initial commit of ebook 39383HEADmain

10 files changed, 24270 insertions, 0 deletions

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/39383-8.txt b/39383-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb263eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39383-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,6916 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mademoiselle Blanche, by John David Barry
+
+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: Mademoiselle Blanche
+       A Novel
+
+Author: John David Barry
+
+Release Date: April 5, 2012 [EBook #39383]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MADEMOISELLE BLANCHE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Ernest Schaal, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                          Mademoiselle Blanche
+
+                               _A Novel_
+
+                                   BY
+                             JOHN D. BARRY
+
+
+                             [Illustration]
+
+
+                                NEW YORK
+                           STONE AND KIMBALL
+                               MDCCCXCVI
+
+
+
+
+                          COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY
+                           STONE AND KIMBALL
+
+
+
+
+                          Mademoiselle Blanche
+
+                                   I
+
+
+"André!"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+The little waiter, with anxiety in his smooth, blond face, hurried to
+the table.
+
+"Bring me the _Soir_."
+
+André shot away, and presently returned, paper in hand.
+
+"What is there good at the theatres, André?"
+
+André wiped his hands in his soiled apron, and looked thoughtful.
+
+"There's the _Folies Bergères_, monsieur. Dumont sings to-night."
+
+"Oh, she tires me. Her voice is cracked."
+
+"There's Madame Judic at the _Variétés_," André suggested, tentatively.
+
+"I saw her in the last piece."
+
+André scratched his head, and stared at the figure at the table.
+
+"Monsieur likes the _Cirque_, does he not?"
+
+Monsieur did not look up from the paper. "What's at the _Cirque_ now,
+André?"
+
+"At the _Cirque Parisien_? There's Mademoiselle Blanche, the
+acrobat. They say she's a marvel, monsieur,--and beautiful,--the
+most beautiful woman in Paris. She dives from the top of the
+building backwards--hundreds of feet."
+
+"So you think it's really good, André?"
+
+André nodded. Monsieur dropped the paper, paid his bill, left a little
+fee for the _garçon_, and took himself off. At the entrance he stopped
+and surveyed the surging crowd in the _Boulevard Montmartre_. He had
+just finished an excellent dinner with a glass of _chartreuse verte_; so
+he felt particularly complacent. As he prodded his teeth with the easy
+grace of the Frenchman who knows no shame of the toothpick, he tried to
+think out a plan for the evening. Nothing better occurred to him than
+André's suggestion. He was not in the mood for the _Casino de Paris_,
+nor for any of the other concert halls, nor even for the theatres. Yes,
+he would go to the Circus. He hadn't been there for ten days.
+
+For years Jules Le Baron had attended the _Cirque Parisien_ at least
+once a fortnight; his friends used to chaff him for his fondness for it.
+Those who had known him from a boy liked to remind him of his first
+great ambition--to be a performer on the trapeze. Though this amused him
+now, he had never lost his love for feats of daring and skill. Whenever
+he felt particularly tired from his work at the wool-house, he would go
+to the Circus; it refreshed him, and he fancied that it made him sleep
+well afterwards. His first love had been a beautiful Roumanian, who
+jumped through hoops of fire, landing on her velvet-caparisoned horse,
+without even singeing her long, blond hair. He was fifteen then, and he
+discovered that the lady was forty-five, though he could have sworn
+there was not a difference of more than three years in their ages. Since
+that time he had become enamoured of many of the glittering amazons of
+the arena, who shot through the air, or through hoops, or out of the
+mouths of cannons, or crossed dizzy heights on the tight-rope, or
+juggled with long, villainous-looking knives falling in showers into
+their hands.
+
+Those episodes, however, brightened Jules Le Baron's life long before he
+was twenty-five. He had since had many similar experiences in the larger
+arena of the world. Indeed, he gloried in his susceptibility; he used to
+give people to understand that, though fairly successful in business, he
+had a very keen appreciation of the sentiments, and of all the
+refinements of life. To a foreigner he would have expressed this
+complication by saying that he was Parisian to his finger-tips. In
+America, where, at the age of twenty-six, he passed three wretched
+months, he had been appalled by the lack of sentiment among the people.
+Of course, as he represented there the wool-house with which he had been
+connected since his sixteenth year, he met chiefly business men; but
+even these ought to have displayed an interest in something outside
+their commercial routine.
+
+It was those three months in America that gave Jules Le Baron his zest
+for Paris. Of course, he had always loved it; but till he left it, his
+love had not become self-conscious. America taught him what he had only
+dimly known before, that for him Paris was the only city in the world
+worth living in. He knew that people born away from Paris liked other
+cities; secretly, however, this amused him. He believed that no one,
+after living in Paris, could find any other place habitable. Indeed, any
+places, any people, any customs foreign to Paris seemed to him so droll
+that at the thought of some of them he often laughed aloud. America had
+given him things to laugh at for the rest of his life.
+
+Of course, Jules was proud of having visited America; it gave him a
+delightful feeling of superiority to his friends and acquaintances at
+home. He always felt pleased when the English and Americans that he met
+in business complimented him on his English; it enabled him to say
+carelessly: "Oh, I just picked it up when I was in America." He really
+had learned very little English there; nearly all he knew had been
+taught him by his father, a professor of chemistry in a small school in
+Paris, who had spent six months in England during the siege. He had
+acquired there, however, a smattering of American slang; on his lips it
+sounded delicious. His friends in Paris thought he spoke English
+beautifully, and frequently referred to his talent for languages. He had
+given them glowing accounts of his adventures in America, and said
+nothing of his desolate loneliness there; so they looked upon him as a
+born traveller,--as, altogether, a man of remarkable qualities. But for
+his English and his travels, they would merely have shrugged their
+shoulders at the mention of his name, and dismissed him with a "_Bon
+garçon!_"
+
+Jules Le Baron knew that he was much more than a _bon garçon_. His
+attitude toward the world expressed this; he always acted as if he felt
+the world had been made exclusively for him. After losing his father at
+fourteen, he promptly proceeded to link his mother in the closest bonds
+of slavery. Yet he was kind to her, too, and, in his way, he loved her,
+for she was made to obey, just as he had been born to command. When she
+died and left him alone at the age of twenty with a small property, he
+took a miniature apartment in the _rue de Lisbonne_, and adjusted
+himself to his new life. His salary at the wool-house, where his English
+helped to make him valuable, together with the property, gave him an
+income of ten thousand francs a year. He considered himself rich, a
+personage, one who ought to marry well.
+
+Jules had thought so much about marriage that, at thirty, it was
+surprising he should have remained unwedded. Every young woman he met he
+regarded as a candidate for his hand, and he spent a large part of his
+leisure in rejecting these innocent suitors. Even now, as he slowly made
+his way up the _Boulevard_, he fancied that the girls he passed were
+looking at him admiringly and enviously. He often smiled back at them,
+for he was rarely unkind and he never gratuitously wounded any one's
+feelings. With his mother, it is true, he had been occasionally severe,
+but merely to discipline her, to make her see things as he saw them. At
+this moment he felt particularly amiable. He was in Paris, on the
+_Boulevard_ that he loved, surrounded by the people that he loved, in
+the atmosphere which, as he had discovered in America, was as the very
+breath to his being. The spectacle was all for him! Paris, had been
+created that he might enjoy it!
+
+
+
+
+                                   II
+
+
+Saturday was the fashionable night at the _Cirque Parisien_, and the
+night when Jules usually attended it. This was Tuesday, however, and
+Jules decided not to be fashionable, but simply to amuse himself. As he
+approached the letters of light that flashed the name of the _Cirque_
+into the eyes of the _boulevardiers_, he suddenly remembered that he had
+promised to meet two of his comrades of the wool-house in the evening.
+He turned into the _rue Taitbout_, and as he was walking slowly through
+the long passageway leading into one of the large apartment-houses
+there, he felt himself suddenly seized in the darkness by two pairs of
+hands. He looked quickly around, and dimly recognized Dufresne and
+Leroux, who had come up from behind him. They were both types, short and
+swarthy, with oily faces, thick black moustaches, and pointed beards.
+
+"Why didn't you come before?" and "We've been waiting an hour," they
+cried together.
+
+"He's been up to some adventure, I'll wager," said Leroux.
+
+"Answer! The truth! No lies!" Dufresne exclaimed, shaking him by one
+shoulder.
+
+Jules pulled away with an effort.
+
+"I thought you were going to rob me!" he laughed.
+
+"You see, he doesn't answer," said Dufresne. "I told you he was up to
+some adventure."
+
+"Up to some adventure!" Jules repeated. "I've just been taking dinner,
+and I forgot I'd promised to meet you to-night. Where are you going?"
+
+"We're going to the _Folies Bergères_, and then to a masked ball in
+Montmartre," Leroux answered, resuming his grip. "Come along."
+
+Jules pulled away with a laugh.
+
+"Thanks. Not to-night. I don't feel like it. Besides, I'm not dressed."
+
+"But _we're_ not dressed," they cried together, throwing open their
+coats. "You won't have to dress. Come on."
+
+Jules shook his head decidedly.
+
+"No," he insisted, "it's all very well for you young bucks. I'm too old.
+It tires me out for the next day; can't do my work. I think I'll look in
+at the Circus. Come along with me."
+
+They scoffed at the idea of going to the Circus, and tried to persuade
+him to accompany them, since he had kept them waiting so long. But he
+resisted, and, as he turned away from them, they clutched at him again,
+but he escaped, laughing, into the street, and he saw them shaking their
+fists after him. Those two "boys," as he called them, were always trying
+to drag him into their escapades. They looked so much alike that at the
+office they were called "the twins," and they were always getting into
+scrapes and into debt together.
+
+Before buying his ticket for the Circus, Jules looked carefully over the
+program on the posters in the long entrance. Some of the performers he
+had already seen and the names of a few of them were unfamiliar to him.
+One name was printed in larger letters than the others--Mademoiselle
+Blanche. Jules read the paragraph printed below, announcing Mademoiselle
+Blanche as the most marvellous acrobat in the world, and proclaiming
+that, in addition to giving her act on the trapeze, she would plunge
+backward from the top of the theatre, a height of more than seventy-five
+feet, into a net below. Jules smiled, and felt a thrill of his old
+boyish excitement at the prospect of seeing the feat performed.
+
+When he turned to buy his ticket, he noticed a large photograph on an
+easel, standing near the box-office. The name of Mademoiselle Blanche,
+printed under it, attracted him. The acrobat, her long sinuous limbs
+encased in white tights, was suspended in mid-air, one arm bent at the
+elbow, clinging to a trapeze. The tense muscles of the arm made a
+curious contrast with the expression of the face, which was marked by
+unusual simplicity and gentleness. The profile was clear, the curving
+eyelashes were delicately outlined, and the eyes were large and dark.
+Something about the lines of the small mouth attracted Jules. He studied
+the picture carefully to discover what it was. The whole expression of
+the face seemed to him to be concentrated in the mouth; he felt sure
+that the teeth were small and very white, and the woman's voice was soft
+and musical. The face differed from the ordinary types of performers he
+had seen; it reminded him of the faces of some of the girls in the
+convent of Beauvais, where his mother had once taken him to visit his
+cousin. The woman must be clever to make herself up so attractively. He
+wondered if the appearance of youth that she presented was also due to
+her cleverness. She might easily pass for twenty. Her figure looked
+marvellously supple; she had probably been trained for the circus from
+infancy, and she might be fifty years old.
+
+He decided not to buy a seat, but to go into the balcony where he could
+walk about and look down at the performance. If it bored him, he could
+rest on one of the velvet-cushioned seats till a new "turn" began. He
+found more people in the balcony than he had ever seen there before; as
+a rule they made only a thin fringe around the railing; now they were
+five and six deep. He established himself beside a post where he could
+catch glimpses of the arena and get a support, and there he remained for
+half an hour.
+
+To-night, however, the antics of the clown, the phenomenal intelligence
+of the performing dogs, even the agility of the Schaeffer family of
+acrobats, did not interest him. He was impatient to see Mademoiselle
+Blanche. Her name stood last on the program; she was probably reserved
+for a crowning attraction. Jules dropped on one of the velvet cushions,
+and rested there for another half-hour. Then some knife-throwing
+attracted him, and he slowly worked his way through the crowd to a place
+where he could look down at the performers. The knife-throwing was
+followed by an exhibition of trick-riding, which preceded the acrobat's
+appearance.
+
+Before this appearance took place, however, there was a long wait caused
+by the preparations made for the great plunge. A thick rope was
+suspended from one of the beams that supported the roof of the building,
+and under it a net was spread. Then the half-dozen trapezes that had
+been tied to the walls, were loosened, and as they swung in the air and
+the band played, Mademoiselle Blanche, in white silk tights, with two
+long strips of white satin ribbon dangling from her throat, ran into the
+ring, and bowed in response to the applause of the crowd.
+
+Jules Le Baron drew a long breath. The long supple limbs, the firm white
+arms and throat, the pale oval face, framed in dark hair that curled
+around the forehead, created a kind of beauty that seemed almost
+ethereal. The glamour of youth was over her, too; she could not be, at
+most, more than twenty. As she ran up the little rope ladder to the net
+and climbed hand over hand along the rope to one of the trapezes, Jules
+thought he had never seen such grace, such exquisite sureness of
+movement and agility. After reaching the trapeze, she sat there for a
+moment, smiling and rubbing her hands. Then she began to swing gently,
+and a moment later she shot through the air to another trapeze several
+feet away, and from that she passed on to the others with a bewildering
+swiftness.
+
+Jules had never seen a woman perform alone on the trapeze before, and
+this exhibition of skill and resource fascinated him. The feats were
+nearly all new, and some of them of unusual difficulty. When the girl
+had finished her performance on the trapeze she returned to the rope,
+and began to pose on it, twisting it around her waist, and hanging
+suspended with her arms in the air. In this way she rolled gently down
+to the net.
+
+The event of the evening was yet to come, however. After resting for a
+moment, Mademoiselle Blanche seized the rope again, and, hand over hand,
+she climbed to the top of the building; there she sat on a beam, so far
+from the audience that she seemed much smaller than she really was. The
+ring-master, a greasy-looking Frenchman in evening dress, appeared in
+the arena and commanded silence.
+
+"Mademoiselle Blanche must have perfect quiet," he cried, "in order to
+perform her great feat. The least noise might disturb her, and cause her
+death."
+
+Jules smiled at this speech; it was very clever, he thought. Of course,
+it was made merely to impress the audience. He wondered how Mademoiselle
+Blanche felt at that moment, perched up there so quietly, ready to hurl
+herself into the air. He did not have time to think much about this, for
+as he strained his eyes toward her, the signal for the fall was given,
+the white figure plunged backward, spun to earth, landed with a
+tremendous thump in the padded net, bounded into the air again, and
+Mademoiselle Blanche was bowing and kissing her fingers.
+
+For a moment not a sound was heard. Then the audience burst into
+applause, and Jules Le Baron breathed. He felt as if his heart had
+stopped beating. He had never seen such a thrilling exhibition before.
+All his old delight in the circus had come back to him. As he walked out
+with the crowd, he congratulated himself on not having gone with
+Dufresne and Leroux. He would not have missed his evening for a dozen
+balls in Montmartre!
+
+At the door he met Roger Durand, dramatic critic of the _Jour_. He had
+known Durand as a boy, and they had continued on a footing of
+half-hostile friendship.
+
+"So you've come to see the new sensation?" said the journalist, as they
+shook hands.
+
+"Just by chance," Jules replied. "I've never been more surprised in my
+life. Who is she?"
+
+"That's just what I haven't been able to find out. I've been talking
+about her tonight with old Réju--he's the man who makes the
+engagements--but he didn't seem to know much more about her than I did.
+He said he first heard of her in Bucharest. She made a hit there, too,
+some time last year."
+
+"But she's French, isn't she? Parisian?"
+
+"She's French, but Réju says she isn't Parisian--comes from the
+provinces somewhere. There's a woman goes about with her, her mother, I
+suppose. Réju says mamma keeps her down here," the journalist added with
+a smile, making a significant gesture with his thumb. "Mamma gets all
+the money, and Mademoiselle does all the work."
+
+Jules shrugged his shoulders. "Going to your office?" he said. "You have
+to turn night into day, haven't you?"
+
+"My dear fellow, night is the best part of life. Days were made for
+sleep. We've got mixed up, that's all, and only a few of us are clever
+enough to find it out. Come and have a glass of absinthe with me before
+I go back."
+
+Jules shook his head.
+
+"Some other time. A glass of absinthe would spoil me for to-morrow. _Au
+revoir._"
+
+He was glad to be alone again so that he might think over the evening.
+The beautiful figure whirling through the air still haunted him.
+"Mademoiselle Blanche!" The name seemed to sing in his mind. He wondered
+what her real name was. So she had a mother who kept her under her
+thumb! Then he wondered what she was like out of the circus--ignorant
+and vulgar, probably, like the rest of them. Yet in her looks she was
+certainly different from the rest. At any rate, he must go and see her
+performance again. He would go several times.
+
+
+
+
+                                  III
+
+
+When Jules arrived home he found supper on the table of his little
+dining-room. Madeleine, the old woman who had served his mother for
+years and remained with him after his mother's death, always left
+something for him at night. Now he turned away from it in disgust. His
+face was burning; he felt nervous, excited. After going to bed, he was
+unable to sleep. He kept seeing Mademoiselle Blanche tumbling through
+the air! He could not think of her except as in motion. He tried to
+recall her as she stood in the net, just before climbing the rope to the
+trapeze, but her figure was vague and shadowy. Then he tried to think
+out her features as he had observed them, and he found that he had quite
+forgotten her face; all that remained was an impression of sweetness, of
+a ravishing smile.
+
+When, finally, he fell asleep, he dreamed of her, still flashing through
+the air, striking with a thud the padded net, and bouncing to her feet
+again. He woke several times and felt impatient with himself for not
+being able to drive the thought away; yet when he sank again into sleep,
+the dream came back persistently.
+
+At half-past seven he rose, tired from his broken rest. He went at once
+to the long mirror that covered the door of his wardrobe, expecting to
+be confronted with the face of an invalid. His gray eyes were slightly
+inflamed and his cheeks had more than their usual color; otherwise his
+appearance was normal. For several moments he surveyed himself. As a
+rule he did not think much about his looks; he knew that he was
+considered handsome, and this gave him a half-unconscious gratification.
+When he wanted to please a woman he seldom failed. Now he had a distinct
+pleasure at the sight of the aristocratic curve of his nose, the strong
+outline of his chin, the full red lips under his thick brown moustache.
+Jules wished that he could keep from growing fat; but after all, he
+reflected philosophically, there was a difference in fatness; some men
+it made gross and vulgar; his own complexion, however, was so fair that
+he could never look gross. Even now there was a suggestion about him of
+the sleekness of a well-kept pigeon.
+
+When he went out to breakfast he found Madeleine looking doleful.
+Madeleine had known Jules from birth and considered herself a second
+mother to him. She was short and stout, with a mouthful of very bad
+teeth, some of which rattled when she spoke, as if they were about to
+fall out.
+
+"Monsieur Jules did not eat last night," she said as she poured his
+coffee and pushed his rolls into the centre of the little table.
+
+"No, Madeleine, I wasn't hungry." Jules took up the _Figaro_ that was
+lying on the table and began to look for a reference to Mademoiselle
+Blanche.
+
+"The coffee will grow cold, Monsieur Jules."
+
+Jules did not hear her. When preoccupied, he had a habit of ignoring
+Madeleine. Yet, in his way, he liked her; he often wondered what he
+would do without her; she was docile and attentive to his wants as his
+mother had been, and she was very inexpensive. For five minutes he read;
+then, when he found no reference to the acrobat, he threw down the paper
+with an exclamation of impatience, and seized his cup and sipped his
+coffee.
+
+"It's cold!" he cried.
+
+Madeleine's look of distress deepened.
+
+"Let me take that away," she said. "I'll get another cup."
+
+When she brought the cup and poured some of the hot coffee into it,
+Jules drained it, and pushed his chair away from the table.
+
+"But you have eaten nothing, Monsieur Jules!"
+
+"I'm not hungry this morning."
+
+"And you didn't eat anything last night," the old woman repeated,
+following him with her eyes. "Are you sick?"
+
+"No, no!" Jules replied, impatiently. "I don't feel like eating, that's
+all. Give me my hat and coat, Madeleine; I shall be late if I don't
+hurry."
+
+"Monsieur Jules doesn't look well," said Madeleine timidly, as she
+helped him on with his coat.
+
+"Oh, don't worry about me." At the door Jules turned. "I shall be out
+late again to-night, Madeleine. You needn't leave the light burning."
+
+The wool-house of Ballou, Mercier & Co., where Jules worked, was only
+ten minutes' walk from the _rue de Lisbonne_. On his way there, Jules
+resolved to say nothing to the twins about Mademoiselle Blanche. Of
+course, Leroux would ask him about the evening, and he would say simply
+that he had been rather bored. He wanted to keep Mademoiselle Blanche to
+himself. He even hoped that her performance would not be noised abroad,
+that she would not become one of those women whom all Paris went to see
+and every one talked glibly about. But she must be well-known already;
+it was evidently her performance that had crowded the Circus.
+
+At the office the twins had a great deal to say about the masked ball of
+the previous night, but Jules hardly heard them. He was still so haunted
+by the thought of Mademoiselle Blanche that he made several mistakes in
+his letters; since his return from America he had been placed in charge
+of all the English correspondence, and it was important that he should
+be exact. The day had never seemed so long to him, nor his work, in
+which he usually took pride, so dull. He was impatient for the evening.
+When six o'clock came, he hurried away without bidding the twins
+good-night.
+
+Jules walked toward the little restaurant in the _Boulevard_ where he
+had dined the night before. He wanted to see André again, to talk over
+Mademoiselle Blanche with him. He felt almost a personal affection for
+André now. The little _garçon_ was bewildered by Jules' affability, and
+overcome by the generous tip which he received as Jules left the place.
+Indeed, freed from the labors of the day, Jules felt buoyant and happy.
+But when he reached the Circus, his spirits sank; he had forgotten that
+Mademoiselle Blanche did not appear till nearly eleven. He would have to
+wait for her at least three hours!
+
+He felt so vexed that he turned away from the theatre and walked along
+the _Boulevard_. It was late in October, and a light rain was falling,
+mixed with snow. The _Boulevard_ was crowded with people, hurrying under
+umbrellas. Jules turned up the collar of his overcoat, and shivered.
+What was he to do till eleven? He might go to one of the theatres, but
+he would not enjoy it. When he reached the _Opéra_, he had not made up
+his mind what to do, and he walked on as far as the Madeleine. He
+entered a _café_ opposite the church, and called for a bock and one of
+the illustrated papers. For an hour he sat there, sipping the beer and
+pretending to read. The jokes, however, which he usually enjoyed, seemed
+to him vulgar. He was thinking of the figure in white silk tights,
+shooting through the air. A score of times he called himself a fool for
+not being able to put that thought out of his mind; yet he felt nervous
+and irritable, simply because he was impatient to see the spectacle
+again. At last he became so uneasy that he looked for the waiter to pay
+his bill and leave. Then he felt a slap on the shoulder, and Durand's
+smiling face confronted him.
+
+There was no reason why Jules should have been displeased at seeing
+Durand; yet at that moment he felt resentful. The journalist was small
+and dapper, with the ends of his black moustache carefully waxed. His
+little black eyes were always sparkling with humor, and when he smiled
+he showed two rows of regular white teeth. Yet, in spite of the care of
+himself which he seemed to take, he never looked quite clean; his thick
+black hair was always dusty with dandruff, which fell on the shoulders
+of his coat. He spoke in a high thin voice and with a patronizing air
+that exasperated Jules.
+
+"I thought I recognized your back," he said, when Jules had turned his
+face toward him.
+
+Jules grunted and pointed to a chair at the little table. He wanted to
+show by his manner that he didn't like that familiar slap. Durand,
+however, was unruffled.
+
+"What are you doing here, anyway? Why aren't you at the theatre or one
+of the _cafés chantants_?"
+
+Jules took a puff of his cigarette, and then looked down at the little
+figure.
+
+"I might ask you the same question."
+
+"Oh, I'm working. This is a busy night for me." Then Durand's face
+lighted. "What do you suppose I've got to do to-night?"
+
+Jules knocked the ashes of his cigarette against the edge of the table.
+"Now, do you mean? I can't imagine. You're always doing impossible
+things."
+
+"I'm going to interview the little acrobat."
+
+Jules came very near jumping. He controlled himself, however, and
+carelessly lifted the cigarette to his lips again.
+
+"What little acrobat?" he asked, screwing his eyes.
+
+"The one you saw last night--at the _Cirque_--the _Cirque Parisien_."
+
+"Oh, Mademoiselle--Mademoiselle--what's her name--the one who dives from
+the top of the building?"
+
+"Yes, Mademoiselle Blanche. When I went back to the office last night, I
+told old Bargy about her--cracked her up to the skies, and he swallowed
+the bait, and sent me round to interview her to-night. Ah, my dear boy,
+that's one of the advantages of being a newspaper man. It opens every
+door to you. Whenever I want to get acquainted with a pretty actress, I
+simply go and interview her."
+
+He sat back in his seat and smiled and hummed a popular song, rapping
+the table with his fingers. The waiter came up and asked for his order.
+
+"Two bocks!" said Durand, looking at Jules.
+
+"No, no more for me. I haven't finished this yet." When the waiter went
+away, Jules glanced sleepily at the journalist. "You're a very lucky
+fellow, it seems to me. I should think it would be rather agreeable to
+know the pretty actresses."
+
+Durand shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes, yes--sometimes, no. Usually
+it spoils the illusion."
+
+Jules stared thoughtfully at his bock. "Aren't you afraid you'll be
+disillusioned by Mademoiselle Blanche?"
+
+"Oh, probably. They're all alike--when you come to know them. But
+there's something about her that made me think she might be a little
+different from the rest. At any rate, she's dev'lish pretty, isn't she?"
+
+"Do you think so?" Jules asked, with a deprecating lift of the eyebrows.
+
+"Think so! I know so! If you don't think so you must be hard to please."
+
+"Oh, I thought she was pretty in her circus rig. I should like to see
+her out of the ring. They make up so, those women. You can't tell
+whether they're really pretty or not."
+
+"Well, come around with me, and I'll introduce you. Then you can see for
+yourself."
+
+Jules nearly jumped again, but his cigarette helped him to disguise the
+impulse. "I'm afraid I shall be in the way," he said, after a meditative
+puff.
+
+Durand had seized the bock left on the table by the waiter, and was
+holding it over his head. When half the contents had disappeared, he
+smacked his lips and wiped them with his handkerchief. "Not at all.
+You'll help me draw her out. They say she does the shy-young-girl act;
+so she's hard to talk with. That seems to be a favorite pose of
+actresses nowadays."
+
+Jules' heart was throbbing. He was afraid that Durand would discover his
+elation. So he tried to appear indifferent and cynical. Durand's
+cynicism amused him; yet in the journalist's presence he was always
+trying to imitate it.
+
+When he had drained his bock, Durand stood up, surveyed with a
+professional eye the crowd at the tables, nodded to a few acquaintances,
+and made a sign to Jules that he was ready to go. It had ceased raining,
+but the sky was still leaden. The splendid portico of the Madeleine
+loomed out of the darkness, and the lights in the _Boulevard des
+Capucines_ were gleaming faintly in the mist. They met few people as
+they walked toward the _Opéra_, but there was plenty of life around the
+theatres in the _Boulevard des Italiens_. When they reached the
+_Cirque_, Durand had a whispered consultation with the _Control_ who sat
+in self-conscious dignity and evening dress at the desk near the main
+door. He referred the journalist to a short fat man with a white beard,
+lounging a few feet away, and Jules stood apart while the two had an
+animated talk. After a few moments, Durand made a sign to Jules to come
+up, and Jules found himself presented to Réju as "my _confrère_,
+Monsieur Jules Le Baron, of the Marseilles _Gazette_." Réju was very
+amiable, and Jules felt angry, though he could not help being amused by
+Durand's serene impudence.
+
+They were conducted at once into the theatre, under the great arch,
+draped with French flags, where the performers made their exits and
+their entrances. Then they found themselves in a large bare room, with
+several passages radiating from it.
+
+"The dressing-rooms are here," Réju explained, pointing to the passages.
+"Mademoiselle Blanche's room is number 5. I don't know whether she has
+come yet or not. Her act doesn't begin till ten minutes of eleven. Wait
+here, and I'll see if she can receive you."
+
+Durand smiled at Jules, and as soon as Réju was out of hearing, he
+whispered: "I hope you didn't mind that little fairy-tale of mine. I had
+to pass you off as one of the fraternity. If I hadn't they wouldn't have
+let you come in. Now, don't forget your part, the Marseilles _Gazette_.
+It's a good republican paper. The editor's a great friend of mine."
+
+"I'm afraid I sha'n't be a credit to the profession. I've never seen any
+one interviewed in my life."
+
+"Then it'll be an education to you." Durand laughed. "Look out. Here he
+comes!"
+
+The fat little manager approached them with a smiling face; he evidently
+had in mind two free advertisements for the theatre.
+
+"Mademoiselle Blanche," he said impressively, "arrived five minutes ago,
+and she hasn't begun to dress yet. If you'll have the kindness to follow
+me, messieurs"--he concluded with a bow and a wave of the hand.
+
+Jules' body was tingling, and his heart beat violently. Durand, on the
+contrary, seemed more debonair than ever; with an air of importance, he
+strutted behind the manager, as if conferring an honor on the performer
+by his call. Réju rapped on the door, and after a moment a shrill voice
+piped:
+
+"_Entrez!_"
+
+
+
+
+                                   IV
+
+
+Durand made a bold entrance, and Jules followed sheepishly. The room was
+small and uncarpeted; on one side stood a wardrobe and a table, and on
+the opposite wall hung a large mirror that reflected nearly the whole of
+the apartment. The rest of the furniture consisted of two wooden chairs
+and a large trunk. Jules did not realize that he had observed these
+details till afterward, for his glance was bent on the face of
+Mademoiselle Blanche, who stood beside the trunk, surveying her callers
+with apprehension in her big eyes. On one of the chairs sat a woman of
+fifty, tall and thin, with strands of flesh hanging at her neck, her
+eyes bright, her lips aglow with a false bloom, and her cheeks pallid
+with powder. Jules recognized her at once as the acrobat's mother, and
+he had a shock of surprise and revulsion.
+
+The manager, after presenting the callers to Madame Perrault, and then
+to her daughter, excused himself with a flourish, and left the room.
+Madame Perrault was smiling and chattering at Durand, and Mademoiselle
+Blanche was flushed and confused.
+
+"I think we must be the first of the Parisian journalists to interview
+Mademoiselle," said Durand to the mother, letting his eyes turn vaguely
+to the acrobat for information.
+
+Madame Perrault gave a little jump, and glanced hastily at her
+daughter's face.
+
+"Yes, you are," she replied. "We did have--that is, there was a
+gentleman of the press who wanted to interview Blanche, but she--she was
+a little timid about it. Blanche is very timid; so we--we put it off.
+But interviewers are very----Ah, you will sit down, will you not?" she
+said to Jules, who had remained standing with his eyes fixed on the
+girl.
+
+Mademoiselle Blanche had taken a seat on the trunk, and her mother sat
+beside her so that Jules might occupy her chair. When they were all
+adjusted, Madame Perrault resumed, turning to Jules, whose embarrassment
+she had observed.
+
+"Monsieur Réju told me yesterday interviews were so important. They make
+people interested. They----"
+
+"But the people are already interested in Mademoiselle Blanche," Durand
+interposed, gallantly. "That's why my _confrère_ and I have come here.
+The Parisians want to know all about Mademoiselle. She's the sensation
+of the hour. Her name is on everybody's lips."
+
+He glanced at Mademoiselle Blanche with his most languishing smile, and
+Jules felt a sudden desire to kick him. The acrobat tried to look
+pleased, but she succeeded only in appearing more confused. Jules was
+surprised to see how frail she was. Her figure, full and vigorous in the
+ring, seemed so thin in her plain, tight-fitting gray dress, that he
+felt sure she must have been padded for her performance.
+
+"I'm going to ask Mademoiselle a great many questions," Durand resumed,
+still leering at the acrobat.
+
+"But I have nothing to tell," she replied, speaking for the first time.
+
+"But you must have been born, and grown up, and done a great many things
+besides, that the rest of us don't do," the journalist laughed, growing
+more familiar. Jules' dislike for him was rapidly developing into
+hatred.
+
+Durand's familiarity, however, seemed to please the acrobat's mother.
+
+"Blanche is too modest," she said. "She's had a great many things happen
+to her."
+
+"Have you always been in the circus, Mademoiselle?"
+
+"Yes, ever since she was a child," her mother answered. "Her father was
+an acrobat."
+
+"So it's in the family. And were you in the circus too, Madame?"
+
+Madame Perrault shook her head, and Jules thought he saw her blush under
+the powder. "No, I have never been in public life. My husband's family
+lived in Boulogne, where I lived too. They were all acrobats. After my
+marriage I used to travel with the circus, and when Blanche was born,
+Monsieur Perrault wanted her to perform, too. When she was only five
+years old, they used to appear together."
+
+"Then you have travelled a great deal, Mademoiselle?" Durand turned his
+fascinating glance on the girl. She looked at her mother, and as she was
+about to reply, Madame Perrault resumed: "Ah, my daughter has been over
+nearly the whole world,--in England, in Germany, in Russia--"
+
+"Have you ever been in America?" Jules asked quickly.
+
+The acrobat shook her head.
+
+"But she has had such offers--such splendid--such magnificent offers to
+go there," the mother cried, clasping her hands.
+
+"But I'm afraid," the girl murmured, glancing at Jules with her big
+timid eyes.
+
+"Afraid of the voyage?" Jules asked. Her eyes were still fixed upon him,
+and he felt as if every nerve in his body were vibrating. "That's
+nothing. I have made it twice, and I wasn't sick a day."
+
+This was not true, for on each trip Jules had been sick for several
+days; but he made the remark with such ease, that for the moment he felt
+convinced himself of its truth. Mademoiselle Blanche looked at him
+admiringly, and he saw that he had made an impression on the mother,
+too, established himself in her regard as a travelled person, a man of
+importance.
+
+"Then Monsieur has been in America?" said Madame Perrault.
+
+"Oh, yes," Jules replied, carelessly. "All over it. It's a wonderful
+country."
+
+Mademoiselle Blanche sighed, and her mother glanced at her wistfully.
+
+"But it's too far," Madame resumed with a shake of the head. "We could
+not go so far from the children."
+
+"Then you have other children?" said the journalist. "Are they in the
+circus, too?"
+
+For the first time, the girl's face brightened. "Oh, no!" she replied,
+with a suggestion of horror in her tone.
+
+"They are very young," the mother explained. "Jeanne is only fourteen
+and Louise will be eleven next month. They are with my sister in
+Boulogne."
+
+Durand made a little sign of impatience which indicated to Jules that he
+was not getting the information he wanted. Besides, he was evidently
+displeased by the failure of his leers to produce any apparent effect
+upon the girl; she seemed to be unconscious of them.
+
+"And Monsieur Perrault," he said, "he is still performing?"
+
+An expression of pain appeared in the mother's face, and Mademoiselle
+dropped her eyes.
+
+"No, he died three years ago," Madame Perrault replied. "He was killed
+at Monte Carlo. He fell from the trapeze."
+
+There was silence for a moment, and the journalist tried to infuse into
+his insipid little face a look of sympathy. Just how much sympathy he
+felt was shown by his next remark.
+
+"I couldn't help wondering last night," he said briskly, "when I saw
+Mademoiselle perform, how she felt just before she took that plunge. How
+do you feel, Mademoiselle? Aren't you frightened, just a little?"
+
+The girl shook her head. "I have done it for so many years, I don't
+think of being afraid. My father taught me never to have the least fear.
+He wouldn't have been killed if the trapeze hadn't broken."
+
+"And we take every precaution," Madame Perrault quickly explained.
+
+Durand began to ask questions about the various cities Mademoiselle had
+visited. Most of the replies came from Madame Perrault, who seemed to
+have constituted herself her daughter's mouthpiece. Which audiences did
+she like best to play to? The Germans! Durand shook his head. He
+wouldn't dare to say that in a French paper. It might make Mademoiselle
+unpopular with the Parisians. Ah, but Mademoiselle liked the Parisians,
+too. Didn't she find them very enthusiastic? No? That was simply because
+they were thrilled, overcome, silenced by her performance. Durand grew
+excited in extolling the merits of Parisian audiences. For their
+favorites they would do anything, and Mademoiselle was fast becoming one
+of the most popular of their favorites. Of course they had their
+peculiarities. When a performer vexed them, there were no limits to
+their wrath. Had Mademoiselle heard of the attack on Sophie Lenoir at
+the _Ambassadeurs_? The audience had thrown at her everything they could
+lay hands on, and she had fainted, or pretended to faint, on the stage.
+
+Indeed, much of the conversation was supplied by the journalist himself.
+He had apparently abandoned hope of making the acrobat talk; so he
+addressed most of his speeches to the mother, whom he drew out by many
+artful devices. Mademoiselle Blanche sat looking on in open-eyed
+surprise, as if she did not have a share in the matters under
+discussion. Occasionally she would glance appealingly at Jules; when he
+looked back, she would blush and turn her head away.
+
+While Durand was in the middle of one of his stories, Madame Perrault
+drew a small gold watch from her pocket. The journalist jumped from his
+chair.
+
+"We are keeping Mademoiselle from dressing," he said, as Jules rose,
+too. "A thousand pardons. We will go in just a moment. There's only one
+more question. That is about your presents, Mademoiselle, your gifts."
+
+"My gifts?" the acrobat repeated vaguely.
+
+"Yes, from the princes, the crowned heads you've appeared before."
+
+"Ah!" the mother exclaimed, in a long breath, "Blanche has received so
+many! There was the brooch from the Emperor of Russia, and the ring from
+the Prince of Roumania, a costly diamond, monsieur, so clear and
+beautiful, and the little gold watch studded with pearls from the King
+of Bavaria, the 'mad King' they call him, you know--and then--then the
+bracelet set with rubies from the Duchess of Merlino, when Blanche was
+in Bucharest. Ah, but we have none of these here. They are all at home,
+they--"
+
+"Here in Paris?" Durand asked, impatiently.
+
+"No, monsieur, in Boulogne," Madame Perrault answered, and Jules saw an
+expression of wonder and pain cross her daughter's face.
+
+Durand was rubbing his silk hat with his glove, and regarding it
+intently.
+
+"Then," he said, looking up quickly, "there must have been some
+adventures--some admirers, that have followed Mademoiselle, perhaps,
+eh?" he added, leering insinuatingly at the mother.
+
+Madame smiled, and the face of the acrobat turned pink. Jules wanted to
+seize the little journalist by the neck, and throw him out of the door.
+
+"Ah, in Bucharest," cried Madame, "the young--"
+
+"Mamma!"
+
+Madame Perrault shrugged her shoulders, and smiled suggestively.
+"Perhaps we'd better not speak of that. Blanche is a good girl," she
+added, patting her daughter on the back. "She's good to her mother, and
+she's good to her sisters. Ah, _ma chère_!"
+
+The girl had turned her head away. Durand offered her his hand
+gallantly, and then beamed on the mother. "I will come and see you some
+time, if you will give me permission," he said condescendingly.
+
+"Some Sunday," Madame Perrault replied. "It's the only day when Blanche
+is free. And you will bring your friend, perhaps, if he is still in
+Paris," she added amiably, with a quick glance and smile at the
+journalist from Marseilles. Then she produced two cards and passed them
+to the callers.
+
+Jules murmured a civil response to the invitation, and, after bowing low
+to the ladies, he followed Durand and closed the door behind him. The
+expression of languishing pleasure in the journalist's face had given
+place to a look of hilarious merriment.
+
+"Did you ever see such a block? She didn't have a word to say. I don't
+believe she has an idea. And she thought she was impressing me with her
+modesty! And the gifts from the crowned heads--wasn't that droll? Of
+course, the old lady made up every one of those stories. She's a sharp
+one, with her painted lips and her powdered cheeks. Her little game is
+to get a rich husband for the girl, and I'll wager a week's salary
+she'll succeed."
+
+Jules said nothing. He knew it would be useless to argue with Durand. If
+he were to give his opinion of Mademoiselle Blanche, the journalist
+would laugh, and say he didn't understand women, especially actresses.
+So, when Durand suddenly asked him what he thought of the girl, he
+merely shrugged his shoulders.
+
+As they passed out they met Réju, who offered them seats if they cared
+to remain for the rest of the performance. Durand explained that he must
+return at once to the office, and urged Jules to accept the invitation.
