye. + +"I will postpone my call on Mademoiselle Loire till another time," he +remarked. "I only hope that nothing will prevent that terrible young +lady of yours getting off to-morrow." + +"I hope not," sighed Barbara. "She may not even manage to get to the +baths at all. If so, we'll have to think of something else." + +"_Komm Tag, komm Rat_," he said cheerily, as he turned away. "Perhaps +we may yet want the cupboard." + +Barbara hoped not, although Jean was greatly disappointed when he heard +of the alteration in the plans, and the only way the girl could console +him was by telling him that, if ever she wanted to hide, she would +remember the cupboard, which, she thought was a very safe promise! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE ESCAPE. + +The following day was damp and dark, and the weather showed no signs of +improving, which was depressing for those who had great plans afoot. +Mademoiselle Therese thought Barbara was showing signs of madness when +she proposed going to the baths, and was not a little annoyed when her +disapproval failed to turn the girl from her purpose. Barbara had +grave doubts about Alice being allowed to go, but she felt _she_, at +least, must at all costs be there. She had time to remind the bath-boy +of his bargain, and to promise him something extra when next she came, +if he were true to his word, and was just ready to return home, when +Alice arrived with the old maid. She succeeded in giving her a little +piece of paper with some directions on it, but was able to say nothing; +and, after a mere nod, left the bath-house. + +She was very curious to see where the window by which the girl was to +escape opened, and, going down the passage that ran along the side of +the building, found that it opened into a yard, which seemed the +storehouse for old rubbish--a safe enough place to alight in. When she +returned to the street she saw the "Pretender" coming along, wheeling +two bicycles; and her relief at seeing him was mingled with compunction +at giving him such a lot of trouble. + +It really was rather cool to drag a comparative stranger into such a +matter, even if his good nature had prompted him to offer his +assistance. But, somehow, the mere fact of his talking English had +seemed to do away with the need of formal introduction, and the +knowledge that his uncle had known Miss Britton in bygone days would be +a certificate of respectability sufficient to satisfy her mother, she +thought. + +"I _am_ so sorry it's wet," she said. "It makes it so much worse for +you to be hanging about." + +"It _is_ hardly the day one would choose for a bicycle ride," he +returned cheerfully; "but, like the conductors in Cook's Tours, I feel +I have been chartered for the run, and weather must make no difference. +But you should go straight home. It would be too conspicuous to have +_two_ people loitering about. I will let you know as soon as possible +how things go, and if you don't hear till to-morrow, it will mean we +are safely on our journey." + +Barbara saw the wisdom of returning at once, but did so with +reluctance, and, finding that she was quite unable to give proper +attention to her work, wrote a long letter home, relieving her mind by +recounting the adventure in full. It was a good thing that the first +plan--of hiding Alice in the neighbouring house--had not been carried +out, for, about three quarters of an hour later, Mademoiselle Eugenie +came hurrying up to see if the girl was with them, and on hearing she +was not, at once proposed--with a suspicious glance at Barbara--that +she should inquire at the next house. + +She asked the girl no questions, however, perhaps guessing that if she +did know anything she would not be very likely to tell. It was +Mademoiselle Therese who, in the wildest state of excitement, +questioned every one in the house, Barbara included, and the latter +felt a little guilty when she replied that the last time she had seen +the missing girl was in the baths. + +Before very long the bellman was going round proclaiming her loss, and +describing the exact clothes she wore; and Barbara was afraid, when she +heard him, that there would soon be news of her; for she had been +wearing the little black hat and coat that all the girls at +Mademoiselle Eugenie's were dressed in. But the evening came, and +apparently nothing had been heard of the truant. Mademoiselle Loire +and Marie did hardly any lessons, such was the general excitement in +the house, but discussed, instead, the various possibilities in +connection with the escape. + +Perhaps there was a little triumph in the hearts of the two elder +women, for they had always felt rather jealous that Mademoiselle +Eugenie had more boarders than they, even although they did not lay any +claim to being a school. They would have given a great deal to be able +to read Barbara's thoughts, but she looked so very unapproachable that +they shrugged their shoulders and resigned themselves, with what +patience they could, to wait. + +Barbara's anxiety was greatly relieved the next evening by letters +which she received from both the "Pretender" and Alice. The first +wrote briefly, and to the point. He said he had delivered the girl +safely to the people at Neuilly, whom Alice had taken to, and that +there seemed to be "good stuff" in her, too, for he had given her some +very straight advice about making the best of things, which she had not +resented. Further, that Barbara need have no more anxiety, as he had +cabled to her father to get permission for her to stay at Neuilly, in +case of any trouble arising when it was discovered where she was. +Barbara folded up the letter with a sigh of relief that the matter had +gone so well thus far, and opened Alice's communication, which was +largely made up of exclamation marks and dashes. + +She was very enthusiastic about Neuilly, and was sure she would be +quite happy there, and that the heat would only make her feel at home. +She had smiled with delight at intervals all day, she said, when she +thought of the rage of Mademoiselle Eugenie, and her futile efforts to +trace her. She supposed a full description of her clothes had been +given, but that would be no good, as the American had brought her a +tweed cap and a cycling cape, and they had thrown her hat away by the +roadside. She concluded by saying that Mr. Morton had been very kind, +though he did not seem to have a very high opinion of her character, +and had given her enough grandfatherly advice to last her a lifetime, +and made her promise to write to Mademoiselle Eugenie. + +Barbara tore up both letters, and then went out to visit Mademoiselle +Vire, and relieved her mind by telling her all about it. + +"It seems so deceptive and horrid to keep quiet when they are +discussing things and wondering where she is," she concluded. "But she +was to write to Mademoiselle Eugenie to-day, and I really don't feel +inclined to tell her or the Loires the share I had in it." + +"I hardly think you need, my child," Mademoiselle Vire said, patting +her on the shoulder. "Sometimes silence is wisest, and, of _course_, +you tell your own people. I do not know, indeed, if I had been young +like you, that I should not have done just the same; and perhaps, even +if I had been Alice, I might have done as she did." + +Barbara laughed, and shook her head. She could never imagine the +elegant little Mademoiselle Vire conniving at anybody's escape, +especially through a bath-house window! But it cheered her to think +that the little lady was not shocked at the escapade; and she went back +quite fortified, and ready for supper in the garden with the widower +and his family, whom Mademoiselle Therese had been magnanimous enough +to invite. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +A WAYSIDE INN. + +It was wonderful how quickly the excitement about Alice Meynell died +down. Mademoiselle Therese went to call upon her former instructress, +who told her, with evident reluctance, that the girl had gone to Paris +with a friend who had appeared unexpectedly, and her father wished her +to remain there for the present. + +"Of course," Mademoiselle Therese said, in retailing her visit, "she +will wish to keep it quiet; such things are not a good advertisement, +and they will speak of it no more. I think, indeed, that Mademoiselle +Eugenie will call here no more. She suspects that we helped to make +the child discontented. I am thankful that _we_ have no such +unpleasant matters in _our_ establishment. We have always had an +excellent reputation!" and the sisters congratulated each other for +some time on the successful way in which they had always arranged +matters for _their_ boarders. + +It was while her sister was still in this pleasant mood of +self-satisfaction that Mademoiselle Loire proposed to go to St. Sauveur +(a little town about twelve miles away), and collect the rent from one +or two houses they owned there. As Mademoiselle Therese talked English +best, and had the care of the English visitors, she had most of the +pleasant excursions, so that Barbara was quite glad to think the elder +sister was now to have a turn. Marie always went to St. Sauveur with +her aunt, as she had a cousin living in the town, with whom they +usually dined in the evening; and an invitation was graciously given to +Barbara to accompany them both. + +The girl often thought, in making these excursions here and there, how +nice it would have been could she have shared them with her mother and +the children; and then she used to make up her mind more firmly than +ever that she would begin teaching French directly she got home, so +that some day she could help to give the pleasure to Frances that her +aunt was giving to her. + +Donald had written on one occasion, that in view of so many excursions +he wondered when the work came in; to which she had replied that it was +_all_ work, as she had to talk French hard the whole time! And, +indeed, a day never passed without her getting in her lesson and some +grammatical work, though it sometimes had to come before breakfast or +after supper. + +On this occasion they were to start very early, as Mademoiselle Loire +explained that they would stop for a little while at a wayside inn, +where an old nurse of theirs had settled down. It was therefore +arranged to drive so far, and take the train the rest of the way, and +Barbara, who had heard a great deal about "the carriage," pictured to +herself a little pony and trap, and was looking forward to the drive +immensely. What was her astonishment, therefore, when she saw drawn up +before the door next day, a little spring cart with a brown donkey in +it. + +"The carriage!" she gasped, and hastily climbed into the cart lest +Mademoiselle Loire should see her face. They all three sat close +together on the one backless seat, and drove off gaily, Mademoiselle +Loire "handling the ribbons," and all the little boys in the street +shouting encouragement in the rear. + +The donkey went along at an excellent, though somewhat erratic, pace, +for every now and then he sprang forward with a lurch that was somewhat +disconcerting to the occupants of the cart. The first time, indeed, +that he did so, Barbara was quite unprepared, and, after clutching +wildly at the side of the cart and missing it, she subsided into the +straw at the back, from which she was extricated by her companions, +amid much laughter. + +"Would you prefer to sit between us?" Mademoiselle Loire asked her, +when she was once more reinstated in her position. "You would perhaps +feel firmer?" + +"Oh, no, thank you," said Barbara hastily. "I will hold on to the side +now, and be prepared." + +"He does have rather a queer motion," Mademoiselle Loire; remarked +complacently; "but he's swift, and that is a great matter, and you soon +get used to his leaps. I should think," she went on, looking at the +donkey's long gray ears critically, "he would make a good jumper." + +"I should think he might," replied Barbara, subduing her merriment. "I +don't think our English donkeys jump much, as a rule; but the Brittany +ones seem much more accomplished." + +"Undoubtedly," her companion continued calmly. "My sister says when +_she_ was in England she tried to drive a donkey, and it backed the +carriage into the ditch. They must be an inferior breed." To which +remark Barbara was powerless to reply for the time being. + +The drive was a very pretty one, and the donkey certainly deserved his +driver's praises, for he brought them to the inn in good time. It was +a quaint little place, standing close to the roadside, but, in spite of +that fact, looking as if it were not greatly frequented. As they drove +up, they saw an old woman sitting outside under a tree, reading a +newspaper; but, on hearing the sound of wheels, she jumped up and ran +to the gate. As soon as Mademoiselle Loire had descended she flung +herself upon her; and Barbara wondered how the latter, who was spare +and thin, supported the substantial form of her nurse. + +She had time to look about her, for her three companions were making a +great hubbub, and, as they all spoke together, at the top of their +voices, it took some minutes to understand what each was saying. Then +Barbara was remembered and introduced, and for a moment she thought the +nurse was going to embrace her too, and wondered if it would be worse +than a rush at hockey; but, fortunately, she was spared the shock, and +instead, was led with the others into a musty parlour. + +"I am so pleased to see you," the landlady said, beaming upon them all, +"for few people pass this way now the trams and the railway go the +other route; and since my dear second husband died it has seemed +quieter than ever." Here she shook her head dolefully, and dabbed her +bright, black eyes, where Barbara could see no trace of tears. + +"Sundays are the longest days," the woman went on, trying to make her +hopelessly plump and cheery face look pathetic, "because I am so far +away from church. But I read my little newspaper, and say my little +prayer--and mention all your names in it" (which Barbara knew was +impossible, as she had never heard hers before that morning)--"and +think of my little priest." + +Mademoiselle Loire nodded to show she was listening, and Marie hastily +stifled a yawn. + +"I call him mine," the landlady explained, turning more particularly to +Barbara, "because he married me the last time, and my second husband +the first time." + +Barbara thought of the guessing story about "A blind beggar had a son," +and decided she would try to find out later exactly _whom_ the priest +had married, for the explanation was still going on. + +"Of course, therefore, he took an interest in his death," and the +widow's voice grew pathetic. "So he always keeps an eye on me, and +sends me little holy newspapers, over which I always shed a tear. My +second husband always loved his newspaper so--and his coffee." + +The word coffee had a magical effect, and her face becoming wreathed in +smiles again, she sprang to her feet in a wonderfully agile way, +considering her size, and ran to a cupboard in the corner, calling +loudly for a maid as she went. + +"You must have thirst!" she exclaimed, "terrible thirst and hunger; but +I will give you a sip of a favourite beverage of mine that will restore +you instantly." + +And she placed upon the table a black bottle, which proved to be full +of cold coffee sweetened to such a degree that it resembled syrup. +Poor Barbara! She was not very fond of hot coffee _un_sweetened, so +that this cold concoction seemed to her most sickly. But she managed +to drink the whole glassful, except a mouthful of extreme syrup at the +end, though feeling afterwards that she could not bear even to look at +coffee caramels for a very long time. They sat some time over the +refreshments provided for them, and their donkey was stabled at the inn +to await their return in the evening. Then bidding a temporary adieu +to their hostess, they went on to the town by train. + +Mademoiselle Loire went at once to get her rent, which, she explained, +always took her some time, "for the people were not good at paying," +and left the girls to look at the church, which was a very old one. +After they were joined by mademoiselle they strolled along to Marie's +relations. The husband was a seller of cider, which, Marie explained +to Barbara, was quite a different occupation from keeping an inn, and +much more respectable. Both he and his wife were very hospitable and +kind, and especially attentive to the "English miss." + +It was quite a unique experience for her, for they dined behind a +trellis-work at one end of the shop, and, during the whole of dinner, +either the father or daughter was kept jumping up to serve the +customers with cider. The son was present too, but no one would allow +him to rise to serve anybody, for he was at college in Paris, and had +taken one of the first prizes in France for literature. It was quite +touching to see how proud his parents and sister were of him, and he +seemed to Barbara to be wonderfully unspoiled, considering the +attention he received. + +It seemed her fate to have strange food offered her that day, and when +the first dish that appeared proved to be stewed eels, Barbara began to +dread what the rest of the menu might reveal. Fortunately, there was +nothing worse than beans boiled in cream, though it was with some +relief that she saw the long meal draw to a close. Coffee and +sweetmeats were served in a room upstairs, in which all the young man's +prizes were kept, and which were displayed with most loving pride and +reverence by the mother and sister, while the owner of them looked on +rather bashfully from a corner. + +The young man was one of the type of Frenchmen who wear their hair cut +and brushed the wrong way, like a clothes-brush. Barbara was beginning +to divide all Frenchmen into two classes according to their _frisure_: +those that wore their hair brush-fashion, and those that had it long +and oiled--sometimes curled. These latter sometimes allowed it to fall +in locks upon their foreheads, tossing it back every now and then with +an abstracted air and easy grace that fascinated Barbara. They were +usually engaged in the Fine Arts, and she could never quite decide +whether the hair had been the result of the profession, or vice versa. + +After talking for some time, Barbara had her first lesson in ecarte, +which she welcomed gladly, as helping to keep her awake. Then the +whole family escorted their visitors to the station, where they stood +in a row and waved hats and hands for a long time after the train had +left. It was getting rather late when they reached the little inn once +more, and Barbara was thankful that she had the excuse of a substantial +dinner to fall back upon when she was offered more of the landlady's +"pleasant beverage." + +When the good-byes had been said it was growing dark, and the girl, +thinking of their last adventurous drive, wondered if Mademoiselle +Loire was any more reliable. However, after the first mile, she cast +dignity aside, and begged to be allowed to sit down in the hay at the +back of the cart and go to sleep, either the eel or her efforts to make +herself agreeable having created an overpowering desire for slumber, +and she was still dreaming peacefully when they drove into St. Servan, +and rattled up the narrow street to their own door. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE STRIKE. + +It was now the beginning of August, and just "grilling," as Donald +would have expressed it. + +It seemed almost as difficult to Barbara to leave the sea as it is to +get out of bed on a winter morning. + +"It must be so very nice to be a mermaid--in summer," she said, looking +back at the water, as she and Marie went up the beach one morning. + +"Yes," returned Marie, "If they had short hair. It must take such a +lot of combing." + +Marie was not so enthusiastic about bathing as her companion. Perhaps +her want of enthusiasm was due to the fact that she was not allowed to +bathe every day, because "it took up so much time that might be devoted +to her studies." At first Mademoiselle Therese had tried to persuade +Barbara that it would be much better for her to go only once or twice a +week too. + +"There are so many English at the _plage_," she complained, "that I +know you will talk with them; and it is a pity to come to France to +learn the language and waste your time talking with English, whom you +can meet in your own country." + +"But I won't talk with them," Barbara had assured her. "You know how +careful I have been always to speak French--even when I could hardly +make myself understood." + +The girl's eyes twinkled, for Mademoiselle Therese had a mania for +speaking English whenever possible, and at first always used that +language when with her pupil, until Barbara had asked her if she had +got so accustomed to speaking English that it was more familiar to her +than French! Since then, she only used English in public places, or +when she thought English people were near. + +"It is such a good advertisement," she explained complacently. "You +never know what introductions it may make for you." + +Barbara had used the same argument in favour of bathing every day, and +had prevailed, though she had really been very particular about +speaking French--not, I fear, from the desire of pleasing Mademoiselle +Therese, but because of the thought of the home people, and what she +meant to do for them. + +"I can't understand how you can bear riding in this weather," Marie +remarked, as they toiled slowly home in the sun. "It would kill me to +jog up and down on a horse in a sun as hot as this." + +"Not when you're accustomed to it," Barbara assured her. "You would +want to do it everyday then. I'm going to ride to St. Lunaire this +afternoon." + +"Then Aunt Therese won't go for the walk after supper. What a +happiness!" Marie cried, for Mademoiselle Loire was not so strict as +her sister. + +The latter had grown quite reconciled to her journeys to Dinard now, +and, as a matter of fact, was looking forward with regret to the time +they must cease. She found the afternoons in the Casino Gardens with +her friend very pleasant, and came back each time full of ideas for +altering everybody's clothes. + +This she was not permitted to do, however, for Mademoiselle Loire had +an unpleasant remembrance of similar plans on a previous occasion, +which had resulted in many garments being unpicked, and then left in a +dismembered condition until Marie and she had laboriously sewed them up +again! This particular afternoon Mademoiselle Therese was in a very +complacent mood, having just retrimmed her hat for the second time +since its immersion, and feeling that it was wonderfully successful. + +"If I had not been acquainted with the English language, and had so +many pressing offers to teach it," she said, as they were walking up to +the riding-school, "I should have made a wonderful success as a +_modiste_. Indeed, I sometimes wonder if it might not have been less +trying work." + +"That would depend on the customers, wouldn't it?" Barbara returned; +but did not hear her reply, for she had caught sight of Monsieur +Pirenne at the _manege_ door, and knew that he did not like to be kept +waiting. Mademoiselle Therese always waited to see them mounted, +feeling that thereby she ensured a certain amount of safety on the +ride; moreover, there was a ceremony about the matter that appealed to +her. + +Monsieur Pirenne always liked to mount Barbara in the street, and, +before getting on to his own horse, he lingered a while to see that +there were a few people present to witness the departure, for, like +Mademoiselle Therese, he had a great feeling for effect. After seeing +Barbara safely up, he glanced carelessly round, flicked a little dust +from his elegantly-cut coat, twirled his mustachios, and leaped nimbly +into the saddle, without the help of the stirrup. + +A flutter of approval went round the bystanders, and Mademoiselle +Therese called out a parting word of warning to Barbara--just to show +she was connected with the couple--before they moved off. Their +progress down the street was as picturesque as Monsieur Pirenne could +make it; for whatever horse he might be on, he succeeded in making it +caracole and curvet, saying at intervals, with a careless smile-- + +"Not _too_ near, mademoiselle. Manon is not to be trusted." + +"I believe he would do the same on a rocking-horse," Barbara had once +written home; but she admired and liked him in spite of these little +affectations--admired him for his skill in horsemanship, and liked him +for his patience as a master. + +This ride was one of the nicest she had yet had, as the road, being +bordered for a great part of the way by the links, made capital going. +It was when they had turned their faces homeward, and were just +entering the town, that something very exciting happened. They had +fallen into a walk, and Barbara was watching the people idly, when she +recognised among the passers-by the face of the "solicitor" of Neuilly! +She felt sure it was he, although he was just turning down a side +street; and after the shock of surprise she followed her first impulse, +and, putting her horse at a gallop, dashed after him. + +Monsieur Pirenne, who was in the middle of saying something, received a +great fright, and wondered whether she or her horse had gone mad. He +followed her at once, calling after her anxiously, "Pull up, +mademoiselle, pull up! You will be killed!" + +The solicitor did not see her, but just before she reached him he +stepped on to a passing tram and was whirled away, and before Barbara +had decided whether to pursue an electric tram or not, Monsieur Pirenne +had reached her side and seized her reins. He looked really +frightened, and annoyed too, but when Barbara told him that the horse +had only been running in accordance with the will of her mistress, he +composed himself a little, merely remarking that it was hardly _comme +il faut_ to gallop in the streets like that. + +"But, Monsieur Pirenne," Barbara said eagerly, "I know you would have +done the same if you had known the story;" and therewith she began to +tell it to him. He was immensely interested, for there is nothing a +Frenchman enjoys more than an adventure, and at the end of the tale he +was almost as excited as she was. + +"Could we trace him now?" he questioned eagerly. "But--I fear the +chance is small--the description is so vague, and you did not even see +the name on the tram, and we have no proofs. Yet, mademoiselle, if you +will go to the _prefecture_ with me, I will do my best." + +But Barbara shook her head decidedly. The thought of police courts, +especially French ones, alarmed her, and the warnings she had received +to keep out of any more "complications" were still very fresh in her +mind. + +"I think I should rather not go to the _prefecture_, monsieur," she +said quickly. "I do not think it would be any good either." + +"I agree with you perfectly." And Monsieur Pirenne bowed gallantly. +"Therefore, shall we proceed on our way? Does mademoiselle regret that +she did not catch him?" he asked, after a while. + +"I am sorry he is not caught--but I am not sorry _I_ did not catch him, +though that seems rather contradictory, doesn't it?" + +"By which mademoiselle means that she does not know what she would have +done with one hand on the miscreant's collar, the other on the reins, +and a crowd around her?" the Frenchman inquired politely. + +"That's just it," laughed Barbara. "You have exactly described +it--though I should be glad if _some one_ caught him and made him give +back the money." + +"I will keep my eyes open on your behalf, and shall let you know if +anything happens," he said sympathetically; and Barbara, remembering +his kindness, did not like to remind him that, never having seen the +man, he could not possibly be of much service to her. + +When Mademoiselle Therese heard that she had seen the solicitor again, +she was almost as excited as Barbara had been, and at once proposed +that they should spend the rest of the evening in Dinard, looking for +him; and it was not until the girl pointed out that he might now be on +his way to England, or a long way off in another direction, that she +became reconciled to returning home. + +Excitement seemed