+When Jules found himself alone in the first row of the orchestra he
+breathed with relief. He had never before realized what an odious little
+creature Durand was. For the moment he forgot even to feel gratitude for
+the introduction to the acrobat.
+
+He was unable to take an interest in the performance, and he looked at
+his watch to see how long he would have to wait for the appearance of
+Mademoiselle Blanche. It was just twenty minutes past ten. Suddenly it
+occurred to him that he would have time to go out and buy some flowers
+for her. He left his seat, and hurried to the nearest shop in the
+_Boulevard_. There he bought the finest bunch of white roses he could
+find, went back to the theatre, and sent them to the acrobat with his
+card. When at last Mademoiselle Blanche ran into the arena, he was
+thrilled with joy. She wore his flowers in her belt.
+
+
+
+
+                                   V
+
+
+That night Jules Le Baron knew that for the first time in his life he
+was really in love. He had often fancied himself in love before, and he
+had enjoyed the experience; now he discovered his mistake. Love was not
+the pure delight he had imagined it to be. It is true, he had moments of
+ecstasy, of sublime self-congratulation, when he felt with stronger
+conviction that the world was made for him and he had been created to
+conquer the world; but during the next few days these were followed by
+long periods of depression, of abject despair.
+
+At times, too, the grotesqueness of this infatuation appalled him. To be
+in love with an acrobat, a woman who earned her bread by hurling herself
+from the top of a building, who risked her life every day, sometimes
+twice a day, that she might live! Then, at the thought of her amazing
+courage, Jules would be overcome, and if alone in his room at home, he
+would throw himself on the bed, bury his head in the pillow and groan.
+Indeed, at this period he went through many strange and violent
+performances. Madeleine became alarmed for his health, and thought of
+sending for a doctor.
+
+He could not apply himself to his work; he made so many mistakes in his
+English correspondence that Monsieur Mercier had to ask him to be more
+careful. The twins noticed his condition and chaffed him, and insisted
+on knowing "her name"; in secret they decided that Jules had been
+investing his money badly; he had often boasted to them about his little
+property. They tried to cheer him by urging him to join them in their
+nocturnal expeditions, but he always replied that he was staying at home
+in the evening now. As a matter of fact, he spent every night or a
+portion of every night at the _Cirque Parisien_, and at each appearance
+of Mademoiselle Blanche, he was gratified to see that she wore his
+nightly offering of roses in her belt. He never received an
+acknowledgment of these tributes, for he did not dare write his address
+on the cards he sent with them. Once, as she stood in the net, just
+before climbing the rope to make her great plunge, he fancied that his
+eye caught hers, and she smiled at him. He decided afterward that he had
+been mistaken; but the thought of that smile prevented him from sleeping
+half the night.
+
+Jules was keeping his courage alive in the hope of seeing her at her
+apartment on Sunday. His only fear was that Durand would be there.
+Durand's published interview with Mademoiselle Blanche was so flippant
+that it deepened the hatred Jules had already conceived for the
+journalist. He resolved on Sunday to explain to Madame Perrault that he
+was not what Durand had represented him to be and to appear in his own
+character; he was conceited enough to believe that in his own character
+he could make quite as good an impression as in any other. Besides, had
+not Mademoiselle Blanche been impressed by the fact that he had visited
+America?
+
+On Saturday night he sent his silk hat to be blocked, and his frock-coat
+to be pressed, and he bought a pair of white gloves. Madeleine found him
+much more agreeable on Sunday morning than he had been during the week;
+but, though he seemed to be recovering his spirits, she still felt
+worried. In the afternoon he presented himself before her for
+inspection, asked if his coat set well, if she liked the colour of his
+gloves, what she thought of the violets that he wore. She became
+enraptured over his appearance, told him that he had never looked so
+beautiful, and saw him go away with a radiant face. Then, as the door
+closed behind him, she went into her little chamber and wept. The truth
+had flashed upon her! Her Jules was in love! Some one else was going to
+take his mother's place and hers. She felt all the jealousy and misery
+that his own mother might have felt at the moment, combined with a
+pathetic consciousness that she had no right to grieve. Jules was
+everything in the world to her, she said to herself, and she was nothing
+to him. She was an old broken woman, and for the rest of her days she
+should have to live alone.
+
+Jules had become her pride and the source of her happiness. Yet she
+really saw very little of him--the only meal he took at home was his
+breakfast--but she really existed for the pleasure of serving him and
+looking at his face in the morning. Now, in spite of her misery, she
+knelt before the statue of the Blessed Virgin that stood on a little
+table beside her bed, and prayed that the woman who was going to take
+her place might be a good woman, and worthy of her boy. In her simple
+affection for Jules she believed that he had only to show that he cared
+for a woman to have her throw herself into his arms.
+
+It was hardly three o'clock, too early for a call, Jules thought, as he
+walked toward the _rue St. Honoré_; but he was so impatient to see
+Mademoiselle Blanche again that he could not wait till later in the
+afternoon. During the week the sun had hardly appeared, and the
+succession of leaden skies had helped to depress his spirits. To-day,
+however, the sky was blue and the sun shone so brightly that it seemed
+almost like spring. He was in one of his buoyant moods, when he felt
+sure of his ability to conquer. In his fine clothes and with his
+confident manner, he looked very handsome; several pretty girls
+gratified him by staring at him as he passed. If he impressed people he
+didn't know, why couldn't he impress Mademoiselle Blanche? He planned a
+great many things to say to her. He would be particularly amiable to the
+mother, too, and tell her all about America.
+
+The number in the _rue St. Honoré_ that Madame Perrault had given
+corresponded with one of the great white stucco apartment houses
+abounding in Paris. He passed under the wide vaulted entrance, and asked
+the wife of the _concierge_ if Madame Perrault lived there. "_Au
+sixième_," was the shrill reply, and he started up the narrow stairs.
+When he reached the _sixième_, the top floor of the house, he panted and
+waited for a moment before ringing, to catch his breath. Then he
+carefully arranged his cuffs, touched with his gloved hand his silk
+cravat and his flowers and, with a sigh of anticipation, he rang the
+bell.
+
+A trim little servant of not more than fifteen opened the door. When
+Jules asked for Madame Perrault, she shook her head.
+
+"She went out an hour ago, monsieur, and she won't be back till four."
+
+Jules' heart sank. Of course, mother and daughter were out together. He
+was about to turn away despairingly, but he suddenly thought of
+inquiring if Mademoiselle were at home. The maid nodded.
+
+"Shall I say that monsieur wishes to see her?" she asked, stepping back
+that he might enter.
+
+"If you please," he replied, as he followed the girl into the little
+_salon_. It was furnished wholly in Japanese fashion; the walls were
+hung with Japanese draperies, and a large thick rug covered the floor.
+On the mantel, prettily draped with a wide piece of flowered silk, stood
+a number of photographs, one of them a duplicate of the portrait of
+Mademoiselle Blanche that he had seen in the entrance of the Circus. As
+Jules glanced at this, he heard a light step in the adjoining room, and
+when he turned, Mademoiselle Blanche herself was looking at him out of
+her dark eyes. She walked toward him, flushing a little, and extended
+her hand.
+
+"I am sorry mamma is not here," she said. "She went out only a few
+minutes ago, and she'll be back soon. But we--"
+
+"You didn't expect any one so early. I ought to apologize, but I was
+impatient to come. Then--I--I hoped to find you alone."
+
+"So you have," she laughed, pointing to a chair near the grate-fire. She
+wore a dress of dark silk with little white spots in it that became her
+wonderfully, Jules thought. Around her neck was a piece of muslin, open
+at the throat, and muslin encircled her wrists. Once again Jules was
+impressed by the delicacy of her appearance; her skin had an almost
+transparent whiteness, and there was no colour in her cheeks, save when
+she flushed, which she did at the least cause.
+
+"How pleasantly you are lodged here," said Jules, looking around the
+room. The apartment was as small as his own, which he had considered one
+of the smallest in Paris.
+
+"Yes, we were fortunate to get it. And it seems so odd--it belongs to an
+actress who's spending the winter in the South of France. We have taken
+it furnished."
+
+"Then you're to be here all the winter?" said Jules, feasting his eyes
+on the clear white forehead, the white neck that he could see beneath
+the muslin. How beautiful she was! His surmise about the teeth had been
+correct; they were small and white, with little bits of red between
+them.
+
+"No," she replied, "I've been engaged at the _Cirque_ until the first of
+January. Then I shall go to Vienna, and appear there for several
+months."
+
+"Ah!" For a moment Jules was silent. "But you will take a rest before
+you go to Vienna?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"No. I should like to go home for Christmas to be with my sisters. But
+they will come to Paris instead."
+
+"But doesn't it tire you?"
+
+"No. It isn't hard. And I never like to stop. I must keep in practice."
+
+For an instant Jules was touched by a curious sympathy. There certainly
+was something pathetic, even abnormal, in the thought that this frail
+woman hurled herself six days in the week from the top of a building.
+Then he was thrilled again by the marvel of it, by the consciousness
+that he was sitting opposite the phenomenon, gazing into her eyes,
+hearing her voice, receiving her smiles. He could think of nothing to
+say, but he felt quite happy; he would have liked to sit there for hours
+in mute admiration. Mademoiselle Blanche, however, looked confused; she
+seemed to be shaping something in her mind.
+
+"It was very kind of you to send the flowers," she said at last. "I
+would have thanked you before if I had known where you lived. They were
+very lovely."
+
+His face shone with pleasure at the thought that she had recognized him
+as the sender, and he leaned toward her. "You needn't thank me," he
+said. "I felt repaid when I saw them in your belt."
+
+Then he told her how he had gone to the circus every night just to see
+her; how he admired her performance, her grace and skill on the trapeze,
+her courage in making the great plunge. As he spoke, her face kept
+changing colour. She seemed to him like a bashful child, and he
+marvelled at her ingenuousness, for surely she must be used to praise.
+Then he recalled what Durand had said about her affectation of modesty,
+and he wondered if the journalist could have been right; but when he
+looked into the girl's clear eyes he saw nothing but beauty and truth.
+
+When he had finished speaking of her performance, he began to talk about
+himself, his favourite topic with women. He told her about his visit in
+the United States, and he made fun of the Americans for drinking water
+instead of wine at table, and for many other customs that had amused him
+because they were so unlike the ways of Parisians. He also imitated the
+speech of some of the Americans he had known, and he was surprised to
+find that she understood what he said. She had learned English from her
+father, she explained; he had often performed in London, and she had
+been there with him twice. Then he began to speak with her in English to
+display his accomplishment, and he felt disappointed on discovering that
+she could converse quite as fluently, and with a better accent. So he
+returned to French, and told her about his life in Paris, his dear old
+Madeleine who kept him so comfortable in his little apartment, his work
+at the office, and about Dufresne and Leroux. She showed no surprise
+when he revealed Durand's duplicity; she merely said that she hadn't
+liked the journalist, and her mother had been vexed by the article. She
+seemed so interested that he went back to his early days, before the
+death of his father and mother, described his life at the _lycée_, his
+love of sport, his passion for the circus, his boyish adventures at
+Montmartre, his happy days in summer at Compiègne, his mother's goodness
+and her foolish pride in him. He was so unconscious in his egotism that
+it was touching to hear him; Mademoiselle Blanche seemed to be
+unconscious of it, too, for she listened with a serious, absorbed
+attention. While he was in the midst of an analysis of his own
+qualities, the little clock on the mantel struck four and Mademoiselle
+Blanche looked up quickly.
+
+"Mamma will be here very soon now," she said.
+
+Jules felt a sudden irritation. At that moment the coming of Madame
+Perrault seemed like an intrusion. The reference to it had the effect of
+stopping his confidences; it was as if she had already appeared in the
+room. He rose from his seat, and began to examine the photographs on the
+mantel. Then he took up one of them, a large photograph of a man of more
+than fifty, with a white pointed beard, a shock of iron-grey hair, and
+laughing eyes.
+
+"Is this your father, mademoiselle?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"That is my mother's _fiancé_."
+
+He turned to her quickly. "Your mother's _fiancé_!"
+
+"Yes. My mother has been engaged a long time. She would have been
+married a year ago but for me."
+
+"Ah, then you don't like it--you don't want her to marry again?"
+
+"I should not care--that is, I should be glad for Jeanne and Louise.
+Monsieur Berthier is very rich, and he has been kind to the girls. He
+has offered to give them a home."
+
+Jules came near laughing. It seemed to him ridiculous that the old
+powdered woman he had seen in the dressing-room of the Circus should
+marry again.
+
+"Then how have you prevented the marriage?" he asked.
+
+"Because I must work," she replied simply, "and mamma cannot leave me.
+If mamma married Monsieur Berthier, she would have to stay in Boulogne."
+
+"Ah!" A light broke on Jules. The mother would not marry until her
+eldest daughter was married. So, of course, she must be anxious to find
+a husband for Mademoiselle Blanche. He felt as if Providence were paving
+the way toward happiness for him. For a moment he did not speak again.
+Then he said: "But you will marry some day, and then your mother won't
+have to travel with you."
+
+She flushed, and made a deprecating gesture. "I shall always stay in the
+circus," she said. "It's my life. I can't think of any other."
+
+Then he gradually drew her out. She surprised him by telling him of the
+monotony of her life. With most of the other performers she had merely a
+slight acquaintance; the coarseness of the women and the vulgarity of
+the men shocked her. Her only companion in her travels was her mother.
+Yes, it was lonely sometimes not to know other girls of her own age, and
+it was very hard to be separated from Jeanne and Louise. She worried a
+great deal about Jeanne, who had shown a fondness for the circus. She
+thought if her mother married, Jeanne would give up all thought of
+becoming a performer. Of course, it was different with herself; she had
+been bred to the circus, but she couldn't bear the thought of Jeanne's
+being there, too. Jeanne was very pretty and lively; Aunt Sophie was
+obliged to be strict with her. Louise was so different, so quiet and
+simple, and religious, almost a _dévote_. As she spoke of her sisters,
+Mademoiselle Blanche grew very animated. Jules blamed himself for the
+momentary doubt he had felt about her. If Durand could only hear her
+now! But Durand doubted every woman.
+
+It was nearly five o'clock when Madame Perrault returned. When she saw
+Jules, she showed no surprise, but smiled upon him broadly and extended
+her hand. Mademoiselle Blanche lapsed into silence and, as her mother
+talked, with a superabundance of gesture and with tireless vivacity, she
+could feel Jules' eyes fixed upon her. She knew that Jules hardly heard
+what was being said, and when he rose to take his departure, she made no
+effort to detain him.
+
+"I should like to come again," he said to the girl.
+
+"Some afternoon, perhaps," Madame Perrault suggested amiably. "Blanche
+always rests between three and four, but after that she could see you."
+
+"But I am at my office till six."
+
+"Ah, yes!" Madame Perrault exclaimed with a smile. "That wicked
+journalist! You must tell him we were vexed with his article."
+
+"Then may I come in the evening? Perhaps you'll let me take you to the
+theatre some night?"
+
+Madame Perrault clapped her hands. "That would be perfect!"
+
+Mademoiselle Blanche said nothing, but it was to her that Jules directed
+his next remark.
+
+"Perhaps to-morrow night; I will come at eight o'clock."
+
+Madame Perrault displayed her gleaming teeth patched with gold, and her
+daughter merely bowed and said, "Thank you."
+
+As Jules was putting on his overcoat in the little hall, he heard a
+voice say:
+
+"_Il est très gentil, ce monsieur_," but though he listened he could not
+catch the reply. He was radiantly happy, however. When he reached the
+street, he felt like running; with an effort he controlled himself, and
+walked buoyantly home with a smile on his face. He would take Madeleine
+out to dinner, as he used to take his mother when they celebrated his
+holidays!
+
+
+
+
+                                   VI
+
+
+The next night, promptly at eight o'clock, Jules appeared in the little
+_salon_ in the _rue St. Honoré_, bearing his offering of flowers to
+Mademoiselle Blanche. Madame Perrault gave him the quiet reception of an
+old friend, and he felt as if he had long been in the habit of calling
+at the apartment. Madame Perrault informed him that she had just risen
+from dinner, and asked him to drink a cup of coffee. Then the three
+figures sat in the dimly-lighted room and talked; that is, Jules and
+Madame Perrault talked, for Blanche ventured a remark only when a
+question was put to her.
+
+A few moments later, Madame Perrault went into the next room where she
+was occupied with the little maid in making a dress; so Jules was left
+alone with her daughter. They had very little to say to each other, and
+Jules was content to sit in silence and rapt adoration. As he looked at
+her, her name kept singing in his mind: Blanche! He wondered if he
+should ever dare to address her in this way. How beautiful she was as
+she sat there, the soft light of the fire falling on her face and hands,
+and on the folds of her gown! He was glad she was so quiet; he hated
+women that talked all the time. That was the great fault with Madame
+Perrault; if she said less, he would like her, in spite of her powder
+and paint. Since hearing that she was engaged, and wanted to get her
+daughter married, Jules' feelings toward her had softened.
+
+It was nearly ten o'clock before they left for the theatre. Jules called
+a cab, and all three squeezed into it with a great deal of laughter on
+the part of Madame Perrault. As they rattled over the rough pavement,
+the noise was so great that they could not talk, and Jules gave himself
+up to contemplating the serious face of Mademoiselle Blanche. The
+thought that he was riding with her to the scene of her triumphs
+thrilled him. He felt as if he were having a share in her performance,
+as if her glory were reflected on him. Ah, if Dufresne and Leroux could
+see him now! How they would be impressed, and how they would envy him!
+
+Before bidding his friends good-night, he asked if he might not take
+them home; he would remain till the end of the performance, anyway, he
+said. Instead of entering the theatre at once, he sauntered along the
+_Boulevard_ toward the _place de la Bastille_. What were the other
+performers to him? Without Mademoiselle Blanche the _Cirque Parisien_
+would not be worth visiting. He did not return to the theatre till it
+was nearly time for her to appear. Réju was standing at the door, and
+made a sign for him to pass in without paying. Jules accepted the
+invitation with a twinge of conscience. He wondered what Réju would
+think if he discovered Durand's imposition.
+
+After the performance, Jules waited at the stage-door for half an hour
+till Mademoiselle Blanche appeared again. Then he asked her and her
+mother to take supper with him at one of the restaurants in the
+_Boulevard_. Madame Perrault consented amiably, and they entered a
+little _café_, where a half-dozen young men and girls were sitting round
+a table, playing cards. Jules wanted to order a bottle of champagne; but
+Mademoiselle Blanche objected; he could scarcely keep from smiling when
+she said she would much rather have beer. So he called for three bocks
+and some cheese sandwiches, and over this simple repast they became very
+gay. Madame Perrault was the liveliest of the three, and she amused
+Jules by a description of her _fiancé_, who had been in love with her,
+she said, long before her marriage with Blanche's father. She seemed to
+think it was very droll that he should want to marry her now; she had
+told him he would do much better to marry Blanche, or to wait till
+Jeanne grew up. Under the warmth of her humor, Jules' prejudices against
+her disappeared, and he found himself growing fond of her. At that
+moment he longed to confide in her, to tell her all about his
+infatuation for her daughter, and to ask her advice about the best way
+of pleasing the girl.
+
+When they had left the _café_, and Jules had taken his friends home and
+dismissed the cab, he fell again into the depression of the week before.
+As he walked to the _rue de Lisbonne_ in the damp night, he blamed
+Durand for having introduced him to the Perraults. If he hadn't met
+Mademoiselle Blanche he might have gone on living comfortably, enjoyed
+his daily work, his little dinners, his visits to the theatre, his
+comfortable apartment, with Madeleine to look after his wants. Now he
+was upset, at sea. He hated the routine of the office; the vulgar
+stories of Dufresne and Leroux disgusted him; the apartment was cold and
+lonely; Madeleine was always interfering with him. He resolved not to go
+to the _Cirque_ again; he would try to forget Mademoiselle Blanche and
+her mother's chatter. But when he went to bed it was of her that he
+thought, and he dreamed that he saw her again, in her white silk tights,
+climbing hand over hand to the top of the Circus, tumbling through the
+air, and bouncing with a thud to her feet on the padded net.
+
+The next morning he felt better, and he called himself a fool for his
+misery of the night before. As he looked back on the evening, he decided
+that, of course, if they hadn't liked him, they would not have allowed
+him to take them to the theatre and back, and to a _café_ for supper. He
+wondered what they would think if he called for them again that night.
+Perhaps it would be better to wait for two or three days. But at the end
+of the afternoon he felt so impatient to see Mademoiselle Blanche that
+he determined to risk seeming intrusive. So he bought another bunch of
+white roses, and at eight o'clock he reappeared in the apartment. Madame
+Perrault greeted him just as she had done the night before, without a
+suggestion of surprise in her manner. This made him feel so bold that he
+did not apologize, as he had intended to do, but took his place by the
+fire as if he had a right to be there.
+
+In this way, Jules Le Baron's courtship began. It seemed to him a
+strange courtship. It taught him a great many things,--among others, how
+little he knew about women. As he had lived in Paris all of his thirty
+years, with the exception of his three memorable months in America, he
+thought he understood women; now he saw his mistake. He had not led a
+particularly good life, though it was so much better than the lives of
+most of his acquaintances that he considered himself a man of rather
+superior character. If he had studied his character more carefully, he
+would have discovered that his superiority was not a matter of morals,
+but of taste and temperament. Vice seemed to him vulgar, and it made him
+uncomfortable; so in its grosser forms he had always avoided it. He had,
+however, the Parisian's frank, ingenuous, almost innocent fondness for
+the humorously indecent, and his attitude toward life was wholly French.
+The mention of virtue made him laugh and shrug his shoulders. Most
+women, he thought, were naturally the inferiors of men; so the better he
+understood the character of Mademoiselle Blanche, the more surprised he
+grew. Indeed, there were times when he felt awed in her presence and
+ashamed of himself. She seemed to know the world and yet to be untainted
+by it, to turn away instinctively from its evil phases. If her innocence
+had been ignorant, he could not have respected it; the knowledge that
+she had lived in the midst of temptation made her goodness seem almost
+sublime.
+
+Jules fell into the habit of calling for the Perraults in the evening,
+and he soon became recognized at the _Cirque_ as their escort. Réju, who
+still showed respect for him as a journalist, admitted him to the
+theatre every night without charge, and he was also permitted to enter
+the sacred precincts beyond the stage-door, where, instead of waiting on
+the sidewalk, he stood in a cold corridor, dimly lighted by sputtering
+lamps. After the performance, he sometimes took his friends into the
+little _café_ for beer and sandwiches, and occasionally Madame Perrault
+would prepare a supper at home.
+
+Jules' equilibrium became restored again; he made fewer mistakes at the
+office and he even deceived the twins, who had come to the conclusion
+that he must be in love. With Madeleine, in spite of his first
+confidences, he had little to say about Mademoiselle Blanche, and she
+did not dare ask him questions. His silence and his improved appetite,
+together with his renewed amiability, made her hope that he had
+recovered from his infatuation, and she felt easier in mind.
+
+On the Saturday evening following his first call on Mademoiselle
+Blanche, while Jules was sitting in the little apartment, he asked the
+girl if they might not pass Sunday together. "We might drive through the
+_Bois_ into the country," he suggested.
+
+She had been looking into the fire, and she glanced at him hesitatingly.
+"We always go to mass on Sunday morning," she said.
+
+For a moment Jules appeared confused. "But can't you go to early mass?"
+
+Madame Perrault, who was in the next room, called out: "It's no use
+trying to persuade her not to go to high mass, monsieur. She'd think
+something terrible was going to happen to her if she didn't go. Now, I
+go at eight o'clock; so I have the rest of the day free."
+
+Jules looked at Mademoiselle Blanche and smiled, and she smiled back.
+
+"I like to hear the music," she explained apologetically.
+
+"Oh, she's too religious for _this_ world," Madame Perrault laughed. "I
+believe she'd go to mass every morning of her life if she didn't have to
+stay up so late at night. She ought to be in a convent instead of a
+circus."
+
+"In a convent!" Jules exclaimed, in mock alarm.
+
+"Don't you ever go to church?" the girl asked, turning to Jules.
+
+He looked confused again. "I? Well, no. To tell the truth, I haven't
+been in a church for nearly ten years. Oh, yes I have. I went to a
+funeral two years ago at the Trinity."
+
+"But weren't you--weren't you brought up to go to church?"
+
+"Brought up to go to church? Oh, yes; my mother went to church every
+Sunday of her life. I used to go with her after my father died."
+
+A long silence followed. Mademoiselle Blanche turned again to the fire,
+and Jules had a sensation of extreme unpleasantness. Like many
+Parisians, he never thought about religion. He had been so affected by
+the skepticism of his associates that he had no real belief in any
+doctrine. He saw now for the first time that serious complications might
+arise from his religious indifference. It was very disagreeable, he
+thought, to be confronted with it in this way. Indeed, the more he
+thought about it, the more annoyed he became. He felt that he must
+justify himself in some way. So at last he spoke up: "I suppose you're
+shocked because I don't go to church, aren't you, mademoiselle?"
+
+Mademoiselle Blanche looked down at her hands lying folded in her lap.
+
+"I'm sorry."
+
+"Sorry?" he repeated, trying to laugh. "Why are you sorry? I rather like
+it. I never did enjoy going to church."
+
+"We don't go to church to enjoy it, do we?" she asked gently.
+
+He sank back in his seat, and looked at her. "No, I suppose not." Then,
+after a moment, he suddenly leaned forward. "We can't all be good like
+you, mademoiselle. Perhaps if I had known you always, I should go to
+church. I'd do anything to please you."
+
+"But you ought not to go to please me. You ought to go for your own
+good."
+
+"So you think it does good, then--going to church?"
+
+"I'm sure of it," she replied, gazing into the fire. "Sometimes,--when I
+feel unhappy because I haven't seen the girls for so long, and because I
+must be separated from them so much, or when Aunt Sophie complains about
+Jeanne, or Jeanne has been unkind to Louise, or disobedient, then, after
+I've been to church, I feel better."
+
+"Why do you feel better?" he asked, more to keep her talking than
+because he cared for her answer.
+
+"Because I feel sure," she went on, holding her head down, "I feel sure
+it will all come out right--if I only have faith. Jeanne is a good girl;
+she's never disobedient or unkind with me."
+
+"Then you worry about Jeanne?"
+
+"Yes--sometimes."
+
+"But you don't worry so much after you've been at church?"
+
+"No."
+
+"And that is why you like to go to church?"
+
+"That's one reason. But there are others--a great many others."
+
+He felt like laughing at the simplicity of her reasoning, and yet he was
+touched. He had a sudden desire to take her in his arms and stroke her
+soft hair and tell her he loved her. Then he heard her mother's step in
+the next room, and this roused him.
+
+"I should like to go to church with you sometimes," he said. "May I?"
+
+"Take him to-morrow, Blanche," cried Madame Perrault, and at that moment
+Jules could have kissed her, too. "There's going to be a special service
+at _St. Philippe de Roule_ at ten o'clock. The music will be good."
+
+That was how Jules first happened to go to church with Mademoiselle
+Blanche. After mass they walked up the _Champs Élysées_ and then along
+the _avenue du Bois de Boulogne_, in the midst of the multitude of
+promenaders. A few of the men recognized the girl, and turned to look
+after her. She seemed not to see them, but Jules did, and he felt very
+proud to be her escort. She looked very pretty in her tight-fitting
+black jacket and little hat tipped with fur, her cheeks scarlet with the
+early frost. She was the last person in the crowd, Jules thought, who
+would be taken for an acrobat. It seemed to him wonderful that she
+should appear so unlike the marvel that she was, and this lack of
+resemblance to herself made her the more attractive to him.
+
+After that day, Jules went to church with Mademoiselle Blanche every
+Sunday. At first the sight of the priests in their vestments, of the
+altar-boys in their white surplices, of the white altar gleaming with
+candles and plate and enshrouded in incense, and the reverberation of
+the organ, mingled with the voices singing the music of the mass, all
+reminded him so strongly of his mother, that his old affection for her
+swept over him, and brought tears to his eyes.
+
+His own disbelief had made him doubt even the faith of others. It had
+also inspired him with the hatred for priests, so common even among
+Parisians of traditions like his own. Now, as he watched them, chanting
+at the altar, they seemed harmless as other men. He tried, as he went
+mechanically through the service, to count the men he knew who went to
+church. Nearly all of his acquaintances, he found, scoffed at it. Then
+gradually the service became subtly mingled with his love for the girl
+beside him, and for her sake he loved it. The organ seemed to sing her
+praise exultingly. He would have liked to tell her of this fancy, but he
+did not dare; he knew it would shock her. In a short time, going through
+the mass with her grew to mean to him an expression of his love, a
+spiritual exaltation which he offered as a tribute, not to God, but to
+her.
+
+
+
+
+                                  VII
+
+
+By the month of November, Jules had identified himself with Madame
+Perrault and her daughter. He took his position as their friend and
+recognized escort so quickly and so quietly that he was himself
+surprised by it. There were moments when he had a fear that it was all
+an illusion, that some night he should find the stage-door of the
+_Cirque_ slammed in his face.
+
+It was while watching Mademoiselle Blanche in the ring that he found it
+most difficult to realize his happiness. He actually _knew_ this
+wonderful creature in white tights who darted from trapeze to trapeze,
+who posed like a marble statue on the rope, who shot through the air
+like a thunderbolt! He saw her every day; he loved her, and she knew
+that he loved her. Sometimes he fancied that she loved him in
+return--from an expression in her face, a glance of her eyes, a blush, a
+tremor when his hand touched hers. He did not dare speak to her about
+his love; he doubted if he should ever dare to speak; at a word he
+feared his happiness might be shattered.
+
+Sometimes on Sunday afternoons he drove with Mademoiselle Blanche and
+her mother into the country, and on Sunday nights he would dine and pass
+the evening with them in the little apartment. Occasionally he had long
+talks with the mother; in these he told about his family and about his
+property, laying stress on the fact that even if he lost his place at
+the office his income was large enough to support him. She told him, in
+return, about her own family and her husband's, and gave him a humorous
+account of her sister-in-law, Blanche's Aunt Sophie.
+
+"Blanche is a little like her," she said. "Sophie takes everything _au
+grand sérieux_. Then she's strict with the children, and that's a great
+mistake, for Jeanne hates restraint, and Louise doesn't need it."
+
+She also told him amusing stories about Monsieur Berthier's devotion to
+her. He had offered himself to her while she was at the convent where
+she was educated, near Boulogne, and she had refused him twice. Her
+family had objected to her marriage with Blanche's father, simply
+because he was an acrobat. No, she hadn't fallen in love with him at the
+circus. She never saw him perform till a short time before she became
+engaged to him. Ah, it had been hard for her to be separated from him so
+much. Sometimes she travelled with him in his long journeys; but while
+the children were very young, she couldn't. Blanche had been such a
+consolation to him. Madame Perrault believed that husband and wife ought
+never to be separated; it was bad for both of them. If she had her life
+to live over again, she would always travel with her husband, no matter
+how far he went.
+
+Most of Jules' talk with Madame Perrault, however, consisted of a
+discussion of the qualities of her daughter, whose praises she
+constantly sang for him. Blanche's ambition, she said, was to provide
+dowries for her sisters; she had already accumulated a few thousand
+francs, and these she had set aside for the girls. She never seemed to
+think that she herself needed a _dot_. Ah, sometimes Madame was very
+much worried about her daughter's future. Blanche could not marry any of
+the other performers; they were not worthy of her, and their coarseness
+and roughness shocked her. Of course, they were good enough in their
+way, but their way was not Blanche's way.
+
+Then, as Madame became more familiar with Jules, she also grew more
+confidential. Yes, Blanche had had a great many admirers. The young
+Prince of Luperto had fallen desperately in love with her in Bucharest
+three years before, and he had followed her all over Europe. But she had
+refused to notice any of his letters,--and oh, _mon Dieu!_ such letters!
+Madame had read every one of them, and she had met the Prince the night
+he tried to force himself into Blanche's dressing-room. He seemed _such_
+a gentleman, and he had the most beautiful eyes! But Blanche,--she was
+so frightened. She cried and cried, and for weeks she was in terror of
+her life! Then there were others,--so many, so many. One by one, Madame
+Perrault unfolded their histories to Jules, and he listened in rapt
+attention, with a growing appreciation of the daughter's charms and of
+the mother's amiability.
+
+Jules often wondered why he did not hear more talk about the circus in
+the little apartment. The subject was rarely mentioned. Mademoiselle
+Blanche displayed no nervousness before or after her performance. She
+practised a little in the morning at home, she said, to keep her muscles
+limber; she had done the same things on the trapeze so often that they
+had become easy to her. Once Jules met in the apartment the oily little
+Frenchman who always held the rope when Mademoiselle Blanche climbed to
+the top of the _Cirque_, and then he learned for the first time that
+Monsieur Pelletier was Mademoiselle's agent. "And he is such a trial to
+us," the mother explained when he was gone. "He makes such bad terms,
+and we have to pay him such a high percentage; and then he sometimes
+mixes up our dates, and we don't know what to do. Ah, if we could only
+have some one to take care of our affairs that we could trust. It is so
+hard for two unprotected women."
+
+Jules thought of this speech many times. Indeed, he fairly brooded over
+it. For several weeks he had felt that his career was too limited; he
+hated the thought of being tied down to his business all his life. He
+was made for something better than that, for a grander, a more
+conspicuous _rôle_.
+
+In his youth he had thought of the army, then of a diplomatic career;
+for a time, too, of the stage. But he had been too poor to enter either
+of the first two professions, and for the stage he was unfitted by
+temperament. Now, in his imagination a brilliant career stretched before
+him, combining both glory and love. Up to the present he had not lived;
+his life was about to begin. The world seemed to open out to him! He
+would travel from one end of the earth to the other in an unbroken march
+of triumph. Even Paris lost attractiveness for him and seemed
+uninteresting and petty; he pitied the poor _boulevardiers_ who were
+bound to a wretched routine of existence, who loved it simply because
+they knew of no other. He would not only visit America again--this time
+not in a sordid capacity, friendless and lonely, but surrounded by a
+retinue--he would go also to Russia, to India, to Australia, perhaps to
+Japan and the other countries of the remote East. The night when he was
+first enchanted by this vision, he could not sleep for excitement till
+nearly four o'clock. Then he saw the vision realized, only to be
+shattered by Madeleine's cracked voice, and her injunction that it was
+time for him to get up and go to his work.
+
+In the evening, when he saw his friends again, he found them very
+unhappy; they had just received news from Jeanne that Aunt Sophie was
+very ill, threatened with pneumonia. Madame Perrault was in tears, and
+Mademoiselle Blanche's eyes showed that she, too, had been crying. The
+next day, they said, Jeanne had promised to write, and the next night
+Jules learned that bad news had been received. The doctor pronounced the
+case pneumonia, and said the patient was in great danger. Mamma must
+come on, Jeanne wrote. But Madame explained to Jules with sobs that she
+could not leave Blanche.
+
+"And my poor Jeanne, what will she do, a child of fourteen with only the
+little Louise to help her."
+
+Then Jules became inspired. His faithful Madeleine--she would save the
+situation. Madame Perrault might go to Boulogne by the first train, and
+Madeleine would take her place, would be a second mother to Mademoiselle
+Blanche, accompany her to the theatre, help her to dress, come back with
+her, keep her from being lonely. Jules wanted to rush off at once, and
+bring Madeleine to the _rue St. Honoré_, for inspection and approval.
+
+Then the girl's quiet wisdom asserted itself. Jeanne had said there was
+no immediate danger; so if Mamma took the train in the morning, that
+would be in quite time enough. After their _petit déjeuner_ they might
+call on Madeleine, or Monsieur Jules might tell them if she would come.
+Then Jules burst into a eulogy of Madeleine's qualities: he had never
+before realized what a good soul she was. He would bring her with him,
+he said, in the morning, on his way to the office; he knew she would be
+glad to come.
+
+On this occasion Jules had a chance to display his executive ability.
+After leaving his friends at the Circus, he drove home furiously, found
+Madeleine sound asleep in the big chair by the fireplace, woke her up,
+and explained the situation.
+
+"Now, my dear Madeleine," he said at the end, "you are to go to that
+poor girl and take her mother's place; she will love you, and you will
+love her. So be good to her for my sake, Madeleine," and he leaned over,
+and patted the old woman's wrinkled hand affectionately. Madeleine was
+moved, chiefly, however, by Jules' unwonted tenderness. She had never
+known an actress, not to speak of a performer in a circus, and she felt
+alarmed at the thought of meeting one. But she felt sure that
+Mademoiselle Blanche must be good. Hadn't Jules said so? Jules had not
+said that he was in love with Mademoiselle; he trusted Madeleine to find
+that out for herself; he also trusted Madeleine to find out a few other
+things for him. Secretly he was blessing the chance that enabled him to
+send Madeleine to Mademoiselle; for the moment he did not even think of
+the personal discomfort it would cause himself.
+
+That night Jules told his friends that Madeleine had consented to come,
+and he promised to bring her with him in the morning. Madeleine was
+greatly agitated, and rose unusually early to make an elaborate
+toilette. She rarely went out, save to the shops and to mass; so she had
+not kept up with the fashions, and her best dress was made in a mode
+long before discarded. She was a very grotesque figure as she walked in
+her queer little bonnet with long ribbons flying from it, and her wide
+skirts. When they reached the apartment in the _rue St. Honoré_, Jules
+thought he saw an expression of amusement in Madame Perrault's face, but
+Blanche greeted Madeleine with great kindliness. Then the mother
+explained that she had just received a letter from Jeanne, saying Aunt
+Sophie was in no immediate danger, but begging her to come as soon as
+possible. Jules saw that both his friends were pleased with Madeleine,
+and it was quickly arranged that she should install herself in the
+apartment that day, and at four o'clock Madame Perrault would leave for
+Boulogne. He departed radiantly happy, with the promise to return at
+three to take Madame to the station. He secured leave of absence from
+the office, and on his return to the apartment he found Madeleine there,
+helping Mademoiselle Blanche to make a new dress.
+
+"I'll be ready in a minute," Madame Perrault cried from the adjoining
+room.
+
+"Are you coming with us, mademoiselle?" Jules asked.
+
+"No, I won't let her," her mother replied. "It's too cold, and it would
+tire her. You aren't afraid to ride alone in a cab with me, are you?"
+
+Jules was surprised by her vivacity; he knew that she was greatly
+worried about her sister, yet in the midst of her agitation she could
+joke. If he had known her less he would have supposed that she was a
+woman of little feeling. She presently flounced out of the room, putting
+on her gloves and smiling.
+
+"Madeleine and Blanche have become great friends," she said. "I'm afraid
+I shall be jealous of her. When I come back there won't be any place for
+me." Then she took her daughter by both hands and Jules saw the glimmer
+of tears in her eyes. "Good-bye, dear," she said, kissing the girl on
+both cheeks. "You must write to me every day, and I'll write to you. In
+a week, at least, I shall be back. I have a presentiment that Sophie
+will improve as soon as I get there."
+
+Mademoiselle Blanche clung tightly to her mother, and kissed her again
+and again.
+
+"There, there! Now, my child--there!" With a parting embrace, Madame
+Perrault tore herself away, crying as she passed out of the door,
+"Good-bye, Madeleine. Take care of the little one! And remember Monsieur
+Jules is coming back to dinner. I'm going to invite him."
+
+This was the first time she had ever called Jules by his first name, and
+on hearing it he felt a thrill of joy. She hurried before him down the
+steep stairs, wiping her eyes. When they entered the cab, she had
+controlled herself again, and was smiling as usual.
+
+The cab rattled so noisily over the pavement that during most of the
+ride to the station they kept silent. They arrived there half an hour
+ahead of time, and this they spent in walking up and down the platform.
+
+"You must be very kind to my Blanche while I'm away," said Madame
+Perrault. "She will be very lonely. She hasn't been separated from me
+before since her father died."
+
+Jules assured her that he would be a second mother to her. He would take
+her and Madeleine to the _Cirque_ every night, and in the morning on his
+way to the office he would call to ask if he could do her any service.
+"She'll be spoiled when you come back," he concluded with a smile.
+
+For a moment they walked without speaking. The station was so cold that
+their breaths made vapour in the air. Yet Jules felt warm enough; his
+whole being seemed to glow.
+
+"There's something I want to tell you."
+
+She made a sign with her head that she was listening.
+
+"I'm in love with Mademoiselle Blanche," he said, impressively, finding
+a delicious relief in speaking the words.
+
+She smiled roguishly into his face.
+
+"Is that all?"
+
+They looked into each other's eyes, and read there a mutual
+understanding.
+
+"Then you've known all along?"
+
+"Of course, from the very first, from the first night you came into the
+dressing-room, and pretended to be a reporter."
+
+"Ah, I thought you had forgiven that."
+
+"So I have--that is, there was nothing to forgive. You didn't deceive
+me."
+
+"Do you mean that you knew at the time I wasn't a reporter? And
+Blanche--she knew too?"
+
+"No, poor dear, she didn't know. Yet it was plain as daylight. Ah, my
+friend, I haven't lived fifty years for nothing. Don't you suppose I
+could tell from your looks and your manner, and what you said, and what
+you _didn't_ say,--don't you suppose I could tell from all that, what
+you had come for?"
+
+Jules looked into her face again.
+
+"How good you are!" he sighed.
+
+She burst out laughing.
+
+"Good? I am not good. Blanche taught me that years ago. There's nothing
+like having a good daughter to take a mother down. She makes me feel
+ashamed every day of my life."
+
+"That's just the way she makes me feel," Jules cried, delighted to find
+that some one else shared his feeling. "Then she's so gentle and so
+kind," he rhapsodized, "and she thinks so little about herself! Do
+you--do you think----Oh, that's what almost drives me to despair
+sometimes. I hardly dare go near her. I hardly dare to speak to her."
+
+Madame Perrault took a deep breath.
+
+"You almost make me feel young again," she said, with a smile.
+
+"Do you think I could make her love me?" Jules asked, marvelling at his
+own humility.
+
+"Do you mean that you want to know whether I think she's in love with
+you or not?" Madame Perrault said briskly. "Ah, my friend, I can't
+answer that question. You must ask her yourself."
+
+"Then you give me permission to ask her? You are willing? You have no
+objection?" He stopped suddenly, and looked radiantly at Madame
+Perrault's face. "How _good_ you are, madame!" he repeated.
+
+She began to laugh again,--a peculiar, gurgling laugh that came from her
+throat.
+
+"Why should I object? You are a good fellow. You would make Blanche a
+good husband. It's time for her to get married. She needs some one to
+protect her. I can't follow her about all the rest of my life. She is
+twenty-two. Why shouldn't she marry?"
+
+Jules' ardor was cooled by this practical reasoning; it made him
+practical too. He told Madame Perrault again of his little property. He
+could well afford to marry, he said. He loved Mademoiselle Blanche with
+all his heart; he couldn't live without her; he would give up everything
+for her; he would follow her everywhere. Ah, if he only knew whether she
+cared for him or not! She was so strange, so reserved. It was so hard to
+tell with a girl like her.
+
+"You are right there, my friend. She has great reserve. With my Jeanne
+or Louise, I should know everything. But with Blanche, _non!_ But I
+never pry into her secrets; I have learned better. She has a great deal
+of inner life; she thinks a great deal; she is not like the other
+flighty women that you see in the circus. If she had not been born to
+the circus, if she had been brought up as Louise has been, she would be
+a _religieuse_."
+
+Jules would have become rhapsodical again if the whistle of the train
+had not sounded, and he was obliged hurriedly to help Madame Perrault
+into her compartment. He shook the hand that she offered him, received a
+few last messages, and he watched the train as it pulled out of the
+station. Then, with a sigh, he turned and walked back to his office.
+
+
+
+
+                                  VIII
+
+
+After the departure of Madeleine, Jules would have found his apartment
+cheerless, if he had not used it merely for sleeping. As soon as he rose
+in the morning, he went to Madame Perrault's, where he breakfasted with
+Mademoiselle Blanche. In spite of her duties elsewhere, Madeleine kept
+his rooms in order, and his new domestic arrangements did not in the
+least inconvenience him. Indeed, he liked them, and he almost dreaded
+the return of Mademoiselle's mother. This would probably not take place
+for several weeks, however, for the illness of her aunt Sophie proved to
+be very tedious, though after the first ten days she was pronounced out
+of danger. Madeleine had speedily won the affections of Mademoiselle
+Blanche, and she secretly confided to Jules that the girl was an angel.
+
+"I knew you'd think so," Jules replied. "I've thought so ever since I
+first saw her."
+
+"Ah, but it's wicked that she should have to do those dreadful things
+every night!" Madeleine cried, rolling her eyes, and throwing up her
+hands in horror. "It freezes my blood."
+
+"But she likes it," Jules explained.
+
+"Ah, it's wicked just the same, the poor child!"
+
+Madeleine had speedily adapted herself to her duties as dresser to
+Mademoiselle Blanche, and her nightly trips to the theatre were the most
+exciting experiences of her life. After seeing the plunge from the top
+of the Circus, however, she had refused to look at it again. "It freezes
+my blood," she would repeat, whenever Jules referred to it. "It's too
+horrible!"
+
+"But she makes a lot of money by it," Jules insisted.
+
+"She would do much better to stay poor," Madeleine replied, with a
+tartness that was rare with her and made Jules burst out laughing.
+
+"Madeleine," he said, confidentially. "Madeleine, come over here."
+
+Madeleine bent her head towards him with a smile on her face.
+
+"Madeleine, do you think there's any one--any one that she cares about
+particularly--any one you know? Eh?"
+
+Madeleine's wrinkles deepened, as the smile spread over her face and
+lighted her faded eyes.
+
+"Ah, Monsieur Jules, she is very fond of her sisters. She is always
+talking about them, especially about _la petite_ Jeanne. Then she's very
+fond of her mamma, too, of course."
+
+"Madeleine, you're trying to plague me now. You know I don't mean that.
+I mean any--any--?"
+
+"Any gentleman, Monsieur Jules?" the old woman asked.
+
+"Yes, Madeleine, any gentleman."
+
+Madeleine grew thoughtful.
+
+"She often speaks of Monsieur Berthier, who is going to marry her
+mother. She says he's very kind to her sisters."
+
+"And is that all, Madeleine? Doesn't she speak of any one else? Doesn't
+she ever speak of--of me?"
+
+"Oh, yes, Monsieur Jules, she thinks you've been very good to her and
+her mother. She often speaks of that."
+
+This was all the information that Jules could extract from Madeleine. On
+several occasions he tried her again, but though she seemed amused by
+his questions, she evaded them. Once he said to her:
+
+"Madeleine, how would you like to go away with me--to travel--a long
+distance?"
+
+Madeleine carefully considered the question. Then she replied simply:
+
+"I should not like to leave Paris, Monsieur Jules, but, if you wanted me
+to go, I would go."
+
+After that, Madeleine was less worried. She had little to say, and, like
+most silent people, she observed and thought a great deal. For
+Mademoiselle Blanche she had conceived a genuine affection, and she
+looked forward with regret to the time when she would have to leave the
+_rue St. Honoré_ for Jules' lonely apartment.
+
+One Saturday night, on their return from the Circus, Jules asked
+Mademoiselle Blanche if she were going to high mass the next day as
+usual. He was surprised when she replied that she was going at eight
+o'clock instead.
+
+"But that is too early," he said. "You won't have sleep enough."
+
+"I'm going to communion," she explained.
+
+"Oh!"
+
+He could not understand why this announcement should impress him as it
+did. He had supposed that of course she went to communion; she had
+probably gone to confession early in the afternoon before the _matinée_.
+Once again he felt awed by her goodness. How strange it was that she
+should be in the confessional at three o'clock, and two hours later
+perform in her fleshings before a crowd of people! The very publicity of
+her life seemed to exalt the simplicity and the purity of her character.
+
+Jules was so absorbed in thinking of these things that he did not speak
+again till the cab reached the _rue St. Honoré_. Then, as he helped
+Mademoiselle out, he said:
+
+"I'll go to church with you to-morrow, if you will let me. You won't
+leave before half-past seven, will you?"
+
+She protested that he ought not to get up so early; he needed a good
+night's rest after his hard work of the week. But he laughed and waved
+his hand to her in parting, and told her not to wait for him after a
+quarter to eight; now that he didn't have Madeleine to call him, he
+might not wake up in time.
+
+He was in time, however, and as he walked to church in the cold December
+air with Mademoiselle by his side, he felt repaid for his sacrifice. She
+wore a tight-fitting fur coat and a black cloth dress, with the little
+fur-trimmed hat he had admired when he first walked with her in the
+_Champs Élysées_. Her face was protected by a thick dotted veil, but
+under it he could see her sparkling eyes and the color in her cheeks.
+
+"I'm paying you a very great compliment," he said, as they hurried along
+towards _St. Philippe de Roule_. "I haven't got up so early on a Sunday
+since I was a boy."
+
+She smiled in reply; it was too cold for her to speak. He could see her
+breath steaming faintly through the veil.
+
+He felt a curious desire to hear her voice again; he did not realize
+that her devotion to the Church made her seem more remote from him, but
+he had an unpleasant consciousness that his own lack of religious faith
+created a barrier between them.
+
+In the church he kept glancing from the priest celebrating the mass, to
+her. She was absorbed in reading her prayer-book, and she did not once
+look up at him. He compared her as she appeared then with her appearance
+in the glamor of the circus ring. She was the same person, yet
+different. She represented to him a kind of miracle. How humble she was,
+how sweet and good, as she knelt there!
+
+When the priest began to distribute the communion and Blanche left her
+seat and joined the throng approaching the altar, Jules was touched with
+a tenderness he had never felt before. He buried his face in his hands,
+and prayed that he might be made worthy of her. He did not dare pray for
+her love; a certain sense of shame at having neglected God and church
+for so many years, at having lived solely for his own gratification,
+kept him from that; but if he had examined his motives, he would have
+found that this was really what he was praying for. He deceived himself
+so easily that he instinctively felt that he might be able to deceive
+God too.
+
+On leaving the church, Jules proposed that they go to a restaurant for
+breakfast. "We'll make a holiday of it," he said, "and drink to your
+Aunt Sophie's health."
+
+But Blanche protested that Madeleine would expect them, and would be
+worried if she were not back by half-past nine.
+
+"Then we'll go out at one o'clock. I'll take you over to Bertiny's, in
+the _Champs Élysées_. It's very gorgeous; the twins took me there once
+to celebrate Dufresne's luck when he won five hundred francs at the
+races."
+
+Though the sun was shining, it was still very cold, and as they hurried
+to the little apartment Jules could see that she was trembling.
+Madeleine had prepared some hot coffee for them and some eggs, and over
+these they were very gay. Jules was in a particularly good humor, and
+Mademoiselle Blanche laughed at his jokes, though most of them she had
+heard before. She had a very pretty laugh, he thought,--like her
+mother's, though not so deep and gurgling. After breakfast her face
+flushed from her walk and she looked even prettier than she appeared in
+the church.
+
+As Madeleine cleared away the table, Blanche began to water the flowers
+by the window, and Jules opened the copy of the _Petit Journal_ that he
+had bought on the way from the church. He kept glancing up at
+Mademoiselle, however, and each time he looked at her he had a new
+sensation of pleasure. How domestic she looked in the little dress of
+gray wool that she had put on after her return from mass! She seemed to
+create an atmosphere of home around her. In her belt were the roses he
+had given her the night before, still fresh and sparkling with drops of
+water from her fingers. How good it was, he thought, that he could be
+with her like this! How lonely his own apartment would be to him when
+Madame Perrault came back! He almost wished that she would never return,
+that she would marry Monsieur Berthier, and they might go on in this way
+forever. He laughed at the thought, and just then Mademoiselle turned
+her head.
+
+"Monsieur seems to be amused," she said. "What is he smiling at?"
+
+"I'm smiling because I'm so happy," Jules replied. "Don't you smile when
+you're happy?"
+
+She took a seat by the table, where she rested one hand.
+
+"No, I don't think I do," she said, apparently giving the question
+serious consideration. "When I am very happy I look serious. Then mamma
+sometimes fancies I feel sad."
+
+He took a cigarette-case from his pocket and began to smoke.
+
+"Do you know," he said at last, "I shall be sorry when your mother
+returns?"
+
+"Sorry?"
+
+"Yes, because Madeleine will come back to me then, and I shall have to
+stay at home. I can't come any more as I do now."
+
+A look of alarm appeared in her face. "But why can't you come just the
+same?" she asked, innocently.
+
+He burst out laughing, and he felt a sudden desire to pat her on the
+cheek as he might have done to a child. What a child she was, anyway!
+Yet he would not have wished her to be different; she seemed to him just
+what a young girl should be.
+
+"When your mother comes, I can't take breakfast with you any more, and I
+can't come early on Sunday mornings and stay all day. I shall have to go
+back to my lonely apartment."
+
+"But you have Madeleine," she said, with a faint smile.
+
+"Madeleine, yes, and she is good enough in her way." Then he suddenly
+threw his cigarette into the fireplace, and bent toward her. "Don't you
+know," he whispered, in a voice so low that Madeleine, who was moving
+about in the next room, could not hear him, "can't you see that it's
+_you_ I shall miss? Can't you see that you've become everything in the
+world to me? Without you, dear Blanche, I shouldn't care to live. Before
+I met you I didn't know what life really was--I didn't know what love
+was. I loved you the first time I saw you, and the more I've seen you,
+the better I've known you, the dearer you've become to me. I don't think
+I ever really understood what it was to be pure and good till I knew
+you. You've made me ashamed of myself. Sometimes I feel as if I had no
+right to go near you. But I do love you, Blanche, and they say love
+helps a man to be good. I haven't dared to tell you this before; I've
+been afraid to ask you if you loved me. But this morning in church, it
+all came over me so--so that I must tell you. Blanche," he went on,
+taking her hand, "you aren't offended with me for saying this, are you?
+I love you so much--I can't help loving you. If you'll only love me a
+little, dear, I'll be satisfied. Won't you tell me if you do care for me
+a little--just a little?"
+
+He knelt by her side, and tried to look into her face; but she turned
+her head away, and he saw that her neck was crimson. Her bosom kept
+rising and falling convulsively. Then he pressed toward her and clasped
+her in his arms and kissed her again and again,--on the face, the
+forehead, the hair, even on her ears when she buried her head on his
+shoulder. His lips were wet with her tears, and he felt radiantly,
+exultantly happy.
+
+"I love you, I love you!" he kept repeating.
+
+For the first time he felt sure that his love was returned; but he was
+not satisfied. He wanted to hear her speak out her love. His lips were
+on her cheek, and she was lying motionless in his arms, as he whispered:
+
+"Won't you say that you love me, dear? Just three words. That isn't
+much, and it will make me the happiest man that ever lived."
+
+Instead of speaking, she put her arms on his shoulders, as a child might
+have done, and he pressed her close to his breast again. Then he heard a
+noise behind him, and he saw Madeleine standing, big-eyed, in the
+doorway; she seemed too startled to move. He rose quickly to his feet,
+and still holding Blanche's hand, he said:
+
+"Madeleine, come here!"
+
+She came forward timidly, as if afraid she might be punished for her
+intrusion.
+
+"Mademoiselle Blanche is going to be my wife, Madeleine."
+
+Madeleine held out her arms to the girl, and for a moment they stood
+clasped in each other's embrace.
+
+"Ah, Monsieur Jules," the old woman cried, "I pray God your mother can
+look down from heaven and see what a good daughter she's getting!"
+
+
+
+
+                                   IX
+
+
+After confessing his love, Jules experienced, mingled with his
+exultation, a feeling of bewildered amazement at his own boldness. This
+was followed by a poignant regret that he hadn't spoken before. Now,
+however, that his weeks of doubt and of intermittent misery were over,
+he gave himself up to his happiness, which manifested itself in a wild
+exuberance of spirits.
+
+In a short time he was speaking humorously of those weeks, ridiculing
+himself as if he had already become different, almost another person
+from what he had been then. He told Blanche about his tortures, and even
+succeeded in extorting a confession from her that she had been in love
+with him since the first Sunday when he had called at the apartment and
+acknowledged Durand's duplicity; she, too, had had her doubts and her
+fears. Then they became very confidential, and by the time the morning
+was over, and they found themselves in the restaurant, they felt as if
+they had known each other intimately for years.
+
+In spite of Blanche's protests, Jules ordered a bottle of champagne and
+an elaborate luncheon.
+
+"I suppose I ought to have asked Madeleine to come," he said, "but I
+wanted to be alone with you. Some day before your mother returns, we'll
+have another _fête_, and take Madeleine with us."
+
+In the morning, when he spoke about a definite engagement, and she
+protested that her mother must be consulted, he had told her of his talk
+with Madame Perrault at the railway station. Now he went on to make
+plans for their marriage. There was no reason, he argued, why they
+should wait a long time; her mother had been engaged to Monsieur
+Berthier for three years, but she would not marry till Blanche had a
+protector. Jules liked to talk of himself in this character; it gave him
+a feeling of importance. So, altogether, he went on, the sooner the
+marriage took place the better. He would give up his place in the
+wool-house, and devote himself to his wife's career; for, of course,
+they couldn't be separated. They would be very happy travelling about,
+from one end of the world to the other.
+
+It never occurred to either of them that Blanche might retire from the
+ring after marriage. She herself seemed to regard the circus as part of
+her life; she had been born in it, and she belonged to it as long as she
+was able to perform. As for Jules, he could not have dissociated her
+from the thought of the circus. Even now he felt as if he had himself
+become wedded to it, that he had acquired a kind of proprietary interest
+in it. He discussed Blanche's professional engagements as if they were
+his own. Why, he asked, couldn't the marriage take place during the
+weeks that intervened between her engagement at the _Cirque Parisien_
+and her appearance in Vienna? Jeanne and Louise could come up to Paris
+for Christmas and the New Year, and be present at the ceremony. By that
+time he would have his affairs arranged so that he could go with her to
+Vienna.
+
+Of course, they must dismiss Pelletier after their marriage. Jules would
+take charge of his wife's affairs; his capacity for business would
+enable him to make good terms for her. He would plan wonderful tours; he
+would write to America, perhaps, and secure engagements for her there;
+artists were wonderfully well paid in America, better than in any other
+country, and they would enjoy seeing the new world together.
+
+Blanche listened to his talk with a touching confidence; she seemed to
+think it natural that he should speak as if he had authority over her.
+She made no protest against any of his suggestions, though she repeated
+that nothing could be decided till her mother returned to Paris.
+
+"But we'll write to your mother," said Jules. "We'll write to her this
+very day--this afternoon when we go back."
+
+For a moment her face clouded.
+
+"What's the matter? Don't you want me to write to your mother?"
+
+She did not reply at once. When she did speak, she kept her eyes fixed
+on her plate.
+
+"It will be so hard to be separated from her."
+
+Jules laughed, and bent toward her.
+
+"But you can't stay with her always," he said tenderly. "Then we'll take
+Madeleine with us. That will be a capital plan. She's strong and
+healthy, though she's over sixty, and she won't mind the travelling.
+Besides, we shall be in Vienna three months, and we'll rent a little
+apartment. It will be like being at home."
+
+He spoke as if their future were settled, and his tone of confidence
+seemed to reassure her.
+
+"I should like to have Madeleine," she said simply. "She is so good."
+
+On their return to the apartment, they devoted themselves to writing
+long letters to Madame Perrault. Jules' letter was full of rhapsodies,
+of promises to be kind to the girl who had consented to be his wife, and
+of his plans for the future. They read their letters to each other, or
+rather Jules read all of his, and Blanche read part of hers, firmly
+refusing to allow him to hear the rest. They spent a very happy
+afternoon together, and in the evening Madeleine had a sumptuous dinner
+for them, with an enormous bunch of fresh roses on the table. In the
+evening they went to the _Comédie Française_, to finish what Jules
+declared to be the happiest day of his life.
+
+Jules counted that day as the beginning of his real career. He looked
+back on himself during the years he had lived before it almost with
+pity. Since leaving the _lycée_, he had been merely a drudge, a piece of
+mechanism in the odious machinery of business. He had been content
+enough, but with the contentment of ignorance. How lonely and sordid his
+existence out of the office had been! He thought of his solitary dinners
+in _cafés_, surrounded by wretched beings like himself deprived of the
+happiness that comes from home and from an honest love. To the twins and
+his other comrades at the office he said nothing of the change that had
+taken place in his life; he was afraid they would chaff him; of course,
+when they heard he was going to marry an acrobat, they would make
+foolish jokes and treat him with a familiar levity. He determined not to
+tell them of his marriage until the eve of his departure from business;
+he would have to give the firm at least a fortnight's notice; but he
+would merely explain to Monsieur Mercier that he intended to devote a
+few months to travel, and thought of going to America.
+
+Madame Perrault replied at once to Jules' letter. She made no pretence
+of being surprised by the news it contained; and she expressed her
+pleasure at the engagement, and gave her consent. But they must not make
+any definite plans until her return to Paris. That would be in about two
+weeks, for Aunt Sophie was very much better now and rapidly gaining
+strength, though she had as yet been unable to leave her bed. As soon as
+Sophie could go out, she was to be carried to the house of her cousin,
+Angélique Magnard, who would give her the best of care. Then Madame
+Perrault would be able to take Jeanne and Louise to Paris for the
+holidays; the girls were wild to see their dear Blanche again and to
+meet Jules. Monsieur Berthier talked of coming with them; he, too, was
+eager to make the acquaintance of Blanche's future husband.
+
+After these preliminaries, Madame Perrault devoted herself to practical
+matters. She felt it her duty to inform Monsieur Jules that Blanche had
+no _dot_; she had earned a great deal of money, but most of it had been
+spent in maintaining the family; since the death of her father she had
+been their sole support. Of course, after marriage, her daughter's
+earnings would belong to Jules; but he must distinctly understand that
+he was taking a penniless bride. After her own marriage, Madame Perrault
+would have no fear for the future; Monsieur Berthier had promised of his
+own accord to provide for the girls; indeed, it was chiefly for their
+sake that, at the age of fifty-three, she was willing to marry again. So
+Blanche would no longer have her family dependent on her.
+
+Jules replied with an impassioned letter. He didn't care whether Blanche
+had a _dot_ or not. He wanted to marry her because he loved her, because
+without her his life would be unendurable: he would marry her if she
+were the poorest girl in France. It took him several pages to say this,
+and he read the letter with satisfaction, and then aloud to Blanche, who
+laughed over it, and gave him a timid little kiss in acknowledgment of
+his devotion. He thought he had done a commendable act, and he felt
+convinced that every word he had written was true.
+
+At the office Jules grew reserved, and he resented haughtily the
+familiarities of the twins. Indeed, to all of his companions in the wool
+house he could not help displaying the superiority he felt. He would be
+there only a few weeks longer, and he acted as if he were conferring a
+favor on his employer by staying. The twins spent many hours in
+discussing the change in him; but they could not discover the cause.
+
+"You ought to have heard him talk to old Mercier the other day," said
+Leroux. "You'd think he was the President receiving a deputation."
+
+Early in November, Blanche received a letter from her mother, saying
+Aunt Sophie was so much better that they had decided to move her the
+next day, and two days later she would herself leave Boulogne with the
+girls and Monsieur Berthier. Jules was both glad and sorry to hear the
+news,--sorry because his long _tête-à-têtes_ with Blanche would end for
+a time, and glad because he would be able to arrange definitely with her
+mother for the marriage. Madeleine grieved at parting with the girl, but
+was consoled when Jules explained that she would probably be needed
+every night at the circus after Madame Perrault's return, for, of
+course, Monsieur Berthier would want to take his _fiancée_ to the
+theatres. In speaking of Monsieur Berthier, Jules had adopted a
+facetious tone, which half-amused and half-pained Blanche.
+
+"How droll it will be," he said one day, "to have two pairs of lovers
+billing and cooing together."
+
+"Mamma doesn't bill and coo," the girl replied, with just a suggestion
+of resentment in her tone. "She's too sensible." Then Jules patted her
+affectionately on the cheek, and told her she mustn't take what he said
+so seriously.
+
+"Monsieur Berthier must be a very good man, or he wouldn't get such a
+good wife," he said lightly. Then, with a comic look in his eyes, he
+added as an afterthought: "What a very good person I must be!"
+
+The next night, when Jules appeared in the _rue St. Honoré_ for dinner,
+he found the little apartment crowded. Madame Perrault embraced him, and
+by addressing him as "my son," seemed to receive him formally into the
+family. Then she introduced the two girls, who were much larger than he
+had imagined them to be. Jeanne, rosy-cheeked and black-eyed, approached
+him fearlessly, and offered her hand with a smile; Louise, fair and
+slight, with her light brown hair braided down her back, looked
+frightened, and blushed furiously when she received her salutation. The
+little fat man standing in front of the mantel, Jules recognized at once
+from his pointed white beard and laughing eyes.
+
+"I should have known you in a crowd on the _Boulevard_," Jules said, as
+he extended his hand. "You're exactly like your photograph."
+
+"And you are even better-looking than Mathilde said you were," Monsieur
+Berthier replied. "Ah, little one," he went on, turning to Blanche, and
+giving her a pinch on the arm, "you're getting a fine, handsome
+husband."
+
+Jules tried to make friends with the girls. With Jeanne he had no
+difficulty; she was quite ready to banter with him, and he found her
+pert and quick-witted. Louise, however, was so shy that he could extract
+only monosyllables from her. She seemed to him very like Blanche, only
+less pretty. Jeanne had Blanche's beauty, more highly-colored and
+exuberant; her snapping black eyes showed, too, that she had a will and
+a temper of her own. Jules began to chaff her, to make her show her
+spirit, but she parried his jests good-humoredly, and she retaliated
+very smartly.
+
+"I don't see how you ever dared to fall in love with Blanche," she said.
+"Aren't you afraid of her?"
+
+"Afraid of her?" Jules laughed. "Why should I be afraid of her?"
+
+"Oh, I don't know. I suppose because she's so good. I'm afraid of her
+sometimes. And I'm afraid of Louise when she gets her pious look on. How
+did you happen to fall in love with her? Do tell me. I'll never tell in
+the world."
+
+"I just saw her, that's all," Jules explained with mock gravity. "Isn't
+that enough?"
+
+"In the circus?"
+
+Jules nodded.
+
+"Then you fell in love with her because she does such wonderful things,
+and looks so beautiful in the ring. Now, you wouldn't have fallen in
+love if you'd just met her like any one else."
+
+"But it was because she wasn't like anyone else that I did fall in love
+with her," Jules insisted, with the air of carrying on the joke.
+
+"But if she'd never been in the circus--if you'd just met her here, or
+anywhere else except in the circus--do you think you would have fallen
+in love with her then?"
+
+"Of course I should," Jules replied unhesitatingly, though he knew he
+was lying.
+
+Jeanne shrugged her shoulders and looked skeptical.
+
+"I wish I could be in the circus," she said, "and get flowers, and be
+admired, and earn a lot of money like Blanche. And isn't it the funniest
+thing," she went on, growing more confidential, "Blanche doesn't care
+about it at all."
+
+"About the flowers, and being admired, and all that?"
+
+"Yes. And she says the circus isn't a good place for a young girl. But I
+say if it's good enough for her, it's good enough for me. Anyway, if
+mamma doesn't let me do what Blanche does, I'm going on the stage when I
+grow up."
+
+Jules was amused by her talk, and drew her out by deft questions. While
+she was animatedly describing her life in the convent of Boulogne, where
+the nuns were always holding up Louise as a model of good behavior to
+her, dinner was announced, and they all went out into the dining-room,
+where Jules and Blanche had passed so many hours together. This time
+Jules' place was between Jeanne and Louise. Jeanne went on with her
+chatter, and Louise scarcely spoke, save to Blanche, with whom she kept
+exchanging affectionate smiles.
+
+"The girls are vexed with me," said Madame Perrault, "because I won't
+let them go to the Circus to-night."
+
+The pale face of Louise brightened with eagerness and Jeanne turned to
+her mother and cried pleadingly:
+
+"Oh, I think it's a shame. The first time we've been in Paris, too, and
+we want to see Blanche perform again so much! Why can't we go, mamma?
+Please, please let us go."
+
+"Oh, let the children go," said Monsieur Berthier good-naturedly. "It
+would be cruel to send them to bed early their first night in Paris."
+
+Then Jules added his voice in the girls' behalf, but Madame Perrault
+shook her head decidedly.
+
+"I can't have them up so late. Besides, they need to rest after their
+journey. If you are good, Jeanne, and don't tease me to go to-night,
+I'll take you and Louise to the _matinée_ on Saturday."
+
+"Oh, the _matinée_!" Jeanne pouted, turning for sympathy to Jules. "Who
+cares for the _matinée_! Isn't it too bad?" she went on in a low voice,
+so that her mother shouldn't hear her. "When I grow up, Monsieur Jules,
+I shall go to the theatre every night--yes, every night of my life. I
+don't care what happens."
+
+Jeanne was sullen and Louise looked sad when they were left alone with
+Charlotte, the little maid.
+
+"I won't go to bed till twelve o'clock," Jeanne cried, as her mother,
+with parting injunctions, went out, followed by the others. "I shall sit
+up and cry all the evening."
+
+"Nine o'clock, my dear," said Madame Perrault serenely. "You know what I
+said about Saturday."
+
+The door was slammed behind them and, as they filed downstairs, they
+heard Jeanne go stamping back into the _salon_.
+
+"Don't you think you're severe with the child, Mathilde?" said Berthier.
+
+"No, Félix, not too severe, if you mean that. It's the only way to keep
+her in check. She has too much spirit. I'm afraid of it sometimes."
+
+"That's just the way you used to be at her age," he laughed.
+
+"And that's just why I mean to keep her down," she replied, almost
+sternly.
+
+"Jeanne has all the spirit of the family," said Berthier, glancing at
+Jules.
+
+After the performance they returned to the apartment for supper. Jules
+was surprised to find the table steaming with hot dishes, bright with
+flowers and with wine-glasses. Madeleine, who seemed to be in the
+secret, put on an apron, and proceeded to assist Charlotte.
+
+"We've prepared a little feast for you," Madame Perrault explained, "in
+honour of Blanche's engagement. Félix has provided the champagne."
+
+Berthier rubbed his hands and smiled, and they took their places at the
+table. They were all hungry and in good spirits. This was the happiest
+time of the day for Blanche; though she never consciously worried about
+her work, she always felt relieved when her performance was done, and
+she was free to go home and rest. The little rosy-cheeked Charlotte
+busied herself around them, passing dishes and bringing on fresh ones.
+
+"It's a shame to keep this poor child up so late," said Berthier, when
+she had left the room for a moment. "Why not send her to bed?"
+
+"I'll send her as soon as she brings in the rest of the things," Madame
+Perrault replied. "She and Madeleine can have something to eat together.
+I sha'n't have to send Madeleine home with you to-night, Jules. We've
+made a bed for her in Charlotte's room. She's a good creature, your
+Madeleine."
+
+Charlotte came in with the rest of the dishes, and Madame Perrault told
+her to eat something, and go to bed. "And tell Madeleine not to wait up
+for us. You can clear the things away in the morning. Did Jeanne go to
+bed at nine o'clock, Charlotte?"
+
+"Yes, madame."
+
+"And without any trouble?"
+
+"Yes, madame."
+
+"What did she do to amuse herself during the evening?"
+
+Charlotte's cheeks took on a deeper red.
+
+"She tried to imitate Mademoiselle Blanche in the circus," she
+confessed.
+
+"Ah, that accounts for the broken chair! Good night, Charlotte." Then,
+as the girl left the room, Madame Perrault sighed. "That Jeanne will be
+the death of me."
+
+"I'll take her in hand when she comes to me," Berthier laughed. "We'll
+have to find a husband for her. That will cure her of her craze for the
+circus."
+
+"A husband for Jeanne, little Jeanne!" Madame Perrault exclaimed in
+horror. "She's barely fourteen."
+
+"And in two years she'll be a woman. I was in love with you at fifteen.
+Don't you remember? We thought of eloping."
+
+"_Taisez-vous!_" cried Madame Perrault, flushing, and trying not to join
+in the laughter that the speech excited from Jules. "You make me a great
+fool before my daughter and my new son."
+
+"He isn't your son yet," Berthier insisted, to tease her.
+
+"But he will be soon."
+
+"That's just what I wanted you to say!" Jules cried. "The sooner the
+better. Tomorrow would suit me."
+
+The glasses had been filled with champagne, and Berthier lifted his
+glass high in the air, crying:
+
+"Let us drink to the _fiancés_! May their marriage be long and their
+engagement short! Here's health and happiness to them!"
+
+They all stood up smiling and drank together. Then as they sat down
+again, Berthier went on:
+
+"Ah, I know the folly of long engagements. Get married, get married, my
+children, as soon as you can, while love is young. I once knew a young
+girl--as beautiful as the morning--more beautiful, a thousand times more
+beautiful. Well, this young girl loved a handsome, yes, I may say a
+fairly handsome, at any rate, an honest young fellow, who fairly
+worshipped her in return. But the stern parents of this beautiful young
+girl----"
+
+"_Taisez-vous!_" Madame Perrault repeated. "No more nonsense. If your
+beautiful young girl hadn't obeyed her parents, where would Blanche
+Perrault be at this moment, I should like to know?"
+
+"Ah, my friend," said Berthier to Jules, "it's the women who forget.
+Only the men are constant in this world."
+
+Madame Perrault rolled her eyes in mock horror.
+
+"Constant--the men!" she repeated scornfully. "They don't know what
+constancy is. If it weren't for the constant women in the world, the men
+would go straight to the devil."
+
+Berthier burst into hilarious laughter. He loved nothing better than to
+be vanquished in an argument by Madame Perrault. Indeed, he often argued
+simply in order to provoke her. He gave Jules a quick glance and a nod
+which plainly said: "Isn't she a fine woman? Have you ever seen a woman
+so clever?"
+
+The innocent pleasantries of the old lovers, however, were lost on
+Jules. He wanted to discuss in all seriousness his forthcoming marriage,
+and this was certainly a suitable occasion. So he determined to put the
+conversation on another basis.
+
+"I am sure Monsieur Berthier is right about long engagements," he said,
+"and there's no reason why our engagement shouldn't be short. I love
+Blanche, and Blanche loves me, and we think we can make each other
+happy. I can afford to marry--I have a little property--and when she
+marries me Blanche will have a protector in her professional career."
+
+"Bravo!" cried Berthier. "That was said like a man!"
+
+"And the sooner I'm married, the better for you," Jules went on, fixing
+his eyes on Berthier's white beard. "Then Madame Perrault won't be tied
+down to Blanche, and there's no reason why you shouldn't be married,
+too."
+
+"We might have a double marriage!" said the little man jocosely.
+
+"No, no, _no_!" Madame exclaimed. "When I'm married I shall be married
+very quietly in Boulogne, without any fuss. These children shall be
+married first. Then some day, Félix, you and I shall walk to the church
+and it will be over in five minutes."
+
+Berthier breathed a long sigh, and laid his hand gently on Madame
+Perrault's arm.
+
+"I've waited a great many years for those five minutes, _chérie_."
+
+"Blanche's engagement at the Circus ends the last day of the year,"
+Jules resumed, "and she begins her season in Vienna on the fifteenth of
+January. Now, there's no reason in the world that I can think of to
+prevent our being married between the first of January and the
+fifteenth."
+
+Then, from every point of view, they discussed the time of the marriage.
+Madame Perrault raised the question of dresses for the bride, of Jules'
+inability to arrange his affairs in so short a time, but these and all
+other objections were overruled.
+
+Blanche herself had very little to say; when her mother asked her
+point-blank if she wanted the marriage to take place so early, she
+replied that she was willing if Jules and the others decided it was
+best. She seemed more like a passive spectator than one actively
+interested in the discussion; her eyes kept roving from Jules to her
+mother, and from her mother back to Jules. Berthier supported Jules
+valiantly, and at two o'clock, Madame Perrault was finally won over, and
+it was decided that the marriage should take place during the first week
+in January. Jules kissed Blanche on the cheek, and there was general
+embracing and laughter. Then the little party broke up, and Monsieur
+Berthier followed Jules down the stairs.
+
+"Ah, my boy," he said, as they stood on the sidewalk, before saying
+good-night, "I'd give all the money I've made for your youth. Youth is
+the time for love. In my youth it came to me, but I lost it. Take good
+care of it, my friend," he concluded, tapping Jules' hand affectionately
+as they were about to go their separate ways.
+
+
+
+
+                                   X
+
+
+Jules at once began preparations for his marriage. He gave notice of his
+intention to leave the wool-house, and to move from his apartment.
+Monsieur Mercier showed no regret at his departure. "I've observed that
+you were no longer interested in your work," he said coldly.
+
+Jules turned away with a sense of disappointment and pain, feeling that
+he had been badly treated. Though he said nothing to the twins about his
+going, they speedily heard of it and gibed him for the reason. He
+preferred to maintain an air of mystery, but one morning Leroux came
+into the office, shaking a copy of the _Triomphe_ in the air.
+
+"Let me congratulate you!" he cried, extending his hand. "I respect a
+man that can make a stroke like that. I've known you were up to some
+game all along," he added insinuatingly.
+
+Jules looked at the paper, and in the column devoted to news of the
+theatre he read of the engagement of Mademoiselle Blanche, of the
+_Cirque Parisien_, to Monsieur Jules Le Baron, a young business man of
+wealth. Dufresne added his congratulations, and one after another during
+the day Jules' other comrades came up to shake his hand. No wonder he
+had been putting on airs with them! They treated him very jocosely,
+however, teased him about his reputed wealth, and tortured him with
+their coarse jokes, so that he looked forward with relief to escaping
+from them.
+
+All of Jules' leisure was passed with Blanche and her family. He made
+friends with the girls and with Monsieur Berthier. The better acquainted
+he became with Louise the more he liked her; Jeanne sometimes vexed him
+by making fun of him, though he was careful not to betray his annoyance.
+For Monsieur Berthier he felt a genuine esteem; the little man was
+always in good humor, though Jules suspected that, in spite of his
+success in business, his whole life had been clouded by the
+disappointment of his youth. As for Madame Perrault, notwithstanding the
+apparent lightness of her character, which had at first prejudiced him
+against her, the effective way in which she managed her affairs made him
+realize that she was a woman to be respected. Sometimes Jules wondered
+what kind of man Blanche's father had been; he fancied that of the two
+the mother had been by far the stronger.
+
+Jules passed Christmas with his friends and spent a month's salary on
+gifts for Blanche and her sisters. For the girls Madame had a _fête_ in
+the morning after mass, with a Christmas tree laden with presents, and
+decorated with candles and trinkets and _bonbons_. She chose this time
+of day, as both in the afternoon and evening Blanche gave performances.
+
+The next morning Madame Perrault learned through Pelletier that the
+circus in Vienna where Blanche had been engaged to appear was a little
+more than ninety feet high; so the plunge would be fifteen feet deeper
+than it was in Paris. This news created excitement in the family. It
+made Madame so nervous that she urged that the engagement be given up
+and an offer that had come from Nice be accepted; but Jules laughed at
+the idea.
+
+"What's a difference of fifteen feet to Blanche?" he said. "It's just as
+easy for her to dive ninety feet as to dive seventy-five. The only thing
+for Blanche to do is to go to Vienna as soon as her engagement here is
+over. Then she can practise the plunge every morning for two weeks.
+We'll simply have to get married a little earlier than we intended."
+
+Madame Perrault saw the force of the argument, and Monsieur Berthier
+seconded Jules. As for Blanche, she declared that she should not be
+afraid of the plunge; at Bucharest she had made a plunge of nearly
+eighty-three feet. So it was agreed that the civil marriage should take
+place very quietly on the third of January, and the religious ceremony
+the day after. Jules and his bride could leave Paris by the afternoon
+train, accompanied by Madeleine. Madame Perrault was anxious to keep any
+notice out of the papers, if possible; she thought it might injure
+Blanche professionally. She had been greatly vexed by the paragraph in
+the _Triomphe_ and had attributed it to Durand; but Jules explained that
+the _Triomphe_ was not Durand's paper; besides, the journalist had been
+sent for the winter to the Riviera as correspondent.
+
+On the last day of the year Jules bade farewell to his associates at the
+wool-house. Most of them regretted his departure, for before his sudden
+accession of dignity he had been well liked among them. The next
+morning, on the first day of his emancipation, when he went to the
+apartment in the _rue St. Honoré_, he found some pieces of silver there,
+the gift of his old comrades. He knew at once that the twins had started
+a subscription for him, and he felt ashamed of his treatment of them
+during his last weeks among them. He soon forgot about them, however,
+and was absorbed in the preparations for his new life. He had sold most
+of his furniture, save a few pieces that were so intimately associated
+with the memory of his mother that he could not part with them.
+
+For Madeleine this was a trying time; she performed her numerous duties,
+involving several journeys to the _rue St. Honoré_, with a look of
+bewilderment in her face, as if she could not adjust herself to the
+change that was about to take place in her life.