in the air that evening, and when they arrived at the +St. Servan quay there were more idlers than usual. They wondered what +was the cause, and when Mademoiselle Therese, with her customary desire +to get at the bottom of everything, asked the reason, she was told that +the strike among the timber-yard men, which had been threatened for +some time, had begun that afternoon, and that work was suspended. + +It was all the more astonishing because it had come so suddenly, and +Barbara could hardly tear mademoiselle away from the spot until she +suggested that those at home might not have heard of it yet, and that +she might be the first to tell it to them. Hurrying through the town, +they heard great shouting from the other side of the quay, which made +mademoiselle nearly break into a run with eagerness. As it happened, +however, the news had already spread to their street, and they found +Mademoiselle Loire equally anxious to tell the new-comers what _she_ +knew of the matter. + +As it was the first strike for many years, the townspeople looked upon +it with a strange mingling of pride and fear. It was stirred up by an +agitator called Mars, and had broken out simultaneously in other ports +too. More _gendarmes_ were sent for in case of need, though +Mademoiselle Loire said it was hoped matters might be arranged amicably +by a meeting between masters and men. + +They were still discussing the subject, when a loud shouting was heard, +and they all ran to a disused bedroom in the front of the house and +looked out. + +A crowd of men, marching in fours, were coming up the street, led by +one beating a drum, and another carrying a dirty banner with "Liberte, +Equalite, Fraternite" upon it. Barbara's eyes sparkled with +excitement, and she felt almost as if she were back in the times of the +Revolution, for they looked rather a fierce and vicious crew. + +"They are some of the strikers," Mademoiselle Therese cried. "We must +withdraw our heads from the windows in case the men get annoyed with us +for staring." But she promptly leaned still farther out, and began +making loud remarks to her sister, on the disgracefulness of such +behaviour. + +"You will be heard," Mademoiselle Loire returned, shaking her head at +her sister. "You are a silly woman to say such things so loudly when +the strikers are marching beneath." + +But the remonstrance had no effect, and the sight of all the other +windows in the street full of spectators encouraged and inspired +Mademoiselle Therese, and made her long for fame and glory. + +"It is ridiculous of the mayor to allow such things," she said loudly, +with an evident desire to be heard. "The men should be sharply dealt +with, and sent back to their work." + +The result of her words was unexpected; for several of the crowd, +annoyed at the little serious attention they had hitherto received, and +worked up to considerable excitement, by the shouting and drumming +began to pick up stones and fling them at the house. At first they +were merely thrown _against_ the house, then, the spirit of mischief +increasing, they were sent with better aim, and one crashed through the +window above Mademoiselle Therese's head. + +"We shall all be killed!" shrieked her sister, "and just because of +your meddling ways, Therese." But she called to deaf ears, for now +Mademoiselle Therese, enjoying notoriety, kept popping her head in and +out of the window, dodging the stones and shouting out threats and +menaces, which were returned by the crowd, till at last Mademoiselle +Loire cried out pitifully that some one must go and fetch the widower. + +"One man even might be a protection," she moaned, though how, and +whether against her sister or the strikers, did not seem very clear to +Barbara. But as that seemed to be Mademoiselle Loire's one idea, and +as Marie and the maid-servants were all crying in a corner, she thought +she had better fetch him. Running downstairs and across the garden, +she climbed over the wall by the wood pile, and boldly knocked at the +widower's back door, thereby frightening him not a little. He came +very cautiously along the passage, and inquired in rather shaky tones +who was there. + +As soon as Barbara had assured him that this was not an attack in the +rear, he flung open the door, and welcomed her most cordially. Barbara +wondered where he had been not to have heard Mademoiselle Loire's +wailings, and suspected that perhaps he _had_ heard them and had +retired hastily in consequence! He certainly looked a little depressed +when he received the message, which was to the effect that he should +come and address the crowd from the Loires' window, and bid it to +proceed on its way. + +"I think," he said pensively, after some moments' consideration, "that +if I am to go at all, I had better go out by my own front door and +speak to the crowd from the street. They will be more likely to listen +to me there, than if they thought I was one of Mademoiselle Loire's +household." + +"That is _very_ brave of you, monsieur," Barbara said, and the little +man swelled with pride. Perhaps it was the thought of the glorious +part he was about to play before the whole street that upheld him, as +he certainly was rather timid by nature. + +"If _you_ are going out to face that mob," said Jean, drawing himself +up, "I will accompany you." + +"Noble boy!" cried the little man, embracing him. "We will live or die +together. Come!" And off they went, while Barbara hurried across the +garden and over the wall again, not wishing to miss the spectacle in +the street. But her dress caught in the wood, and, as it took her some +time to disentangle it, the widower had finished his speech by the time +she arrived at the window. But he seemed to have made an impression, +for the crowd was beginning slowly to move on, urged by what +persuasions or threats she could not discover, as the Loires had not +heard much either. + +But as long as the strikers went, the ladies did not much mind how they +had been persuaded, and when the last man had straggled out of sight, +and the sound of the drum was dying away, both the sisters, followed by +Marie, rushed downstairs and flung open the front door. + +"Enter!" Mademoiselle Loire cried. "Enter, our preserver--our +rescuer!" and, as soon as he crossed the threshold, Mademoiselle +Therese seized one hand and her sister the other, till Barbara wondered +how the poor little man's arms remained on. Marie, meanwhile, did her +part by the son, and, as they all spoke at once, there was almost as +much noise in the house as previously there had been outside. + +"Our noble preserver, what do we not owe to you!" shouted Mademoiselle +Therese, trying to drown her sister, who was speaking at his other ear. + +"Facing the mob like a lion at bay--one man against a thousand!" +Barbara knew there had not been a hundred, but supposed a poetical +imagination must be allowed free play. + +"He stood there as calmly as in church," Marie interpolated, though she +knew that the widower never went there, "with a cool smile playing +about his lips--it was a beautiful sight;" and Barbara regretted +exceedingly that her dress had detained her so long that she had missed +it. + +Compliments continued to fly for some time, like butterflies in June; +then, from sheer exhaustion, the sisters released him, and wiped their +eyes from excess of emotion. Barbara was just assuring herself that +the widower's arms _did_ seem to be all right, when he turned round, +and, seizing both her hands, began to shake them as violently as his +had been shaken a few minutes before. + +Barbara was much bewildered, not knowing what she had done to deserve +this tribute, and wondering if the widower were doing it out of a +spirit of revenge, and a desire to make somebody else's hands as tired +as his own. But one glance at his glowing, kindly face dispelling that +idea, Barbara concentrated all her attention on the best way to free +herself, and avoid going through a similar ordeal with all the others, +which, she began to fear, might be her fate. + +She escaped it, however, for Mademoiselle Loire had hastened away to +bring up some wine from the cellar, in honour of the occasion, and they +were all invited into the _salon_ to drink to each other's healths +before parting. The widower was called upon to give a speech, to which +Mademoiselle Therese replied at some length, without being called upon; +and it was getting quite late before the two "noble preservers" retired +to their own home. + +When they had gone, Mademoiselle Loire suggested that all danger might +not yet be past, and, as the men might return again later, she thought +it would be wiser to make preparations. So the two frightened +maid-servants being called in to assist, the shutters were closed +before all the windows, and heavy furniture dragged in front of them. +When this was done, and all the doors bolted and barred, Mademoiselle +Therese proposed to take turns in sitting up and keeping watch. +Barbara promptly vetoed the motion, declaring she was going to bed at +once, and, as no one else seemed inclined to take the part of sentinel, +they all retired. + +"I hope we may be spared to see the morning light," Mademoiselle +Therese said solemnly. "I feel there is great risk in our going to bed +in this manner." + +"Then why don't you sit up, sister?" Mademoiselle Loire said crossly, +for the last hour or two had really been very tiring. But to this her +sister did not deign to reply, and, taking up her candle, went up to +bed. When Barbara gained the safe precincts of her own room she +laughed long and heartily, and longed that Donald or Frances could have +been there to see the meeting between rescuer and rescued. + +In spite of their fears of evil they all spent a peaceful night, the +only result of their careful barricading being that it made the +servants cross, as they had to restore things to their places. The +town was apparently quiet enough too--though Mademoiselle Therese would +not allow any one to go out "in case of riot"--and when the additional +_gendarmes_ came in the evening there was little for them to do. It +was supposed that the men and employers had come to some understanding, +and that the strikers would soon return to their work. + +"But, you see," Mademoiselle Therese said to Barbara, "how easily a +revolution arises in our country. With a little more provocation there +would have been barricades and the guillotine just as before." + +"But while the widower and his son live so near us," Barbara replied, +"we need surely have no fear." + +And, though Mademoiselle Therese looked at her sharply, the girl's face +was so sedate that the lady supposed she was treating the matter with +seriousness. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +BARBARA PLAYS DETECTIVE. + +The morning lesson was over, and Mademoiselle Therese had betaken herself +to Barbara's couch, which the girl knew always meant that she was going +to make her an indefinite visit, and tell her some long story. This +time, it was about her visit to England and what she had done when +teaching there; and, as Barbara had heard it all before more than once, +it was a little difficult to show a proper interest in it. + +"Yes," mademoiselle went on, "it was a time full of new experiences for +me, by which I hope I profited. I got on extremely well with your +countrywomen, too, and the girls all loved me, and, indeed, so did your +countrymen, for I received a great many offers of marriage while there. +I grew weary of refusing them, and was _so_ afraid of hurting their +feelings--but one cannot marry every one, can one?" + +"Certainly not, mademoiselle," Barbara returned gravely. "It would be +most unwise." + +"That is just what I felt. Now, the German fraeulein----" + +Barbara sighed, wondering if it were the tenth or eleventh time she had +heard the tale of the "German fraeulein"; but before she had decided the +point, there was a knock at the door, and the maid-servant brought up the +message that mademoiselle was wanted below by a visitor. + +She rose at once, shook out her skirt, and patted her hair. + +"That is just the way," she said. "I am never allowed much time for +rest. You would not believe how many people seek me to obtain my advice. +I will return in a few minutes and finish my story." + +When she had gone, Barbara looked longingly at the couch. It was _such_ +a hot day, and the lesson had been a long one; but she was afraid it was +not much good to settle down with the promise of the story hanging over +her head. The result proved she was right, for very soon Mademoiselle +Therese came hurrying back again, full of smiles and importance. The +landlady of the inn, _Au Jacques Cartier_, wished her to go there, she +said, to act as interpreter between herself and an Englishman, who could +speak hardly any French. Would Barbara like to come too? + +Thinking it might be entertaining, Barbara got ready hastily and ran down +to join Mademoiselle Therese and the landlady, who had come in person "to +better make clear matters." + +"This Englishman and his son," she explained, as they went along, "have +only been with us a day or two, but already we wish them to go, yet +cannot make them understand. Of course, I do not wish to hurt his +feelings, but now, in August, I could let the room twice over to people +who would be much less trouble, and whom the other guests would like +better." + +"But what is wrong with these?" asked Mademoiselle Therese critically. +"I must know all the affair or I cannot act in it." + +She drew herself up very straight, and Barbara wondered if she were +thinking of Portia in the _Merchant of Venice_. + +"Well, this gentleman asked for a 'bath every morning,'" the landlady +replied in an injured tone, "and after we procured for him a nice little +washing-tub, with much trouble, he said it was too small." + +"That is not sufficient reason to send him away;" and Mademoiselle +Therese shook her head. + +"No. But then he cannot understand what goes on at _table d'hote_, and +he and his son are such silent companions that it casts a gloom over the +rest. Of course," with an apologetic glance at Barbara, "some Englishmen +are very nice