+
+Two days before the time chosen for their civil marriage, Jules was
+sitting alone with Blanche, beside the fireplace where he had passed
+most of his courtship. They had been making plans for Vienna, and Jules
+felt as if he were already at the head of a household.
+
+"Do you know," he said, glancing at the engagement ring on her left hand
+that sparkled in the firelight, "I haven't been able to make up my mind
+yet what to give you for a wedding present. I wish you'd tell me what
+you'd like. I want to give you something that will please you very
+much."
+
+She looked intently into the fireplace, and did not reply.
+
+"Isn't there something that you want especially?" Then Jules saw her
+face flush, and he went on quickly: "Ah, I know there is, but you're
+afraid to tell. Now, out with it. Is it a diamond brooch, or one of
+those queer little gold watches that women carry, set with jewels, or
+one of those bracelets that we saw in the shop in the _rue de la Paix_
+the other day?"
+
+She began to laugh, and without turning her eyes toward him, she said:--
+
+"You know I don't care for those things. But there--there is
+something--"
+
+"Well, out with it."
+
+"It isn't a--it isn't what you think--a present or anything like that;
+but it is something I should like to have you--something that would make
+me very happy."
+
+"Then tell me what it is," said Jules, impatiently. "What are you afraid
+of? Am I such an ogre?"
+
+For a moment she did not answer. Then she said timidly: "I wish you'd go
+to confession before we're married."
+
+He burst into a laugh that rang through the apartment.
+
+"Oh, is that all? So you're afraid to marry such a wicked person as I am
+till the Church has forgiven him and made him good again."
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"No, it isn't that, Jules. I don't believe you are wicked. I don't
+believe you ever were; but I should be so much happier if you would go
+to confession, and then before we're married in church we could go to
+communion together."
+
+He threw himself beside her chair, seized her head in his hands, and
+kissed her on the forehead. "I'm not fit to be your husband. You're too
+good for me," he said softly.
+
+She drew away from him with a smile.
+
+"And will it make you very much happier if I go to confession?" he
+asked.
+
+"Yes, Jules, very much."
+
+For an instant he hesitated, looking into her eyes.
+
+"Then I'll go," he said.
+
+She turned to him, and threw her arms around his neck. As he held her
+closely to him, his lips pressed against her hair, he went on:--
+
+"But it will be hard for me, Blanche. I haven't been to confession for
+more than twelve years. Think of all the things I shall have to tell."
+
+"It will be over in a few minutes," she said reassuringly. "Then you'll
+be glad you've done it."
+
+He rose to his feet and drew his chair nearer hers.
+
+"I've even forgotten how to make a confession. I don't even remember the
+_Confiteor_."
+
+"Then I shall have to teach it to you. It's in my prayer-book, and you
+can take it and learn it."
+
+"But I sha'n't know what to do. I shall appear awkward and foolish."
+
+"It's easy enough. You begin by examining your conscience; then you--"
+
+"Examining my conscience! I shall have to wake it up first. It's been
+sound asleep all these years. Ah, my dear Blanche, you can't imagine how
+pleasant it is to have your conscience asleep."
+
+She ignored his jesting, and went on: "Then you have to be sorry for
+what you've done,--for the sins, I mean."
+
+"But if you're not sorry. They've been very pleasant, a good many of
+them."
+
+"Of course, if you aren't sorry you can't go to confession. That's what
+people go for, because they _are_ sorry, and because they intend to try
+to be better."
+
+"But all the confessions in the world wouldn't make me better. It's only
+you that can do that. I'm sorry for my sins simply because, when I think
+of them, they take me so far away from you. If I hadn't met you, I
+shouldn't have thought they were so bad. But when I think of you,
+Blanche, and when I look at you, you seem so good--well, I--I feel
+ashamed, and then I want to be good too. Why can't I confess to you?" he
+went on banteringly. "You'd do me more good than all the priests in
+Christendom. Only I'm afraid I should shock you. I suppose the priests
+hear stories like mine every day; so one or two more or less wouldn't
+make any difference to them."
+
+She turned her head away, and he saw that he had offended her. So he
+patted her cheek and smiled into her face.
+
+"What a little _dévote_ she is, anyway! She's vexed even when I joke
+about her religion. Don't you see that it's all fun, dear? I'm going to
+do everything you say, make a clean breast of it to the priest, tell him
+I'm sorry, and promise to be good for the rest of my life. It won't be
+hard to promise that. How can I help being good when I shall have you
+with me all the time?"
+
+Then for an hour they talked seriously about the confession. The more he
+thought of the ordeal, the more nervous Jules felt. Sins came back to
+him, committed during those first few years after he left the _lycée_,
+when his freedom was novel and delicious. How could he tell of those
+things, how could he put them into the awful baldness of speech? He knew
+that no sin could be concealed in the confessional; but he asked Blanche
+if he would have to be particular, if he couldn't say in a general way
+that he had broken this commandment or that. He was alarmed by her reply
+that she told everything, that sometimes the priest asked probing
+questions. He couldn't endure the shame of speaking out those horrors.
+He was afraid, however, to acknowledge his fears to the girl; they might
+make her suspect what he had done, and inspire her with a loathing for
+him.
+
+Jules had heard that some men told the women they were going to marry of
+their lapses, and he had been greatly amused. It never occurred to him
+that he ought to reveal the dark passages in his life to Blanche; these
+would simply shock her, give her wrong ideas about him, perhaps make her
+suspicious and jealous after marriage. His sins he had always regarded
+as follies of youth: they did not in any way affect his character or his
+honor as a gentleman. Now, however, he was looking back on himself, not
+from the point of view of the man of the world, but of a good woman.
+
+That night, on leaving Blanche at the theatre, instead of roaming in the
+_Boulevards_, or reading the papers in the _cafés_, as he had of late
+been doing till half-past ten, he took a _fiacre_ to the Madeleine,
+where he spent one of the most disagreeable hours of his life. Vespers
+were being sung, and the church was nearly full; he sought an obscure
+corner, knelt there before a picture of Christ carrying the Cross of
+Calvary, repeated an "Our Father," and a "Hail Mary," which came back to
+him like an echo of his mother's voice, and then gave himself up to the
+task of examining his conscience.
+
+The whole panorama of his manhood passed before him, the life of the
+young Parisian at the close of the century,--selfish, cynical,
+pleasure-loving, sense-gratifying, animal. He buried his face in his
+hands. Oh, what an existence! Yet he dared to take a pure young girl for
+his wife, to make her the mother of his children! He could not think of
+himself or of his sins without reference to her, and the more he thought
+of her and of them, the deeper his shame became, and this shame he
+mistook for contrition. This then was what Blanche had meant by saying
+that he must be sorry for what he had done, and must promise to fight
+against temptation. From the depth of his heart he believed he was
+sorry.
+
+Then he took from his pocket the prayer-book that she had given him, and
+read several times the act of contrition and the _Confiteor_. The
+repetition recalled them to his memory, and he was ready for his
+confession to the priest the next day. With a sigh he rose from his
+seat, feeling as if he had thrown off the burden of his past life and
+received a benediction.
+
+The next afternoon, when Jules entered with Blanche the church of _St.
+Philippe de Roule_, he found groups of people kneeling around the
+confessional boxes and in front of the altars. He had resolved to
+confess to Father Labiche, who, Blanche had told him, was the most
+lenient of all the fathers. The names of the priests were printed on the
+boxes, and the largest crowd was gathered around the box assigned to
+Jules' choice.
+
+"I'm afraid you'll have to wait a long time," Blanche whispered.
+
+"Never mind," Jules replied nervously.
+
+He felt almost glad that he was to have a respite. The sight of the
+confessional boxes and of the people whispering prayers, together with
+the atmosphere of devotion that pervaded the place, had filled him with
+terror. Blanche made a sign to him to go forward and join the group
+awaiting Father Labiche, and she herself stopped near the group beside
+it, knelt and made the sign of the cross. Jules, too, knelt before one
+of the hard-wood benches, and prayed that he might have the courage and
+grace to make a good confession. Then he went over again the sins that
+he had to confess, and he repeated the _Confiteor_ and the act of
+contrition.
+
+All day long these prayers, and the items of his confession, had been
+surging in his mind, and now, as he sat up and waited for his turn to
+come in the procession that passed in and out on either side of the
+confessional, they kept repeating themselves. He looked at the wrinkled
+women around him, and wondered if their feelings were like his; he could
+see no nervousness, no fear in their faces; they seemed to be absorbed,
+almost exalted in their devotion. Then he began to grow impatient, and
+wished that the people who entered the confessional would not take so
+much time. He could catch glimpses of the dark figure of the priest,
+bending his head from one side to the other, and glancing out at the
+people. In his line at least fifteen persons were waiting their turn
+before him; it would take Father Labiche more than two hours, Jules
+feared, to hear them and the fifteen others in the opposite line. His
+thoughts turned to Blanche, and he wondered if she had been heard yet.
+He looked around, and saw her in the crowd behind him, reading her
+prayer-book; she kept apart from the others, and had evidently finished
+her confession and was waiting for him.
+
+How gentle and good she looked; how different from her appearance in the
+ring! Once again he saw her tumbling through the air in her silk tights.
+He tried to drive this thought from his mind, but again and again he saw
+her, climbing hand over hand to the top of the Circus, hurling herself
+backward, spinning through the air, striking the padded net with a thud,
+bouncing up again, and landing, with the pretty gesture of both hands,
+on her feet. And in two days she would be his wife! They would go away
+together, and whenever she performed in public, he would appear with
+her, hold the rope while she climbed to the top of the building, make
+the dramatic announcement that would awe the audience into silence, and
+then scamper across the net to the platform before she fell.
+
+For more than an hour Jules thought of this brilliant future; then he
+suddenly realized where he was, and he saw that he had moved up within
+three places of the confessional. In a few moments it would be his turn
+to go into that dark box, where so many ghastly secrets were told, where
+he would be obliged to reveal all the vileness and the weakness of his
+human nature. His nerves vibrated; he felt as if something within him
+were sinking, as if his courage were leaving him. Then his lips began
+again to repeat the _Confiteor_, and his mind ran nervously over his
+self-accusations.
+
+The woman before him remained so long in the confessional that he
+wondered if she would ever come out; but when she did appear he had a
+sudden access of terror. He rose mechanically, however, made his way
+into the box, and knelt beside the little closed slide, through which
+the priest conferred with the penitents. He could hear the low murmur of
+Father Labiche's voice, and the more faint responses of a woman
+confessing on the other side. He tried not to listen, but he could not
+help catching a few words. Suddenly the slide was opened, and he
+confronted the kindly face of the old priest whose right hand was raised
+in blessing.
+
+Blanche had seen Jules enter the confessional, and she waited for him to
+appear again. The woman who had entered before him on the other side
+soon came out; so Jules was now making his peace with God. She lowered
+her head, and breathed a simple prayer of thankfulness. Ten, fifteen
+minutes passed; still he did not come. She wondered why Father Labiche
+kept him there so long. When at last he did appear, his face was white.
+Poor Jules! she thought. How hard it must have been for him, and how
+good he was to have gone through it so heroically. He walked forward to
+the main altar, and there he knelt for several moments. When he came
+back, he found her waiting.
+
+"Come," he said, touching her on the arm.
+
+They did not speak till they were in the street.
+
+"It was pretty tough," he said doggedly. "I thought he'd never let me
+out."
+
+She smiled up into his face. "But it's all over now, Jules."
+
+"Yes, it's all over," he repeated grimly. "But I should hate to go
+through it again."
+
+They hurried on through the nipping January air.
+
+"I'm afraid we shall be late for dinner, Jules. It must be after
+half-past six, and then we have so many things to do to-night. My trunks
+aren't all packed yet."
+
+"I would help you if I could," Jules replied, "but I must go back to the
+church. Father Labiche gave me the Stations of the Cross for penance. He
+said he thought it would do me good before I was married to reflect on
+the sufferings of Christ," he explained with a smile.
+
+"Then you told him you were going to be married?" she laughed, her
+breath steaming in the air.
+
+"He asked how I happened to come to confession after staying away so
+long; so I had to acknowledge that I did it to please you."
+
+The little apartment was in commotion over Blanche's marriage and
+departure two days later; the _petit salon_ was littered with dresses,
+and the two girls were greatly excited over their new frocks. Jules saw
+that he was in the way, and soon after dinner he left his friends,
+saying that he would have the carriages ready for them at half-past
+seven in the morning; Blanche, her mother, and Monsieur Berthier would
+ride with him in one, and in the other the girls would go with Madeleine
+and Pelletier, who had been invited on account of his long business
+association with the family.
+
+That night at church Jules did his best to put himself into a religious
+frame of mind and to feel a proper pity for the sufferings of Christ. As
+he passed from station to station in the Way of the Cross, he reflected
+seriously on the significance of each, and he said his prayers devoutly.
+But his mind was constantly distracted by the thought of the girl he
+loved and of his marriage the next day. At the most inopportune moments
+visions of Blanche would haunt him as she looked in the ring, climbing
+the rope and whirling through the air.
+
+When his prayers were said he felt radiantly happy. He had done his
+duty, and he felt that he deserved to be rewarded. It was only nine
+o'clock, but he hurried home at once to go on with his packing. When he
+went to bed that night, he dreamed that he was making his first
+appearance in the circus at Vienna, holding the rope for his wife, and
+speaking the thrilling words of warning to the audience.
+
+In the morning Jules and Blanche received communion at early mass, and
+later they went with Madame Perrault and Monsieur Berthier to the
+Mayor's office, where the civil marriage ceremony was performed. This
+Jules regarded merely as a formality, though it made him feel that she
+was at last his, his forever! No one could take her away from him now!
+The next morning was clear and cold, and the sun shone as he looked out
+of his window in the dismantled apartment. He smiled as he thought that
+his lonely days as a bachelor were over. At ten o'clock he drove to the
+_rue St. Honoré_ with Madeleine, who looked a dozen years younger in her
+simple black silk with a piece of white lace at her throat, the gift of
+Madame Perrault. Blanche, in her white satin dress with the bunch of
+white roses he had sent to her in her hand, had never seemed to him so
+beautiful. It was after eleven o'clock when they reached _St. Philippe_,
+and a crowd of idlers hung about the door and followed them into the
+church.
+
+To Jules the mass that preceded the marriage ceremony seemed
+interminable; he kept glancing at Blanche's flushed face and downcast
+eyes, and plucking at his gloves. Then, when he found himself standing
+before the priest, holding Blanche's hand, and listening to the solemn
+words of the service, he came near bursting into tears. He thought
+afterward how ridiculous he would have been if he hadn't been able to
+control himself. He was relieved when the service was ended, and as he
+walked to the vestry with his wife on his arm, he could have laughed
+aloud for joy.
+
+When the register had been signed and they had shaken hands with the
+priest, they drove at once to the _café_ in the _avenue de l'Opéra_,
+where Jules had ordered a sumptuous breakfast. There they remained till
+four o'clock. Monsieur Berthier was the gayest of them all, and he was
+seconded by Jeanne, who pretended to flirt desperately with Jules and
+made pert speeches to Pelletier. Then they all returned to the _rue St.
+Honoré_, where Blanche changed her wedding finery for a travelling
+dress.
+
+During the farewell between Blanche and her family, Jules suffered; he
+never could bear the sight of women in tears. He was greatly relieved
+when he put his almost hysterical wife and Madeleine into the carriage,
+and slammed the door behind him.
+
+
+
+
+                                   XI
+
+
+They went straight to Vienna, arriving fatigued from their long journey.
+After three days, spent at a little French hotel, Jules found near the
+_Ringstrasse_ a furnished apartment that suited him, and they took
+possession at the end of the week.
+
+Blanche soon felt at home, but Madeleine, though she had become deeply
+attached to her new mistress, and now had more companionship than she
+had known since the death of Jules' mother, secretly grieved for her
+beloved Paris, and looked and acted as if utterly bewildered.
+
+The day of his arrival in Vienna, Jules proceeded to the Circus and had
+a long talk with Herr Prevost, the manager, with regard to his wife's
+engagement. He explained the difference in the plunge Blanche would be
+obliged to take there from her usual one, and persuaded Prevost to make
+this a feature in his advertisements; he also secured permission for
+Blanche to practise in the ring every morning till her engagement began.
+
+So he went back to the hotel elated, and explained to Blanche that,
+after all, in the theatrical life good management was half the battle.
+Now that she had shaken off that worthless Pelletier and he himself had
+taken charge of her affairs, she would undoubtedly be recognized in a
+very few years as the greatest acrobat in the world.
+
+She must sit at once, in costume, for some new photographs, and he would
+send them to the leading managers of Europe and America. If they could
+only arrange to go to America under good auspices, their fortune would
+be made. Instead of receiving, as they were doing in Vienna, five
+hundred francs a week, they would be paid as much as twice that amount
+in New York, if not more. Indeed, Jules had so much to say about
+America, he seemed to have it on the brain.
+
+Blanche experienced no difficulty in making her plunge in the new
+amphitheatre, and after her first trial there, declared that she had no
+fear for the public performances. Jules, however, insisted on her
+practising every morning; she must keep her muscles limber, he said;
+besides, if she didn't practise, she might lose confidence.
+
+He found himself treating her as her mother had done, directing her
+movements like those of a child, and she obeyed him as if she considered
+his attitude toward her eminently natural and right. Even Madeleine
+adopted a motherly tone with her, chose the dresses she should wear each
+day, and instructed her in a thousand feminine details.
+
+Blanche, Jules was surprised and secretly annoyed to discover, could
+speak German, and in the mornings she sometimes gave him lessons. He
+also picked up a good deal of German slang in the _cafés_ that he
+frequented during the day, where he drank coffee and read whatever
+French and English papers he could find.
+
+After his wife's performances began, he found himself falling into a
+routine of life. In spite of his distaste for his duties at the
+wool-house, he had expected to miss them at first; but he quickly became
+accustomed to his leisure. He really considered himself a busy person,
+for in addition to his nightly appearance in the arena, momentary but
+intensely dramatic, he spent considerable time in fraternizing with the
+Viennese journalists, to secure newspaper puffs for his wife, in
+conferring with Prevost, and in corresponding with managers for future
+engagements. After his first month in Vienna, he felt as if he had been
+connected with the circus for years.
+
+Blanche heard constantly from home, from either her mother or one of the
+two girls,--more often from Louise than from Jeanne, who hated to write
+letters. Six weeks after her departure from Paris, her mother became
+Madame Berthier, without, as she had said, "any fuss," and was now
+installed with the children in the big house where Félix had passed so
+many lonely years as a bachelor. Jules and Blanche wrote a joint letter
+of congratulation, and after that Blanche seemed even happier than she
+had been; it was so good, she said, to think that the girls were
+provided for.
+
+In the afternoons Jules took walks or drives with his wife, and on
+Sundays he accompanied her to early mass in the little church that they
+had discovered near their apartment. Blanche would have liked to go to
+high mass, but to this Jules strenuously objected; it was too long, and
+he couldn't understand the sermon, and altogether it made him sleepy.
+Sometimes on Sundays they would go to one of the _cafés_ for _déjeuner_
+or dinner, and over this they used to be very happy, for it recalled the
+first months of their love.
+
+After a time, however, these walks grew less frequent. Jules stayed at
+home more, and Madeleine became solicitous for Blanche's health. Jules
+had long talks with Prevost; Blanche had been engaged at the Circus for
+three months, and Prevost wished to reengage her for the spring season;
+but Jules explained that he had already received several offers for the
+spring, and had refused them all; his wife needed a long rest, and from
+Vienna they would go to Boulogne for a few months, to be with her
+people.
+
+The reference to the engagements was not exactly true; Jules had one
+offer only for the summer; that was from Trouville. For the autumn he
+had a fairly generous offer from South America, and a better one from
+the Hippodrome in London, to begin on the first of December. He had
+practically decided to accept the offer from London; but before giving a
+definite answer, he resolved to consult Blanche about it.
+
+"It will just fit in with our plans," he said. "On the first of May
+we'll take a good long rest. We'll go to your mother's old house. It
+hasn't been let yet, you know, and no one will want it before then. So
+you and Madeleine and I will live there together, and we'll pass the
+days out of doors, and take long walks by the sea, and forget all about
+the circus. Then, when you are well and strong again, we'll go to
+London, and astonish the English, who think there's nothing good in
+France. What do you say, dear? Don't you think that's a good plan?"
+
+"Yes," she said slowly. "It will be very nice, Jules, if--"
+
+"If? If what?"
+
+"If I'm alive," she answered softly, turning her head away.
+
+He took her in his arms and pressed his cheek against hers. "What a
+foolish little girl it is to talk like that! Of course you'll be alive,
+and you'll be even better and stronger and happier than you are now. And
+then think of all the good times you'll have this summer with Jeanne and
+Louise and your mother and Monsieur Berthier. We'll have _fêtes_ for the
+girls at our house, and every day we'll go to see your mother. You don't
+think she'll be too proud to receive us, do you, now that she's rich and
+important? I suppose she's the queen of Boulogne, with her carriages and
+her horses and her servants. She'll soon be getting a husband for
+Jeanne, some fine young fellow with a lot of money. And won't Jeanne put
+him through his paces? She's a high-stepper, that Jeanne, and I should
+pity the man who got her and didn't understand her. Think of trying to
+keep Jeanne down!"
+
+In her moments of depression he always spoke to her like that, and for
+the time it cheered her; but when the spring came, she drooped visibly,
+and Jules became alarmed; sometimes she would have attacks of convulsive
+weeping, and these would be followed by hours of profound sadness,
+during which she spoke scarcely a word. There were other days when she
+would be full of courage and hope, gayer than she had ever been; then
+they would drive into the country and she would take deep draughts of
+the fresh spring air, and her eyes would brighten and her cheeks flush.
+
+In spite of his anxiety, these days were very happy for Jules; the
+thought that he might lose her made her dearer to him. Sometimes he
+would take her hand and tell her that without her he couldn't live; she
+had made him realize how wretched his existence had been before
+marriage; he could not go back to that again. Then she would rest her
+head on his shoulder and whisper that she would try to be brave. Her
+sufferings seemed to be wholly in her mind; the doctor Jules consulted
+said that, bodily, she was perfectly strong, and could easily fill her
+engagement at the circus; her work in the ring had given her a
+remarkable development of the muscles and the chest; if she stopped the
+work now, and ceased to practise, she would suffer from the inaction.
+
+Jules, however, felt relieved when the fifteenth of April came, and they
+were able to leave Vienna for Paris. There they remained only a day, for
+they were eager to reach Boulogne and the little home that Madame
+Berthier had arranged for them, in the house where Blanche had been
+born, and had passed the few weeks in each year when she was not
+travelling.
+
+When they arrived, early in the afternoon, Madame Berthier and the
+girls, together with Berthier, were at the station to meet them, and
+they received a rapturous greeting, the girls clinging to their sister
+with frantic embraces.
+
+"We had _déjeuner_ prepared for you at your house," said Madame, when
+the first greetings were over. "I knew you'd want to go there the first
+thing. Then to-night you are to come and dine with us. I feel as if I
+hadn't seen you for years."
+
+"But we've never met Madame Berthier before," Jules replied, making a
+feeble attempt to be gay, for he saw that Blanche's meeting with her
+mother threatened to upset her.
+
+Madame blushed like a young girl, and turning, led the way to the
+carriages.
+
+"One of these is for you and Jules," she said. "I don't mean just for
+now, but for all the time you are here. Félix chose the horse for you,
+dear, and she's so gentle you can drive her alone if you want to."
+
+"I'm going to put the three girls and their mother in the big carriage,"
+Berthier said to Jules, "and you and Madeleine and I will follow them."
+The arrival of his stepdaughter seemed to have given him as much
+pleasure as any of the others, and his good-natured face was radiant.
+"Jump in, girls," he cried, holding out his hand to Blanche. "We'll have
+to turn those lilies of yours into roses this summer, my dear. Here,
+Jeanne, stop flirting with Jules, or we won't let you come with us. You
+wouldn't have known our little Louise, Blanche, if you hadn't expected
+to find her here, would you? She's grown an inch in four months. It's
+the most wonderful thing I've ever known in my life. And would you
+believe it?--she's become a perfect chatterbox--she's worse than Jeanne.
+Sometimes I have to run out of the room to read my paper in peace and
+have a quiet smoke."
+
+The whole family seemed to have agreed to assume toward Blanche the
+bantering tone that Jules had adopted. When they reached the house they
+continued their gayety, though Blanche, tired from her journey, sank
+weakly on the couch in the _salon_.
+
+She looked around, however, and saw that the room had been redecorated,
+probably by Monsieur Berthier, and when she felt rested she went all
+over the house and observed many new pieces of furniture, and many
+touches here and there that made the place more attractive and homelike.
+"Ah, it is so good to be at home," she said to her mother when they were
+alone; and then Madame Berthier took her in her arms and kissed her on
+the forehead and told her she must have courage for Jules' sake.
+
+After the excitement of Paris and Vienna, Jules found it hard to
+accustom himself to the dull life at Boulogne. He bought a small yacht,
+and found amusement in sailing with his new acquaintances, and
+sometimes, when the weather was fine, he took Blanche and the girls with
+him. He also occupied himself with the little garden around his cottage;
+but this soon bored him, and he gave it over to Monsieur Berthier's
+gardener, who came every few days to look after it. In the afternoons he
+drove with Blanche far into the country, and sometimes they stopped at a
+little _café_ by the roadside and had an early dinner, and then hurried
+home before the damp night should close around them.
+
+On these occasions they had many earnest talks, and Jules was surprised
+by the seriousness and depth of his wife's mind; at any rate, she
+impressed him as being wonderfully profound. The longer he knew her, the
+more she awed and puzzled him; there were moments when she seemed to
+dwell in another world, a world that made her almost a stranger to him.
+
+Since her return to Boulogne she had grown much more cheerful than she
+had been during those last weeks in Vienna; but a thousand little things
+she said showed him that beneath the surface of her thought there still
+lurked a strange melancholy, an unchangeable conviction that life was
+slipping away from her. He spoke of this once to her mother, and she
+explained mysteriously that he must expect that; it was very natural
+with one of Blanche's temperament. She had known many cases like it
+before.
+
+As the summer passed, Jules said little to his wife about the circus;
+indeed, her work was scarcely mentioned between them, though every
+morning she practised her exercises. Jules, however, had decided that
+they should go to London late in November and, the first week of the
+following month, appear at the Hippodrome, which had been established
+with great success the year before, at a short distance from the Houses
+of Parliament. The contract had not been signed, for Jules had written
+to Marshall, the manager, that he could not bind himself to an
+engagement until early in the autumn; but he explained that his word was
+as good as any contract.
+
+When September came, Blanche seemed much better for her months of rest;
+her eyes were brighter, and her cheeks were shot with color. Sometimes
+Jules wished that she were not quite so religious; she went to early
+mass every morning now, and rather than let her go alone, he went with
+her, for Madeleine had assumed the duties of the household. Their
+evenings, which during the summer had been spent chiefly on the porch of
+Monsieur Berthier's house, were now passed in their _salon_, bright with
+flowers, sometimes with a wood-fire crackling on the old-fashioned
+hearth. Blanche's fingers were always busy with soft, fleecy garments,
+which Jules used sometimes to take in his hands and rub affectionately
+against his face. Then he often noticed a light in her eyes that he had
+never seen before; it reminded him of pictures of the Madonna. Sometimes
+he was so touched when he looked at her that he would take her in his
+arms and hold her close for a long while. Their evenings together became
+very dear to him; yet they said little to each other: he was content to
+sit and watch her, with the curtains drawn to shut out the rest of the
+world.
+
+Occasionally Father Dumény would come in for an hour's chat. He was a
+large-framed, heavy man, with deep gray eyes shaded by enormous eyebrows
+that moved up and down as he spoke. He spoke as he walked, slowly and
+lumberingly, and he had a quaint humor that used to delight Blanche and
+puzzle Jules. When he appeared, she always brightened, and she liked to
+hear his doleful accounts of his rheumatism. He seemed to find humor in
+everything, even in his arduous duties and his ailments.
+
+"Ah, my children," he would say, "why should any one go to the theatre
+for pleasure? This life is nothing but a comedy, if you only look at it
+in the right way."
+
+From Blanche he derived a great deal of amusement; that she should
+perform in a circus always seemed a joke to him, and he was continually
+making fun over it. He had never been at a circus; so, though he had
+baptized Blanche and had met her during her visits in Boulogne, he had
+never seen her perform. Once when Jules showed him a photograph of
+Blanche as she appeared while posing on the rope, he rolled his eyes and
+pretended to be much shocked, and they all laughed together.
+
+"I suppose you two people will be leaving this nest of yours before
+winter comes," he said one night. "You've made your plans already,
+haven't you?"
+
+Jules looked down at Blanche, but she avoided his eyes.
+
+"We haven't decided definitely," Jules replied, "but we think of going
+to London."
+
+Blanche sighed, and Father Dumény glanced at her quickly and then smiled
+up at Jules.
+
+"She has a notion that she isn't going to live," Jules added, nodding at
+his wife. "Ridiculous, isn't it?"
+
+Father Dumény put his hands to his sides, and for a moment his great
+body shook with laughter.
+
+"Why, I expect to baptize at least half a dozen of your children! In a
+few years we shall see them trotting around here in Boulogne and coming
+to my Sunday-school to be prepared for their first communion. We need
+all the good Catholics we can have, in these days, to fight against the
+infidelity that's ruining the country. Ah, my dear child," he said,
+patting Blanche's hand, "when you're a grandmother with a troop of
+children around you, you'll look back and smile at these foolish little
+fears."
+
+After that night he came oftener, and kept Blanche laughing with his
+gayety.
+
+"When you go to London," he said one evening, "I shall give you letters
+to some dear English friends of mine,--Mr. and Mrs. Tate. I met the
+Tates when I was in Paris visiting Father Brémont more than ten years
+ago. Mr. Tate represented the banking-house of Welling Brothers, of
+London, there, and now he's in London as a member of the firm, I
+believe. You'll like Mrs. Tate, my dear. She's a good soul, and she
+speaks French almost as well as English. I shall expect to hear that
+you've become great friends."
+
+"But we aren't sure of going to England yet," Blanche replied with a
+weary smile.
+
+"Perhaps we shall go to America," Jules laughed. "I want Blanche to see
+the country."
+
+Toward the end of September Blanche drooped again, and her mother was
+with her nearly every moment of the day, remaining sometimes till late
+at night. The girls had gone back to the convent, but they were allowed
+to come home twice a week, and most of their freedom they devoted to
+their sister, whom they treated with a protecting tenderness that used
+to afford Jules secret amusement. Madame Berthier maintained a cheerful
+composure in her daughter's presence, but when alone with Jules she
+became so serious that for the first time he grew nervous. Then as his
+anxiety deepened he began to resent it, as he did any long-continued
+annoyance. Why should they be kept in idleness and suspense so long? How
+stupid to be buried in a wretched provincial town when they might be
+earning thousands of francs in Vienna, or Bucharest, or Paris!
+
+Then one night he was suddenly aroused from his sleep, and he felt a
+sensation of mingled horror and awe. He dressed himself quickly, his
+whole being wrung by the groans he heard from the next room, and tore
+out of the house to Doctor Brutinière's, five minutes away. After
+delivering his message, he ran breathlessly to summon Madame Berthier.
+It took her scarcely five minutes to dress, and then they were in the
+street together. Madame Berthier went at once to Blanche's room, and
+Jules paced up and down in the half-lighted _salon_.
+
+That was the ghastliest night of Jules Le Baron's life. He was
+overwhelmed by the knowledge that Blanche was in agony, that she was
+battling for life, that at any moment he might hear she was dead. Why
+should the burden of suffering fall on her? Oh, how cruel Nature was,
+how pitiless to women! The poor child, the poor little one, to be
+tortured so! Several times he listened for a sound, and the silence
+terrified him. Suddenly he heard a shriek, loud and piercing, that only
+the most exquisite pain could have wrung, and he clenched his hands in
+impotent horror and misery.
+
+The stillness that followed made him fear that she was dead, and he
+could hardly keep from rushing up the stairs and learning the truth.
+After a few moments, as he stood at the door, he heard another cry,
+small, timorous, peevish, that changed to a wail and then died away. He
+turned into the room, clapsed his face in his hands, and cried, "Thank
+God, thank God! And mercy for her, my God, mercy for my poor little
+Blanche!"
+
+After what seemed to him a long time, during which he was tortured with
+suspense, a door opened and shut, and he heard a rustling on the stairs.
+He stepped out into the hall and saw Madame Berthier descending. She
+stopped, smiled, and put her hand to her lips; he could see traces of
+tears in her eyes.
+
+"Come up," she whispered. "It's all over. It's a girl, and Blanche has
+her in her arms."
+
+Jules bounded up the stairs. "Only a minute, you know," she said softly,
+"and you must be very quiet."
+
+When she opened the door he almost pushed her aside in his eagerness to
+enter. The Doctor and Madeleine were standing beside the bed, where
+Blanche, white but bright-eyed and smiling, was lying with the babe
+nestling close to her. Jules flung himself by her side, and kissed her
+passionately, murmuring incoherent words of love and thankfulness.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XII
+
+
+The weeks of convalescence that followed were the happiest Blanche had
+ever known. She felt wrapped in the devotion of her husband and her
+family, and exalted by her love for her child. At moments she feared
+that she could not live through such happiness. Sometimes she would
+fancy that all her sufferings had been only a dream, and then she would
+turn and find with a thrill of joy the babe lying beside her. Jules
+would sit by the bed holding her hand, and making jokes about their
+daughter's future. They had decided that she should be called Jeanne,
+and no one but Father Dumény should baptize her.
+
+One morning, when Blanche was sitting up in bed for the first time,
+Jules entered the room with a letter in his hand and in his face a look
+of exultation.
+
+"It's from Marshall," he said, "from the Hippodrome in London, you know.
+He wants me to make a contract for six months, from the first of
+January. I was afraid he might back out because we held off so long. But
+this makes it all right. You'll have more than a month to get strong
+again and to practise in."
+
+Jules was so excited by the prospect that he did not notice the look of
+alarm that had appeared in his wife's eyes. She lay still, with one arm
+extended on the coverlet, her head leaning to one side, and her dark
+hair making a background for her white face.
+
+"'We want you to open on the first,'" Jules read aloud. "'Let us hear
+from you as soon as possible and we will send on the contract for your
+signature.' Of course," he went on, folding the note, "we must jump at
+it. What do you say?"
+
+For a moment she looked at him without speaking. Then she replied
+weakly, "Do what you think best, Jules."
+
+"Good!" he said, jumping up. "I'll write now. We've lost a lot of time,
+you know, and we must make up for it when we get back to work."
+
+"Do you--do you think I'll be strong enough?" she went on, as if she
+hadn't heard him.
+
+"Strong enough!" he laughed. "Of course you'll be strong enough in seven
+weeks more. You're nearly your old self now," he added affectionately.
+"Don't you worry about that."
+
+When he had closed the door and left her alone, she felt as if her body
+were sinking into the bed from weakness. The circus again! That ghastly
+plunge! Since the birth of her child she had hardly thought of it. Now
+the thought horrified her! How could she leave her babe and risk her
+life night after night? Perhaps some night--oh! it was too horrible. She
+couldn't, she couldn't! She lifted her hands to her face as if to shut
+out the horror of the thought. Then she turned to the little Jeanne who
+was sleeping beside her, and drew her close to her bosom.
+
+She had lost courage! It would never come back to her. When Jules
+returned she would tell him, and she would beg him, for Jeanne's sake,
+to give up that engagement in London till she felt well again. Oh, if
+they could only leave the circus forever! If she could only do as other
+women did, devote her life to her child. The circus was no place for a
+mother.
+
+Then it suddenly flashed upon her that if she said these things to Jules
+he would urge her to place Jeanne in her mother's care while they were
+in England; but to that she would never consent, never. She would rather
+give up performing altogether. Yes, when Jules came back she would speak
+of this. He loved the circus, but for Jeanne's sake he would give it up,
+she knew he would.
+
+But when Jules did return, he was so enthusiastic about the engagement
+in London that she did not dare oppose it. "Think of the sensation we'll
+make there!" he said. "How those stupid English will open their eyes!
+And then we'll surely have big offers from other places. After a London
+success we can make a fortune in America. They say the Americans are
+crazy over everything that makes a hit in London. Oh," he went on,
+stretching his arms and yawning, "it will be a relief to get out of this
+dull old town. Think of the months we've wasted here. I feel rusty
+already."
+
+Something in his tone as well as his words frightened her, and a feeling
+of helplessness came over her when he put his hand on her forehead and
+said gently: "You must try to get strong as soon as possible, dear.
+Think of all the practising you'll have to do for your plunge."
+
+She turned her head away, and he observed nothing strange in her manner.
+She wanted to speak of taking Jeanne with them, but a fear that he might
+object restrained her.
+
+Two days later, when her mother and Jules were in the room together,
+Madame Berthier, with apparent carelessness, asked what they were going
+to do with the little one while they were travelling. "Of course you
+can't carry her about with you. So you'd better leave her with me. I'll
+take the best of care of her."
+
+She was startled by the light that flashed into her daughter's eyes.
+"No, no!" Blanche cried. "We shall keep her with us always. I couldn't
+bear to leave her here. I couldn't--I couldn't go away without her."
+
+Madame Berthier and Jules exchanged glances, and Blanche saw that her
+intuition was correct. They had been discussing the project of leaving
+the child in Boulogne. She felt as if they were conspiring against her.
+
+"Don't you think it would be better if your mother--" Jules began, but
+Blanche cut him short.
+
+"We shall have Madeleine. She will help me to take care of Jeanne. I
+couldn't go without her," she repeated, with tears in her voice.
+
+"There, there!" said Madame Berthier, becoming alarmed. "Have your own
+way. Perhaps it's better that you should keep the child with you."
+
+Blanche read annoyance in her husband's face, but she said nothing. A
+few moments later, Madame Berthier left the room and Jules followed. She
+knew they had gone to discuss the little scene that had just taken
+place. But she resolved that she would not give up the child! Rather
+than do that she would stay in Boulogne.
+
+The fear of being separated from Jeanne, made her decide not to refer in
+any way to her terror of the plunge. That might strengthen Jules' belief
+that the presence of the child disturbed her, and he might insist on a
+separation. Besides, she tried to convince herself that as she grew
+stronger her nervousness would disappear. It must of course be due
+solely to her weak condition. Once restored to health, the plunge would
+be, as it always had been, merely part of her daily routine.
+
+But in spite of her rapidly increasing strength, Blanche found that
+after three weeks she was still depressed by the thought of her season
+in London. Jules complained that she was devoting herself too much to
+Jeanne; she must drive out more, and walk with the girls, and give more
+time to her exercises. Her mother, too, grew severe with her. "One would
+think there never was another child in the world," she said, and then
+Blanche suspected that Jules had been complaining of her. "The little
+one is a dear, and I love her," Madame Berthier continued, "but you have
+your work to do, and you must think of that too. No wonder Jules is
+growing impatient."
+
+Jules had already received the contract for the engagement at the
+Hippodrome, and on signing it at his request, Blanche had had a horrible
+fancy that she was putting her signature to a warrant for her own doom.
+Once she thought of confiding her fear to her mother, but her mother
+would be sure to repeat what she said to Jules. At any cost, she felt
+she must hide it from him. Then she determined to tell Father Dumény,
+but when the moment came she had not courage to put her feeling into
+words, and she was ashamed of it as a superstition. So she decided that
+she would keep the miserable secret to herself, finding no relief save
+in gusts of weeping when she was alone with the child.
+
+Once Jules found her with traces of tears in her eyes. "What's the
+matter?" he asked gently, taking her hand.
+
+She turned her head away. "I don't feel well," she said.
+
+He looked at her closely. "You'll be well when you get back to your
+work. That's what the matter is. You aren't used to being idle. The best
+thing for us to do is to leave here the day after Christmas. That will
+give you nearly a week for practice in London, and we'll have time to
+look about for rooms there. Since we are going to have Jeanne with us,
+we'll want to take an apartment in some quiet street."
+
+When he went away she sat for a long time without speaking. In a week
+they would be far away from this place, among strangers. She wondered
+why she had not suffered so on leaving home before. Until now she had
+regarded the circus as part of her life; she had not hoped for any other
+kind of life. How strange it was that Jules should love it so! Sometimes
+it seemed----But it was right that she should go on with her work, for
+she must earn money for the little Jeanne now. Perhaps in a few years
+she would make a fortune, and then Jules could not object to her leaving
+the circus. But before a few years passed she would be obliged to go
+through her performance more than a thousand times. At this thought her
+heart seemed to stop beating, and then it thumped against her side.