to have; but this one"--she shook her head as if the matter +were quite beyond her--"this one I do not like, and perhaps without +hurting his feelings, you, mademoiselle, could make quite clear to him +that he must go." + +By this time they had arrived at the hotel, which was close to the +Rosalba Bathing Place, and overlooked that little bay. Barbara, thinking +the interview would be a delicate one, and that she would but add to the +unpleasantness of the situation, said she would wait in the orchard till +she was called. + +From it one could get a beautiful view across the River Rance, to the +wooded slopes beside Dinard, and, finding a seat beneath a lime-tree, +Barbara sat down. She had been there about a quarter of an hour, and was +almost asleep, when she heard stealthy footsteps coming through the grass +beside her, and the next moment her startled eyes fell upon the +solicitor's son of Neuilly remembrance! + +She got rather a fright at first, but he certainly got a much worse one; +and before he had recovered it had flashed across her mind quite clearly +that the man who was at that moment talking to Mademoiselle Therese, was +the solicitor himself. Before she could move from her place, the son had +cast himself down on his knees, and was begging her incoherently to spare +him and his father--not to inform against them. The thought of going to +prison, he said, would kill him, as it had his mother, as it nearly had +his sister; and if she would spare them, he would take his father away at +once. + +To see the boy crying there like a child almost made Barbara give way and +let things go as they liked; but then she remembered how meanly his +father had cheated the people in Neuilly--a widow's family too--and what +a life he seemed to have led his own wife and children; then, calling to +mind his horrid manner and cruel, sensuous face, she steeled herself +against him. + +"I shall certainly inform against your father," she said gravely. "And I +think the best thing that you and your sister can do, is to get away at +once, before it is too late." + +The boy wrung his hands. "My sister has gone already," he moaned, "to +some Scotch relations--simple people--who said they would take her in if +she would have nothing more to do with our father. But I could not +go--there was money only for one." + +Barbara looked at the pathetic figure before her, and suddenly forgot all +her promises not to get entangled in any more plots or other dangerous +enterprises, and almost before she realised what she was doing, she was +scribbling a message in French on the back of an envelope. + +From where they stood they could see the little house of Mademoiselle +Vire, and the entrance to the lane in which it stood. Pointing out the +roof of the house to her companion, she told him to run there with the +note, and, if the people let him in, to wait until she came. + +She felt it was a very bold, and perhaps an impertinent thing to do, but +she was almost sure that Mademoiselle Vire would do as she asked. As +soon as she saw him so far on his way, she ran to the inn, and went +through to the kitchen, where a maid was cooking. + +"Bring your master to me, as quickly as possible," the girl said +peremptorily. "You need not be afraid" she added, seeing that the +woman--not unnaturally--looked upon her with suspicion. "I will touch +nothing, and the quicker you come back the better I shall be pleased." + +The maid eyed her doubtfully for a few minutes, then shrugged her +shoulders and ran out of the room. Her master would, at least, be able +to get rid of this obnoxious stranger, she thought. He came quickly +enough, with an anxious expression on his rosy face, and Barbara had to +tell the story twice or thrice before he seemed to understand. It was +rather unpleasant work telling a foreigner about the evil deeds of a +fellow-countryman, but it seemed the right thing to do, though the +thought of it haunted the girl for some time. + +When once the landlord understood matters, he acted very promptly, +sending some one for the police, and then with a telegram to Neuilly. He +said he had had his doubts all along, because the gentleman had seemed +queer, and the people sleeping next him had complained that they were +sure he beat his son, for they used to hear the boy crying. + +The landlord then went down into the hall to wait until Mademoiselle +Therese's interview was over, and Barbara, leaving a message to the +effect that she had grown tired and had gone on, ran back to their house. + +Having succeeded in entering unobserved, she got her purse and hurried +off to Mademoiselle Vire. + +The old maid looked at her with a mingling of relief and curiosity, but +was much too polite to ask any questions. + +"The young man is here," she said, and led the way into the little +dining-room, where her mistress was sitting opposite the boy with a very +puzzled face, but doing her best to make him take some wine and biscuit. +Mademoiselle Vire had always appeared to Barbara as the most courteous +woman she had ever met, and, in presence of the frightened, awkward +youth, her gracious air impressed the girl more than ever. + +Knowing that he could not understand French she told his story at once, +and her listener never showed by a glance in his direction that he was +the subject of conversation. They both came to the conclusion that the +best thing he could do would be to go to St. Malo, and take the first +boat to England. It left in the evening about seven, so that by next +morning he would be safe at Southampton. + +Then Barbara said, in the way she had been wont to advise Donald, "I +think you should go straight to your sister, and take counsel with her as +to what you should do. I will lend you money enough for what you need." + +"You _are_ kind," the boy said, with tears in his eyes. "I'll pay you +back as soon as I get any money--as soon as ever I can, I do promise +you--if only I get safely to England." He had such a pitiful, frightened +way of looking over his shoulder, as if he expected to see his father +behind him all the time, that Barbara's wrath against the man arose anew, +and she felt she could not be sorry, whatever his punishment might be. + +"Good-bye," she said kindly. "I must go away now. I think, when you +arrive in England, you might write to Mademoiselle Vire, and say you +arrived safely. I shall be anxious till I hear." + +The boy almost embarrassed Barbara by the assurances of his gratitude, +and she breathed more freely when she got into the open air. + +"How glad I ought to be that Donald isn't like that," she thought, the +remembrance of her frank, sturdy brother rising in vivid contrast in her +mind. + +When she got back, Mademoiselle Therese was enjoying herself thoroughly, +recounting the adventure to her own household and to the widower and his +sons whom she had called in to add to her audience. She described the +whole scene most graphically and with much gesticulation, perhaps also +with a little exaggeration. + +"The anger of the man when he found he must accompany the officers was +herculean," she said, casting up her eyes; "he stormed, he raged, he tore +his hair" (Barbara remembered him as almost quite bald!), "he insisted +that his son must come too." + +"How mean!" the girl cried indignantly. + +"But the son," mademoiselle paused, and looked round her audience--"the +son," she concluded in a thrilling whisper, "had gone--fled--disappeared. +One moment he was there, the next he was nowhere. Whereupon the papa was +still more angry, and with hasty words gave an exact and particular +description of him in every detail. 'He must be caught,' he shouted, 'he +must keep me company.' Such a father!" Mademoiselle rolled her eyes +wildly. "Such an inhuman monster repelled me, and--I fled." + +Barbara, feeling as if they should applaud, looked round vaguely to see +if the others were thinking of beginning; but at that moment she was +overpowered by Mademoiselle Therese suddenly flinging herself upon her +and kissing her on both cheeks. + +"This!" she said solemnly, holding Barbara with one hand and +gesticulating with the other--"this is the one we must thank for the +capture. She directed the landlord--her brains planned the arrest--_she_ +will appear against him in court." + +"Oh, no!" Barbara cried in distress, "I really can't do that. They have +telegraphed for Madame Belvoir's son from Neuilly--he will do. I really +could not appear in court." + +"But you can speak French quite well enough now--you need not mind about +that; and it will be quite an event to appear in court. It is not +_every_ girl of your age who can do that." + +Mademoiselle spoke almost enviously; but the idea was abhorrent to +Barbara, who determined, if possible, to avoid such an ordeal. + +The next afternoon they had a visit from one of Madame Belvoir's sons, +who had come across to see what was to be done about the "solicitor." +Barbara was very glad to see him, for it brought back remembrances of the +first happy fortnight in Paris. + +It was rather comforting to know, too, that the result of one of the +plots she had been concerned in had been satisfactory, for the news about +Alice was good. She was getting on well with French, and all the +Belvoirs liked her very much. The "American gentleman" had been to see +her twice, and her father had not only given her permission to stay, but +had written to Mademoiselle Eugenie to that effect, and was coming over +himself to see her. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +A MEMORY AND A "MANOIR." + +No amount of wishing on Barbara's part could do away with the necessity +for her appearing in court, and the ordeal had to be gone through. + +"If I were a novelist, now," she said ruefully to Mademoiselle Therese, +"I might be able to make some use of it, but as I am just a plain, +ordinary person----" + +Her chief consolation was that the boy had written saying he had joined +his sister and that he "had never been so happy in his life." He was +going to be a farmer, he said, and Barbara wondered why, of all +occupations, he had fixed upon one that appeared to be so unsuitable; +but, as a proof of his good intentions, poor boy, he had sent her ten +shillings of the money she had lent him, and promised to forward the +rest as soon as he could. It was some comfort also, as Mademoiselle +Vire pointed out, that the man would be safely out of the way of doing +further harm for the present. + +Barbara quite agreed with her, but thought she would have felt the +comfort more if some one else had played her part. But when the whole +unpleasant business was over, and Barbara had vowed that nothing would +ever prevail upon her to go into court again--even if it were to +receive sentence herself--she sought out Mademoiselle Vire, with a +proposal to do something to "take away the bad feeling." + +"Make music," the little lady said. "That is, I think, the only thing +I can offer you, my child. Music is very good for 'bad feelings.'" + +"Yes, oh, yes, it is; but this is something I have been wanting for a +long time, and now I feel it is the right time for it. _Dear_ +Mademoiselle Vire, will you come for a drive with me?" + +A delicate flush coloured the old lady's cheeks, and Barbara watched +her anxiously. She knew she was very poor, and could not afford to do +such things for herself, and she was too frail to walk beyond the +garden, but she also greatly feared that she might have made the offer +in a way to hurt her friend's feelings. + +The little lady did not answer for some time, then she looked into the +eager face before her and smiled. + +"_If_ I said I would go, where could you get a carriage to take us?" + +"Oh, I have found out all about that," the girl replied joyfully. "I +shall not ask you to go in a donkey-cart, nor yet in a _fiacre_. I +have found out quite a nice low chaise and a quiet pony that can be +hired, and I will drive you myself." + +It took only a little consideration after that, and then mademoiselle +gave her consent to go next day if it were fine. + +"If Jeannette would care to come," Barbara said, before leaving; and +the old woman, who had been sitting very quietly in her corner while +the arrangements were being made, looked at her mistress with a beaming +face, and read her pleasure in the plan before she spoke. + +"I am so glad you thought of her," Mademoiselle Vire whispered as she +said good-bye to her visitor, "for though, of course, I should never +have asked you to include her, yet she has been so patient and faithful +in going through sorrows and labour with me, that it is but fair she +should share my pleasures, and I should have felt grieved to leave her +at home on such a day." + +Barbara had one more invitation to give, which went rather against the +grain, and that was to Mademoiselle Therese, whom she felt she could +not leave out; but she was unfeignedly glad when the lady refused on +the score of too much English correspondence. + +The following day being gloriously fine, they started for the drive in +great contentment, going by Mademoiselle Vire's choice towards La +Guimorais, a little village some seven kilometres away on the coast. +The pony was tractable and well behaved, and they rolled along slowly +under the shady trees and past the old farms and cottages, Mademoiselle +Vire's face alone, Barbara thought, being worth watching, while +Jeannette sat opposite, her hands folded in her lap. + +Just before reaching La Guimorais the road branched off towards a +lonely _manoir_, empty now, and used by some farmer for a storehouse. +Yet there was still a dignity about it that neither uncared-for garden +nor ruined beauty could destroy. + +"May we go close, quite close to it?" Mademoiselle Vire asked, and +Barbara turning the pony's head into the lane, pulled up beside the +high gray walls. + +"The master once, the servant now, but still noble," the old lady +whispered, as her eyes, wandering lovingly over it all, lingered at +last upon a bush of roses near the gate. The flowers were almost wild, +through neglect and lack of pruning, and not half so fine as many in +the little lady's own garden; but Barbara, noticing the longing look, +slipped out and gathered a handful. + +"The farmer would spare you those, I think, madame, if it pleases you +to have them." + +"He would surely spare them to me," madame repeated, and buried her +face in their fragrance. Then she laid them in her lap. + +"Drive on, my dear, I have seen all I wish," she said. She was silent +till they passed into the main road again. Then she said, with a +backward look at the _manoir_-- + +"I once stayed there for a very happy summer with my father, and a +well-beloved friend. They are both in Paradise now, and I hope, by +God's good grace and the intercessions of our Lady, I am nearer them +each year." + +Her face was perfectly serene, but poor old Jeannette's was all +puckered up, and the tears rolled heavily down her cheeks. As for +Barbara, she did not speak for a time. + +The village was a quaint little place, just a few houses dropped +together beside the sea, which sang to them for ever. + +"Let us not go in out of the clean, strong air," Mademoiselle Vire +said, as they stopped in front of the inn. "May we drink tea at the +door?" + +They slipped the reins through a ring in the flags in front of the +house, and sipped their tea, while the children of the place came and +stared solemnly at the strangers. + +They drove home in the evening sunlight between the orchards, where the +apples hung heavy on the trees, Mademoiselle Vire talking in her happy +way as usual, entertaining Barbara with tales of what she had seen and +heard. But when they drew up at her door, and the girl helped her out, +she looked anxiously into her friend's face. Had it been too tiring +for her? + +"You are thinking I may be tired!" the old lady said, smiling at her. +"Then I will tell you, my dear. I am just tired enough to go to bed +and have dreams, happy dreams. When one is so old, one is so near the +end of memory, so near the beginning of realities, that the former +ceases to be sad. I thank you for the pleasure you have given +Jeannette and myself, it will last us long; and now, good-night." + +She kissed her, and Barbara turned back to the pony chaise. + +"For her sake," she said softly to herself, "one would like the +realities to begin soon." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +AUNT ANNE AGAIN. + +Barbara had not been so frequently at the bath-house of late, the sea +proving more attractive, and she was therefore surprised one day on +going there to find a new bath-boy. She missed her old plain-faced +friend and wondered what had become of him. "Is he ill?" she asked at +the office on her way out. + +The woman pursed up her lips; "No, he is not ill," she said. "But we +found that he was not of the character that we thought." + +"But he had been with you some years," Barbara expostulated, for the +boy had confided that fact to her. + +"He had, but he had degenerated, we found." + +A dreadful doubt seized Barbara that his dismissal might be due to the +help he had given her in Alice's escape, and in that case she would be +partly responsible for him. + +"Will you kindly give me his address?" she said, turning back again to +the office. The woman looked doubtful, and said she was not sure if +she had it. + +"I think if he has been with you several years, you must surely know +where he lives," Barbara persisted; and seeing her determined look, the +woman apparently thought it would be the quickest way to get rid of +her, and did as she was asked. Barbara repeated the name of the street +and the number once or twice as she went out, and wondered how she +should begin to find her way there, though consoling herself by +thinking it was not the first time she had hunted up unknown addresses +successfully since she had come to France. + +It was very hot, and for a moment she hesitated, wondering whether she +would not put off her search till another time; then she decided it was +her duty to look the boy up at once. Asking a kindly postman if he +could direct her to the address, she found that the house was in one of +the streets near the quays. Though rather a long way off, it was not +difficult to find, and once found it was not easily forgotten, for the +smells were mingled and many. + +Barbara wandered down between the high old houses, looking at the +numbers--when she could see them--and finally found the one she sought. +She had not to wait long after knocking, and the door was opened by the +bath-boy himself, who stared at her in astonishment. + +"Ma'm'selle?" he said doubtfully, as if uncertain whether she were a +messenger of ill omen or not. + +"I have come to call," Barbara explained. "May I please come in?" + +His face broadened into the familiar grin, and he shuffled down the +passage before her, wearing the same heelless list slippers that had +first attracted Barbara's attention to him in the bath-house. The room +he took her into smelt fresh and clean, and indeed was half full of +clean clothes of all descriptions. + +"My mother is _blanchisseuse_," the boy said, lifting a heap of +pinafores from a chair. "I am desolated that she is out." + +"Yes. Guillaume, will you please tell me why you were sent away from +the bath-house?" + +Guillaume looked uncomfortable, and moved his foot in and out of his +slipper. + +"Why, ma'm'selle--I was dismissed. They said it was my character, but +that is quite good. I do not drink, nor lie, nor steal; my mother was +always a good bringer up." + +"Then was it because of helping the English lady to escape? Was it +that, Guillaume?" The boy swung his slipper dexterously to and fro on +his bare toes. + +"It was doubtless that, ma'm'selle, for it was after the visit of the +lady she belonged to that I was dismissed. My mother warned me at the +time. 'It is unwise,' she said, 'for such as you to play thus.' But +the little English lady looked so sad." + +"I _am_ sorry, Guillaume. I do wish it had not happened." + +"So do we, ma'm'selle," said the boy simply, "for my mother, who is +_blanchisseuse_, has lost some customers since then, too, and I cannot +get anything here. To-morrow I go to St. Malo or Parame to try--but +they are much farther away. Yet we must have money to keep the little +Helene. She is so beautiful and so tender." + +"Who is Helene?" inquired Barbara; and at the question the boy's face +glowed with pride and pleasure. + +"I will bring her to you, ma'm'selle; she is now in the garden. She is +with me while I am at home." + +He shuffled off, and returned in a few minutes with a little girl in +his arms: so pretty a child that Barbara marvelled at the contrast +between them. + +"She is not like me, hein?" he asked, laughing. "Helene, greet the +lady," and Barbara held out both hands to the little girl, who, after a +long stare, ran across to her. In amusing her and being herself +amused, Barbara forgot the reason of her visit, and only remembered it +when the little girl asked her brother suddenly if he would fetch her a +roll that evening. + +The boy looked uncomfortable. "Not to-night," he hastened to say, "but +the mama, she will bring you something to-night for supper. I used to +bring her a white roll on my way home from the baths," he explained to +Barbara. + +"May I give her one to-night?" the girl asked quickly, putting her hand +into her pocket. "I would like to." + +But the boy shook his head. "No, no, the mama would not like it--the +first time you were in the house. Some other time, if ma'm'selle does +us the honour to come again." + +"Of course I will. I want to see how you get on at St. Malo or +Parame," she said, "and whether Helene's doll gets better from the +measles." + +"Or whether she grows wings," put in Helene in waving her hand in +farewell. + +Barbara was very thoughtful on her way back, and before reaching the +house, she had determined to give up her riding for the present. One +more excursion she would have, in which to say good-bye to Monsieur +Pirenne, who had been very kind to her; but it seemed rather selfish to +use up any more of the liberal fund which her aunt had supplied her +with for that purpose. After all, it was hard that the bath-boy, +through her fault, could not even supply his little sister with rolls +for her supper. + +Mademoiselle Therese was somewhat surprised at the sudden decision, and +perhaps a little annoyed by it, for she had grown accustomed to the +trips to Dinard, and would miss them greatly. Monsieur Pirenne was +also disturbed, because he feared "Mademoiselle had grown tired of his +_manege_." Barbara assured him to the contrary, and tried to satisfy +them both with explanations which were as satisfactory as such can be +when they are not the real ones. As to connecting the girl's visits to +the ex-bath-boy--which Mademoiselle Therese thought were due merely to +a passing whim--and the cessation of rides, she never dreamed of such a +thing. + +The result of the boy's inquiries at St. Malo and Parame were fruitless +at first, and Barbara had paid several visits, and was beginning to +feel almost as anxious as the mother and son themselves before the boy +succeeded in his search. But one afternoon when she arrived she found +him beaming with happiness, having found at least a temporary job at +Parame, and one which probably would become permanent. + +"That news," she said, shaking the boy's hand warmly in congratulation, +"will send me home quite light-hearted." + +But somehow, though she was honestly glad, it did not make her feel as +happy as it should have done, and she thought the road back had never +seemed so long, nor the sun so hot. She would gladly have missed her +evening lesson and supper, but she feared that of the two evils +Mademoiselle Therese's questions would probably be the worse. Indeed, +when in the best of health, that lady's conversation was apt to be +wearisome, but when one felt--as Barbara had for the past few +days--that bed was the only satisfactory place, and _that_ even harder +than it used to be, then mademoiselle's chatter became a penance not +easily borne. + +"You are getting tired of us, and beginning to want home," the +Frenchwoman said in rather offended tones two days later, when Barbara +declined to go with her to Dol. "I am sorry we have not been able to +amuse you sufficiently well." + +"Oh, that isn't it at all," Barbara assured her. "It is just that I +have never known such hot weather before, and it makes me disinclined +for things." + +"You are looking whitish, but that is because you have been staying in +the house too much lately. Dol would do you good and cheer you up." + +"Another time," the girl pleaded. "I think I won't go to-day," and the +lady left her with a shrug, and the remark that she would not go +either. She was evidently annoyed, and Barbara wondered what she +should do to atone for it; but later in the day she had a visit that +drove the thoughts of Dol from both her mind and mademoiselle's. + +She was sitting in her room trying to read, and wondering why she could +not understand the paragraph, though she had read it three or four +times, when Mademoiselle Therese came running in excitedly to say there +were two American gentlemen downstairs in the _salon_ to see her--one +old, one young. "Mr. Morton," was the name on the card. + +"Why, it must be the American pretender!" cried Barbara; who, seeing +her companion's look of surprise, added hastily, "the elder one used to +know my Aunt Anne, and they have both been in Paris; it was the younger +one who helped Alice Meynell there." + +"Then, indeed, I must descend and inquire after her," said mademoiselle +joyfully. "I will just run and make my toilet again. In the +meanwhile, do you go down and entertain them till I come." + +But Barbara was already out of the room, for she thought she would like +to have a few minutes conversation before Mademoiselle Therese came in, +as there might not be much opportunity afterwards. + +"How nice of you to call on me," she said, as she entered the _salon_. +"I was just longing for one of the English-speaking race." + +The elder Mr. Morton was tall and thin, with something in his carriage +that suggested a military upbringing; his hair and eyes gray, the +latter very like his nephew's grown sad. + +"The place does not suit you?" the elder man inquired, looking at her +face. + +"Oh, yes, I think so; it is just very hot at present." + +"Like the day you tried to ride to Dol," the nephew remarked, wondering +if it were only the ride that had given her so much more colour the +first time he had seen her, and the sea breeze that had reddened her +cheeks the last time. + +But there were so many things the girl was anxious to hear about, that +she did not allow the conversation to lapse to herself or the weather +again before Mademoiselle Therese, arrayed in her best, made her +appearance. She at once seized upon the younger man, and began to pour +out questions about Alice. + +"You need not fear any bad results," Mr. Morton said to Barbara. "My +nephew is very discreet;" and Barbara, hearing scraps of the +conversation, thought he was not only discreet but lawyer-like in his +replies. + +The visit was not a very long one, Mr. Morton declining an invitation +to supper that evening, with promises to come some other time. But +before they went, he seized a moment when Barbara's attention was +engaged by his nephew to say something that his hostess rather resented. + +"The young lady does not look so well as I had imagined she would. I +suppose her health is quite good at present?" + +"She has complained of nothing," Mademoiselle Therese returned, +bridling. "Why should she be ill? The food is excellent and abundant, +and we do everything imaginable for the comfort of our inmates." + +"I am sure you do, madame," he replied, bowing. "I shall have the +pleasure of calling upon you again, I hope, before long. As I knew +Miss Britton it is natural for me to take an interest in her niece when +in a foreign land. Your aunt, I suppose, is now in England?" he added +casually to Barbara. + +"Yes--staying with us for a day or two; but I hope she will come here +before I go, and we could make an excursion on our way home." + +"That would be pleasant for both, I am sure," Mr. Morton replied, +taking a ceremonious leave of Mademoiselle