+
+Their Christmas in Boulogne at Monsieur Berthier's house reminded them
+of their _fête_ in Paris of the year before. Berthier himself led in the
+gayety, and the girls were in the wildest spirits. Blanche sat among
+them with the child in her arms, looking, as Jules said, as if she were
+posing for a Madonna. In the evening Father Dumény came to bid his
+friends good-bye. He pretended to pinch the little Jeanne on the cheek,
+and he made jokes with Blanche about her terror before the child's
+birth. "She's the healthiest baby I've ever baptized," he said. "You
+should have heard her roar when I poured the water on her head. That's a
+good sign. I suppose you'll make a great performer of her too," he
+continued, smiling into the face of the mother, but growing serious when
+he saw the effect of the question.
+
+"Never!" exclaimed Blanche.
+
+"We're going to earn a fortune for her," said Jules with a smile. "So
+she won't have to work at all. We'll settle down in Paris and make a
+fine lady of her, and marry her into the nobility."
+
+Blanche did not speak again for a long time. They knew she was depressed
+at the thought of leaving home the next day. When Father Dumény rose, he
+took a letter from the pocket of his long black coat.
+
+"I almost forgot about this. Here's the introduction I promised you to
+my friends in London. You will like Mrs. Tate, my dear," he said to
+Blanche, "and she'll make a great pet of the little one. She hasn't any
+children of her own, poor woman. Be sure to go to see them," he
+concluded, "and present my compliments to them."
+
+When he was gone, Jules shrugged his shoulders and turned to his wife.
+"What do we want to meet those people for?" he said. "What will they
+care about us?"
+
+The next day they left Boulogne, after many farewell injunctions from
+the Berthiers, and much weeping on the part of Blanche and her sisters.
+Blanche stood for a long time with Madeleine, who held the little Jeanne
+in her arms, waving farewell to her kindred on the wharf, and watching
+the shores of France recede from her gaze. When the last vestige of land
+disappeared in the wintry fog and she found herself shut in by the
+shoreless sea, she turned away with a feeling of hopeless weariness. She
+had a morbid presentiment that she was leaving home forever.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XIII
+
+
+Mrs. Tate ran her eyes over the pile of letters at her plate on the
+breakfast-table. She was a large, florid woman of forty, verging on
+stoutness, with an abundance of reddish-brown hair.
+
+"What a lot of mail!" she said to her husband, who was absorbed in
+reading the "Daily Telegraph,"--a small man, with black hair and
+moustache tinged with gray, and small black eyes finely wrinkled at the
+corners. "Here's a letter from Amy dated at Cannes. They must have left
+Paris sooner than they intended; and here's something from Fanny
+Mayo,--an invitation to dinner, I suppose. Fanny told me she wanted us
+to meet the Presbreys next week,--some people she knew in Bournemouth."
+
+"Fanny's always taking up new people," said Tate from behind his paper,
+"and dropping them in a month."
+
+"And here's something else with a French stamp on it. Let me see. From
+Boulogne? It must be from Father Dumény. Yes, I recognize the
+handwriting."
+
+"Another subscription, I suppose," her husband grunted.
+
+"He hasn't written for nearly a year. I wonder what started him this
+time. What a dear old soul he is! Do you remember the night we took him
+out to a restaurant in Paris and he was so afraid of being seen? I
+always laugh when I think of that."
+
+"What's he got to say?"
+
+With her knife, Mrs. Tate cut one end of the letter open, and her eye
+wandered slowly down the page.
+
+"He's been ill, he says, but he's able to be about now. He came near
+running over here last summer, but he couldn't get away." For a few
+moments Mrs. Tate was absorbed in reading; then she exclaimed with a
+curious little laugh: "How funny! Listen to this, will you? He's left
+what he really wrote for till the end,--like a woman. He wants us to
+look after a _protégée_ of his, a girl that he baptized, the daughter of
+an acrobat. Did you ever hear of such a thing? She's in the circus
+herself, and she's going to appear at the Hippodrome next week. She
+performs on the trapeze, and then she dives backward from the roof of
+the building--backward, mind you! Could anything be more terrible?"
+
+"I should think she'd be right in your line," Tate replied without
+lifting his eyes from his paper. "She'll be something new. You can make
+a lion of her."
+
+"Don't be impertinent, Percy. This is a very serious matter. It seems
+the girl's married and had a child about two months ago. She's going to
+resume her performances. She doesn't know a soul in London; so she'll be
+all alone."
+
+"I thought you said she had a husband."
+
+"So I did. He's given them a letter to us, but he doesn't think they'll
+present it. I suppose those theatrical people live in a world of their
+own. But of course I shall go to see her. Perhaps I can do something for
+her. Anyway, it'll be interesting to meet an acrobat. I've never known
+one in my life."
+
+"As I said," her husband remarked, turning to his bacon and eggs, "you
+can introduce her into society. People must be tired of meeting artists
+and actors and musicians. She'll be a novelty."
+
+"You're very disagreeable to-day, Percy," Mrs. Tate responded amiably,
+after sipping the coffee that had been steaming beside her plate. "You
+are always attributing the meanest motives to everything I do."
+
+He gave a short laugh. "But you must acknowledge that you do some pretty
+queer things, my dear."
+
+She ignored the remark, and a moment later she went on briskly: "I must
+go and see this acrobat woman--whoever she is. If I don't--"
+
+"What's her name?" Tate asked, turning to his paper and searching for
+the theatrical columns.
+
+"Madame Jules Le Baron, Father Dumény calls her. But I suppose she must
+have a stage name. Most of them have."
+
+"I don't see that name in 'Under the Clock!' The Hippodrome? No, it
+isn't there. I wonder if this can be the one: 'On Monday evening next,
+Mademoiselle Blanche, the celebrated French acrobat, will give her
+remarkable performance on the trapeze and her great dive from the top of
+the Hippodrome.'"
+
+Mrs. Tate sighed.
+
+"Yes, it must be. Mademoiselle Blanche! How stagey it sounds! I wonder
+what she's like."
+
+"We might go to see her first and then we could tell whether she's
+possible or not."
+
+"Go to the Hippodrome!"
+
+"Yes, why not? It's perfectly respectable. Only it doesn't happen to be
+fashionable. In Paris, you know, it's the thing to attend the circus.
+Don't you remember the La Marches took us one night?"
+
+"Yes, and I remember there was a dreadful creature--she must have
+weighed three hundred pounds--who walked the tight-rope and nearly
+frightened me to death. I thought she'd come down on my head."
+
+"Then it's understood that we're to go on Monday? If we go at all we
+might as well be there the first night. It'll be more interesting."
+
+Mrs. Percy Tate was a personage in London. For several years before her
+marriage, at the age of twenty-five, she had been known as an heiress
+and a belle. Even then she had a reputation for independence of
+character, and for an indefatigable zeal for reforming the world. Her
+name stood at the head of several charitable societies, and she was also
+a member of many clubs for the improvement of the physical and spiritual
+condition of the human race. Since her marriage she had grown somewhat
+milder; her friends used to say that Percy Tate had "trained" her. They
+also said that she had "made" him; without her money he would never have
+become a member of the rich firm of Welling and Company.
+
+Percy Tate's business associates, however, knew the fallacy of this
+uncharitable opinion. With his dogged determination and his keen insight
+into the intricacies of finance, Tate was sure of forging ahead in time,
+with or without backing. His association with Welling and Company gave
+the house even greater strength than it had had before; for in addition
+to his reputation as a financier, he had made his name a synonym for
+stanch integrity. He had passed sixteen happy years with his wife,
+wisely directed her charities, wholesomely ridiculed her enthusiasms,
+followed her into the Catholic Church, where he was quite as sincere if
+a much less ardent worshipper; and in all the serious things of life he
+treated her, not as an inferior to be patronized, but as an equal that
+he respected, with no display of sentiment, but with sincere devotion.
+She, on her part, was amused by his humor and guided by his advice,
+though she often pretended to ignore it; and she never allowed any of
+her numerous undertakings to interfere with her regard for his comfort
+or the happiness of her home.
+
+The manager of the Hippodrome had extensively advertised the appearance
+of Mademoiselle Blanche, and on Monday night the amphitheatre was
+crowded. The Tates arrived early in order to see the whole performance;
+as they had never been at the Hippodrome before, the evening promised to
+be amusing for them. Tate, however, became so interested in the
+menagerie through which they passed before entering the portion of the
+vast building devoted to the exhibitions in the ring that they remained
+there more than an hour. The interval between their taking seats and the
+appearance of the acrobat rather bored them.
+
+"I wish they'd hurry up and let her come out," said Mrs. Tate. "And yet
+I almost dread seeing her make that horrible plunge. This must be the
+first time she's done it since the birth of her baby. Isn't it really
+shocking?"
+
+"Oh, I suppose these people are as much entitled to babies as any other
+people."
+
+She cast a reproachful glance at him, and did not reply for a moment.
+Then she said: "But what must her feelings be now--just as she's getting
+ready?"
+
+"I dare say she's glad to get back to her work and earn her salary
+again. Her husband probably doesn't earn anything. Those fellows never
+do."
+
+"She must be frightened nearly to death."
+
+Tate laughed softly. "You'll die from worrying about other people."
+
+"What are they doing now?" Mrs. Tate asked, turning her eyes to the
+ring. "I suppose that rope they're letting down is for her to climb up
+on, and that's the net she'll fall into. How gracefully that trapeze
+swings! I feel quite excited. Every one else is too. Can't you see it in
+their faces? There must be thousands of people here. How strange they
+look! Such coarse faces."
+
+"It's the great British middle class. This is just the kind of thing
+they like."
+
+"It reminds me of pictures of the Colosseum. I can almost fancy their
+turning their thumbs down. Here she comes. How light she is on her feet!
+And isn't she pretty! But she looks awfully thin and delicate, and she's
+as pale as a ghost."
+
+"You'll attract all the people round us. Of course she's pale. She's
+probably powdered up to the eyes, like the women we used to see in
+Paris."
+
+"How lightly she goes up that rope," Mrs. Tate whispered, "and what
+wonderful arms she has! Just like a man's. They look as if they didn't
+belong to her body."
+
+Silently and dexterously Blanche reached the main trapeze, and for a
+moment she sat there, with her arms crooked against the rope on either
+side, and rubbing her hands. For the first time during her career she
+was terrified in the ring. She had hoped that as soon as she resumed her
+work the terror she had felt since Jeanne's birth would pass away. Now,
+however, it made her so weak that she feared she was going to fall.
+
+She was thinking of the child as she had seen her crowing in the crib.
+If anything should happen to her she might never see Jeanne again. She
+was vaguely conscious of the vast mass of people below her, waiting for
+her to move. She took a long breath and nerved herself for the start,
+before making her spring to the trapeze below; she must have courage for
+the sake of the little Jeanne, she said to herself. Mechanically she
+began to sway forward and backward; then she shot into the air, and with
+a sensation of surprise and delight she continued her performance.
+
+Mrs. Tate watched her with an expression of mingled fear, interest, and
+pleasure in her face.
+
+"Isn't she the most wonderful creature you ever saw, Percy?" she cried,
+clutching her husband's arm. "It's horrible, yet I can't help looking.
+Suppose she should fall!"
+
+"She'd merely drop into the net. There's nothing very dangerous about
+what she's doing now. Keep still."
+
+"I never saw anything more graceful. She _is_ grace itself, isn't she?
+See how her hair flies; I should think it would get into her eyes and
+blind her. I shall speak to her about that when I see her. I shall
+certainly _go_ to see her."
+
+In a round of applause, Blanche finished her performance on the trapeze
+and then began her posing on the rope, whirling slowly, with a rhythmic
+succession of motions to the net. Then Jules, in evening dress, with a
+large diamond gleaming in his shirt-front, stepped out on the net, and
+for an instant they conferred together. Suddenly she clapped her hands,
+bounded on the rope again, and while Jules held it to steady her motion,
+she climbed hand over hand to the top of the building. There she sat,
+looking in the distance like a white bird ready to take flight, her dark
+hair streaming around her head.
+
+"I feel as if I were going to faint," Mrs. Tate whispered.
+
+Her husband glanced at her quickly. "Yes, you'd better--in this crowd. A
+fine panic you'd create! Want to go out?"
+
+She seemed to pull herself together. "No, I think I shall be able to
+bear it. If I can't, I'll look away. What's that he's saying? What
+horrible English he speaks! I can't understand a word. _Oh!_" she
+gasped, clutching her husband by one arm and holding him firmly as
+Blanche dropped backward and whirled through the air; and this
+exclamation she repeated in a tone of horrified relief when the girl
+struck the net, bounded into the air again, and landed on her feet.
+
+They rose with the applauding crowd and started to leave the place. "In
+my opinion," said Mrs. Tate, clinging to her husband's arm and drawing
+her wrap closely around her, "in my opinion such exhibitions are
+outrageous. There ought to be a law against them. Think of that poor
+little creature going through that every night. Of course she'll be
+killed sometime. I wonder if she's afraid. I should think she'd expect
+every night to be her last."
+
+"What nonsense you're talking. Of course those people don't feel like
+that. If they did they'd never go into the business. It's second nature
+to them."
+
+"But they're _human_ just like the rest of us, and that woman is a
+mother," Mrs. Tate insisted. "Don't you suppose she thinks of her baby
+before she makes that terrible dive? It's a shame that her husband
+should allow her to do it."
+
+"There you are, trying to regulate the affairs of the world again. Why
+don't you let people alone? They'd be a good deal happier, and so would
+you. Her husband probably likes to have her do it."
+
+"Well, I shall go to see her anyway," Mrs. Tate cried with
+determination. "Then I can find out all about her for myself."
+
+For the next three weeks Mrs. Tate was absorbed by various duties in
+connection with her charitable societies. One morning, however, she
+suddenly realized that she had neglected to comply with Father Dumény's
+request, and she resolved to put off her other engagements for the
+afternoon and call at once on the acrobat; if she didn't go then, there
+was no knowing when she could go. At four o'clock she found herself
+stepping into a hansom in front of her house in Cavendish Square.
+
+The address that Father Dumény had sent led her to a little French hotel
+with a narrow, dark entrance, dimly lighted by an odorous lamp. She
+poked about in the place for a moment, wondering how she was to find any
+one; then a door which she had not observed was thrown open, and she was
+confronted by a little man with a very waxed moustache, who smiled and
+asked in broken English what Madame wanted. She stammered that she was
+looking for Madame Le Baron, and the little man at once called a
+_garçon_ in a greasy apron, who led the way up the narrow stairs. When
+they had reached the second landing the boy rapped on the door, and Mrs.
+Tate stood panting behind him. For several moments there was no answer;
+then heavy steps could be heard approaching, and a moment later
+Madeleine's broad figure, silhouetted by the light from the windows from
+behind, stood before them. Mrs. Tate saw at a glance that she was
+French, and addressed her in her own language.
+
+"_Mais oui_," Madeleine replied. "Madame is at home. Will Madame have
+the goodness to enter?"
+
+"Say that I'm Father Dumény's friend, please," said Mrs. Tate as she
+gave Madeleine a card. Then she glanced at one corner of the room, where
+a large cradle, covered with a lace canopy, had caught her eye. "Is the
+baby here?" she asked quickly, going toward it.
+
+"Ah, no--not now. She sometimes sleeps here in the morning; but she is
+with her mother in the other room now."
+
+Madeleine disappeared, and Mrs. Tate's eyes roved around the room. She
+recognized it at once as the typical English lodging-house drawing-room;
+she had seen many rooms just like it before, when she had called on
+American friends living for a time in London. It was large and oblong,
+facing the tall houses on the opposite side of the street that cut off
+much of the light; the wall paper was ugly and sombre, and the carpet,
+with its large flowery pattern, together with the lounge and chairs,
+completed an effect of utter dreariness.
+
+Mrs. Tate wondered how people could live in such places; she should
+simply go mad if she had to stay in a room like this. Then she wondered
+why Madame Le Baron hadn't brightened up the apartment a bit; the
+photographs on the mantel, in front of the large French mirror, together
+with the cradle in the corner, were the only signs it gave of being
+really inhabited. How vulgar those prints on the wall were! They and the
+mirror were the only French touches visible, and they contrasted oddly
+with their surroundings. While Mrs. Tate was comfortably meditating on
+the vast superiority of England to France, the door leading to the next
+room opened and Blanche entered the room. She looked so domestic in her
+simple dress of blue serge that for an instant her caller did not
+recognize her.
+
+She held out her hand timidly. "Father Dumény has spoken to me about
+you," she said.
+
+"Father Dumény must think I am an extremely rude person. I meant to come
+weeks ago," Mrs. Tate replied, clasping the hand and looking down
+steadily into the pale face. "But I've been busy--so busy, I've had
+hardly a minute to myself. However, I did go to see you perform."
+
+"Ah, at the Hippodrome?"
+
+"Yes, the very first night. Mr. Tate and I went together. We were
+both--er--wonderfully impressed. I don't think I ever saw anything more
+wonderful in my life than that plunge of yours."
+
+Mrs. Tate adjusted herself in the chair near the window, and Blanche
+took the opposite seat. "I'm glad you liked it," she said with a sigh.
+
+"Liked it. I can't really say I did like it. I must confess it rather
+horrified me."
+
+"It does some people. My mother never likes to see me do it--though I've
+done it for a great many years now."
+
+"But doesn't it--doesn't it make you nervous sometimes?"
+
+"I never used to think of it--before my baby was born."
+
+"Ah, the baby! May I see her? Just a peep."
+
+"She was asleep when I left," Blanche replied, unconsciously lowering
+her voice as if the child in the next room might know she was being
+talked about; "but she will wake up soon. She always wakes about this
+time. Madeleine is with her now, and she'll dress her and bring her in."
+
+For a quarter of an hour they talked about the little Jeanne, and
+Blanche, inspired by Mrs. Tate's vivid interest and sympathy, grew
+animated in describing the baby's qualities; when she was born she
+weighed nearly nine pounds, and she had not been sick a day. Then she
+had grown so! You could hardly believe it was the same child. She very
+rarely cried,--almost never at night. Mrs. Tate had heard mothers talk
+like that before, but Blanche's _naïveté_ lent a new charm to the
+narration; she kept in mind, however, their first topic, and at the next
+opportunity she returned to it.
+
+"Then what do you do with the child at night?" she asked. "I suppose
+your servant goes to the circus with you, doesn't she? Of course you
+can't leave the baby alone."
+
+"Ah, no," Blanche replied. "We have a little girl to stay with her."
+
+Mrs. Tate was surprised. So these circus people lived as other people
+did, with servants to wait on them, with a nurse for the child. She had
+instinctively thought of them as vagabonds. On discovering that they
+were well cared for, she had a sensation very like disappointment; they
+seemed to be in no need of help of any sort. She was curious to know
+more of the life of this girl, who seemed so _naïve_ and had such a
+curious look of sadness in her eyes. Mrs. Tate deftly led Blanche to
+talk about her husband, and in a few minutes, by her questions and her
+quick intelligence, she fancied that she understood the condition of
+this extraordinary _ménage_.
+
+Percy had been right; the wife supported the family and the husband was
+a mere hanger-on; but it was evident from the way he was mentioned that
+the romance still lasted. Then Blanche made a reference to Jules which
+led her visitor to make inquiries with regard to him, and these changed
+her view of the situation. So, before marriage, Monsieur had been in
+business, and he had probably given it up to follow his wife in her
+wanderings. She surmised that they were not absolutely dependent on the
+circus for their daily bread; perhaps this accounted for their
+comfortable way of living.
+
+While apparently absorbed in conversation Mrs. Tate continued this train
+of thought. She had never known any one connected with the circus
+before, she explained with a smile; people who lived in London all the
+time were apt to be so very narrow and ignorant; but she wanted to hear
+all about it, and Madame must tell her. Blanche was able to tell very
+little, for she was not used to discussing her work. By adroit
+questioning, however, Mrs. Tate led her on to an account of her early
+career from her first appearance as a child with her father to her
+development into a "star" performer.
+
+The narrative seemed to her wildly interesting. How fascinating it would
+be if she could persuade the girl to relate her story in a drawing-room!
+It would be the sensation of the winter. But this poor child never could
+talk in public, even in her own tongue.
+
+"But do tell me," said Mrs. Tate, when Blanche had described the months
+her father had spent in teaching her to make the great plunge. "Doesn't
+it hurt your back? I should think that striking with full force day
+after day on that padded net would destroy the nervous system of a
+giant."
+
+Blanche smiled and shook her head. "It never used to hurt. I've only
+felt it lately, since the baby was born," she said.
+
+"Then it does hurt now?" Mrs. Tate cried eagerly.
+
+"Sometimes. I feel so tired in the morning now. I never used to; and
+sometimes when I wake up my back aches very much. But I try not to think
+of it."
+
+"But, my dear child, you ought to think of it. You mustn't allow
+yourself to be injured--perhaps for life."
+
+Blanche turned pale. "Do you think it can be serious?" she asked
+timidly.
+
+Mrs. Tate saw that she had made a false step. "Of course not--not
+_serious_. It's probably nothing at all. I haven't a doubt a physician
+could stop it easily. Have you spoken to any one about it?"
+
+"No; not even to my husband. I shouldn't like to tell him. It would make
+him unhappy."
+
+Mrs. Tate became thoughtful. "I wonder if Dr. Broughton couldn't do
+something for you. He's our physician, and he's the kindest soul in the
+world. I'm always sending him to people. Suppose I should ask him to
+come and call on you some day. Perhaps he'll tell you there's nothing
+the matter, and then you won't be worried any more." She glanced into
+the pale face and was startled by the look she saw there. "Oh, you
+needn't be afraid," she laughed. "He won't hurt you. But, of course, if
+you don't want him to come, I won't send him."
+
+Blanche clasped her hands and dropped her eyes. "I think I should like
+to have him come if--if--my husband----"
+
+"But he needn't know anything about it," said Mrs. Tate, with feminine
+delight at the prospect of secrecy. "We won't tell him anything. If he
+meets Monsieur Le Baron here you can just say I sent him to call on you.
+Besides, he can come some time when your husband isn't here," she added
+with a smile.
+
+"Jules generally goes out in the afternoon," Blanche replied, feeling
+guilty at the thought of concealing anything from him. "He likes to read
+the French papers in a _café_ in the Strand."
+
+"Then I'll tell Dr. Broughton to come some afternoon. He'll be
+delighted. I don't believe _he's_ ever known an acrobat either," she
+laughed.
+
+They talked more of Blanche's symptoms, and Mrs. Tate speedily
+discovered that since the birth of the baby Blanche had not been free
+from terror of her work; every night she feared might be her last. She
+did not confess this directly, but Mrs. Tate gathered it from several
+intimations and from her own observations. She felt elated. What an
+interesting case! She had never heard of anything like it before. This
+poor child was haunted with a horrible terror! This accounted for the
+pitiful look of distress in her eyes. Then Mrs. Tate's generous heart
+fairly yearned with sympathy; but this she was careful to conceal. She
+saw that by displaying it she would do far more harm than good; so she
+pretended to be amused at the possibility of Blanche's injuring herself
+in making the plunge.
+
+"It must have become second nature to you," she said, "after all these
+years. You're probably a little tired and nervous. Dr. Broughton will
+give you a tonic that will restore your old confidence. Meantime," she
+added enthusiastically, "I'm going to take care of you. I'm coming to
+see you very often, and I shall expect you to come to see me. Let me
+think; this is Thursday. On Sunday night you and Monsieur Le Baron must
+come and dine with us at seven o'clock. We'll be all alone. I sha'n't
+ask any one. But wait a minute. Why wouldn't that be a good way for your
+husband to meet Dr. Broughton? I'll ask him to come, too. He often looks
+in on Sundays. That will be delightful."
+
+She rose to her feet and shook out her skirts. "I suppose I must go
+without seeing the baby. But I shall----" She looked quickly around at
+the clicking sound that seemed to come from the door. Then the door
+opened, and Jules, in a heavy fur-trimmed coat and silk hat, stood
+before her. She recognized him at once, and as he bowed hesitatingly,
+she extended her hand and relieved the awkwardness of the situation. "I
+won't wait for Madame to introduce me," she said, just as Blanche was
+murmuring her name.
+
+"Then you are the lady Father Dumény spoke to us about!" Jules said with
+a smile.
+
+"Yes; and your wife and I have become the best of friends already."
+
+"And you've made friends with the baby too, I hope," Jules replied,
+removing his coat and throwing it over a chair. She liked his face more
+than she had done at the Hippodrome; he had a good eye, and, for a
+Frenchman, a remarkably clear complexion.
+
+"No; she's asleep," Blanche replied. "I asked Madeleine to bring her in
+if she woke up."
+
+"But you must see her," Jules insisted. "I'll go and take a peep at
+her."
+
+He went to the door leading to the next room, opened it softly, and
+glanced in. Then he made a sign that the others were to follow, and he
+tiptoed toward the bed where Jeanne lay sleeping, her face rosy with
+health, and her little hands tightly closed. Madeleine, who had been
+sitting beside the bed, rose as they approached and showed her mouthful
+of teeth.
+
+For a few moments they stood around the child, smiling at one another
+and without speaking. Then they tiptoed out of the room, and closed the
+door behind them.
+
+"I shall come again soon some morning," Mrs. Tate whispered, as if still
+afraid of disturbing the child, "when the baby's awake." Then she went
+on in a louder tone: "She's a dear. I know I shall become very fond of
+her. And you're coming to us next Sunday night," she added, as she bade
+Jules good-bye. "Your wife has promised. I shall expect you both.
+Perhaps I shall come before then; I want to get acquainted with Jeanne."
+
+She kissed Blanche on both cheeks, after the French fashion. "I sha'n't
+forget, you know. We have great secrets together already," she laughed,
+turning to Jules as she passed out of the door.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XIV
+
+
+As soon as Percy Tate confronted his wife at the table that night he saw
+that something was on her mind.
+
+"You've been to see those circus people," he said.
+
+"How did you know that?"
+
+"Oh, clairvoyance,--my subtle insight into the workings of your brain!"
+
+"I suppose Hawkins told you. Well, I _have_ been to see them."
+
+Tate began to pick at the bread beside his plate. He often became
+preoccupied when he knew his wife wanted him to ask questions; this was
+his favorite way of teasing her.
+
+"It's the strangest _ménage_ I ever saw in my life," Mrs. Tate exclaimed
+at last, unable to keep back the news any longer. "And it's just as I
+thought it would be. That poor little creature simply lives in terror of
+being killed."
+
+Tate rolled his eyes. "'In the midst of life we are in death,'" he said
+solemnly.
+
+"It's altogether too serious a matter to be made a joke of, Percy. If
+you could have heard--"
+
+"Now, my dear, you know what I told you. You went to see that woman with
+the deliberate expectation of finding her a person to be sympathized
+with, and I can see that you've imagined a lot of nonsense about her.
+Why in the world don't you let such people alone? You belong in your
+place and she belongs in hers, and the world is big enough to hold you
+both without obliging you to come together. You can't understand her
+feelings any more than she can understand yours. You wonder how you'd
+feel if you were in her place; you can't realize that if you _were_ in
+her place you'd be an altogether different person. If you had to go
+through her performances, of course you'd be scared to death; but you
+forget she's been brought up to do those things; it's her business, her
+life. I knew you'd go there and work up a lot of ridiculous sympathy,
+and badger that woman for nothing!"
+
+At the beginning of this speech Mrs. Tate had sat back in her chair with
+an expression of patient resignation in her face. When her husband
+finished she breathed a long sigh. "I hope you've said it all, Percy.
+You're so tiresome when you make those long harangues. Besides, you've
+only succeeded in showing that you don't understand the case at all."
+
+Then, as they finished their soup, Mrs. Tate gave an account of her call
+of the afternoon, ending with a graphic repetition of the talk with
+Blanche about the pains in her back.
+
+"I shall certainly tell Dr. Broughton about it," she cried. "That poor
+child--she really _is_ nothing _but_ a child--she's just killing herself
+by inches, and her husband is worse than a brute to let the thing go
+on."
+
+"So you want to stop it and take away their only means of support."
+
+"It isn't their only means of support. It seems the husband has money.
+That makes it all the worse."
+
+"Now, let me say right here, my dear, I wash my hands of this affair. If
+you want to rush in and upset those people's lives, go ahead, but I'll
+have nothing to do with it."
+
+"I wish you wouldn't scold me so, Percy. It seems to me I usually bear
+the consequences of what I do. And I don't see what harm there can be in
+consulting Dr. Broughton. You're always cracking him up yourself."
+
+Tate burst into a loud laugh. "If that isn't just like a woman! Turning
+it onto poor old Broughton."
+
+"Oh, sometimes you're so _aggravating_, Percy!"
+
+Two days later, in spite of her husband's opposition, Mrs. Tate
+consulted Dr. Broughton, and he promised, as soon as he could, to call
+some morning at the little hotel in Albemarle Street. Before he appeared
+there Mrs. Tate ingratiated herself into the affections of the family.
+As Blanche grew more familiar with her, she confided to her many details
+of her life, and Mrs. Tate speedily possessed the chief facts in
+connection with it. These facts did not increase her esteem for Jules,
+whose days, in spite of his duties as his wife's manager, were spent in
+what she regarded as wholly unpardonable idleness. She also suspected
+that Jules disliked her; it must have been he who sent word that they
+would be unable to accept her invitation for dinner on Sunday evening.
+This, however, did not prevent their being invited for the following
+Sunday. Mrs. Tate was determined to secure her husband's opinion of her
+new _protégés_.
+
+Before Sunday came Dr. Broughton unexpectedly made his appearance in the
+Tates' drawing-room one evening.
+
+"I've seen your acrobat," he said to the figure in yellow silk and lace,
+reading beside the lamp. "Don't get up. Been out? I hardly thought I'd
+find you in; you're such a pair of worldlings."
+
+"We came away early. I had a headache," said Tate, shading his eyes with
+one hand and offering the other to the visitor. "Or, rather, I pretended
+I had."
+
+The Doctor, a short, stout man of fifty, with grayish brown hair, and
+little red whiskers jutting out from either side of his face, and with
+enormous eyebrows shading his keen eyes, gathered his coat-tails in his
+hand, and took a seat on the couch.
+
+"It's late for a call--must be after ten. But I knew this lady of yours
+would want to hear about her acrobat. Nice little creature, isn't she?
+Seems ridiculous she should belong to a circus."
+
+"She doesn't belong there," Mrs. Tate replied, briskly inserting a
+paper-knife in her book and laying the book on the little table beside
+her. "I've never seen any one so utterly misplaced. Did you have a talk
+with her?"
+
+"Yes--a talk. That was all; but that was enough. Her husband was out."
+
+"O, you conspirators!" Tate exclaimed.
+
+"Then you've satisfied yourself about her?" said his wife, ignoring him.
+
+"Yes. She has a very common complaint, a form of meningitis; slumbering
+meningitis, it's often called. Many people have it without knowing it;
+and she might have had it even if she hadn't taken to thumping her spine
+half a dozen times a week. The trouble's located in the spine."
+
+"There, I told you so!" exclaimed Mrs. Tate; and "What a lovely habit
+women have of never gloating over anything!" her husband added amiably.
+
+"Percy, I wish you'd keep quiet! Do you really think it's serious,
+Doctor?"
+
+The Doctor held up his hands meditatively, the ends of the fingers
+touching, and slowly lifted his shoulders. "In itself it may be serious
+or it may not. Sometimes trouble of that sort is quiescent for years,
+and the patient dies of something else. Sometimes it resists treatment,
+and leads to very serious complications,--physical and mental. I've had
+cases where it has affected the brain and others where it has led to
+paralysis. In this case it is likely to be aggravated."
+
+"By the diving, you mean?" said Mrs. Tate.
+
+"Exactly. That has probably been the cause of the trouble lately--if it
+wasn't the first cause. It may go on getting worse, or it may remain as
+it is for years, or it may disappear for a time, or possibly,
+altogether."
+
+Mrs. Tate breathed what sounded like a sigh of disappointment. "Then it
+isn't so bad as I thought," she said.
+
+For a moment the Doctor hesitated. Then he replied: "Yes, it's worse.
+The mere physical pain that it causes Madame Le Baron is of
+comparatively little account. I think we may be able to stop that. The
+peculiarity of the case is the nervousness, the curious fear that seems
+to haunt her."
+
+In her excitement Mrs. Tate almost bounced from her seat. "That is
+_exactly_ what I said. The poor child hasn't a moment's peace. It's the
+most terrible thing I ever heard of. And to think that that man--her
+husband----"
+
+"It's always the husband," Tate laughed. "Broughton, why don't you stand
+up for your sex?"
+
+"Percy wants to turn the whole thing into ridicule. I think it's a
+shame. I can't tell you how it has worried me. I feel so----"
+
+"For Heaven's sake, Broughton, I wish you'd give my wife something to
+keep her from feeling for other people. If you don't, she'll go mad, and
+I shall too. She wants to regulate the whole universe. I have a horrible
+fear that she's going to get round to me soon."
+
+The Doctor smiled, and bent his bushy eyes on the husband and then on
+the wife.
+
+"It's a peculiar case," he repeated thoughtfully, when they had sat in
+silence for several moments. "It couldn't be treated in the ordinary
+way."
+
+"How in the world did you get so much out of her?" Mrs. Tate asked.
+"She's the shyest little creature."
+
+"I had to work on her sympathies. I got her to crying,--and then, of
+course, the whole story came out. As you said, she's haunted by the fear
+of being killed."
+
+"But that's the baby," said Mrs. Tate quickly. "She told me she never
+had the least fear till her baby was born."
+
+The Doctor lifted his eyebrows. "It's several things," he replied dryly,
+refusing to take any but the professional view.
+
+Then they discussed the case in all its aspects. The haunting fear Dr.
+Broughton regarded as the worst feature. "She says when she goes into
+the ring, that usually leaves her; but if it came back just before she
+took her plunge it would kill her. The least miscalculation would be
+likely to make her land on her head in the net, and that would mean a
+broken neck. It's terrible work,--that. The law ought to put a stop to
+it."
+
+"The law ought to put a stop to a good many things that it doesn't,"
+Mrs. Tate snapped. "To think that in this age of civilization----"
+
+"There she goes, reforming the world again!" her husband interrupted.
+
+"But if the law doesn't stop it in this case," she went on, "_I_ will."
+
+For a time they turned from the subject of Blanche and her ills to other
+themes; but when, about midnight, Dr. Broughton rose to leave, Mrs. Tate
+went back to it. "We're going to have the Le Barons here for dinner next
+Sunday," she said. "I wish you'd come in if you can. I want Percy to see
+what they're like."
+
+"She relies on my judgment after all," said Tate, following the guest to
+the door. As they stood together in the hall, "You think the case is
+serious then?" he asked quietly.
+
+The Doctor whispered something in his ear, and Tate nodded thoughtfully.
+"And how do you think it'll end if she doesn't stop it?"
+
+Dr. Broughton tapped his forehead with his hand. "This is what I'm
+most afraid of." He seized his stick and thrust it under his arm.
+"But giving up her performance, I'm afraid, would be like giving up
+her life. She was practically born in the circus, you know, and I
+suspect from what your wife has told me that her husband fell in love
+with her in the circus. Outside of that she seems to have no interest
+in anything,--except, of course, her family and her baby. But to take
+her out of the circus would be like pulling up a tree by the roots."
+
+Dr. Broughton was so used to making hurried exits from patients' houses
+that he lost no time in getting away from Tate. As he went down the
+steps his host stood with one hand on the knob of the front door,
+thinking. The Doctor had unconsciously given him a most fascinating
+suggestion. Around this his mind played as he walked back to the
+drawing-room, where his wife was yawning, and gathering, some books to
+take upstairs. He said nothing to her about it; before expressing his
+fancy, he decided to wait until he saw those curious people.
+
+
+
+
+                                   XV
+
+
+Mrs. Tate was right in surmising that Jules had conceived a dislike for
+her. The first day he saw her he decided that she was a tiresome,
+interfering Englishwoman, and he watched with annoyance her growing
+intimacy with Blanche, whom he wished to keep wholly to himself. Of his
+wife's success at the Hippodrome he felt as proud as if it were his own;
+he loved to read the notices of it in the papers, and while Blanche was
+performing, to walk about in the audience and hear her praises. He had
+come to look upon her as part of himself, as his property; and this
+sense of proprietorship added to the fascination that her performance
+had for him.
+
+Though his first ardor of devotion had passed, he was still tender with
+her; but his tenderness always had reference more to her work than to
+herself. He watched her as the owner of a performing animal might have
+watched his precious charge. Sometimes he used to lose patience with her
+for her devotion to the little Jeanne; if Jeanne cried at night she
+would want to leave the bed to soothe her. In order to prevent this,
+Jules had the child's crib moved into Madeleine's room, to the secret
+grief of the mother, who, however, did not think of resisting his
+commands. In his way Jules was fond of Jeanne; but he could not help
+thinking that before she came Blanche had given all her love to him.
+However, there was some excuse for that; but there was no reason why a
+stranger like Mrs. Tate should come in and take possession of them, act
+like a member of the family, and put a lot of silly ideas into his
+wife's head.
+
+The mere fact that Mrs. Tate was English would have been enough to
+prejudice Jules against her even if he had not objected to her personal
+qualities. He hated the English, and he hated England, especially
+London. Even Blanche, who was blind to his faults, speedily discovered
+that his boast of being a born traveller had no foundation in fact. On
+arriving in London he had gone straight to a French hotel, where he was
+served to French cooking by a _garçon_ trained in the _cafés_ of the
+_Boulevards_. Since then he had associated only with the few French
+people he could find in the city; if he hadn't been eager to read
+everything printed about Blanche, he would never have looked at any but
+French papers. At home he spent a large part of his time in ridiculing
+the English, just as on his return from America he had ridiculed the
+Americans. Now, at the thought of being obliged to dine with a lot of
+those _bêtes d'Anglais_ he felt enraged. He had already refused one
+invitation. Why wasn't that enough for them? The second he would have
+refused too, if Blanche had not insisted that another refusal would be a
+discourtesy to Father Dumény's friends. Ah, Father Dumény, a fine box he
+had got them into, the tiresome old woman that he was, with his foolish
+jokes and his rheumatism!
+
+Jules never forgot that dinner. In the first place, he was awed by the
+magnificence of the Tates' house; it surpassed anything of the kind he
+had ever seen in France or in America; it had never occurred to him that
+the English could have such good taste. Then, too, in spite of the
+efforts of his hosts to make him comfortable, he felt awkward, ill at
+ease, out of place. As soon as he entered the drawing-room, Blanche was
+taken upstairs by Mrs. Tate, and Jules was left with the husband and
+with Dr. Broughton.
+
+A moment later the Doctor disappeared, and for the next half-hour Jules
+tried to maintain a conversation in English. Tate turned the
+conversation to life in Paris as compared with the life of London, but
+Jules had so much difficulty in speaking English that they fell at last
+into French.
+
+Meanwhile, Blanche sat in the library with Mrs. Tate and Dr. Broughton,
+whom she had not seen since the day of his call upon her. The Doctor had
+at once won her confidence, and since her talk with him she had felt
+better, and she fancied that the tonic he gave her had already benefited
+her. But she still had that pain in her back, she said, and that
+terrible fear; every night when she kissed the little Jeanne before
+going to the Hippodrome, she felt as if she should never see the child
+again. If she didn't stop feeling like that, she didn't know what would
+happen.
+
+"If you could give up the plunge for a while," the Doctor suggested,
+"you'd be very much better for the rest. Then you might go back to it,
+you know."
+
+"But I'm engaged for the season," Blanche replied in French, which the
+Doctor readily understood, but refused to speak. "I can't break my
+contract."
+
+"Perhaps you could make a compromise," Mrs. Tate suggested. "You could
+go on with your trapeze performance,--with everything except the dive."
+
+"I was really engaged for that," said Blanche, a look of dismay
+appearing in her face. "There are many others that perform on the
+trapeze."
+
+"But you might try to make some arrangement," Mrs. Tate insisted. "Your
+husband could talk it over with the managers."
+
+"Ah, but he would not like it," Blanche replied with evident distress.
+"It would make him so unhappy if he--if he knew."
+
+"If he knew you were being made ill by your work!" Mrs. Tate
+interrupted. "Of course it would make him unhappy, and it would be very
+strange if it didn't. But it's much better to have him know it than for
+you to go on risking your life every night."
+
+Dr. Broughton gave his hostess a glance that made her quail. A moment
+later, however, she gathered herself together.
+
+"I didn't mean to say that, dear, but now that I _have_ said it, there's
+no use mincing matters. The Doctor has told me plainly that if you go on
+making that plunge every night in your present state of nervousness it
+will certainly result in your death--in one way or another. So the only
+thing for you to do, for the sake of your baby, and your husband, and
+for your own sake too,--the only thing for you to do is to stop it, at
+least for a time. If you were to break your neck it would simply be
+murder,--yes, murder," she repeated, glancing at the Doctor, who was
+looking at her with an expression that showed he thought she was going
+too far.
+
+Tears had begun to trickle down Blanche's cheeks, and now they turned to
+sobs. For a few moments she lost control of herself, and her frail
+figure was shaken with grief. Dr. Broughton said nothing, and he looked
+angry. Mrs. Tate paid no attention to him; she went over to Blanche,
+took her in her arms, and began to soothe her. In a few moments the
+sobbing ceased, and Mrs. Tate went on:--
+
+"It's best that you should know this, dear, though perhaps I've been
+cruel in telling it to you so bluntly. We must tell your husband about
+it, too. I'm sure he'll be distressed to hear how much you've suffered,
+and he'll be glad to do anything that will help you. So now we'll send
+the Doctor away, and bathe your face with hot water, and go down to
+dinner and try to forget about our troubles for a while."
+
+If Jules had not been absorbed in his own embarrassment at the
+dinner-table he might have discovered traces of agitation in his wife's
+face. He was secretly execrating the luck that had brought him among
+these people, and he resolved when he returned home to tell Blanche that
+he would have nothing more to do with them. If she was willing to have
+that prying Englishwoman about her all the time, she could, but she
+mustn't expect him to be more than civil to her. The conversation had
+turned on English politics, and as Jules had nothing to offer on the
+subject, his enforced silence increased his discomfort. Mrs. Tate was
+devoting herself to Blanche, who sat beside her, relating in French
+stories of her life in Paris. Jules felt resentful; no one paid
+attention to him; when he dined out in Paris he was always one of the
+leaders in the talk. He wanted to justify himself, to show these people
+that he was no fool, that he was worthy of being the husband of a
+celebrity.
+
+By a fortunate chance, the talk drifted to American politics, and Jules,
+seeing his opportunity, seized it. A few moments later he was launched
+on an account of his travels in the United States. Tate, relieved at
+having at last found a topic his guest could discuss, gave Jules full
+play, and listened to him with a light in his eyes that showed his wife
+he was secretly amused. Indeed, Jules' criticisms of America and his
+descriptions of the peculiarities of Americans greatly entertained them.
+
+The dinner closed in animated talk, much to the relief of Mrs. Tate, who
+feared it would be a great failure; it made her realize, however, that
+as show people the Le Barons were quite useless. She was afraid Blanche
+had been bored; she had been sitting almost speechless during the meal,
+sighing heavily now and then, as if thinking that in a few hours her
+respite would be over, and she would have to return to her horrible
+work.
+
+Mrs. Tate was quite ready to make any sacrifice to rescue Blanche from
+the terrors of her circus life; in the enthusiasm of the moment she said
+to herself, that rather than let her continue making that plunge, she
+would offer to _pay_ her husband what she earned, in order to take his
+wife out of the ring altogether. At the thought of persuading him to do
+this, Mrs. Tate felt that at last she had a definite task to perform; it
+was almost like a mission, and the harder it proved to be, the more
+exalted she would feel.
+
+After their return to the drawing-room, Mrs. Tate, with a delightful
+feeling that she was engaged in a conspiracy, made a mysterious sign to
+Dr. Broughton to come to her.
+
+"I suppose Percy's been whispering to you not to have anything to do
+with this scheme of mine, but don't pay any attention to him. Do you
+know, I think the best way would be to take the husband into the library
+and have it out there. He must _be_ told, you know. He hasn't a
+suspicion of it,--not a suspicion. You wait a few minutes, and as soon
+as I get a chance, I'll ask him to follow me out."
+
+The Doctor smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"You must take the responsibility," he said carelessly. "I shall merely
+do my professional duty. Mr. Tate has just been telling me about a
+curious idea----"
+
+"Don't pay any attention to his ideas. Percy thinks everything ought to
+be left to regulate itself. A fine world it would be if every one
+thought as he does. Now you go back to him, and follow me when I tell
+you. No, I have a better plan. You go into the library with Percy. I'll
+come in there in a few minutes."
+
+A quarter of an hour later, when Mrs. Tate entered the library with
+Jules, she found her husband and the Doctor there, half-hidden in a
+cloud of smoke.
+
+"This poor man, too, has been dying for another cigar," she said; "but
+he's too polite to say so. So while he's smoking we can have our talk.
+We'll take our coffee in here, too. Percy, you go and see that Madame Le
+Baron is properly served. I've had to leave her there alone for a
+minute, but I said I'd send you in. Dr. Broughton and I are going to
+have a secret conference with Monsieur Le Baron."
+
+"Secret conferences are always dangerous," Tate replied, rising to leave
+the room. "Look out for them!" he added with a smile to Jules, as he
+hesitated at the door. When he had closed the door behind him, he stood
+in the hall a moment, thinking.
+
+Tate was a man of sense, of "horse-sense," one of his friends used to
+say of him, and not given to forebodings. Now, however, he had a
+distinct regret that his wife was interfering in this matter, and fear
+of the consequences. She often did things that he disapproved, and he
+made no objection, for he believed that she had as much right to
+independence as himself; but in this case he would have liked to
+interfere. He had spoken to Dr. Broughton about his feeling in the
+matter, and the Doctor had merely laughed. Well, the Doctor knew better
+than he did; perhaps, after all, his own theory was absurd. At any rate,
+he could not be held accountable for any trouble that might result from
+his wife's meddling. This thought, however, gave him little consolation.
+He usually suffered for her mistakes much more than she did herself.
+
+When he went back to the drawing-room, he had difficulty in sustaining a
+conversation with Blanche; he kept thinking of the conference in the
+next room, wondering what the result would be. He was prepared to see
+Jules enter with a pale face and set lips and with wrath in his eyes.
+
+When Jules finally entered between his hostess and the Doctor, Tate
+scanned his face narrowly; it was not white, and the lips were not set,
+but the whole expression had changed to a look of dogged determination
+and ill-concealed rage. He sat near his wife, staring at her as if he
+had never seen her before.
+
+For a few moments the conversation was resumed, but the atmosphere
+seemed chilled. Then the Doctor rose to say good-night, explaining that
+he had promised to call on a patient in Curzon Street before going home.
+This seemed to be the signal for the breaking-up, and all of the guests
+left at the same moment, Mrs. Tate calling out to Blanche at the door of
+the drawing-room that she would look in on her the next day if she were
+not too busy.
+
+When the front door had closed, Tate turned to his wife.
+
+"Well, you had a stormy time of it, didn't you?"
+
+She walked toward the centre of the drawing-room and stood under the
+chandelier, keeping her eyes fixed on her husband's face, which seemed
+to be much more serious than usual.
+
+"What makes you think so?" she asked, removing a bracelet from her arm
+and nervously twirling it.
+
+"I could tell from the expression in his eyes, and from the way you and
+the Doctor acted. He was furious, wasn't he?"
+
+"Furious? Le Baron? Hardly; though I could see he didn't believe a word
+we said. He was almost too startled to understand it at first. The
+little goose hadn't said a word to him about it."
+
+"And what did he say when you told him she ought to give up her
+performance? How did he like that?"
+
+"He didn't like it at all, apparently. But I didn't expect him to like
+it. It means money out of his pocket."
+
+"No, it means more than that, if I'm not mistaken."
+
+"What else can it mean?" she said, lifting her eyebrows questioningly.
+
+"It means the end of whatever affection he has for his wife. Of course
+he never had much. A man of his sort doesn't."
+
+She looked at him with curiosity in her face. "What difference does her
+performing make in his affection for her?"
+
+"Can't you see that he didn't fall in love with _her_? He fell in love
+with her performance."
+
+Mrs. Tate put one finger to her lips and hesitated for a moment. Then
+she said slowly:--
+
+"How ridiculous you are, Percy! As if any one ever heard of such a
+thing!"
+
+
+
+
+                                  XVI
+
+
+On the way home in the hansom that he had called, Jules scarcely spoke.
+Blanche kept glancing at him covertly; she had never before seen that
+look in his face, and it alarmed her; he seemed to be trying to keep
+back the anger that showed itself in his half-closed eyes and his
+firm-set chin. When they reached the lodgings, Blanche found Madeleine
+sound asleep by the fireplace, and without waking her, she started to go
+into the next room to see if Jeanne were comfortable. When she reached
+the door, Jules said in a low voice:--
+
+"Wait here a minute. I have something to say to you."
+
+At the sound of the words, Madeleine's eyes opened slowly, and she
+blinked at Jules, who was glancing angrily at her.
+
+"This is a pretty way you take care of Jeanne. She might have had a
+dozen convulsions without your knowing anything about them."
+
+In spite of Jules' command, the reference to the convulsions, which had
+nearly cost Jeanne her life a few weeks after birth, sent Blanche
+agitatedly into the nursery. Madeleine lumbered behind her, and both
+were relieved to find the child sleeping contentedly in her cradle, her
+cheeks flushed, and her chubby hands clenched at her breast. Blanche
+would have liked to pass several moments there in rapt adoration, but
+Jules appeared at the door and made a sign to her to come to him.
+
+"Madeleine will look out for her," he said, pointing to the cradle. "Go
+to bed, Madeleine."
+
+Blanche tiptoed out of the room, removed her wraps, and, with the
+overcoat Jules had thrown on the couch, hung them in the little closet
+beside the big mirror. Jules, who had taken a seat in front of the
+fire-place, watched her impatiently, and then motioned her to sit in the
+chair opposite him.
+
+"Now perhaps you'll be kind enough to tell me what all this means. I
+knew that Englishwoman would be up to some mischief. What does it mean?"
+he said sternly.
+
+Blanche looked timidly into his face; the expression of anger that she
+had noticed on their way home was still there. She did not know what to
+say, and tears of misery filled her eyes and rolled slowly down her
+cheeks. Then weakened by her previous outburst, she covered her face
+with her hands, and began to sob, giving expression to all the torture
+that had come from the horror of her performance, from her incessant
+terror of being killed and separated from Jeanne. Jules was at first
+touched, and then alarmed, by the unexpected display of grief.
+
+He waited, thinking that it would soon expend itself; then when the sobs
+continued, he went over to her, and taking her gently in his arms, tried
+to soothe her by stroking her hair and calling her by the endearing
+names he had used during the first weeks of their marriage, and begging
+her to control herself for his sake, it hurt him so. After this last
+appeal, Blanche put her arms round his neck, and buried her head on his
+breast, and for a few moments they sat together without speaking, her
+body shaken now and then from the violence of her grief. Then Jules
+began to question her quietly, and the whole story of her sufferings
+since Jeanne's birth came out so pathetically that, in spite of his
+anger, he was touched, and convinced that, after all, the Englishwoman
+had been right.
+
+In his remorse that Blanche had suffered in silence, and he had not
+found it out, had done nothing to help her, he declared he would have
+the diving stopped at once, no matter what the cost might be. Rather
+than see her unhappy, he would make her give up performing altogether,
+if that were necessary. At any rate, he would go to Marshall the next
+day and see what could be done about taking her name off the bills. They
+would leave this disgusting London, perhaps for the south of France,
+where Blanche could have a long rest, and gather strength for her visit
+to America the next year. For a long time they talked over the plan, and
+then Jules made Blanche go to bed.
+
+"You'll not be able to do your work tomorrow," he said, "if you sit up
+much longer. Of course, you can't stop it at once. Marshall wouldn't
+listen to that. You're his best attraction, and he'll have to advertise
+your last appearances."
+
+For more than an hour after Blanche left him, Jules walked up and down
+the little drawing-room, smoking cigarettes. The revelation of his
+wife's trouble had so upset him that he felt unable to sleep. But it was
+of himself, not of her, that he was chiefly thinking. Dr. Broughton had
+told him that a long rest might cure Blanche of her nervous terror and
+relieve her of the pains in the back, but it was probable that she would
+be affected again as soon as she resumed her performance.
+
+If this proved true, his own career would be ruined; there would be no
+more travelling, no more triumphs! Blanche would sink into obscurity,
+would become a mere nonentity, devoted to her child and house-keeping,
+like scores of other wives and mothers that he knew and despised in
+Paris. Out of the circus, she was utterly commonplace, Jules said to
+himself, and the fact came to him with the force of a revelation! But
+for that he would never have married her; the brilliancy of her talent
+had dazzled him! And now, if she had to leave the circus, how
+beautifully he would have been tricked! He would be tied down to her and
+her child! The expense of maintaining them would oblige him to live
+meanly, in a way that he had never been used to, that he loathed.
+
+What a fine trap he had got himself into! There was absolutely no
+escape, unless Blanche recovered from her ridiculous cowardice. And all
+on account of that infant, who had come into the world without being
+wanted, and had spoiled his life! For the moment Jules hated Jeanne. He
+wished she had never been born, or had died at birth; then all this
+trouble wouldn't have occurred. But for Jeanne, Blanche might have
+accepted that offer for a summer season at Trouville. Then he wouldn't
+have been bored at Boulogne, and Father Dumény wouldn't have given him
+that letter to those beasts of English.
+
+Then Jules' wrath turned from Jeanne to Father Dumény, and on him he
+poured all his old bitterness against priests. They were always
+interfering, those black-coated, oily-tongued hypocrites. Oh, if he had
+Father Dumény there! He would have liked to choke him!
+
+The more Jules thought, the more convinced he became that his wife's
+nervousness was due to imagination rather than to any physical cause.
+Then, too, Blanche had been homesick after her long stay in Boulogne,
+where she saw her mother and her sisters every day. What a fool he had
+been to allow her to go there! He hated the whole pack of them--Father
+Dumény, Madame Berthier, her tiresome old husband, all! What right did
+they have to interfere with Blanche? She was his wife, she belonged to
+him alone. When he reached this point Jules had worked himself into a
+fine indignation; but he had exhausted his cigarettes, and it was now
+nearly twelve o'clock. Instead of going to bed, however, he threw
+himself on the couch in the corner of the room, where a few hours later
+Blanche found him, sleeping soundly.
+
+Jules woke in an irritable mood, cross with Madeleine, indifferent to
+Jeanne, with whom he usually liked to gambol after breakfast, and silent
+with his wife. For a time he said nothing to Blanche about their talk of
+the night before, and the expression of his face prevented her from
+touching upon it. Till eleven o'clock he was busily engaged in writing
+letters; when he had finished these, he turned to Blanche, who was
+sitting alone by the table, making a dress for Jeanne.
+
+"I've just written to Hicks in New York," he said, "the man who made me
+that fine offer for next September. I told him we couldn't sign the
+contract yet. That'll probably make him offer us more money, and it'll
+give you time to find out whether you can go on with your work again."
+
+"But I shall surely go on with it," said Blanche, hardly daring to look
+into his face. "I shall be well again after a rest. I know I shall. The
+Doctor said--"
+
+"Never mind what the Doctor said. I don't believe he knows anything
+about it. You're just a little nervous, that's all. You worry about
+little things too much, about Jeanne especially. Why can't you let
+Madeleine take care of Jeanne? She knows a good deal more about children
+than you do. That's what we pay her for. The child costs us enough,
+Heaven knows, and if your salary's going to be cut off, we'll have to be
+pretty economical."
+
+For a moment Blanche said nothing; her lips quivered, but she controlled
+herself. Jules looked at her narrowly, and said to himself that she was
+not half so pretty as she had been; she was growing thinner, and there
+were little lines in her face that ought not to be in the face of one so
+young as her mother said she was. How weak, how helpless she seemed!
+Once the thought of her weakness and ingenuousness had given him
+pleasure; now it only made him realize his own superiority.
+
+"Perhaps," she suggested hesitatingly,--"perhaps Mr. Marshall might be
+willing to make a new contract. Perhaps he would let me go on with my
+performance on the trapeze and the rope--without the dive."
+
+"I've thought of that," Jules replied, rising and going to the closet
+for his overcoat. "But it isn't at all likely. He's been advertising
+your dive all over London, and it's been his best feature. He'll be
+pretty mad when I tell him you're going to give it up. He'll probably
+try to make me pay a forfeit for breach of contract."
+
+"For breach of contract!" she repeated blankly. "I--"
+
+"Oh, don't worry about it," said Jules, with a pang of regret for the
+pain he had caused her. "I think I can make that all right. I suppose
+that old Doctor would write a certificate if I asked him."
+
+He drew on the fur-lined coat, and as he took his gloves from his pocket
+he started for the door, without kissing Blanche. Then, at the door,
+glancing back, and seeing her standing in the middle of the room with a
+look of helpless pain in her face, he turned and walked towards her, and
+bent his face to hers.
+
+"There, there, dear, don't worry," he said. "You'll be all right again
+in a little while!" At the door he added: "I shall be back in an hour or
+two, and tell you what Marshall says."
+
+The hour or two proved to be three hours, and these Blanche passed
+chiefly in walking up and down the apartment. She could not keep still;
+she felt convinced that something dreadful was going to happen. She
+hardly dared even to talk to Jeanne, as if she fancied the child might
+divine her misery. She feared that she would be unable to give up her
+performance, and she feared she would have to go on with it. If she did
+give it up, she had a presentiment that she would pay dear for the
+release; if she did not, she knew it would result in her death.
+
+Ever since coming to London, she had prepared herself for the
+catastrophe. No one, not even kind-hearted Mrs. Tate, could imagine the
+agony of mind she had endured. And it was all for Jeanne! Her very
+sufferings had fed her love for the child. If she and Jules could go
+away with Jeanne, far away, where they would never hear or think of
+performances again, how happy they would be! But she must go on with her
+work; she ought to fight against her weakness. Jules had said she would
+grow strong again; she had always believed what he said, and perhaps he
+was right now. Perhaps after a rest she would want to go back to the
+ring. But she was afraid, she was afraid! Poor little Jeanne! Every few
+moments she ran into the room where Jeanne was taking her mid-day sleep.
+She wanted to clasp the child to her breast and walk up and down the
+room with her. But for several weeks she had not dared to hold her in
+her arms for fear of dropping her from nervousness.
+
+Instead of going directly to the Hippodrome, Jules turned into
+Piccadilly, where he had seen the sign of a French physician. He had
+suddenly decided to seek further medical advice before speaking to
+Marshall, and he did not propose to trust Blanche's case to another
+Englishman. He was obliged to wait in Dr. Viaud's outer office for more
+than an hour. The Doctor received him with what seemed to Jules an
+almost suspicious courtesy; but this disappeared as soon as he explained
+that he was French.
+
+Jules was gratified by the interest paid to his repetition of Blanche's
+confession of the night before. The Doctor did not interrupt till Jules
+had mentioned the advice given by the English physician.
+
+"Broughton!" he exclaimed, repeating the name after Jules. "You couldn't
+have consulted a better man. He's at the head of his profession here in
+London."
+
+When he had questioned Jules about Blanche's symptoms, he said
+thoughtfully: "I cannot add anything to the advice Dr. Broughton has
+given,--that is, of course, with my present knowledge of the case. But I
+have absolute confidence in his judgment. The pains in the back I do not
+fear so much as the terrible apprehension that you say haunts your wife.
+In itself that is, of course, great suffering; and the consequences may
+be fatal. Your wife's dive requires iron nerve, and that is being
+constantly weakened by her continual worrying. I agree with Dr.
+Broughton that she at least needs a rest as soon as possible. There
+can't be two opinions about that. But I should not like to interfere
+with Dr. Broughton's--"
+
+Jules understood at once, and rose from his seat.
+
+"I merely wanted to see what you thought. If you had disagreed--"
+
+"Ah, but Dr. Broughton is very reliable!" said the Frenchman, with a
+smile and a shrug, as if afraid of even a suggestion of professional
+discourtesy.
+
+Jules left him feeling bitterly disappointed. There was no hope then! He
+had surmised that the shrewd-eyed Englishman knew his business. There
+was nothing to do but to go to Marshall and explain the situation.
+
+When he returned from the Hippodrome to the apartment Blanche met him at
+the door. His face was darkened with a scowl.
+
+"What did he say?" she asked nervously, as he entered and threw his
+overcoat on a chair. "Was he--was he angry?"
+
+"Angry? No; he was altogether too cool. If he'd been angry I shouldn't
+have cared. I'd have liked that a good deal better."
+
+"Then we sha'n't have to pay a forfeit?" said Blanche, glancing up into
+his face.
+
+He turned away and threw himself wearily on the couch. "No, you won't
+have to pay a forfeit, but you'll have to go on with the engagement."
+
+"With the diving?" she said, her face growing white.
+
+"No, with the other work--on the trapeze and the rope. He said you'd
+have to elaborate that, and he'd pay you half what you're getting now
+till you were ready to do the diving again. He wants to keep you on
+account of your name. He's advertised you all over the city, and even
+out in the country places near London."
+
+"But he--he doesn't object to my giving up the plunge?" Blanche
+repeated, in a tone which suggested that her professional pride was
+hurt.
+
+"He didn't when I told him the Doctor had forbidden your going on with
+it for a while. Besides, he had another reason for not objecting."
+
+"What was that?"
+
+"He showed me a letter he'd just had from that woman who made such a
+sensation in Bucharest while we were in Vienna. Don't you remember? I
+showed you some of her notices. She does a swimming act, and dives from
+a platform into a tank. She's been playing in the English provinces, and
+now she wants to come to London."
+
+"So he's going to engage her in my place?" Blanche gasped.
+
+"In your place?" Jules repeated irritably. "How can he engage her in
+your place when he's going to keep you? We've got to live, and it won't
+hurt you to go on with your work on the trapeze and the rope. He knows
+your name will be an attraction, and if he engages that Englishwoman,
+she'll be another card for him--a big one. He says she's been drawing
+crowds in Manchester for six weeks."
+
+"What's her name?"
+
+"King--Lottie King--or something like that."
+
+"Is she pretty? Did he show you her pictures?"
+
+"Yes; her manager sent him a whole box of them. She's _petite_, with
+wicked little eyes."
+
+"Dark?"
+
+"No, blonde."
+
+"And what is her dive?"
+
+"What?"
+
+"How high is it?"
+
+"Fifty feet, Marshall said; but one of the circus hands told me it
+wasn't much more, than forty."
+
+"Oh!" There was a suggestion of a sneer in her tone, and Jules looked up
+in surprise.
+
+"Of course, it's nothing compared with yours," he said, to console her.
+
+"When is she going to begin?" she asked, after a moment.
+
+"Going to begin? Do you mean here in London? Marshall hasn't signed with
+her yet. She's engaged in Manchester for three weeks longer."
+
+"Then I shall have to go on with my dive till she comes?"
+
+"I suppose so," Jules replied coldly.
+
+She saw that he did not wish to continue the conversation; so she went
+into the nursery, leaving him lying on the couch, where he often took an
+afternoon nap; since coming to London he had grown very lazy, and had
+gained flesh. Blanche found Jeanne wide awake and crowing in Madeleine's
+arms. She sat beside the cradle, and taking the child in her lap, sent
+Madeleine out of the room. Jeanne snatched at the brooch she wore at her
+throat, and laughed into her face. Blanche tried to smile in reply, but
+the tears welled into her eyes again, and fell in big drops on her
+cheeks.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XVII
+
+
+Three days after Jules' talk with Marshall, the forthcoming engagement
+at the Hippodrome of Miss Lottie King was announced in the London
+newspapers. Blanche signed a new contract, by which she agreed to
+perform for several weeks longer on the trapeze and on the rope at half
+the salary she had been receiving. Marshall said that no mention of the
+plunge would be made in the papers; her name would continue to "draw,"
+and the public would be satisfied with Miss King's great dive into the
+tank. This remark made Jules very angry, and it also depressed Blanche,
+who felt as if she had already been deposed from her supremacy as the
+chief attraction at the Hippodrome. Indeed, as the time drew near when
+she was to cease making the plunge, instead of feeling happier, she grew
+more despondent; she had already elaborated her performance on the
+trapeze by introducing several new feats that she and Jules had planned
+together, but with these she was not satisfied; she felt like an actor
+obliged to play small parts after winning success in leading characters.
+
+As for Jules, he did not try to hide his discontent at the change in his
+wife's work. In the first place, it made his brief but dramatic public
+appearance unnecessary; in future he would be obliged to conduct Blanche
+to the circus, and live again like any mere hanger-on to the skirts of a
+public performer. The _rôle_ was ignoble, unworthy of him. Then, too, he
+chafed at the thought of his wife's decline in importance at the
+Hippodrome; he fancied that when her inability to go on with the plunge
+had become known to the other performers they would lose respect for her
+and for himself.
+
+He secretly doubted if the public would accept Blanche merely for her
+performance on the trapeze and on the rope. Almost any one could do
+that; but in the plunge she was without a rival. He hoped that, as a
+compensation for his vexation, the performance of Miss King would be a
+failure. Forty feet! What did that amount to in comparison with the
+magnificent plunge of more than ninety feet that Blanche had made at
+Vienna?
+
+Already Jules had begun to think of his wife in the past tense chiefly,
+as if she lived in the triumphs she had made by her nightly flight
+through the air. Indeed, she seemed to him almost another person now.
+Instead of looking on her almost with reverence, as he had done, he felt
+sorry for her, as if she were his inferior; and though he continued to
+treat her with kindness, there was a suggestion of pity, almost of
+contempt, in his manner toward her. She sought consolation in her child,
+who, she thought, grew stronger and more beautiful every day. For
+Jeanne's sake she tried to be glad the time was so near when she should
+give up risking her life; but the nearer it grew, the more depressed she
+became, and the more she thought about that woman who was to take her
+place.
+
+Mrs. Tate, who had definitely taken Blanche under her protection, and
+called at the little hotel several times each week, had been delighted
+at what she considered the fortunate solution of a shocking difficulty.
+Now that Blanche was to stop making that horrible dive, there was no
+reason why she shouldn't be the happiest woman in the world. With her
+keen instinct, however, she observed that Blanche was not happy; she
+wondered, too, at the frequent absence of the husband from this
+_ménage_. Jules couldn't be very devoted, she thought, for a man who had
+been married little more than a year. Perhaps, however, he avoided her;
+for, in spite of his French politeness, he had not been able to conceal
+his dislike for her. For this reason she did not ask him to dinner
+again. She often took Blanche and Jeanne to drive in the afternoon, and
+pointed out the celebrities that they passed in the Park.
+
+"My husband says I take you to drive just to show you off," she said
+jokingly one day. "He thinks I have a mania for celebrities."
+
+"Ah, but I'm not a celebrity!" Blanche replied, with a smile that was
+almost sad.
+
+"Not a celebrity? Of course you are. I haven't a doubt that half the
+people we meet recognize you. You know, it's been quite the fashion to
+go to the Hippodrome this year."
+
+"But I sha'n't be a celebrity much longer," said Blanche, glancing at
+the bare boughs of the trees, and wondering if any other place could be
+as desolate as London in winter.
+
+"Why not? You don't think of retiring into private life altogether, do
+you?" Mrs. Tate laughed.
+
+"No, but I shall only be an ordinary performer after this week."
+
+"But I'd rather be an ordinary performer and keep my neck whole than be
+an _ex_traordinary one and risk my life every night," Mrs. Tate retorted
+sharply. She was vexed with Blanche for not appreciating her
+emancipation.
+
+They rode on in silence for a few moments. Then Blanche said,--
+
+"There's some one going to take my place, you know."
+
+"Some one that's going to make that dreadful plunge?" Mrs. Tate cried in
+horror.
+
+"No, not that. She jumps into a tank of water--from a platform--only
+about forty feet. My jump is more than seventy-five feet," Blanche added
+with a touch of pride.
+
+Mrs. Tate rested her hands in her lap and burst out laughing. "What a
+ridiculous thing! I beg your pardon, dear, but I can't help being
+amused. Of course it doesn't seem funny to you. You're used to it; but
+it does to me."
+
+Then she questioned Blanche about the new performer, and Blanche
+repeated what Jules had told her and what she had since heard of the
+woman at the Hippodrome. Mrs. Tate was greatly interested, and laughed
+immoderately; afterward, however, when she had returned home and thought
+over the conversation, she regarded it more seriously.
+
+"What do you think, Percy?" she said at the dinner table that night.
+"Those Hippodrome people have engaged a creature to dive into a tank of
+water from a platform. Of course, that's to take the place of Madame Le
+Baron's plunge. Could anything be more absurd? The worst of it is that
+the poor little woman is frightfully jealous already. I could see that
+from the way she talked. What a dreadful world it is, isn't it? They're
+all like that, aren't they, even the best of them? Do you remember that
+poor Madame Gardini who sang here one night? She told me if she had her
+life to live over again she'd never dream of going on the stage. She
+said opera-singers were the unhappiest people in the world,--just
+poisoned with jealousy. And these circus people are exactly like them!"
+
+"What makes you think she's jealous? What was it she said?"
+
+"It wasn't _what_ she said, it was the _way_ she talked about the woman.
+Her husband says she's a great beauty."
+
+"Ah, the husband says so, does he?" Tate remarked dryly. A moment later
+he added: "I wish you hadn't had anything to do with those people!"
+
+"You've said that a dozen times, Percy, and I wish you'd stop. For my
+part, I'm very glad I've met them. If I hadn't, that poor little
+creature would be in her grave before the end of a year."
+
+"Perhaps she'll wish that she _were_ in her grave before the end of the
+year."
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"Nothing, dear, nothing. Don't catch at everything I say. How is she
+now--any better? I suppose she's easier in mind now that she's going to
+stop that diving?"
+
+"That's the strangest thing about it," Mrs. Tate answered, with a change
+of tone. "I thought she would be, too, but she isn't. I really believe
+she's sorry she's giving it up. But perhaps that's because she's been
+doing it all her life. She'll miss it at first--even if it did worry her
+nearly to death!"
+
+"Has Dr. Broughton been to see her lately?"
+
+"No; he said it wouldn't be necessary. He's going to wait to see what
+effect the rest from the diving will have on her."
+
+For a few moments Tate looked thoughtfully at his wife. "Upon my word,"
+he said, "I half suspect that you _want_ something to happen to that
+little woman. It would just be romantic enough to suit you."
+
+"Percy, how can you talk so? You're simply brutal."
+
+"She might at least break a leg to please you," her husband laughed,
+"before giving up that plunge."
+
+Blanche made her last dive without the accident that Tate had regarded
+as indispensable to dramatic effect. Indeed, since knowing that she was
+to give it up, she seemed to have lost much of her terror of the plunge;
+she thought of it now chiefly with regret. That night, as she rode home
+with Jules and Madeleine, she seemed depressed; Jules, too, was even
+more sullen than he had been for the past two weeks. When they had
+entered the lodgings and were eating their midnight meal, she said:--
+
+"If to-morrow is pleasant we might take Jeanne for a drive in the
+country. The air would do her good."
+
+"I can't go," he replied indifferently. "I have something else to do.
+Besides, it would cost too much. We shall have to be economical now that
+you're going to be on half-salary."
+
+The next morning Jules left the hotel at eleven o'clock, saying that he
+shouldn't be back for luncheon. He did not explain where he was going,
+and Blanche did not question him. She busied herself with Jeanne, and
+this distracted her till Jeanne fell sound asleep. Then she became a
+prey to her old melancholy, and for an hour she walked up and down the
+room, to the bewilderment of Madeleine, who could not understand what
+the matter was.
+
+"Is Madame suffering with the pain in her back?" Madeleine asked at
+last.
+
+No, Madame was not suffering. She had not been troubled by the pain for
+several days; she hoped it would leave her for good now that she had
+stopped taking the plunge.
+
+"Ah, God be praised that you do that no longer!" Madeleine cried,
+lifting her withered hands to heaven and rolling her eyes. "It was too
+terrible. Since that first night in Paris, when I went with you and
+Monsieur Jules, I never dared to look. It was _affreux_!"
+
+"But Jules loved it," said Blanche, throwing herself into a chair beside
+the old woman.
+
+Ah, yes, Madeleine acknowledged. He used to rave about it in the little
+flat in the _rue de Lisbonne_. Once Madeleine heard him talking in his
+sleep about the circus and the wonderful dive; he always slept with his
+door wide-open, and she often heard him talking away like one
+wide-awake. He had told her that it was the most wonderful thing he had
+ever seen, and no other woman in the world would have dared to do it.
+Madeleine was always delighted to have a chance to talk about Jules, and
+she babbled on, never suspecting that her words were making Blanche
+suffer.
+
+"Do you think," Blanche said at last, "do you think he would have loved
+me if I hadn't done that--if I hadn't done that plunge, I mean--in the
+Circus?"
+
+Madeleine glanced at her quickly; she was unable to grasp the
+significance of the question. "But he did see you in the Circus," she
+replied. "If he hadn't seen you there, _chérie_, he wouldn't have seen
+you at all."
+
+"Yes, yes, that's true." Blanche realized that it would be useless to
+try to explain what she meant. Then, after a moment, she added, "And now
+that I've given up the dive,--perhaps I shall never be able to do it
+again; the Doctor said I might not,--now that I've given it up, do you
+think he'll love me just the same?"
+
+Madeleine's faded eyes turned to Blanche and examined her closely. "If
+he'll love you just the same?" she repeated. "What has put such a
+strange idea into your head, child? Of course he'll love you just the
+same."
+
+Then Madeleine was launched on a flood of eulogy. Jules was so good, so
+faithful, so affectionate. There was not another like him. He had always
+been so tender with his mother; and oh, how his poor mother had
+worshipped him! Madeleine's praises had the effect of soothing Blanche
+for a time; they also made her ashamed of the half-conscious suspicion
+which had arisen in her mind, and which she would not have dared to
+formulate even to herself. She only permitted herself to acknowledge
+that his present manner toward her was different from his old one. She
+was also disturbed by his refusal for the past three Sundays to go to
+church with her.
+
+The next afternoon Jules came home in a rage. "I've been down to see
+Marshall," he said. "What do you suppose the old fool's gone and done?
+He had the door of your dressing-room opened this morning and all your
+things turned out into Miss Van Pelt's old room,--the little hole next
+door, you know. It's hardly big enough to breathe in. He said you
+weren't the star any longer, and he must give the room to Miss King. It
+seems she's a kicker and he's afraid of a row."
+
+Blanche had nothing to say in reply; this seemed to her only another
+indignity added to those she had already suffered. The worst was to come
+in the evening, when her rival would share the applause that used to be
+hers. A few moments later she asked,--
+
+"Was she there--that woman?"
+
+"No; she hasn't appeared yet, and Marshall was a little nervous. She was
+to come up from Manchester in a train that got in during the afternoon."
+
+"But suppose she doesn't come."
+
+"Oh, she'll come fast enough. Marshall had a telegram saying she'd
+started. Her big iron tub arrived this morning. They were putting it in
+the ground and laying the pipes for the water when I was there. They
+keep it covered till her act begins."
+
+"What does she do besides her jump?"
+
+"Oh, Marshall says she goes through a lot of antics, stays under the
+water till she nearly dies of suffocation, and cooks a meal, and--"
+
+"Under water?" Blanche gasped.
+
+"No, of course not, you ninny," Jules cried impatiently. His wife's
+simplicity had long before ceased to amuse him. "She does it while she's
+floating. Then one of the circus boys falls into the tank, and she shows
+how she used to rescue people out in California."
+
+"Then she's an American."
+
+"She's lived in America all her life, but her father was an Englishman,
+and she was born in England. Her father kept a swimming school out in
+San Francisco; that's how she got into the business. They say she's got
+a lot of medals for saving lives."
+
+As Jules walked into the next room to change his clothes for the
+evening, he said to himself that his wife was growing very stupid and
+tiresome.
+
+Blanche sat alone for a few moments, feeling cold and forlorn. She could
+not keep from thinking and wondering about that woman; she was anxious
+and yet afraid to see her. She could not account for the dislike and
+terror with which the mere thought of the woman inspired her. She had
+never before regarded the other performers in the circus as her rivals;
+so, for the first time in her life, she knew the bitterness of jealousy.
+
+Before preparing for the evening she went into the nursery, and for
+several moments sat beside the cradle where Jeanne was peacefully
+sleeping, her little face rosy with health. The poor child, she thought,
+could never know the sacrifice she had made for her. She was glad she
+had made it; she had done her duty; but it was hard, it was so hard!
+Then she bent over and kissed Jeanne on the cheek; the child drew her
+head away, and buried her face impatiently in the pillow. Blanche turned
+her gently in the crib, adjusted the lace covering, and stole out of the
+room.
+
+Jules met her as she was closing the door softly behind her. "What have
+you been doing in there?" he cried petulantly. "Why can't you let Jeanne
+alone when she's asleep? Every time she takes a nap you go in and wake
+her up. No wonder--"
+
+"I haven't waked her," Blanche replied apologetically. "I only went in
+to see if she needed anything, and I sat beside her a moment."
+
+"Well, you'll spoil her if you keep on. From the way you act one would
+imagine that Jeanne was the only creature in the world worth thinking
+about!"
+
+They both took their places at the table which Madeleine had prepared,
+and proceeded silently with their dinner. Madeleine, who hovered about
+them, wondered what the matter was; she had never seen Monsieur Jules
+like this before; he usually had a great deal to say. When she had left
+the room for a few minutes, Jules looked up from his plate.
+
+"I've been wondering whether we ought to keep Madeleine or not. She's a
+great expense. We could get along just as well without her. The _garçon_
+could serve our meals. We have to pay for the service whether we get it
+or not."
+
+When he had spoken he was startled by the look in his wife's face. Not
+keep Madeleine! The mere thought of parting with the old woman, whom she
+had come to regard almost as a second mother, shocked her so much that
+for a moment she could not formulate a reply.
+
+"But we couldn't get along without her!" she said. "Think of all she
+does for me and for Jeanne!"
+
+"Oh, Jeanne! It's always Jeanne, Jeanne. I'm sick of hearing her name.
+If Jeanne hadn't been born we shouldn't be in the pretty box we're in
+now, and you'd be going on with your work like a sensible woman. I tell
+you we must economize. We're under heavy expenses here, and we're going
+to lose a lot of money by this imaginary sickness of yours."
+
+"I can't let Madeleine go," Blanche replied. "I should die without her.
+I should die of loneliness. And she loves you so, as much as if you were
+her son, and she loved your mother. She has often talked to me about
+her. I can't, I can't let her go. I'd rather--"
+
+"Very well, then. Don't say anything more about it. We'll have to
+economize in some other way. Here she comes now. So keep quiet, or
+she'll want to find out what we've been talking about."
+
+
+
+
+                                 XVIII
+
+
+The Hippodrome was crowded on the night of Miss King's first appearance.
+Jules, in evening dress as usual, leaned against the railing behind the
+highest tier of seats. At this moment he felt that he had been duped by
+fate, and he wanted to revenge himself on the crowd that had come to
+rejoice over his disappointment; for their presence seemed like a
+personal insult to him. But for the machinations of that crazy
+Englishwoman, Blanche would now be going on with her work; by this time
+they might have made arrangements for her visit to America in the early
+summer. However, the mischief was done, and there was no knowing when it
+would be undone. Blanche might have recovered in a few weeks from her
+terror of the plunge; but after once yielding to it, she would probably
+never get over it.
+
+Jules believed in presentiments, and he had a strong presentiment that
+Blanche had taken her plunge for the last time. He tried to console
+himself, however, with the hope that Lottie King would make a failure.
+The extensive advertising that Marshall had given her made Jules hate
+the girl; her name had been posted in places all over London where his
+wife's alone had been. To Jules this was the most cruel evidence of his
+own decadence.
+
+Half an hour before it was time for Blanche to appear Jules sauntered
+toward her dressing-room. When he reached the door, he stopped in
+surprise; he could hear an unfamiliar voice speaking English. Some one
+must be in there with Blanche and Madeleine. When he entered, he saw a
+plump, pretty young woman, with a shock of yellow hair and big blue
+eyes, dressed in a tight-fitting bathing-suit of blue flannel and in
+blue silk stockings. He recognized her at once from her photographs.
+
+"Hello!" she cried, glancing at Jules familiarly. "Is this him?
+Introduce me, won't you?"
+
+For a moment Blanche, whose face had been made up and whose figure,
+dressed in white silk tights, was covered with the cloak she threw off
+as she entered the ring, looked confused. Then she presented Jules to
+Miss King, who beamed upon him with extravagant pleasure.
+
+"Your wife's been telling me about you," she said. "I've been making
+friends with her. I wanted to see what she was like, and I supposed
+she'd want to see what I was like. So we've agreed not to scratch each
+other's eyes out. You speak English too, don't you?"
+
+This gave Jules an opportunity to reiterate his story about having
+learned English in America.
+
+"So you've been to America!" Miss King cried, her eyes bigger than ever,
+and her open mouth showing her white, square teeth. "Were you with a
+troupe there?"