Therese, and a simple, +though warmer one of Barbara. The young man said little in parting, +but as soon as they were in the street he laid his hand hurriedly on +his uncle's arm. + +"The girl is ill, uncle, I am sure of it; she is not like the same +person I met before; and that Mademoiselle Therese would drive me crazy +if I weren't feeling up to the mark." + +"No doubt; what a tongue the woman has! But what do you want to do, +Denys, for, of course, you have made up your mind to do something?" + +Denys frowned. "Of course I don't want to seem interfering, but I +won't say anything at home in case of frightening her mother. But----" +he paused and looked up at his uncle--"do you think it would seem +impertinent to write to the aunt? She might come a little sooner, +perhaps, and, being at Mrs. Britton's, could use her judgment about +telling her or not." + +Mr. Morton pondered, his mind not wholly on the girl whom they had just +left; then remembering his nephew he brought his thoughts down to the +present. "I should risk the impertinence if I were you, Denys. But +what about the address?" + +"I know the village and the county," Denys said eagerly. "I should +think that would find her. I will do it when I get back." + +But it proved more difficult to write than he imagined, and it was some +time before--having succeeded to his satisfaction--he brought the +letter to his uncle for criticism. It ran thus:-- + + +"DEAR MADAM,--I am afraid you may think it rather impertinent on my +part to write to you, but I hope you will forgive that, and my apparent +interference. I am Denys Morton, whom your niece met some time ago on +the way to Dol, and, as my uncle and I were passing this way in +returning from a little tour, we called on Miss Britton, and both +thought her looking ill. The doctor here is, I believe, quite good, +but Mademoiselle Therese, though doubtless a worthy lady, would, to me, +be rather trying in time of illness. I should not write to you, but I +fear Miss Britton will not, being unwilling to worry you or any of +those at home. My uncle made a suggestion on the matter to +Mademoiselle Therese, which was not very much liked by that lady, +therefore he thought I might write you. He asks me--if you still +remember him as a 'past acquaintance'--to give you his regards. + +"Hoping you will forgive my officiousness. + +"Yours truly, + "DENYS MORTON." + + +"That is quite passable," Mr. Morton said when he had read it. "I +think you will hardly give offence. I wonder if she remembers me?" + +"She could hardly help doing that," and Denys nodded affectionately at +his uncle. "But I shall be much happier when this letter arrives at +its destination. The address is not very exact. However, we will see, +and we can call again to-morrow--it would be kind, don't you think, to +one of our 'kith,' so to speak, and in a foreign land?" + +The uncle smiled. "It would be kind, as you say, Denys, so we will do +it." + +But when they called the following afternoon they were told that Miss +Britton was in bed and Mademoiselle Therese engaged. As a matter of +fact, she was in the midst of composing a letter to Mrs. Britton, for +when Barbara had said as carelessly as she could, that she would stay +in bed just for one day, Mademoiselle Therese, remembering her +visitor's "remarks the previous afternoon, had taken alarm and sent for +the doctor, and now thought it would be wiser to write to Mrs. Britton. +Having wasted a good many sheets of paper, and murmured the letter over +several times to herself, she sought her sister out. + +"Listen," she said proudly, "I think I have succeeded admirably in +telling Mrs. Britton the truth and yet not alarming her, at the same +time showing her that by my knowledge of her language I am not unfitted +to teach others." + + +"HONOURED MADAM,--I am permitting myself to write to you about your +dear daughter, who has entwined herself much into our hearts. There +are now some few days she has seemed a little indisposed, and at last +we succeeded in persuading her to retire to bed, and called in the +worthy and most respectable, not to say gifted, family doctor who gives +us his attention in times of illness. He expressed his opinion that it +was a species of low fever, what the dear young lady had contracted, +out of the kindness of her good heart, in visiting in time of sickness +the small sister of the bath-boy (a profession which you do not have in +England)---- + + +"That shows my knowledge of their customs, you see," the reader could +not refrain from interpolating; then she continued with a flourish-- + + +"and the daughter of a worthy _blanchisseuse_, who is in every respect +very clean and orderly, therefore we thought to be trusted with the +presence of your daughter, but whom, in the future, we will urge the +advisability of leaving unvisited." + + +Mademoiselle paused a moment for breath, for the sentence was a long +one, and she had rolled it out with enjoyment. "Of course," she said +to her sister, "I have not yet visited the house of this +_blanchisseuse_, but I inquired if it was clean, and, would not have +allowed the girl to go if the report had not been favourable; but to +continue-- + + +"Your daughter, in the excellence of her heart, would not, perhaps, +desire to rouse your anxieties by mentioning her indisposition, but we +felt it incumbent upon us, in whose charge she lies, to inform her +relatives, and, above all, her devoted mother. + +"With affectuous regards, + "Yours respectably, + "THERESE LOIRE." + + +"There!" exclaimed the writer in conclusion. "Do you not think that is +a fine letter?" + +Her sister shrugged her shoulders. + +"Probably it is, but you forget I cannot understand English. But pray +do not trouble to translate it," she added hastily; "I quite believe it +is all that you say." + +"Yes, you may believe that," and Mademoiselle Therese closed the +envelope. "I think it will make an impression." + +In that belief she was perfectly right, and perhaps it was a fortunate +thing that Aunt Anne was there to help to remove the impression; for, +that lady having already had Denys Morton's letter, was prepared for +this one, and was glad she had been able to tell the news in her own +way to her sister-in-law the day before. + +"Don't look so scared, Lucy," she said. "I don't suppose there is +anything much amiss, though I shall just pack up and go at once. What +an irritating woman this must be--quite enough to make any one ill if +she talks as she writes." + +With characteristic promptitude Miss Britton began to make her +preparations immediately, and only halted over them once, and that was +when she hesitated about packing a dress that had just come home, which +she said was ridiculously young for her. + +"It will get very crushed," she muttered discontentedly. "But then---- +Oh, well, I might as well put it in," and in it went. Mrs. Britton +hovered anxiously about her, and watched her proceedings wistfully. + +"You don't think I should go too, do you, Anne?" she asked. + +"Not at present, certainly," Miss Britton returned promptly, regarding +her with her head on one side. "I promise I will let you know exactly +how things are, and whether you would be better there. I would say +'Don't worry' if I thought it were the least good, but, of course, you +will." + +Then she stooped and fastened a strap of her trunk. "It was a most +sensible thing of the young Morton to write straight away, and, +probably, if they are there, they will be quite sure to see Barbara has +all she wants--the uncle always was a kind-hearted man." + +Then she straightened her back and declared everything was ready. + +She crossed by night from Southampton to St. Malo, and was greatly +afraid that she would arrive "looking a wreck," and, to prevent that +she partook largely of a medicine she had seen advertised as a "certain +cure for sea-sickness." Her surprise equalled her delight when she +awoke in the morning, having slept peacefully all night, and she +refused to believe that her good night was probably owing to the +calmness of the sea and not to the medicine. + +She looked with a little dismay at the shouting, pushing crowd of +porters and hotel touts waiting on the quay, wondering how she would +manage to keep hold of her bag among them all, and, as she crossed the +gangway, clutched it more tightly than before. + +"No," she said, as some one took hold of it as soon as her foot touched +the quay. "You shall not take my bag--I would not trust it to any one +of you. You should be ashamed of yourselves, screaming like wild +Indians." + +It was just then that Denys Morton and his uncle came through the +crowd. "That is she--there," the elder man said, recognising her after +fourteen years. "Go and help; I will wait here." + +It was at a crucial moment, when Miss Britton was really getting +exasperated and rather desperate, that the young man came up, and she +accepted his assistance and explanation with relief. + +"My uncle is down here," he said. "We have a _fiacre_ waiting. There +is always such a crush and rout on the quay, we thought we had better +come to pilot you through." + +The young man, in spite of his easy bearing, had been a little anxious +as to how the two would meet again, and dreaded lest there might be +some embarrassment. But beyond an air of shyness that sat strangely on +both, and a kind of amused wonder at meeting after so many years, there +was nothing to show that they had been more than mere acquaintances, +and the talk centred chiefly on Barbara. + +"She does not know you are coming yet," Denys said. "Mademoiselle +Therese got your telegram, but said it would be better not to tell your +niece in case the ship went down on the way!" + +"What a cheerful person to live with!" Miss Britton ejaculated. "I'm +afraid I may be very rude to her." + +"I hope not," Mr. Morton said. "It would do no good, and she seems to +be an excellent lady in many ways." + +"We shall see!" Miss Britton replied grimly, getting out of the +_fiacre_; and Denys felt rather sorry for Mademoiselle Therese. + +But Miss Britton was often worse in imagination than in reality, and +she behaved with all due politeness to both the sisters, who met her at +the door, and led her into the _salon_. She even bore a certain amount +of Mademoiselle Therese's explanations with patience, then she got up. + +"Well, well, I would rather hear all that afterwards, mademoiselle, and +if I may just take off my hat and coat I will go straight up to my +niece. I had breakfast on board." + +A few minutes later Aunt Anne opened Barbara's door and entered, a +little doubtful lest her sudden appearance might not be bad for her +niece, but thinking it could not be much worse than a preparation "by +that foolish woman." + +Barbara was lying with her back to the door, but something different in +the step made her turn round, and she sprang up in bed. + +"Aunt Anne! Aunt Anne!" and dropping her face into the pillow began to +cry. + +Aunt Anne stood a moment in doubt. It was such a rare thing to see any +of "the family" cry that she was startled--but not for long; then she +crossed the room and began to comfort her niece. + +"It was dreadfully foolish of me," the girl said after a while, "but it +was _so_ nice to see you again. Mademoiselle Therese is very kind, +but--she creaks about, you know, and--and fusses, and it is a little +trying to have foreigners about when you are--out of sorts." + +"Trying! She would drive me distracted. Indeed, if I had only her to +nurse me I should die just to get rid of her!" + +"Oh, she's not quite so bad as _that_," Barbara returned. "She has +been very kind indeed, aunt, and is a very good teacher; and you get +used to her, you know." + +"Perhaps. But now I'll just tell you how they are at home. Then you +must be quiet, and, as I crossed in the night, I shall be glad of a +rest too. I can stay in here quietly beside you." + +Miss Britton having had a little experience in sickness, saw that, +though probably there was no need for anxiety, Barbara was certainly +_ill_. She felt more reassured after she had seen the doctor, who she +allowed "seemed sensible enough for a Frenchman," and wrote her +sister-in-law a cheery letter, saying the girl had probably been doing +too much, and had felt the strain of the affair of the "solicitor" more +than they had realised. + +"The doctor says it is a kind of low fever," she told the Mortons; "but +_I_ say, heat, smells, and fussiness." + +After a few days' experience, she owned that the Loires were certainly +not lacking in kindness, but still she did not care to stay there very +long; and she told Denys Morton that she had never been so polite, +under provocation, in her life before. The uncle and nephew, who had +not yet moved on, did not speak of continuing their travels for the +present, and Miss Britton was very glad to know they were in the town. + +One of Barbara's regrets was that she had missed seeing the meeting +between Mr. Morton and her aunt, and that she was perhaps keeping the +latter from enjoying as much of his company as she might otherwise have +done. There were many things she wanted to do with Miss Britton when +allowed to get up, but in the meanwhile she had to content herself with +talking about them. She was much touched by the attention of +Mademoiselle Vire, who sent round by Jeannette wonderful home-made +dainties that, as Barbara explained to her aunt, "she ought to have +been eating herself." + +A fortnight after Miss Britton's arrival Barbara was allowed to go +downstairs, and, after having once been out, her health came back "like +a swallow's flight," as Mademoiselle Therese poetically, though a +little ambiguously, described it. She and her aunt spent as much time +out of doors as possible, going for so many excursions that Barbara +began to know the country round quite well; but, though many of the +drives were beautiful, none seemed to equal the one she had had with +Mademoiselle Vire, which was a thing apart. + +They drove to La Guimorais again one afternoon, and on their return the +girl told Denys Morton, who had been with them, the story of the +_manoir_. He was silent for a little at the close, then, as if it had +suggested another story to his mind, he looked towards where his uncle +and Miss Britton were walking up and down. + +"I would give anything--almost anything, at least--that he might be +happy now; he has had a great deal of the other thing in the past," he +said. + +"So would I," Barbara agreed. "You know, I couldn't quite understand +it before, but I do now. When you're ill--or supposed to be--you see +quite another side of Aunt Anne and one that she doesn't always show. +Of course, your uncle is just splendid. I can't understand how aunt +could have been so silly." + +Denys laughed softly, then grew grave, and when they spoke again it was +of other things, for both felt that it was a subject that must be +touched with no rough, everyday fingers. "They would hate to have it +discussed," was the thought in the mind of each. But the story of +Mademoiselle Vire, and all that he had heard about her, made Denys wish +to see her, and as Aunt Anne felt it a duty to call there before +leaving St. Servan, Barbara took them all in turns, and was delighted +because her old friend made a conquest of each one. Even Miss Britton, +who did not as a rule like French people, told her niece she was glad +she had not missed this visit. + +As neither Mademoiselle Vire nor Miss Britton knew the other's +language, the interview had been rather amusing, and Barbara's powers +as interpreter had been taxed to the uttermost, more especially as she +felt anxious to do her part well so as to please both ladies. When +Mademoiselle Vire saw that her pretty remarks were not understood, she +said gracefully-- + +"Ah! I see that, as I am unfortunate enough to know no English, +madame, I can only use the language of the eyes." + +Barbara translated the remark with fear and trembling, afraid that her +aunt would look grim as she did when she thought people were talking +humbug, but instead, she had bidden Barbara reply that Mademoiselle +Vire would probably be as far beyond her in elegance in that language +as in her own; and the girl thought that to draw such a speech from her +aunt's lips was indeed a triumph. + +The lady certainly did smile at the inscription Mademoiselle Vire wrote +on the fly-leaf of a book of poems she was giving the girl, and which, +Miss Britton declared, was like an inscription on a tombstone-- + + "A Mademoiselle Barbara Britton, + _Connue trop tard, perdue trop tot._" + +But she did not laugh when she heard what the little lady had said on +Barbara's last visit. + +"We are of different faiths, _mon amie_, but you will not mind if I put +up a prayer for you sometimes. It can do you no harm, and if we do not +meet here again, perhaps the good God will let us make music together +up yonder." + +Miss Britton fixed the day of departure as soon as Barbara was ready +for the journey, proposing to go home in easy stages by Rouen and +Dieppe, so that they might see the churches of which Mr. Morton had +talked so much. The uncle and nephew had just come from that town, and +were now returning to Paris, and thence, Denys thought, to England. + +Mademoiselle Therese was "desolated" to hear that Barbara's visit was +really drawing to a close, and assured her aunt that a few more months +would make Barbara a "perfect speaker; for I have never known one of +your nation of such talent in our language," she declared. + +"Of course that isn't true," Miss Britton said coolly to Barbara +afterwards, "though I think you have been diligent, and both +Mademoiselle Vire and the queer little man next door say you speak +fairly well." + +The "queer little man next door" asked them both in to supper before +they went, to show Miss Britton, he said, what a Frenchman could do in +the cooking line. Barbara had some little difficulty in persuading her +aunt to go, though she relented at last, and the experience was +certainly very funny, though pathetic enough too. He and his sons +could talk very little English, and again Barbara had to play +interpreter, or correct the mistakes they made in English, which was +equally difficult. + +They had decorated the table gaily, and the father and son both looked +so hot, that Barbara was sure they had spent a long time over the +cooking. The first item was a soup which the widower had often spoken +of as being made better by himself than by many a _chef_, and consisted +of what seemed to Barbara a kind of beef-tea with pieces of bread +floating in it. But on this occasion the bread seemed to have swelled +to tremendous proportions, and absorbed the soup so that there was +hardly anything but what seemed damp, swollen rolls! Aunt Anne, +Barbara declared afterwards, was magnificent, and plodded her way +through bread sponges flavoured with soup, assuring the distressed cook +that it was really quite remarkable "potage," and that she had never +tasted anything like it before--all of which, of course, was perfectly +true. + +The chicken, which came next, was cooked very well, only it had been +stuffed with sage and onions, and Monsieur said, with pride, that they +had thought it would be nice to give Mademoiselle Britton and her niece +_one_ English dish, in case they did not like the other things! It was +during this course that Barbara's gravity was a little tried, not so +much because of the idea of chicken with sage and onions, as because of +the stolidity of her aunt's expression--the girl knowing that if there +was one thing that lady was particular about, it was the correct +cooking of poultry. + +There were various other items on the menu, and it was so evident that +their host and his eldest son had taken a great deal of trouble over +the preparation of the meal, that the visitors were really touched, and +did their best to show their appreciation of the attentions paid them. +In that they were successful, and when they left the house the widower +and his sons were wreathed in smiles. But when they had got to a safe +distance Aunt Anne exclaimed, "What a silly man not to keep a servant!" + +"Oh, but aunt," Barbara explained, "he thinks he could not manage a +servant, and he is really most devoted to his children." + +"It's all nonsense about the servant," Miss Britton retorted. "How can +a man keep house?" + +Nevertheless, when Mademoiselle Loire began to question her rather +curiously as to the dinner, she said they had been entertained very +nicely, and that monsieur must be an extremely clever man to manage +things so well. + +One other visit Barbara made before leaving St. Servan, and that was to +say good-bye to the bath-boy. It had needed some persuasion on her +part to gain her aunt's permission for this visit. + +"But, aunt, dear," Barbara said persuasively, "he helped me with Alice, +and lost his place because of it. It would be so _very_ unkind to go +away without seeing how they are getting on." + +"Well, I suppose you must go, but if I had known what a capacity you +had for getting entangled in such plots, Barbara, really I should have +been afraid to trust you alone here. It was time I came out to put +matters right." + +"Yes, aunt," Barbara agreed sedately, but with a twinkle in her eyes, +"I really think it was," and she went to get ready for her visit to the +bath-boy. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE END OF THE STORY. + +When the day for parting came Barbara found that it cost her many pangs +to leave them all--Mademoiselle Vire first and foremost, and the others +in less degree, for she had grown fond even of Mademoiselle Therese. +The latter lady declared she and her household were inconsolable and +"unhappy enough to wear mourning," which remark Barbara took with a +grain of salt, as she did most things that lady said. + +But the two sisters and Marie all went to the station to say good-bye, +and each of them kissed her on both cheeks, weeping the while. Barbara +was not very fond of kisses from outsiders in any case, but "weeping +kisses," as she called them, were certainly a trial! What finally +dried Mademoiselle Therese's tears was to see the widower and his two +sons entering the station, each carrying a bouquet of flowers. + +"So pushing of them," she murmured in Barbara's ear, and turned coldly +upon them; but the girl and her aunt were touched by the kindness, and +the former felt horribly ashamed when she remembered that more than +once in private she had laughed at the quaint little man and his ways. + +Barbara heard her aunt muttering something about a "dreadful humbug" +once or twice, but she was very gracious to every one, and smiled upon +them all until the train left the station, when she sank back with an +air of relief and exclaimed, "Thank goodness! That's over--though, of +course, they meant it kindly." + +"They are very kind," Barbara said, looking down at the three bouquets +on the seat. "I really don't deserve that they should be so kind." + +"Probably not," Miss Britton returned calmly. "We sometimes get more +than our deserts, sometimes less, so perhaps things adjust themselves +in the end. I was really rather astonished not to see the bath-boy at +the station too--your acquaintance seems so varied." + +"Yes, I have learned a great deal since I went there," Barbara said +thoughtfully; "and just at the end I felt I didn't want to come away at +all." + +"I have no such feelings," her aunt remarked, though, perhaps, a little +thoughtfully also. But when they arrived at Rouen, the remembrance of +their pleasant time in Paris returned to them, and they both felt ready +for the delights of seeing a new town. + +Apart from the information given by the Mortons Barbara felt already +familiar with the great churches and quaint streets, and for her Rouen +never quite lost the halo of romance that Mademoiselle Vire had endowed +it with. + +It was to be connected with yet another story of the past, however, +before they left it, one which, for romance, was fully equal to +Mademoiselle Vire's, though its conclusion was so much happier. + +It was the second day of their stay, and after a morning of wandering +about the town, both Barbara and her aunt were resting, the former on +the balcony in front of her room, the latter on the terrace in the +garden. Although a book was in her lap, Barbara was not reading, but, +with hands clasped behind her head, was idly watching the passers-by, +when suddenly laziness vanished from her attitude, and her gaze became +intent on the figure of some one who had just turned into the portico +of the hotel. She rose from the low chair, her eyes shining with +excitement. + +"It certainly was he!" she said. "Now, Barbara--it is time for you to +eliminate yourself--you must lie on the couch and try to look pale." + +She pulled down the window blind, ran into her room, and had hardly +settled herself upon the couch when, as she had expected, a maid came +up with a message asking her to go down to the terrace. + +"Please tell Miss Britton I have a headache, and am lying down for a +little," Barbara said, congratulating herself upon the possession of +what had annoyed her considerably a short time before, though in an +ordinary way she would have scoffed at the idea of lying down for a +headache. A few minutes afterwards up came her aunt, looking very +concerned, and fearing lest they had been doing too much. Barbara's +heart smote her, but she told herself that she must be firm. + +"I sent for you to come to see Mr. Morton, senior," Aunt Anne +explained. "Strangely enough, he arrived this morning in Rouen, and +has put up at another hotel." + +"How nice. How very nice! I shall come down later, aunt. I expect I +shall be _quite_ all right shortly." + +She had a little difficulty in persuading her aunt that it was not +necessary to stay beside her, but at last succeeded in doing so, and +gave a chuckle of joy when the door closed. + +She had intended to go down to the garden later on, but, strange to +say, fell fast asleep, and did not awaken until the man tapped at her +door, saying the tea had been ordered for four o'clock, but now, +although it was half-past, madame had not returned, having gone along +the river bank, he believed, with monsieur. So Barbara hastily +descended and had tea--very much brewed--all by herself, and then +returned to her room to read. + +She had finished her book, and was thinking of getting ready for +dinner, when Aunt Anne came in--quite a different Aunt Anne from the +one she knew, with all her decision fled. She fidgeted about for some +time, saying nothing of importance, then at last turned round and began +hastily-- + +"I did a very silly thing once long ago, Barbara, and to-day I have +done what I am afraid people may think still sillier--I have promised +to marry Mr. Morton." + +Whereupon Barbara seized her rapturously. "Oh, aunt," she cried, "I'm +so glad, just gladder than of anything else I could have heard." + +"It--it is a great relief, Barbara," she said unsteadily, "to have you +take it so. I--was afraid you might laugh. You know, it needs some +courage for a person of my age to do a thing like that. It is +different for a girl like you, but I could not have done it, had I not +felt that since he desired it so urgently, I ought to right the wrong I +had done him long ago." + +"You can't help being very happy, aunt," said Barbara, "I'm sure, with +such a nice man as Mr. Morton. The only regret _I_ have is that you've +lost so much of the time----" + +Then, seeing her aunt's face, she felt inclined to strike herself for +having spoken foolishly. + +"Mr. Morton is in the garden," her aunt said after a moment. "It would +be nice if you went down and saw him." And Barbara sped away. + +That interview was apparently entirely satisfactory, for Miss Britton, +enjoining them later, found Barbara had just issued an invitation in +her mother's name and that it had been accepted. "And, of course, you +will come too, aunt," the girl added. + +There was one part in the arrangements that Barbara begged to be left +to her, and that was the letter home telling the news. + +"You see, Aunt Anne," she said, "I naturally feel as if I had rather a +big share in the matter." + +"I think surely it was Denys Morton's letter that brought me," Miss +Britton corrected; "but write if you like, Barbara." And, indeed, she +was rather glad to be relieved from the responsibility. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE CODA. + +If Barbara had been at home when her letter arrived, she would have +been quite content with the excitement it caused. At first Frances and +Donald were inclined to think it a huge joke, but having read to the +end of Barbara's letter they felt rather differently. Aunt Anne had +acted more wisely than she knew in allowing her niece to be the one to +write and tell of her engagement. + +"Of course," Donald said in his decided way, "we must do the proper +thing by her and treat her nicely--for after all, Frances, she's been +rather a brick about Barbara--and the last time she stayed she was much +improved." + +"It'll be interesting having a new uncle too," Frances remarked +complacently. "We're rather badly off for uncles, Don, and from what +Barbara says this Mr. Morton must be very--nice, though, of course, +Barbara isn't quite to be trusted, seeing she's such a friend of +Denys'. Let me see, now, what relation will _he_ be to us?" + +"Oh, don't bother about relationships at present--you may just have to +rearrange them again," Donald said impatiently. "Let's go and be +thinking of something to welcome Barbara back." + +On that matter they held a long consultation, Donald being in favour of +taking the horse out of the fly and drawing it home themselves, and +Frances inclining more to wreaths and decoration. + +She got her way in the end, as she pointed out to her brother that the +cabman would probably not allow them to take the horse out, and that +they would have to pay for it all the same, and worst of all, that they +would be so much out of breath with pulling that they would not be able +to ask any questions when they got home. It was probably the last +reason that weighed the most with Donald, who agreed to devote his +energies to making an archway over the garden path and setting off some +fireworks in the evening. + +On the whole, the arch was quite a success, and looked very pretty, +though it was not so secure as it might have been, and its makers felt +it safer to fasten to it a large label with the inscription, "Not to be +handled." + +The travellers were not to arrive till late in the afternoon, and poor +Mrs. Britton was driven nearly distracted by the intense excitement +pervading among the children during the morning. One of the twins had +actually suggested putting on her best frock the night before so as to +be quite ready on the following day. + +It is seldom that such an eagerly-expected event is not disappointing +in some detail of its fulfilment, but there was not a shade upon the +happiness on this occasion. Barbara and Miss Britton arrived at the +right time, _with_ their luggage; the archway remained firm until both +the travellers had passed underneath (though it collapsed shortly +afterwards); and the fireworks were as successful as such things +usually are. It is true that Donald was a trifle hurried over +displaying them, for Barbara was as anxious to unpack the treasures she +had brought home as the children were to see them. + +"You are still a _little_ thin, dear," Mrs. Britton said, as she +watched her daughter; but Barbara declared it was imagination, and +Donald and Frances gave it as their opinion that it was only the +"Frenchy kind of look she had." + +"You have dressed her in such jolly things, aunt," Frances said +admiringly. "I like a person to come home looking like the country +she's come from, and it'll be a great advantage to her teaching--she'll +get heaps of pupils, I'm sure." + +"Oh, we'll not talk about the teaching just yet," Mrs. Britton said +quickly. "She must have a week or two free first, and then it will be +time enough for us to think about it;" and to that there was no +dissentient voice--except Barbara's. + +Aunt Anne had brought home some treasures too; but was quite willing to +keep hers till later, and the children declared, with round eyes of +delight, that Barbara had brought enough to last for a very long time. + +"You really were a brick to bring so many lovely things, Barbara," said +Frances, trying to fix in a brooch with one hand while she stroked a +silk blouse with the other. "This brooch is so pretty, I'm really not +going to lose it, though I can't think how you got enough money to buy +so much." + +Miss Britton looked across at her niece, who hastily dived into her +trunk again; but the former confided to her sister-in-law afterwards, +that Barbara had distributed the remainder of the money she had given +her for riding lessons between the bath-boy and presents for the +home-people, which news made Mrs. Britton prize _her_ share of the +treasures more than ever. + +The only thing that a little disappointed the children was that "Uncle +Morton" had not arrived too. + +"It's a pity he didn't come with you, we're all so anxious to see him," +Frances remarked, looking at her aunt, whom Barbara relieved by +answering in her stead. + +"Both Mr. Morton and his nephew are coming soon to the inn," she said, +"so you haven't long to wait." + +But their curiosity rose to almost unbearable heights before the +fortnight was over, and Barbara had a little difficulty in making them +solemnly promise that they would not bother their aunt with questions +meanwhile. + +Frances and Donald both wished to go to the station to meet the train, +but this their mother forbade. + +"You will see them here to-night," she said; "they are coming up to +dinner. Meanwhile, content yourselves with Barbara." + +"Yes," remarked Donald; "we really didn't realise how much we missed +Barbara until she was back. It's just jolly having her." + +Nevertheless, they disappeared suddenly during the afternoon, and did +not return until about an hour before dinner, when they both wore the +half sheepish, half triumphant expression that Barbara knew of old +meant some escapade successfully carried through. Knowing they would +probably tell her what it was, she went on arranging the flowers on the +dinner-table while they fidgeted round the room. + +"I say," Donald said at last, "I really think Uncle Morton is one of +the nicest elderly men I've met for some time, perhaps ever." + +"Yes," Frances agreed; "I think so too. He'll be quite an exquisition +as an uncle. But we didn't go to the station," she hastened to add, as +Barbara turned round to listen. "Donald wanted to go up to the inn +this afternoon--at least we both did--to see Mr. Bates about the rabbit +he promised us, and we were talking to him quite comfortably when a +gentleman came and stood at the door looking into the passage." + +"'That's an American gentleman as has come to-day with his nephew,' Mr. +Bates remarked, and, of course, we knew it must be Uncle Morton, and we +thought since we _were_ there it would be rather unkind to go away +without ever giving him a welcoming word. Mr. Bates thought so too +when we asked his opinion, so we just went and introduced ourselves, +and told him we were glad to see him, and so on. We saw the nephew +too." + +"Yes," Donald went on, without giving Barbara a chance to speak, "and +as he seemed very glad to see us, and said it was kind of us to look in +on him, of course we stayed a little longer. He's an interesting man." + +"I'm glad you like him," Barbara said, bubbling over with laughter. +"I'm sure it must be a relief to him." + +"Yes," Donald nodded, "and to the nephew too. I think we'll be quite +good friends with him. You see, Barbara," he went on, fearing lest she +should feel disapproval about their visit, "it really was better for +them not to have to face us _all_ in a mass. Now they've got _us_ +over--they've only to get mother's approval." + +But this remark was altogether too much for Barbara's gravity, and she +drove her brother and sister off to make themselves presentable. + +But when their visitors had gone that evening and she was talking in +her mother's room, she told the story of the afternoon again, and they +laughed over it together. + +"Conceited little creatures," Mrs. Britton said. "But my judgment +coincides with theirs, Barbara--and yours. I think he is one of the +nicest men I have met, and it is splendid to see them so happy." + +"Yes," Barbara replied contentedly; "it was really rather a happy thing +that I was chased by that cyclist and met the 'American pretender,' +wasn't it, mother?" + +"I dare say it was," said Mrs. Britton; but she eyed her daughter +rather wistfully, then kissed her and bade her go to bed, though long +after the girl had left her she sit thinking. It was clear to her, as +it had been to Aunt Anne for some time, that Denys Morton was anxious +to make his uncle Barbara's, by a less round-about method than through +his connection with Aunt Anne; and before a week had passed he had +spoken of his desire, astonishing no one so much as Barbara herself. + +"Of course," said Donald, who had gone to his mother for information on +the matter, and was now discussing it in the privacy of the apple-tree +with Frances, "I felt, as eldest son, I ought to be told about it, +though I knew as soon as I saw Denys Morton that he wanted to marry +Barbara." + +"He would have been very foolish if he hadn't," Frances remarked. +"But, of course, Barbara is such an unself-conscious kind of person +that it was quite natural _she_ should be surprised. Aunt Anne says +she would choose Denys above every one for Barbara--only, naturally, +she's got a leaning to the family." + +Donald nodded. + +"So have I, though that's no good if Barbara doesn't want to make up +her mind, and she seems not to. In any case, mother thinks she's too +young, though I should have thought that Aunt Anne kind of balanced +it--being fairly old, you know; and besides, Denys is a lot older than +she is." + +"Well," said Frances, "_I_ shall give him all the encouragement I can, +for I think he's very nice. I believe, Donald, that he didn't go to +Rouen just because it's an infectious kind of thing, and he didn't want +to ask Barbara before he had told mother and us----" + +"There he is," interrupted Donald. "He looks rather down; let's go and +cheer him up," and the two dropped over the wall into the field that +bordered the garden. They sauntered towards the path leading to the +river, and surprised Denys not a little by suddenly joining him. + +[Illustration: "They surprised Denys by suddenly joining him."] + +"I say," Donald began, without giving him time to speak, "I don't think +you need be worried,--I've known Barbara a good long time, and I've +never known her to be so absent-minded before." + +To say that Denys was startled is keeping strictly within the limits of +truth, and at first he was not sure whether he felt angry or amused. +But he had grown pretty well accustomed to Donald and Frances by this +time, and after a moment of embarrassment accepted the situation. +"Thank you," he said, "it is kind of you to take an interest in--me." + +"Not at all," Frances said graciously, "we think it's really rather +hard lines on you, as, of course we knew all along you wanted to marry +Barbara." + +"By jove!" muttered Denys a little helplessly. + +"Yes, of course," Donald put in. "Anybody sensible would want to do +that. If I hadn't been her brother _I_ should have. But though it's +rather rough on you, I think two months' absence in America will just +be the thing for Barbara." + +The young man gazed at his youthful adviser, and was so overpowered +that he could think of nothing to say. + +"When do you go?" Donald continued. + +"Next week. I'm coming back in six weeks--not two months--for my +uncle's wedding," said Denys, finding his voice. + +There was a pause, and Frances, seeing from her brother's expression +that he was deep in thought, forbore to make any remark until she saw +him smile, then she said-- + +"Well, Donald?" + +But her brother addressed himself to Denys-- + +"Considering you've been here a good time now," he said, "you haven't +seen much of the country really. Suppose you came for a long walk on +the moor to-morrow with Frances and me--and Barbara?" + +Denys' eyes lighted up. "If Barbara will, I shall be charmed," he said. + +"I think she'll come," Donald said cheerfully; and moved by some +persuasion or force Barbara consented, and the four started off across +the moors. + +They started together--that was certain--but did not return in the same +manner, for Donald and Frances had got most thoroughly lost, although +as Donald said, with a grin, "he had walked that moor, man and boy, for +the past six years." + +But when the two truants returned they did not seem at all cast down by +their misfortune, while Denys certainly came back in a more cheerful +mood than that in which he had set out. + +"I think you'll find things all right when you come back again," Donald +whispered on the morning the visitors were to go, and Denys, nodding, +gripped his hand so tightly that the boy winced. + +"I think," said Frances, as she watched the carriage disappearing--"I +think, Donald, Aunt Anne ought to be very thankful she was so generous. +She has been rewarded, hasn't she, in finding Uncle Morton?" + +"Yes, virtue has had its reward. But you know, Frances, I think we're +being rather generous too." + +"Yes?" Frances said interrogatively. + +"Well, the end will be that we lose Barbara, and we haven't raised a +finger to prevent it--on the contrary we've helped--and you know we're +never likely to find another sister like her." + +"No, of course not. But all the same a wedding--and I suppose there'll +be two--will make a grand finale like the 'Codas' you have in marches." + +"Yes. You're really rather poetical, Frances. And perhaps by the time +you're ready for France another aunt will turn up to take you there." + +"I hope so, though they can't always expect to find Uncle Mortons as a +reward. But there's time enough to think of that; and at any rate, +Don, I'm going to be bride's-maid at the wedding." + +"Yes," said Donald. "And there'll be two wedding cakes running, +Fran--think of that!" + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Barbara in Brittany, by E. A. 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