+
+Jules shook his head. "I wasn't married then."
+
+"Ah!" The diver glanced sharply at Blanche, and then back at Jules, as
+if making a rapid calculation of their ages. "Been married long?" she
+asked.
+
+"A little over a year," Blanche replied.
+
+"Too bad your wife had to give her dive up, ain't it?" the girl said to
+Jules. "I hear it was great. But I suppose you'll do it again, won't
+you, when you're better?"
+
+Blanche flushed. "I don't know," she said, with a half-frightened look
+at Jules.
+
+"Well, I would if I was you. It's sensational things like that that
+ketches 'em. My act's kind of sensational, but it ain't in it with yours
+for cold nerve an' grit. When you do it again you'd oughter go to
+America. You can make a good deal more there than you do here. I came
+over just for the reputation. It helps you a lot over there if you've
+made a hit in Europe."
+
+"But you are English, aren't you?" Jules asked.
+
+"Oh, yes, I s'pose I am, in a sort of way. I was born over here, but my
+father took me to America when I was about six, an' I'm American to the
+backbone."
+
+"Have you been in the ring long?" Blanche asked.
+
+"No, I only took to giving performances about five years ago; but I've
+been in the swimming business all my life. My Dad had a swimming school
+out in 'Frisco; but there's more money in this business. But I guess I'm
+keeping you folks. It must be most time for your act. Good-bye. P'raps
+I'll see you later. I'm mighty glad you can speak English," she laughed,
+with a glance at Jules. "I travelled with a troupe once with a lot of
+Italians in it, and my, what a time I had tryin' to talk with 'em!"
+
+She hurried out, leaving Jules with a vision of tousled yellow hair, a
+roguish smile, and gleaming white teeth, and with the sound of a rich
+contralto voice in his ears. As soon as the door closed, he turned to
+Blanche.
+
+"How did she happen to come in here?"
+
+"She wanted me to help her with one of her slippers that was torn.
+Madeleine sewed it up for her."
+
+"Hasn't she got any maid?"
+
+"She left her behind in Manchester. She was sick. She's coming on when
+she gets better."
+
+Jules merely grunted and walked out of the room. The sound of the
+contralto voice was still in his ears. What a sweet voice it was! She
+seemed to him just like an American in spite of her birth, and Jules
+preferred the Americans to the English. He wondered what her performance
+was like, and he waited impatiently for Blanche to finish her act on the
+trapeze and the rope. As his eyes followed Blanche, he kept seeing the
+tousled hair and the broad smile revealing the white teeth.
+
+It took several moments for the tank to be arranged for the crowning
+performance. The audience waited in good-natured patience, however, and
+when finally the plump little figure in blue flannel ran out, there was
+a round of applause. Lottie King had added a touch of rouge to either
+cheek, and she looked very pretty as she ran up the flight of steps
+leading to the edge of the tank, poised there for a moment with the
+fingers of both hands touching high in the air, and then dived in a
+graceful curve into the water. She speedily reappeared, shaking her head
+and laughing, and struck out for the rope that hung from the platform.
+This she climbed hand over hand, the water dripping from her figure, and
+glistening on her face.
+
+Jules, whose eyes had been eagerly following her, was surprised to see
+that she was going to begin her act with the dive, instead of keeping it
+for the climax. She seemed to take it very coolly, he thought, as she
+stood on the swaying platform, rubbing her face with a handkerchief and
+rearranging one of the sleeves of her costume. Then she steadied the
+platform, and, an instant later, she was cutting, feet foremost, through
+the air, her arms by her side and her body rigid. When she reached the
+water, there was very little splashing, and she speedily reappeared,
+shaking her head again and displaying her white teeth.
+
+Jules had watched the dive breathlessly, Just as he had watched
+Blanche's on the night when he first saw her in the _Cirque Parisien_,
+and now he followed her feats of skill and strength with wonder and
+fascination. When she remained beneath the surface for more than three
+minutes he felt as if he himself were stifling, and when she reappeared,
+calm and smiling, he took a long breath.
+
+He supposed that the rescue of one of the circus hands who fell
+opportunely into the tank would end the performance; but instead of
+leaving the ring, Lottie King climbed again to the platform. Surely,
+Jules thought, she would make a mistake if she repeated that plunge.
+Instead, however, she swung on the edge, leaped backward into the air,
+and after several swift turns, fell with a crash into the water. As she
+swam to the ladder, the band burst into triumphant music, and the
+audience cheered, and began to climb down from the circular seats and to
+rush to the spot where she was to make her exit.
+
+Then Jules roused himself. He felt as if he had been in a dream. He had
+difficulty in reaching Blanche's dressing-room, for the crowd had
+gathered at the entrance to the ring in order to catch another glimpse
+of the dripping figure of the diver. When finally he succeeded in making
+his way there, he found Blanche sitting motionless, her arms resting on
+the table. He at once divined the cause of her dejection.
+
+"You see what you've brought on yourself," he said. "A lot you'll amount
+to now! You might as well give up the business."
+
+Madeleine looked at him with mild reproach in her eyes. He paid no
+attention to her, however. He walked back to the door, and turning, he
+added: "But you can't stay here all night. I thought you'd be dressed by
+this time. I'll wait out here for you."
+
+Jules looked anxiously up and down the corridor, but he saw no one. He
+could hear the noise of the crowd slowly wending out of the Hippodrome,
+and from the dressing-rooms on either side the buzz of voices. Miss King
+must have succeeded in making her escape to her room.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XIX
+
+
+If Jules had tried, he would have been unable to explain the fascination
+that Lottie King's performance had for him. In daring it was greatly
+inferior to his wife's plunge; but the fact that Blanche had lost
+courage lent her rival's serene indifference to danger an added
+attractiveness for him.
+
+Every night he watched her with more delight. Besides being plucky and
+skilful, she was so pretty and so amusing! Jules liked to talk with her
+in the evening before she made her appearance, and she used to convulse
+him with laughter by her sallies. She soon fell into the habit of
+running into Blanche's room to ask Madeleine to do services for her, and
+toward Blanche she adopted a manner of half-amused patronage. By the end
+of the first week, Blanche had conceived a great dislike for her. This
+might have been at least partly due to her discovery of the pleasure
+which Jules took in the diver's society.
+
+Mrs. Tate had expected that, after ceasing to make her plunge, Blanche
+would improve in health; but she speedily saw that she was mistaken. One
+afternoon she called at the hotel in Albemarle Street and found Blanche
+alone with the little Jeanne; Madeleine had just gone out to do some
+errands. They had a long talk, during which Blanche was obliged to
+confess that the pain in her back troubled her just as much as ever, and
+that she was very unhappy. When Mrs. Tate tried to find out why she was
+unhappy, she could elicit no satisfactory explanation. As soon as she
+arrived home that night, she repeated the conversation to her husband.
+
+"Do you suppose the little creature can be mercenary, Percy?" she said.
+"Do you think she can be sorry she isn't risking her neck every day? I
+wanted to tell her this morning she ought to be ashamed of herself--she
+ought to think of her child. Suppose she had been killed! What would
+have become of the child, _I'd_ like to know!"
+
+"That other person has made a hit, I see. They're booming her in the
+papers. Did she speak of her?"
+
+"Not a word!"
+
+"H'm!"
+
+"What do you mean by that, Percy?"
+
+"Oh, nothing."
+
+"I suppose you think she's jealous of her."
+
+"Jealous?" Tate repeated, lifting his eyes. "You told me yourself that
+she was jealous before she even saw the other performer."
+
+"Yes, and now she's jealous of her success."
+
+"Oh, _professional_ jealousy," he said, throwing back his head. A moment
+later he added: "There are worse kinds of jealousy than that in the
+world."
+
+Mrs. Tate looked at him closely, but his eyes were fixed on his plate.
+For a few moments they did not speak; she was pondering his last remark.
+They understood each other so well that they often divined each other's
+thoughts. Now she saw that he did not care to discuss the subject, and
+she let it drop. She continued to think about it so much, however, that
+she determined to go to the Hippodrome alone some day, to a _matinée_,
+and see for herself what Blanche's successor as a star performer was
+like.
+
+She returned home with a sickly feeling of regret and torturing
+anticipation; she had not only seen Lottie King, but she had also
+studied the face of Jules Le Baron, who, unconscious of her gaze, stood
+within a few yards of her seat. What she had observed in his expression,
+however, she did not communicate to her husband.
+
+Her visit at the Hippodrome made her resolve to be even kinder to
+Blanche than she had been; she would take her and the child to drive in
+the Park two or three times a week,--oftener if she could. Mrs. Tate
+tried to shake off her forebodings, but for the rest of the day they
+clung to her, and the next morning she woke with them fresh in mind. So
+she resolved to drive at once to Albemarle Street. The weather was too
+dull to take the child out, and she would pass the morning with Blanche
+and try to cheer her up.
+
+When she reached the hotel she felt relieved to find Blanche in a much
+better frame of mind than she had been on the occasion of her last call.
+The pain had left her for a few days, Blanche explained, and she had
+been greatly encouraged; even Jules had spoken of her improvement; he
+had been so patient with her, and now she felt ashamed of having been so
+dispirited. Mrs. Tate went away with a feeling that she had been a fool,
+that her forebodings were ridiculous.
+
+One night at the end of the week, Tate returned home with the
+announcement that he was to start for Berlin the next day, to confer
+with the heads of a banking-house there with regard to the floating of a
+great loan. He gave her the choice of staying at home or of starting
+with him after only a few hours of preparation. She chose to start, and
+for two months she did not see London again; for, once away from the
+routine of his work, Tate took advantage of the opportunity to run for a
+holiday from Berlin down to Dresden, and thence over to Paris. During
+this time Mrs. Tate forgot her self-imposed cares, and gave herself up
+to the pleasures of travelling.
+
+When she returned home, she was surprised to hear that Madame Le Baron
+had called several times, and had left word that she was anxious to see
+her as soon as she came back. This news sent her with a throbbing heart
+to Albemarle Street; she felt sure that something terrible had happened,
+something she might have prevented by staying in London. She was always
+assuming responsibilities and then dropping them! How often her husband
+had told her that! She had been more than culpable, she kept saying to
+herself, in going away without even bidding Blanche good-bye, without
+even leaving an address.
+
+When she arrived at the hotel, at the close of a cold, foggy afternoon,
+she was surprised to be told by the _garçon_ that Madame Le Baron had
+left, and had gone to an apartment in Upper Bedford Place. "It was too
+expensive for them here," the _garçon_ explained with a contemptuous
+grin. "So they went to a private house."
+
+Mrs. Tate drove at once to the number the boy gave her, and a few
+moments later she was climbing the stairs to Blanche's apartment. She
+was out of breath when she rapped on the door, and still breathing hard
+when Madeleine admitted her into the shabby drawing-room. A moment
+later, as Blanche appeared from the next room, she uttered an
+exclamation.
+
+"Good Heavens, child, what has happened to you! You're whiter than ever,
+and so _thin_! What have you been doing to yourself? Have you had an
+illness?"
+
+Blanche shook her head. "No, I haven't been ill," she replied, but her
+looks and her manner seemed to belie her words. The gray cloth dress
+which had once fitted her tightly now hung loosely about her; her face
+was drawn and of a chalklike pallor, and under the eyes were two black
+lines betraying weeks of suffering and sleeplessness.
+
+"You were thin enough before I went away," said Mrs. Tate, "but now
+you're a perfect spectre."
+
+Then she went on to explain how she had happened to desert her friends
+for so long a time. "I know you have something to tell me," she said,
+starting from her seat, "but before you begin I want to see Jeanne. How
+is she? But first tell me how you happened to come way up here. Isn't it
+a long distance for you to climb after your performance every night?"
+
+"Jules chose these rooms because they were so much cheaper than the
+hotel," Blanche replied simply. "We prepare our own meals, too, and we
+save in that way. You know my salary is so much smaller than it used to
+be."
+
+Mrs. Tate made no comment, and they went into the other room, where
+Jeanne was sleeping in the crib.
+
+"She sleeps nearly all the time," said Blanche, with a faint smile that
+seemed to exaggerate the expression of pain and weariness in her face.
+
+"How big she's growing!" Mrs. Tate whispered. "There's certainly nothing
+the matter with _her_, the dear little thing, with her fat rosy cheeks.
+I'd just like to take her in my arms and hug her."
+
+For several minutes they stood talking about the child; then they left
+her with Madeleine and went back to the drawing-room, which Mrs. Tate's
+keen eyes discovered was used also as a bedroom. "They must be
+economizing with a vengeance," she thought. Blanche closed the door, and
+took a seat behind her visitor on the couch.
+
+"Now I want to hear all about it," Mrs. Tate cried. "Something has
+happened. What is it?" She took both of Blanche's hands and looked into
+her eyes. "What is it?" she repeated.
+
+For a moment they sat looking at each other. Then Blanche bent forward,
+buried her head on Mrs. Tate's lap, and burst into tears. Mrs. Tate said
+nothing, and allowed the paroxysm to spend itself. Then, gradually, the
+story came out.
+
+Jules didn't love her any more, Blanche moaned. He had been cruel to
+her, oh, so cruel; he had said such dreadful things! And then there had
+been days and days when he scarcely spoke to her or to the little Jeanne
+or to Madeleine, and he had grown so strict with them all; he hardly
+allowed Madeleine enough to buy the things they needed. And once, he had
+said such dreadful things about Jeanne. He didn't love even Jeanne any
+more,--poor little Jeanne! He said they would have been better off if
+she had never been born. Oh, that had nearly killed her, that he should
+have spoken so about Jeanne. She didn't care so much about herself,
+though sometimes she wanted to die. One night she had prayed that God
+would take her and Jeanne together. Jules had always been so good to her
+until--until that woman came, that woman who had taken her place in the
+circus. It was that woman who had come between them, with her white
+teeth and her mocking laugh. She was making a fool of Jules; she did not
+care for him, but she pretended that she did, just to amuse herself.
+Jules followed her about everywhere; he even talked of going to America,
+because she was to go in a few weeks, when her engagement at the
+Hippodrome was over. But Blanche would die; she would throw herself into
+the river with Jeanne in her arms rather than go there now. Ah, it had
+been so hard for her, alone in a strange country, with no one but
+Madeleine to confide in. Madeleine had been so good; but she, too, had
+grown afraid of Jules in these last weeks. They scarcely dared to speak
+when he was at home, now.
+
+From broken utterances, Mrs. Tate pieced together the whole miserable
+story. For the moment, her pity was lost in admiration for her husband's
+perspicacity. He had foreseen this! Now, for the first time, she
+realized what she had vaguely surmised before, the full meaning of his
+mysterious remark about Blanche and Jules. Then she turned her attention
+to the prostrate figure before her, offering sympathy and counsel. She
+knew that she was speaking in platitudes, but they were all she could
+offer then; and, after all, it was Blanche's own outburst that would do
+the poor pent-up creature the most good, the consciousness that she had
+some one to confide in.
+
+Mrs. Tate stayed in the little apartment a long time, and when she went
+away, Blanche seemed to feel more hopeful. "Act as if he were just as
+kind to you as ever," was her parting injunction, "and I know everything
+will come out all right. He'll find out that that dreadful woman is only
+making a fool of him, and then he'll care more for you than ever."
+
+In her heart, however, Mrs. Tate knew that what she said was not true.
+Jules had probably grown tired of his wife. The more she thought of the
+case, the more she pitied Blanche,--the more she realized what a tragedy
+in the poor little woman's life it meant. And she really had been to
+blame, she kept saying to herself. But for her interference, Blanche
+would have gone on with her diving, that other performer would not have
+come to the Hippodrome, and all of Blanche's agony of jealousy and
+neglect would have been avoided.
+
+Oh, what a lesson it taught her! Never, _never_ would she interfere in a
+family again! She would have done much better to let Blanche go to her
+death, rather than to drive her to despair, perhaps to a worse form of
+death by her meddling.
+
+On reaching home, she was in a fever of remorse and sympathy, and she
+passed a miserable hour waiting for her husband to return. When at last
+he did appear, she met him in the hall.
+
+"Percy," she cried dramatically, "you're a prophet!"
+
+"Am I, indeed?" he said, putting his umbrella in the rack. "Do you mean
+to say this is the first time you've found it out?"
+
+"I'll never doubt your word again, Percy," she went on, stifling a sob.
+Her appeal to her husband for sympathy threatened to make her
+hysterical, but she controlled herself and gasped out: "Don't you
+remember what you said about that man, Le Baron,--you know, the night he
+dined here, about his falling in love with his wife's performance! Well,
+that's just what he did do. He didn't fall in love with _her_; he's
+never _been_ in love with her, poor thing. Fortunately she doesn't know
+that. It's only her _performance_, that horrible plunge she used to
+make, that he's been in love with all along."
+
+"I don't see anything very prophetic about that," he said, walking into
+the drawing-room, where she followed him, clutching at the lace
+handkerchief in her hand. "It was as plain as daylight to any one that
+heard him talk and saw what kind of man he was."
+
+"I don't mean your seeing merely that. I could tell from what you said
+that you saw a great deal more. Don't you remember what you said about
+_professional_ jealousy not being the worst kind of jealousy in the
+world? That was the first thing that opened my eyes. I went to the next
+_matinée_ to see for myself if it could be true, and if I hadn't been an
+idiot I should have realized it all then. But the next day, just before
+we left for Berlin, I called on that poor woman, and she seemed so much
+easier in mind, I thought I must have misunderstood what you meant and
+been mistaken about that look."
+
+"My dear, I don't quite follow you. Aren't you just a little bit
+illogical?"
+
+"No, I'm not. I'm perfectly logical. I never was more logical in my
+life."
+
+"I suppose you mean that the fellow has got tired of his wife, now that
+she's given up her dive, and he's fallen in love with the other woman."
+
+Mrs. Tate rose tragically from her chair and made a sweeping gesture
+with her right hand. "With the other woman's _performance_."
+
+Tate looked at her for a moment, with smiling incredulity. "How
+ridiculous!" he said.
+
+"That's exactly what I said when you told me he had fallen in love with
+his _wife's_ performance. I said it was the most ridiculous thing I'd
+ever heard in my _life_. I couldn't have believed it if I hadn't
+observed it with my own eyes. But that afternoon I saw him--he stood
+near me, leaning against the railing--and I wish you could have seen the
+expression in his face while that woman was exhibiting herself,
+especially when she made her horrible dives."
+
+For a moment Tate stood without speaking. Then he said:--
+
+"I'm afraid you're putting a romantic interpretation on a very simple
+sequence of events. That fellow probably did fall in love with his
+wife's performance, and incidentally he liked the money that went with
+it. When she stopped her diving and became an ordinary performer, like
+thousands of others, she ceased to interest him. Then he looked around
+for some one else to be interested in, and when the other acrobatic
+person appeared he was just in the condition to be caught."
+
+"I don't believe it. It's a----"
+
+"There's one way, of course, of proving whether you're right or not,"
+Tate interrupted, with a quizzical smile.
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"If your theory is correct, the only thing for Madame Le Baron to do is
+to go back to her performance. Then she'll meet her rival on her own
+ground. From what I've read about that other performer, Madame Le
+Baron's dive must be twice as difficult and twice as thrilling as hers."
+
+Mrs. Tate turned to her husband with a look of admiration, her breath
+coming and going in quick gasps. "Percy, that's the wisest thing you've
+ever said in your life." A moment later she added, with a change of
+tone: "But isn't the whole thing _too_ absurd?"
+
+He started to go upstairs. "You know we're due at the Bigelows in an
+hour?"
+
+"Wait a minute," said Mrs. Tate. "I want to think over what you said.
+You can't imagine how this thing has worried me. It's all due to my
+meddling. Oh, I know that; you needn't say anything to me about it. But
+I'm determined to help that poor woman if I can. Oh, if I had only
+followed your advice, and let them alone!" she moaned.
+
+"There's no use worrying now. The mischief's done. He would probably
+have got tired of her anyway."
+
+"If something isn't done to bring him back to her," she went on without
+heeding his remark, "it will kill her. I'm sure of that. If you could
+only see her. She looks like a ghost, and her hands tremble so! I don't
+believe she's slept a wink for weeks. I don't see how she gets through
+her performances. A clinging creature like her just _lives_ on
+affection. Before she was married she always had her mother to take care
+of her. To think that that man should treat her so! Oh, it's a shame,
+it's a shame!"
+
+Tate was standing at the door. "If she's going to kill herself over that
+fellow, she might as well have gone on with her diving and killed
+herself that way. You ask her if she doesn't want to go back to it," he
+added, with the quizzical smile, "and see if she won't jump at the
+chance."
+
+"Do you suppose that she can suspect for an instant that her husband
+fell in love with her performance?" she said, her eyes following her
+husband up the stairs.
+
+"She probably hasn't reasoned it out, but I haven't a doubt she feels it
+intuitively," he replied, continuing his ascent. "You just ask her if
+she doesn't want to make the plunge again and see what she'll say," he
+concluded, smiling down at her from the floor above.
+
+
+
+
+                                   XX
+
+
+Mrs. Tate tried, by an almost impassioned kindness, to atone for her
+neglect of Blanche during her absence from London. She sent her flowers
+from her conservatory, she bought gifts for the little Jeanne, she
+called at the apartment in Upper Bedford Place nearly every morning.
+During these visits she did not once meet Jules; Blanche told her that
+he always went away soon after breakfast, and seldom returned before
+dinner. Sometimes he did not accompany her to the Hippodrome, but he
+never failed to appear there during the evening. The management had
+offered to reëngage Miss King as soon as her contract expired, and the
+diver thought of postponing her return to America; but they had not as
+yet come to terms, as the girl wanted a much larger salary than she had
+been receiving.
+
+It was this information that reminded Mrs. Tate to ask Blanche if she
+were sorry she had given up her plunge and if she ever wished to resume
+it. Though she had at first been impressed by the solution of Blanche's
+troubles suggested by her husband, she had on sober second thought
+dismissed it as ridiculously romantic; such things might happen in
+novels, but they never could occur in real life. Her belief was shaken,
+however, when she saw the pale face light up at her question.
+
+"Oh, yes," Blanche cried, "I have thought of it. Sometimes--sometimes I
+think it would be better if I hadn't given it up. Then--then that woman
+wouldn't have come." Her eyes filled with tears, but she controlled
+herself and, a moment later, she went on:--
+
+"But I--I thought it was wrong for me to risk my life, and it made me so
+unhappy for Jeanne's sake. But sometimes I think I might have stopped
+being afraid. Before Jeanne was born I never had the least thought of
+fear, even after father was killed, because I knew that was because the
+trapeze was weak. Oh, I'm sure," she went on piteously,--"I'm _sure_ I
+shouldn't be afraid any more!"
+
+"But Dr. Broughton, you remember what he said, don't you?"
+
+"He said that when I stopped making the plunge I should be better,"
+Blanche replied simply. "But I'm not better; I feel worse,--oh, so much
+worse! I know I should be better if I tried it again. And I sha'n't be
+afraid any more," she repeated,--"even for Jeanne. It would be so much
+better for us all!"
+
+This speech made Mrs. Tate wonder if, as her husband had suggested,
+Blanche had divined that Jules had cared for her performance rather than
+for herself, and fancied she could win him back by resuming it. Her
+interest increased when she learned that Jules and Miss King had not
+spoken to each other for two evenings. Miss King's maid, who had at last
+come from Manchester, and who knew a little Canadian French, had told
+Madeleine about it. Jules had urged Miss King to accept Marshall's
+terms, and was vexed with her because she refused and threatened to go
+back to America. This had made him even more disagreeable at home than
+he had been before; for the past few days he had not spoken one pleasant
+word to them, and he had not even noticed Jeanne.
+
+It was this information that rang in Mrs. Tate's consciousness when she
+had left the apartment. Jules and that woman had quarrelled! Of course,
+they would make it up again,--perhaps in a few days, perhaps that very
+day; but if they did not, the quarrel might be one of the means of
+winning him back to his wife. At any rate, she would speak to her
+husband about it. When, on her return home, she did speak, he burst out
+laughing.
+
+"I don't see how you can find anything funny in that!" she said
+resentfully. "It's a very serious matter."
+
+"But it threatens to spoil my beautiful little romance!"
+
+"Your beautiful romance? What do you mean?"
+
+"If you had persuaded her to go back to her diving, and if she drove the
+other woman out of the field in that way, it would be a proof of my
+theory that he's fallen in love with the _performance_ and not with the
+_performer_. But if his wife gets him back again now, it will be merely
+because the other woman has broken with him. There's nothing for him to
+do _except_ to go back to his wife and be forgiven."
+
+"Well, I don't care what the reason is--if she only _gets_ him back.
+She'll certainly die of jealousy and misery if she doesn't,--that's
+plain enough. In my opinion, Dr. Broughton was entirely wrong in his
+diagnosis of the case. She says herself that she misses her diving and
+she wants to take it up again. Her rest hasn't done her a particle of
+good. Anyway, I'll speak to the Doctor about it to-morrow. I'll write a
+note, and ask him to come in for tea if he can."
+
+"And hold another council of war," her husband suggested.
+
+"A council of _peace_," she retorted smartly. "Oh, I know what you're
+thinking of! But I'm determined to undo the harm I've done. There's no
+time to be lost. If I can get that poor little woman to resume her
+plunge while the husband's still quarrelling with the other performer, I
+feel sure everything will come out all right. He'll be interested in her
+again. Don't you remember how he used to brag about her? I suppose you
+don't, but he did; and I could tell that he was as proud of her as if
+she were the most wonderful creature in the world."
+
+"I don't see what she wants him for," Tate said carelessly.
+
+"Well, you're not a woman, and you can't understand how women feel about
+men. I sometimes think the worse men are, the more their wives adore
+them."
+
+Tate smiled, but he made no reply; he was much more interested in the
+case than he would allow himself to appear to be. Indeed, he was so
+interested that he left his office the next day earlier than usual, in
+order to take part in the conference. He found his wife in earnest talk
+with the Doctor. Before coming to the house, Dr. Broughton, at Mrs.
+Tate's suggestion, had made a call on Madame Le Baron, and he expressed
+his alarm at having found her so thin and weak.
+
+"Do you remember what I said the night we had our first talk about her?"
+he asked, glancing at Tate. "I was afraid then that if she gave up her
+work it might upset her, though I didn't see how she could go on with
+the diving and keep whatever health she had. Now she's a great deal
+worse off than she was when I last saw her."
+
+Then they discussed the case in all its aspects. The Doctor laughed when
+Mrs. Tate declared she believed the poor woman's happiness depended on
+her resuming her plunge. "Oh, it may seem absurd to you!" she cried,
+growing more earnest under ridicule; "but Percy believes it, though he
+may pretend to you that he doesn't. He was the one who first suggested
+it to me."
+
+"I really think the diving wouldn't hurt her health so much as her
+worrying about her husband does," the Doctor admitted. "Besides, she
+believes she won't be afraid of it any more. She says her rest from it
+has taken all her fear away."
+
+"Then you think the best thing for her to do would be to resume the
+plunge?" said Mrs. Tate.
+
+For a moment the Doctor stroked his chin. "Under the circumstances I
+should say it might," he replied slowly. "At any rate, it would be worth
+trying. Of course, if that haunting fear returned she'd have to stop it
+again."
+
+A look of triumph flashed from the face of Mrs. Tate; and when she
+glanced at her husband she saw that he was trying to dissemble his
+interest in the decision. "I shall tell her that to-morrow!" she cried.
+"It'll be the best news the poor thing has had for a long time. She's
+crazy to begin that plunge again."
+
+"I hope you are ready to take the consequences of your interference in
+this business," said Tate, dryly.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XXI
+
+
+The next morning, in a long and secret talk, Mrs. Tate communicated the
+Doctor's judgment to Blanche. She learned that Jules was still sullen
+and depressed. That, of course, was a sign that his quarrel with the
+diver had not as yet been made up. Blanche said that she would speak to
+him at once about resuming the plunge; so far as she knew, no one had as
+yet been engaged to take Miss King's place, and perhaps Mr. Marshall
+would make a new contract with her on the old terms. Mrs. Tate hurried
+away in a state of feverish excitement, dreading, yet hoping, that she
+might meet Jules on the stairs, in order to reveal the great news. She
+would have liked to return to the apartment that very afternoon, to
+learn the effect of the announcement upon him; but she controlled her
+impatience.
+
+Jules did not return till late in the afternoon. From his manner Blanche
+saw at once that he was in a surly mood. He flung his coat and hat on a
+chair and threw himself on the couch. For a long time she did not dare
+to speak to him. She thought he was going to sleep, but she suddenly saw
+him staring at her with a look that frightened her.
+
+"Jules!" she said.
+
+He had closed his eyes again, and he seemed not to hear.
+
+"Jules."
+
+He opened his eyes, and once more she met that look. "What is it?" he
+grunted. Her plaintive manner vexed him; it seemed like a reflection on
+himself.
+
+"There's something I want to say to you," she went on apologetically,
+and with a suggestion of tearfulness in her voice, as if she felt
+disappointed at his manner of receiving her news.
+
+As he did not reply, she said: "It's about--about my plunge. I have been
+thinking that I'm--I'm so much better now--I mean I'm not so
+nervous--perhaps I can begin it again."
+
+He sat up on the couch, a light coming into his eyes. For a moment he
+was too surprised to speak. Then he said: "Well, I'm glad you're coming
+to your senses!"
+
+Encouraged by the change in his manner, she repeated what Dr. Broughton
+had said to Mrs. Tate. At the mention of the names, Jules' face
+darkened; since that night at the Tates' he had felt a personal
+resentment against the Doctor, almost as strong as his hatred of the
+Englishwoman.
+
+"So that woman's been here again today, has she?" he said bitterly.
+After a brief silence, he added more gently: "If you feel able to do the
+plunge again, the sooner you begin the better. I know that Marshall will
+be glad enough to renew the old contract. It will just fit in with his
+plans," he continued, with a grim thought of the diver's discomfiture on
+being superseded by Blanche. "I'll speak to him this very night."
+
+Blanche tried to smile, but the effort ended in a sigh. She had thought
+that Jules would show more enthusiasm.
+
+"But we can't have any more nonsense," he said, glancing at her
+again,--this time, however, without the bitterness she had before
+observed in his face. "If you allow yourself to be afraid of the plunge
+again, it will simply ruin you as an attraction. It'll make the managers
+think you're unreliable, and they won't engage you."
+
+In spite of his apparent indifference, Jules was secretly delighted at
+the thought of his wife's resuming her great dive. For the past few days
+he had never felt so keenly the humiliation of his own position. A
+petulant remark of Lottie King's the day of their quarrel had kept
+ringing in his ears: "What do _you_ amount to anyway?" Now he thought
+triumphantly of the restoration of his own dignity. With Blanche as the
+star attraction of the Hippodrome, earning a large salary, and with a
+choice of offers from all over the world, he would become a personage
+again! But he must guard her more carefully. He must in future keep her
+out of the way of interfering foreigners like Mrs. Tate, who would put a
+lot of nonsense into her head!
+
+That night, when Jules consulted Marshall, he learned what he had
+already surmised, that the manager was much upset by Miss King's refusal
+to extend her engagement on any but exorbitant terms, and though it
+would be completed in two weeks, he had not as yet found a sufficiently
+strong attraction to take her place; so he was not only willing, but
+glad, to renew with Blanche the contract she had at first made with him.
+Jules felt the more elated on being told that Miss King had not been
+nearly so good an attraction as his wife while giving the sensational
+plunge. He was in high spirits when he entered Blanche's dressing-room
+and told her the news. Blanche flushed with pleasure, not merely at the
+news, but at his affectionate manner as well; Madeleine, however, though
+she said nothing, seemed depressed. She had hoped that the poor child
+would never make that horrible dive again.
+
+After that night Blanche was so happy that she seemed like another
+creature from the thin, white-faced little woman of the past few weeks.
+Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed. Jules had been so different
+with her, she said to Mrs. Tate, since she had told him she would go on
+with the plunge. The night before he had taken her to the Hippodrome,
+and after the performance they had gone with Madeleine to a _café_; it
+reminded them of the days of their courtship in Paris.
+
+The two weeks that followed were the happiest Blanche had known since
+those first days after the birth of her child. Jules' devotion extended
+not only to her, but to little Jeanne and to Madeleine as well. For
+several days the gloom that had wrapped the city during most of the
+winter lifted; the sun shone, and the feeling of spring was in the air.
+In the afternoons Blanche took walks with Jules in the park, and on
+Sunday they went to mass together and then drove out to Richmond and
+dined there. They agreed to pretend that they were still in their days
+of courtship, and Jules delighted Blanche by repeating some of the
+foolish speeches he had made to her in the first weeks of their love.
+
+Then, too, they made great plans for the future. The negotiations with
+Hicks in New York had been broken off, but Jules had heard of an
+Australian manager who was in London looking for performers to appear
+during the following winter in Melbourne. How fine it would be if they
+could go out there and give performances in the chief Australian cities!
+Blanche, however, showed so little enthusiasm for this plan that Jules
+abandoned it for a time. Besides, he himself liked better the plan she
+suggested of returning to the _Cirque Parisien_. They might make an
+engagement there that would enable them to pass the winter in Paris. How
+good it would be to be back there again! Perhaps they could secure the
+little apartment in the _rue de Lisbonne_. Jules became so enthusiastic
+that he wrote to the manager in Paris, proposing terms. After a winter
+there they might think of going to Australia, where they would be much
+better paid than in Paris.
+
+The thought of returning to France added to Blanche's happiness. Oh, to
+see her mother and Jeanne and Louise again! How good it would be! There
+had been times during the past few weeks when she felt as if she could
+not bear to be separated from them any longer. But in Paris they could
+come to see her; perhaps Monsieur Berthier would let her mother and the
+girls pass a few weeks with her. Of course, she would be with them in
+Boulogne for the summer. When she spoke of this to Jules, however, he
+said nothing. He had in mind other plans, a possible engagement at one
+of the French watering places; but he thought it best not to refer to
+this at present. He realized the importance of making as much money as
+possible and as quickly as possible. There was no knowing how long his
+wife's nerve would last. If she only held out for a few years longer,
+they could make a fortune in Australia and America. Then they could
+retire, and live comfortably in Paris for the rest of their lives. He
+expected to earn a great deal of money in America; but he had reasons
+for not speaking of that country at all for the present.
+
+The two weeks during which Blanche was enjoying her new happiness were
+an exciting time for Mrs. Tate, who felt as if she were responsible for
+the success of her _protégée's_ return to her former place in the
+Hippodrome. Every day she repaired to Upper Bedford Place and held long
+conferences with Blanche. Everything promised well, she thought. Jules
+showed no signs of returning to the thraldom of Lottie King. How
+providential, Mrs. Tate thought, the quarrel between them had been! She
+did not know that, even before his break with her, Jules had begun to
+tire of the diver's domineering manner and of her habit of ridiculing
+him; moreover, he had at last perceived that she was only playing with
+him. This had helped to prejudice him against her performance, and as
+the novelty of the performance wore off, he saw that it was far inferior
+in daring and skill to his wife's magnificent plunge. This had never
+lost its fascination for him, and now, as he assisted Blanche in her
+daily exercises he felt the old thrill at its brilliancy and his own
+sense of importance in having a part in it.
+
+On the afternoon of the day when her plunge was to be resumed, Blanche
+took a long rest. She was awakened by the crowing of Jeanne in the next
+room. She raised her hands to her head; at the thought of the ordeal of
+the evening, a sudden dizziness came upon her. It was more than three
+months since she had made the dive, and she wondered if she should be
+equal to it. How horrible if at the last moment she should lose her
+nerve! She arose quickly, hardly daring to allow herself to think, and
+she hurried to the child. How strong and beautiful Jeanne was! Blanche
+took her in her arms and pressed her closely. When Madeleine turned and
+lumbered out of the room, leaving them alone together, Blanche began to
+kiss the child passionately, and tears welled over on her cheeks. Then
+she bathed her face, for fear that Jules would see that she had been
+crying.
+
+That night at dinner, Jules was in high spirits. "Marshall expects a big
+house," he said. "He's spent a lot of money advertising your dive. He
+thinks of getting a big poster made of you flying through the air."
+
+During the whole of the meal Blanche was very quiet. Madeleine noticed
+that her eyes were shining. When it was time to go to the Hippodrome,
+Jules, wrapping his wife in her cloak, put his arms around her, and
+kissed her on the ear, as he had often done in the days of their
+engagement. She drew away and started for Jeanne's room.
+
+"Where are you going?" he said.
+
+"I want to kiss the little one good-night."
+
+"But she's asleep!" he cried impatiently. "You mustn't wake her up."
+
+In spite of his protest, she silently made her way into the room where
+the child lay, closing the door behind her. Jules listened, thinking
+that Jeanne would cry on being disturbed; but there was no sound. Then
+he knew that she was praying by the crib, and this angered him. It was
+about time to put a stop to her notions, he said to himself. When, a
+moment later, she came out, her face was covered with a thick veil, and,
+after glancing at her sharply, he said nothing.
+
+On arriving at the Hippodrome, they found Mrs. Tate in the star
+dressing-room, which had been assigned to Blanche again.
+
+"I have been waiting for you," Mrs. Tate said nervously. "I suppose I
+have no right to be here, but I felt that I _must_ see you, and I made
+my husband bring me. Are you quite well?"
+
+She had observed the look of disgust given her by Jules, but this did
+not disturb her nearly so much as the white face that Blanche presented.
+Moreover, she did not feel reassured when Blanche smiled and said she
+felt perfectly well.
+
+"Of course everything will be splendid. There's a tremendous crowd,"
+Mrs. Tate added. "You'll have a great success."
+
+Jules, after bowing coldly, had turned from the room. As soon as the
+door closed behind him, Mrs. Tate seized Blanche by both hands and
+kissed her affectionately. "I mustn't keep you from dressing," she said
+with a smile. "Perhaps I'll come in and congratulate you when it's all
+over."
+
+Blanche grew a shade paler, and Mrs. Tate hesitated at the door. "What
+is it?" she said.
+
+"Nothing."
+
+Mrs. Tate walked toward her. "Nothing?"
+
+Blanche turned her head away. "If anything should happen," she said
+quietly, "the--the little one--I should like my mother to take her."
+
+Mrs. Tate began to breathe hard; but she burst out laughing. "You silly
+child! Of course; I shall look after Jeanne anyway. Don't you worry
+about _her_. Now I must hurry out to that husband of mine. He'll be
+furious with me for keeping him waiting so long."
+
+A few moments before Blanche appeared in the ring, Jules returned to the
+dressing-room, resplendent in his evening clothes, with three diamonds
+gleaming on his shirt-front, and carrying a bouquet of white roses.
+
+"These are just like the roses I bought for you the night I met you. I
+selected them this afternoon, and they've just come. You must wear them
+in your belt, as you did then," he said, as she flushed with pleasure
+and thanked him. "I remember how tickled I was when I saw them; and oh,
+how I hated Pelletier when you took them out and gave them to him to
+hold, while you were going through your act."
+
+Then, as she adjusted the flowers in her belt, he went on: "It's the
+biggest house of the season! Marshall says you're the best attraction he
+ever had. Ready?" he asked, surveying Blanche as she stood in her white
+silk tights. "You look just as you did when I first saw you," he added,
+putting one hand on her cheek and kissing her lightly on the other.
+"Come along."
+
+Then he threw over her the robe she always wore on her way to the ring,
+and they hurried from the room. As Blanche ran out on the net and heard
+the applause of the vast audience, she felt a thrill of joy and an
+intoxicating sense of her own power. All fear seemed to leave her, and
+she laughed as she climbed hand over hand to the trapeze. From trapeze
+to trapeze she shot with delight; she had never felt so sure of herself,
+so exultant. When she returned to the net, Jules, who had taken his
+place at the rope, whispered to her: "You're in great form to-night.
+Keep it up."
+
+She was smiling as she started on her long climb to the top of the
+building. But when she had taken her place on the beam from which she
+was to make her plunge and looked down at the black mass in the
+distance, her strength seemed suddenly to leave her. Her fingers
+tightened on the beam, as if she felt afraid of losing her balance. Then
+she heard her husband's voice ring through the place, crying the
+familiar warning. She knew the moment had come for making the plunge;
+but she continued motionless. She felt as if her will had become
+suddenly paralyzed, and a moment later, as if her body were frozen.
+
+The black mass below seemed to dance before her, then to beckon to her,
+and in her ears she kept hearing the voice of little Jeanne and the
+sound of her laughter. Oh, she had known that this moment would come
+some time; she had known it ever since Jeanne was born. But she could
+not sit there forever; the crowd below was waiting to see her fall. If
+she did not make an effort she should lose her self-control and go
+plunging into the blackness. She must lift her hands and gather herself
+together, and hurl herself out as she had always done. But she had no
+strength; she could only lift her arms weakly. Then she tried to give
+her body the necessary impetus, and she plunged wildly into the air.
+
+There was a cry of horror from the crowd, and a moment later the white
+figure lay motionless in the net. The people rose from their seats and
+rushed toward the ring. The police tried to drive them back as Jules
+leaped into the net and seized the prostrate body in his arms.
+
+"Keep them back," he cried frantically, not realizing that he was
+speaking French. "She must have air." Then, turning, he said: "Blanche!
+Blanche! Can't you speak? Open your eyes so I may know you aren't dead."
+
+He was terrified by the way her head fell back from her shoulders. "We
+must get her out of this," he said desperately, to two of the circus men
+who had followed him on the net, as he glanced down at the struggling
+mass beneath him. "Bring her to her dressing-room. Make those people get
+out of the way."
+
+With difficulty they bore her through the crowd. Some one threw her
+cloak over her as she passed. She gave no sign of life, but the
+expression in Jules' face showed that he still hoped. When they reached
+her room, they placed her on the floor, and Jules closed the door to
+keep out the crowd. Madeleine, who had been ringing her hands and
+moaning, quickly loosened the tight bodice. Then the door was forced
+open again, and Marshall entered with a physician, who quickly bent over
+the prostrate figure and listened for the heart-beat.
+
+"She's dead," he said quietly.
+
+Jules threw himself on the body in a paroxysm of despair.
+
+
+                                THE END.
+
+
+
+
+                    PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS,
+                    IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS,
+                    FOR STONE AND KIMBALL, PUBLISHERS,
+                    NEW YORK, M DCCC XCVI
+
+
+
+
+                           Transcriber Notes:
+
+Passages in italics were indicated by _underscores_.
+
+Small caps were replaced with ALL CAPS.
+
+Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of the
+speakers. Those words were retained as-is.
+
+Errors in punctuations and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected
+unless otherwise noted.
+
+On page 18, "were" was replaced with "was".
+
+On page 103, "Champs Élyseés" was replaced with "Champs Élysées".
+
+On page 118, "wool house" was replaced with "wool-house".
+
+On page 192, "aimably" was replaced with "amiably".
+
+On page 222, "is" was replaced with "it".
+
+On page 294, "palor" was replaced with "pallor".
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Mademoiselle Blanche, by John David Barry
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MADEMOISELLE BLANCHE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 39383-8.txt or 39383-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/3/8/39383/
+
+Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Ernest Schaal, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+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.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+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
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/39383-8.zip b/39383-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7629fc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39383-8.zip
diff --git a/39383-h.zip b/39383-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3c9b177
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39383-h.zip
diff --git a/39383-h/39383-h.htm b/39383-h/39383-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4d7bf2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39383-h/39383-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,10422 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Mademoiselle Blanche, by John D. Barry.
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+ }
+
+h1 {
+    margin-top: 7%;
+    text-indent: 0%;
+    text-align: center;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+h2 {
+    margin-top: 4%;
+    text-indent: 0%;
+    text-align: center;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+/* paragraphs */
+
+p {
+    margin-top: 3%;
+    margin-bottom: 3%;
+    text-align: justify;
+} /* general paragraph */
+
+p.h2a {
+  text-indent: 0%;
+  text-align: center;
+  font-size: 150%;
+  font-weight: bold;
+} /* h2 type without top margin */
+
+p.cnobmargin {
+    text-align: center;
+    margin-bottom: .0%;
+} /* centered no bottom margin */
+
+p.cnomargins {
+    text-align: center;
+    margin-bottom: .0%;
+    margin-top: .0%;
+} /* centered no bottom or top margin */
+
+p.cnotmargin {
+    text-align: center;
+    margin-top: .0%;
+} /* centered no top margin */
+
+p.indent {
+    text-indent: 4%;
+} /* indented paragraph */
+
+/* horizontal rules */
+
+hr {
+    width: 33%;
+    margin-top: 8%;
+    margin-bottom: 8%;
+    margin-left: auto;
+    margin-right: auto;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+.hr2
+{
+    width: 90%;
+    max-width: 90%;
+    color: #CCCCCC;
+    background-color: #FFFFFF;
+    border: none;
+    border-bottom: 6px double black;
+    margin: 8% auto;
+} /* horizontal rule for chapter divisions */
+
+.pagenum {
+    position: absolute;
+    left: 92%;
+    font-size: smaller;
+    text-align: right;
+} /* page numbers */
+
+.center {
+    text-indent: 0%;
+    text-align: center;
+}
+
+/* Links attributes */
+
+a:link              { color:#000000; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dashed #808080;}
+
+a:visited           { color:#25383C; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dashed #808080;}
+
+a:hover             { color:#008000; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dashed #808080;}
+
+a:active            { color:#000000; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dashed #808080;}
+
+ins {text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dashed #dcdcdc;}
+
+/* Images */
+
+img {
+    padding: 6px;
+} /* without border */
+
+.figcenter {
+    margin: auto;
+    text-align: center;
+}
+
+div.tnote {
+    background-color: #CCCCFF;
+    border-style: dotted;
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+    padding: 1%;
+    font-style: normal;
+    font-size: 90%;
+    text-align: justify;
+}
+
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mademoiselle Blanche, by John David Barry
+
+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: Mademoiselle Blanche
+       A Novel
+
+Author: John David Barry
+
+Release Date: April 5, 2012 [EBook #39383]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MADEMOISELLE BLANCHE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Ernest Schaal, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<h1>Mademoiselle Blanche</h1>
+
+<p class="cnobmargin"><i>A Novel</i></p>
+<p class="cnomargins">BY</p>
+<p class="cnotmargin">JOHN D. BARRY</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> <img src="images/titlepagelogo.png" width="100" height="140" alt="" title="" /></div>
+
+<p class="cnobmargin">NEW YORK</p>
+<p class="cnomargins">STONE AND KIMBALL</p>
+<p class="cnotmargin">MDCCCXCVI</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p class="cnobmargin">COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY</p>
+<p class="cnotmargin">STONE AND KIMBALL</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page1" id="page1"></a>[pg&nbsp;1]</span></p>
+
+<h2>Mademoiselle Blanche</h2>
+
+<h2>I</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;André!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, monsieur.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The little waiter, with anxiety in his
+smooth, blond face, hurried to the table.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Bring me the <i>Soir</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">André shot away, and presently returned,
+paper in hand.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What is there good at the theatres,
+André?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">André wiped his hands in his soiled apron,
+and looked thoughtful.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There's the <i>Folies Bergères</i>, monsieur.
+Dumont sings to-night.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, she tires me. Her voice is cracked.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There's Madame Judic at the <i>Variétés</i>,&quot;
+André suggested, tentatively.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page2" id="page2"></a>[pg&nbsp;2]</span>
+&quot;I saw her in the last piece.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">André scratched his head, and stared at
+the figure at the table.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Monsieur likes the <i>Cirque</i>, does he
+not?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Monsieur did not look up from the paper.
+&quot;What's at the <i>Cirque</i> now, André?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;At the <i>Cirque Parisien</i>? There's Mademoiselle
+Blanche, the acrobat. They say she's
+a marvel, monsieur,&mdash;and beautiful,&mdash;the
+most beautiful woman in Paris. She dives
+from the top of the building backwards&mdash;hundreds
+of feet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;So you think it's really good, André?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">André nodded. Monsieur dropped the
+paper, paid his bill, left a little fee for the
+<i>garçon</i>, and took himself off. At the entrance
+he stopped and surveyed the surging
+crowd in the <i>Boulevard Montmartre</i>. He
+had just finished an excellent dinner with
+a glass of <i>chartreuse verte</i>; so he felt particularly
+complacent. As he prodded his teeth
+with the easy grace of the Frenchman who
+knows no shame of the toothpick, he tried
+to think out a plan for the evening. Nothing
+better occurred to him than André's suggestion.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page3" id="page3"></a>[pg&nbsp;3]</span>
+He was not in the mood for the
+<i>Casino de Paris</i>, nor for any of the other
+concert halls, nor even for the theatres.
+Yes, he would go to the Circus. He hadn't
+been there for ten days.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For years Jules Le Baron had attended
+the <i>Cirque Parisien</i> at least once a fortnight;
+his friends used to chaff him for his
+fondness for it. Those who had known him
+from a boy liked to remind him of his first
+great ambition&mdash;to be a performer on the
+trapeze. Though this amused him now, he
+had never lost his love for feats of daring
+and skill. Whenever he felt particularly
+tired from his work at the wool-house, he
+would go to the Circus; it refreshed him,
+and he fancied that it made him sleep
+well afterwards. His first love had been
+a beautiful Roumanian, who jumped through
+hoops of fire, landing on her velvet-caparisoned
+horse, without even singeing her
+long, blond hair. He was fifteen then, and
+he discovered that the lady was forty-five,
+though he could have sworn there was
+not a difference of more than three years
+in their ages. Since that time he had become
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page4" id="page4"></a>[pg&nbsp;4]</span>
+enamoured of many of the glittering
+amazons of the arena, who shot through
+the air, or through hoops, or out of the
+mouths of cannons, or crossed dizzy heights
+on the tight-rope, or juggled with long,
+villainous-looking knives falling in showers
+into their hands.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Those episodes, however, brightened Jules
+Le Baron's life long before he was twenty-five.
+He had since had many similar experiences
+in the larger arena of the world.
+Indeed, he gloried in his susceptibility;
+he used to give people to understand that,
+though fairly successful in business, he had
+a very keen appreciation of the sentiments,
+and of all the refinements of life. To a
+foreigner he would have expressed this complication
+by saying that he was Parisian to
+his finger-tips. In America, where, at the
+age of twenty-six, he passed three wretched
+months, he had been appalled by the lack
+of sentiment among the people. Of course,
+as he represented there the wool-house with
+which he had been connected since his
+sixteenth year, he met chiefly business men;
+but even these ought to have displayed an
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page5" id="page5"></a>[pg&nbsp;5]</span>
+interest in something outside their commercial
+routine.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">It was those three months in America
+that gave Jules Le Baron his zest for Paris.
+Of course, he had always loved it; but
+till he left it, his love had not become
+self-conscious. America taught him what
+he had only dimly known before, that for
+him Paris was the only city in the world
+worth living in. He knew that people born
+away from Paris liked other cities; secretly,
+however, this amused him. He believed
+that no one, after living in Paris, could find
+any other place habitable. Indeed, any
+places, any people, any customs foreign to
+Paris seemed to him so droll that at the
+thought of some of them he often laughed
+aloud. America had given him things to
+laugh at for the rest of his life.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Of course, Jules was proud of having
+visited America; it gave him a delightful
+feeling of superiority to his friends and
+acquaintances at home. He always felt
+pleased when the English and Americans
+that he met in business complimented him
+on his English; it enabled him to say carelessly:
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page6" id="page6"></a>[pg&nbsp;6]</span>
+&quot;Oh, I just picked it up when I was
+in America.&quot; He really had learned very
+little English there; nearly all he knew had
+been taught him by his father, a professor
+of chemistry in a small school in Paris,
+who had spent six months in England
+during the siege. He had acquired there,
+however, a smattering of American slang;
+on his lips it sounded delicious. His friends
+in Paris thought he spoke English beautifully,
+and frequently referred to his talent
+for languages. He had given them glowing
+accounts of his adventures in America,
+and said nothing of his desolate loneliness
+there; so they looked upon him as a born
+traveller,&mdash;as, altogether, a man of remarkable
+qualities. But for his English and his travels,
+they would merely have shrugged their shoulders
+at the mention of his name, and dismissed
+him with a &quot;<i>Bon garçon!</i>&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules Le Baron knew that he was much
+more than a <i>bon garçon</i>. His attitude
+toward the world expressed this; he always
+acted as if he felt the world had been made
+exclusively for him. After losing his father
+at fourteen, he promptly proceeded to link
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page7" id="page7"></a>[pg&nbsp;7]</span>
+his mother in the closest bonds of slavery.
+Yet he was kind to her, too, and, in his
+way, he loved her, for she was made to
+obey, just as he had been born to command.
+When she died and left him alone at the
+age of twenty with a small property, he
+took a miniature apartment in the <i>rue de
+Lisbonne</i>, and adjusted himself to his new
+life. His salary at the wool-house, where
+his English helped to make him valuable,
+together with the property, gave him an
+income of ten thousand francs a year. He
+considered himself rich, a personage, one
+who ought to marry well.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules had thought so much about marriage
+that, at thirty, it was surprising he should
+have remained unwedded. Every young
+woman he met he regarded as a candidate
+for his hand, and he spent a large part of
+his leisure in rejecting these innocent suitors.
+Even now, as he slowly made his way up
+the <i>Boulevard</i>, he fancied that the girls he
+passed were looking at him admiringly and
+enviously. He often smiled back at them,
+for he was rarely unkind and he never gratuitously
+wounded any one's feelings. With
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page8" id="page8"></a>[pg&nbsp;8]</span>
+his mother, it is true, he had been occasionally
+severe, but merely to discipline her,
+to make her see things as he saw them.
+At this moment he felt particularly amiable.
+He was in Paris, on the <i>Boulevard</i> that he
+loved, surrounded by the people that he
+loved, in the atmosphere which, as he had
+discovered in America, was as the very
+breath to his being. The spectacle was
+all for him! Paris, had been created that
+he might enjoy it!</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page9" id="page9"></a>[pg&nbsp;9]</span></p>
+
+<h2>II</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">Saturday was the fashionable night at
+the <i>Cirque Parisien</i>, and the night
+when Jules usually attended it. This was
+Tuesday, however, and Jules decided not to
+be fashionable, but simply to amuse himself.
+As he approached the letters of light that
+flashed the name of the <i>Cirque</i> into the eyes
+of the <i>boulevardiers</i>, he suddenly remembered
+that he had promised to meet two of
+his comrades of the wool-house in the evening.
+He turned into the <i>rue Taitbout</i>, and as he
+was walking slowly through the long passageway
+leading into one of the large apartment-houses
+there, he felt himself suddenly seized
+in the darkness by two pairs of hands. He
+looked quickly around, and dimly recognized
+Dufresne and Leroux, who had come up from
+behind him. They were both types, short
+and swarthy, with oily faces, thick black
+moustaches, and pointed beards.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page10" id="page10"></a>[pg&nbsp;10]</span>
+&quot;Why didn't you come before?&quot; and &quot;We've
+been waiting an hour,&quot; they cried together.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;He's been up to some adventure, I'll
+wager,&quot; said Leroux.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Answer! The truth! No lies!&quot; Dufresne
+exclaimed, shaking him by one shoulder.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules pulled away with an effort.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I thought you were going to rob me!&quot;
+he laughed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You see, he doesn't answer,&quot; said Dufresne.
+&quot;I told you he was up to some
+adventure.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Up to some adventure!&quot; Jules repeated.
+&quot;I've just been taking dinner, and I forgot
+I'd promised to meet you to-night. Where
+are you going?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;We're going to the <i>Folies Bergères</i>, and
+then to a masked ball in Montmartre,&quot;
+Leroux answered, resuming his grip. &quot;Come
+along.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules pulled away with a laugh.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Thanks. Not to-night. I don't feel like
+it. Besides, I'm not dressed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But <i>we're</i> not dressed,&quot; they cried together,
+throwing open their coats. &quot;You
+won't have to dress. Come on.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page11" id="page11"></a>[pg&nbsp;11]</span>
+Jules shook his head decidedly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No,&quot; he insisted, &quot;it's all very well for
+you young bucks. I'm too old. It tires
+me out for the next day; can't do my work.
+I think I'll look in at the Circus. Come
+along with me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">They scoffed at the idea of going to the
+Circus, and tried to persuade him to accompany
+them, since he had kept them waiting
+so long. But he resisted, and, as he turned
+away from them, they clutched at him again,
+but he escaped, laughing, into the street, and
+he saw them shaking their fists after him.
+Those two &quot;boys,&quot; as he called them, were
+always trying to drag him into their escapades.
+They looked so much alike that at
+the office they were called &quot;the twins,&quot; and
+they were always getting into scrapes and
+into debt together.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Before buying his ticket for the Circus,
+Jules looked carefully over the program on
+the posters in the long entrance. Some of
+the performers he had already seen and the
+names of a few of them were unfamiliar to him.
+One name was printed in larger letters than
+the others&mdash;Mademoiselle Blanche. Jules
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page12" id="page12"></a>[pg&nbsp;12]</span>
+read the paragraph printed below, announcing
+Mademoiselle Blanche as the most marvellous
+acrobat in the world, and proclaiming
+that, in addition to giving her act on the
+trapeze, she would plunge backward from
+the top of the theatre, a height of more than
+seventy-five feet, into a net below. Jules
+smiled, and felt a thrill of his old boyish
+excitement at the prospect of seeing the
+feat performed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When he turned to buy his ticket, he
+noticed a large photograph on an easel,
+standing near the box-office. The name of
+Mademoiselle Blanche, printed under it, attracted
+him. The acrobat, her long sinuous
+limbs encased in white tights, was suspended
+in mid-air, one arm bent at the elbow, clinging
+to a trapeze. The tense muscles of the
+arm made a curious contrast with the expression
+of the face, which was marked by
+unusual simplicity and gentleness. The profile
+was clear, the curving eyelashes were
+delicately outlined, and the eyes were large
+and dark. Something about the lines of the
+small mouth attracted Jules. He studied
+the picture carefully to discover what it was.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page13" id="page13"></a>[pg&nbsp;13]</span>
+The whole expression of the face seemed to
+him to be concentrated in the mouth; he felt
+sure that the teeth were small and very white,
+and the woman's voice was soft and musical.
+The face differed from the ordinary types of
+performers he had seen; it reminded him
+of the faces of some of the girls in the convent
+of Beauvais, where his mother had once
+taken him to visit his cousin. The woman
+must be clever to make herself up so attractively.
+He wondered if the appearance of
+youth that she presented was also due to her
+cleverness. She might easily pass for twenty.
+Her figure looked marvellously supple; she
+had probably been trained for the circus from
+infancy, and she might be fifty years old.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He decided not to buy a seat, but to go
+into the balcony where he could walk about
+and look down at the performance. If it
+bored him, he could rest on one of the velvet-cushioned
+seats till a new &quot;turn&quot; began.
+He found more people in the balcony than
+he had ever seen there before; as a rule
+they made only a thin fringe around the
+railing; now they were five and six deep.
+He established himself beside a post where
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page14" id="page14"></a>[pg&nbsp;14]</span>
+he could catch glimpses of the arena and
+get a support, and there he remained for
+half an hour.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">To-night, however, the antics of the clown,
+the phenomenal intelligence of the performing
+dogs, even the agility of the Schaeffer
+family of acrobats, did not interest him. He
+was impatient to see Mademoiselle Blanche.
+Her name stood last on the program; she
+was probably reserved for a crowning attraction.
+Jules dropped on one of the velvet
+cushions, and rested there for another half-hour.
+Then some knife-throwing attracted
+him, and he slowly worked his way through
+the crowd to a place where he could look
+down at the performers. The knife-throwing
+was followed by an exhibition of trick-riding,
+which preceded the acrobat's appearance.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Before this appearance took place, however,
+there was a long wait caused by the
+preparations made for the great plunge. A
+thick rope was suspended from one of the
+beams that supported the roof of the building,
+and under it a net was spread. Then the
+half-dozen trapezes that had been tied to
+the walls, were loosened, and as they swung
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page15" id="page15"></a>[pg&nbsp;15]</span>
+in the air and the band played, Mademoiselle
+Blanche, in white silk tights, with two long
+strips of white satin ribbon dangling from
+her throat, ran into the ring, and bowed in
+response to the applause of the crowd.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules Le Baron drew a long breath. The
+long supple limbs, the firm white arms and
+throat, the pale oval face, framed in dark
+hair that curled around the forehead, created
+a kind of beauty that seemed almost ethereal.
+The glamour of youth was over her, too; she
+could not be, at most, more than twenty.
+As she ran up the little rope ladder to the net
+and climbed hand over hand along the rope
+to one of the trapezes, Jules thought he had
+never seen such grace, such exquisite sureness
+of movement and agility. After reaching
+the trapeze, she sat there for a moment,
+smiling and rubbing her hands. Then she
+began to swing gently, and a moment later
+she shot through the air to another trapeze
+several feet away, and from that she passed
+on to the others with a bewildering swiftness.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules had never seen a woman perform
+alone on the trapeze before, and this exhibition
+of skill and resource fascinated him.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page16" id="page16"></a>[pg&nbsp;16]</span>
+The feats were nearly all new, and some of
+them of unusual difficulty. When the girl
+had finished her performance on the trapeze
+she returned to the rope, and began to pose
+on it, twisting it around her waist, and hanging
+suspended with her arms in the air. In
+this way she rolled gently down to the net.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The event of the evening was yet to come,
+however. After resting for a moment, Mademoiselle
+Blanche seized the rope again,
+and, hand over hand, she climbed to the top
+of the building; there she sat on a beam, so
+far from the audience that she seemed much
+smaller than she really was. The ring-master,
+a greasy-looking Frenchman in evening
+dress, appeared in the arena and commanded
+silence.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Mademoiselle Blanche must have perfect
+quiet,&quot; he cried, &quot;in order to perform her
+great feat. The least noise might disturb
+her, and cause her death.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules smiled at this speech; it was very
+clever, he thought. Of course, it was made
+merely to impress the audience. He wondered
+how Mademoiselle Blanche felt at that
+moment, perched up there so quietly, ready
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page17" id="page17"></a>[pg&nbsp;17]</span>
+to hurl herself into the air. He did not
+have time to think much about this, for as
+he strained his eyes toward her, the signal
+for the fall was given, the white figure
+plunged backward, spun to earth, landed
+with a tremendous thump in the padded net,
+bounded into the air again, and Mademoiselle
+Blanche was bowing and kissing her fingers.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a moment not a sound was heard.
+Then the audience burst into applause, and
+Jules Le Baron breathed. He felt as if his
+heart had stopped beating. He had never
+seen such a thrilling exhibition before.
+All his old delight in the circus had come
+back to him. As he walked out with the
+crowd, he congratulated himself on not having
+gone with Dufresne and Leroux. He
+would not have missed his evening for a
+dozen balls in Montmartre!</p>
+
+<p class="indent">At the door he met Roger Durand, dramatic
+critic of the <i>Jour</i>. He had known
+Durand as a boy, and they had continued
+on a footing of half-hostile friendship.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;So you've come to see the new sensation?&quot;
+said the journalist, as they shook
+hands.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page18" id="page18"></a>[pg&nbsp;18]</span>
+&quot;Just by chance,&quot; Jules replied. &quot;I've
+never been more surprised in my life. Who
+is she?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;That's just what I haven't been able to
+find out. I've been talking about her tonight
+with old Réju&mdash;he's the man who
+makes the engagements&mdash;but he didn't
+seem to know much more about her than I
+did. He said he first heard of her in Bucharest.
+She made a hit there, too, some time
+last year.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But she's French, isn't she? Parisian?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She's French, but Réju says she isn't
+Parisian&mdash;comes from the provinces somewhere.
+There's a woman goes about with
+her, her mother, I suppose. Réju says
+mamma keeps her down here,&quot; the journalist
+added with a smile, making a significant
+gesture with his thumb. &quot;Mamma gets all
+the money, and Mademoiselle does all the
+work.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules shrugged his shoulders. &quot;Going to
+your office?&quot; he said. &quot;You have to turn
+night into day, haven't you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;My dear fellow, night is the best part of
+life. Days were made for sleep. We've
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page19" id="page19"></a>[pg&nbsp;19]</span>
+got mixed up, that's all, and only a few of
+us are clever enough to find it out. Come
+and have a glass of absinthe with me before
+I go back.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules shook his head.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Some other time. A glass of absinthe
+would spoil me for to-morrow. <i>Au revoir.</i>&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He was glad to be alone again so that he
+might think over the evening. The beautiful
+figure whirling through the air still haunted
+him. &quot;Mademoiselle Blanche!&quot; The name
+seemed to sing in his mind. He wondered
+what her real name was. So she had a
+mother who kept her under her thumb!
+Then he wondered what she was like out of
+the circus&mdash;ignorant and vulgar, probably,
+like the rest of them. Yet in her looks she
+was certainly different from the rest. At any
+rate, he must go and see her performance
+again. He would go several times.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page20" id="page20"></a>[pg&nbsp;20]</span></p>
+
+<h2>III</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">When Jules arrived home he found
+supper on the table of his little
+dining-room. Madeleine, the old woman
+who had served his mother for years and remained
+with him after his mother's death, always
+left something for him at night. Now
+he turned away from it in disgust. His face
+was burning; he felt nervous, excited. After
+going to bed, he was unable to sleep. He
+kept seeing Mademoiselle Blanche tumbling
+through the air! He could not think of
+her except as in motion. He tried to recall
+her as she stood in the net, just before
+climbing the rope to the trapeze, but her
+figure was vague and shadowy. Then he
+tried to think out her features as he had
+observed them, and he found that he had quite
+forgotten her face; all that remained was an
+impression of sweetness, of a ravishing smile.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When, finally, he fell asleep, he dreamed
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page21" id="page21"></a>[pg&nbsp;21]</span>
+of her, still flashing through the air, striking
+with a thud the padded net, and bouncing
+to her feet again. He woke several times
+and felt impatient with himself for not being
+able to drive the thought away; yet when
+he sank again into sleep, the dream came
+back persistently.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">At half-past seven he rose, tired from his
+broken rest. He went at once to the long
+mirror that covered the door of his wardrobe,
+expecting to be confronted with the
+face of an invalid. His gray eyes were
+slightly inflamed and his cheeks had more
+than their usual color; otherwise his appearance
+was normal. For several moments he
+surveyed himself. As a rule he did not
+think much about his looks; he knew that
+he was considered handsome, and this gave
+him a half-unconscious gratification. When
+he wanted to please a woman he seldom
+failed. Now he had a distinct pleasure at
+the sight of the aristocratic curve of his nose,
+the strong outline of his chin, the full red
+lips under his thick brown moustache. Jules
+wished that he could keep from growing fat;
+but after all, he reflected philosophically,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page22" id="page22"></a>[pg&nbsp;22]</span>
+there was a difference in fatness; some men
+it made gross and vulgar; his own complexion,
+however, was so fair that he could
+never look gross. Even now there was a
+suggestion about him of the sleekness of a
+well-kept pigeon.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When he went out to breakfast he found
+Madeleine looking doleful. Madeleine had
+known Jules from birth and considered herself
+a second mother to him. She was short
+and stout, with a mouthful of very bad teeth,
+some of which rattled when she spoke, as if
+they were about to fall out.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Monsieur Jules did not eat last night,&quot;
+she said as she poured his coffee and pushed
+his rolls into the centre of the little table.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, Madeleine, I wasn't hungry.&quot; Jules
+took up the <i>Figaro</i> that was lying on the
+table and began to look for a reference to
+Mademoiselle Blanche.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;The coffee will grow cold, Monsieur Jules.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules did not hear her. When preoccupied,
+he had a habit of ignoring Madeleine.
+Yet, in his way, he liked her; he
+often wondered what he would do without
+her; she was docile and attentive to his
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page23" id="page23"></a>[pg&nbsp;23]</span>
+wants as his mother had been, and she was
+very inexpensive. For five minutes he read;
+then, when he found no reference to the
+acrobat, he threw down the paper with an
+exclamation of impatience, and seized his
+cup and sipped his coffee.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It's cold!&quot; he cried.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madeleine's look of distress deepened.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Let me take that away,&quot; she said. &quot;I'll
+get another cup.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When she brought the cup and poured
+some of the hot coffee into it, Jules drained it,
+and pushed his chair away from the table.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But you have eaten nothing, Monsieur
+Jules!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm not hungry this morning.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And you didn't eat anything last night,&quot;
+the old woman repeated, following him with
+her eyes. &quot;Are you sick?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, no!&quot; Jules replied, impatiently. &quot;I
+don't feel like eating, that's all. Give me
+my hat and coat, Madeleine; I shall be late
+if I don't hurry.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Monsieur Jules doesn't look well,&quot; said
+Madeleine timidly, as she helped him on
+with his coat.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page24" id="page24"></a>[pg&nbsp;24]</span>
+&quot;Oh, don't worry about me.&quot; At the
+door Jules turned. &quot;I shall be out late
+again to-night, Madeleine. You needn't
+leave the light burning.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The wool-house of Ballou, Mercier &amp; Co.,
+where Jules worked, was only ten minutes'
+walk from the <i>rue de Lisbonne</i>. On his
+way there, Jules resolved to say nothing to
+the twins about Mademoiselle Blanche. Of
+course, Leroux would ask him about the
+evening, and he would say simply that he
+had been rather bored. He wanted to keep
+Mademoiselle Blanche to himself. He even
+hoped that her performance would not be
+noised abroad, that she would not become
+one of those women whom all Paris went
+to see and every one talked glibly about. But
+she must be well-known already; it was evidently
+her performance that had crowded
+the Circus.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">At the office the twins had a great deal
+to say about the masked ball of the previous
+night, but Jules hardly heard them. He
+was still so haunted by the thought of Mademoiselle
+Blanche that he made several mistakes
+in his letters; since his return from
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page25" id="page25"></a>[pg&nbsp;25]</span>
+America he had been placed in charge of
+all the English correspondence, and it was
+important that he should be exact. The
+day had never seemed so long to him, nor
+his work, in which he usually took pride,
+so dull. He was impatient for the evening.
+When six o'clock came, he hurried away
+without bidding the twins good-night.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules walked toward the little restaurant
+in the <i>Boulevard</i> where he had dined the
+night before. He wanted to see André
+again, to talk over Mademoiselle Blanche
+with him. He felt almost a personal affection
+for André now. The little <i>garçon</i> was
+bewildered by Jules' affability, and overcome
+by the generous tip which he received as
+Jules left the place. Indeed, freed from
+the labors of the day, Jules felt buoyant
+and happy. But when he reached the
+Circus, his spirits sank; he had forgotten
+that Mademoiselle Blanche did not appear
+till nearly eleven. He would have to wait
+for her at least three hours!</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He felt so vexed that he turned away from
+the theatre and walked along the <i>Boulevard</i>.
+It was late in October, and a light rain
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page26" id="page26"></a>[pg&nbsp;26]</span>
+was falling, mixed with snow. The <i>Boulevard</i>
+was crowded with people, hurrying
+under umbrellas. Jules turned up the collar
+of his overcoat, and shivered. What was
+he to do till eleven? He might go to one
+of the theatres, but he would not enjoy it.
+When he reached the <i>Opéra</i>, he had not
+made up his mind what to do, and he
+walked on as far as the Madeleine. He
+entered a <i>café</i> opposite the church, and
+called for a bock and one of the illustrated
+papers. For an hour he sat there, sipping
+the beer and pretending to read. The jokes,
+however, which he usually enjoyed, seemed
+to him vulgar. He was thinking of the
+figure in white silk tights, shooting through
+the air. A score of times he called himself a
+fool for not being able to put that thought
+out of his mind; yet he felt nervous and
+irritable, simply because he was impatient
+to see the spectacle again. At last he became
+so uneasy that he looked for the
+waiter to pay his bill and leave. Then he
+felt a slap on the shoulder, and Durand's
+smiling face confronted him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">There was no reason why Jules should
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page27" id="page27"></a>[pg&nbsp;27]</span>
+have been displeased at seeing Durand;
+yet at that moment he felt resentful. The
+journalist was small and dapper, with the
+ends of his black moustache carefully waxed.
+His little black eyes were always sparkling
+with humor, and when he smiled he showed
+two rows of regular white teeth. Yet, in
+spite of the care of himself which he seemed
+to take, he never looked quite clean; his
+thick black hair was always dusty with dandruff,
+which fell on the shoulders of his coat.
+He spoke in a high thin voice and with
+a patronizing air that exasperated Jules.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I thought I recognized your back,&quot; he
+said, when Jules had turned his face toward
+him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules grunted and pointed to a chair at
+the little table. He wanted to show by
+his manner that he didn't like that familiar
+slap. Durand, however, was unruffled.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What are you doing here, anyway?
+Why aren't you at the theatre or one of
+the <i>cafés chantants</i>?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules took a puff of his cigarette, and then
+looked down at the little figure.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I might ask you the same question.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page28" id="page28"></a>[pg&nbsp;28]</span>
+&quot;Oh, I'm working. This is a busy night
+for me.&quot; Then Durand's face lighted.
+&quot;What do you suppose I've got to do
+to-night?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules knocked the ashes of his cigarette
+against the edge of the table. &quot;Now, do
+you mean? I can't imagine. You're always
+doing impossible things.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm going to interview the little acrobat.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules came very near jumping. He controlled
+himself, however, and carelessly lifted
+the cigarette to his lips again.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What little acrobat?&quot; he asked, screwing
+his eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;The one you saw last night&mdash;at the
+<i>Cirque</i>&mdash;the <i>Cirque Parisien</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, Mademoiselle&mdash;Mademoiselle&mdash;what's
+her name&mdash;the one who dives from
+the top of the building?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, Mademoiselle Blanche. When I
+went back to the office last night, I told
+old Bargy about her&mdash;cracked her up to
+the skies, and he swallowed the bait, and
+sent me round to interview her to-night.
+Ah, my dear boy, that's one of the advantages
+of being a newspaper man. It opens
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page29" id="page29"></a>[pg&nbsp;29]</span>
+every door to you. Whenever I want to
+get acquainted with a pretty actress, I simply
+go and interview her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He sat back in his seat and smiled and
+hummed a popular song, rapping the table
+with his fingers. The waiter came up and
+asked for his order.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Two bocks!&quot; said Durand, looking at
+Jules.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, no more for me. I haven't finished
+this yet.&quot; When the waiter went
+away, Jules glanced sleepily at the journalist.
+&quot;You're a very lucky fellow, it seems to
+me. I should think it would be rather
+agreeable to know the pretty actresses.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Durand shrugged his shoulders. &quot;Sometimes,
+yes&mdash;sometimes, no. Usually it spoils
+the illusion.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules stared thoughtfully at his bock.
+&quot;Aren't you afraid you'll be disillusioned
+by Mademoiselle Blanche?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, probably. They're all alike&mdash;when
+you come to know them. But there's something
+about her that made me think she
+might be a little different from the rest. At
+any rate, she's dev'lish pretty, isn't she?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page30" id="page30"></a>[pg&nbsp;30]</span>
+&quot;Do you think so?&quot; Jules asked, with a
+deprecating lift of the eyebrows.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Think so! I know so! If you don't
+think so you must be hard to please.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, I thought she was pretty in her
+circus rig. I should like to see her out of
+the ring. They make up so, those women.
+You can't tell whether they're really pretty
+or not.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Well, come around with me, and I'll
+introduce you. Then you can see for yourself.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules nearly jumped again, but his cigarette
+helped him to disguise the impulse. &quot;I'm
+afraid I shall be in the way,&quot; he said, after a
+meditative puff.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Durand had seized the bock left on the
+table by the waiter, and was holding it over
+his head. When half the contents had disappeared,
+he smacked his lips and wiped them
+with his handkerchief. &quot;Not at all. You'll
+help me draw her out. They say she does
+the shy-young-girl act; so she's hard to talk
+with. That seems to be a favorite pose of
+actresses nowadays.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules' heart was throbbing. He was afraid
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page31" id="page31"></a>[pg&nbsp;31]</span>
+that Durand would discover his elation. So
+he tried to appear indifferent and cynical.
+Durand's cynicism amused him; yet in the
+journalist's presence he was always trying to
+imitate it.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When he had drained his bock, Durand
+stood up, surveyed with a professional eye
+the crowd at the tables, nodded to a few acquaintances,
+and made a sign to Jules that he
+was ready to go. It had ceased raining, but
+the sky was still leaden. The splendid portico
+of the Madeleine loomed out of the darkness,
+and the lights in the <i>Boulevard des Capucines</i>
+were gleaming faintly in the mist. They met
+few people as they walked toward the <i>Opéra</i>,
+but there was plenty of life around the theatres
+in the <i>Boulevard des Italiens</i>. When
+they reached the <i>Cirque</i>, Durand had a
+whispered consultation with the <i>Control</i> who
+sat in self-conscious dignity and evening
+dress at the desk near the main door. He
+referred the journalist to a short fat man
+with a white beard, lounging a few feet away,
+and Jules stood apart while the two had an
+animated talk. After a few moments, Durand
+made a sign to Jules to come up, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page32" id="page32"></a>[pg&nbsp;32]</span>
+Jules found himself presented to Réju as
+&quot;my <i>confrère</i>, Monsieur Jules Le Baron, of
+the Marseilles <i>Gazette</i>.&quot; Réju was very amiable,
+and Jules felt angry, though he could
+not help being amused by Durand's serene
+impudence.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">They were conducted at once into the
+theatre, under the great arch, draped with
+French flags, where the performers made
+their exits and their entrances. Then they
+found themselves in a large bare room, with
+several passages radiating from it.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;The dressing-rooms are here,&quot; Réju explained,
+pointing to the passages. &quot;Mademoiselle
+Blanche's room is number 5. I don't
+know whether she has come yet or not. Her
+act doesn't begin till ten minutes of eleven.
+Wait here, and I'll see if she can receive
+you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Durand smiled at Jules, and as soon as
+Réju was out of hearing, he whispered: &quot;I
+hope you didn't mind that little fairy-tale
+of mine. I had to pass you off as one of
+the fraternity. If I hadn't they wouldn't
+have let you come in. Now, don't forget
+your part, the Marseilles <i>Gazette</i>. It's a good
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page33" id="page33"></a>[pg&nbsp;33]</span>
+republican paper. The editor's a great friend
+of mine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm afraid I sha'n't be a credit to the
+profession. I've never seen any one interviewed
+in my life.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then it'll be an education to you.&quot;
+Durand laughed. &quot;Look out. Here he
+comes!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The fat little manager approached them
+with a smiling face; he evidently had in
+mind two free advertisements for the theatre.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Mademoiselle Blanche,&quot; he said impressively,
+&quot;arrived five minutes ago, and she
+hasn't begun to dress yet. If you'll have
+the kindness to follow me, messieurs&quot;&mdash;he
+concluded with a bow and a wave of the
+hand.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules' body was tingling, and his heart beat
+violently. Durand, on the contrary, seemed
+more debonair than ever; with an air of
+importance, he strutted behind the manager,
+as if conferring an honor on the performer
+by his call. Réju rapped on the door, and
+after a moment a shrill voice piped:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;<i>Entrez!</i>&quot;</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page34" id="page34"></a>[pg&nbsp;34]</span></p>
+
+<h2>IV</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">Durand made a bold entrance, and
+Jules followed sheepishly. The room
+was small and uncarpeted; on one side stood
+a wardrobe and a table, and on the opposite
+wall hung a large mirror that reflected nearly
+the whole of the apartment. The rest of the
+furniture consisted of two wooden chairs
+and a large trunk. Jules did not realize
+that he had observed these details till afterward,
+for his glance was bent on the face of
+Mademoiselle Blanche, who stood beside the
+trunk, surveying her callers with apprehension
+in her big eyes. On one of the chairs sat
+a woman of fifty, tall and thin, with strands
+of flesh hanging at her neck, her eyes bright,
+her lips aglow with a false bloom, and her
+cheeks pallid with powder. Jules recognized
+her at once as the acrobat's mother, and he
+had a shock of surprise and revulsion.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The manager, after presenting the callers
+to Madame Perrault, and then to her daughter,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page35" id="page35"></a>[pg&nbsp;35]</span>
+excused himself with a flourish, and left
+the room. Madame Perrault was smiling
+and chattering at Durand, and Mademoiselle
+Blanche was flushed and confused.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I think we must be the first of the
+Parisian journalists to interview Mademoiselle,&quot;
+said Durand to the mother, letting
+his eyes turn vaguely to the acrobat for information.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame Perrault gave a little jump, and
+glanced hastily at her daughter's face.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, you are,&quot; she replied. &quot;We did
+have&mdash;that is, there was a gentleman of the
+press who wanted to interview Blanche, but
+she&mdash;she was a little timid about it. Blanche
+is very timid; so we&mdash;we put it off. But
+interviewers are very&mdash;&mdash;Ah, you will sit
+down, will you not?&quot; she said to Jules, who
+had remained standing with his eyes fixed
+on the girl.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mademoiselle Blanche had taken a seat on
+the trunk, and her mother sat beside her so
+that Jules might occupy her chair. When
+they were all adjusted, Madame Perrault
+resumed, turning to Jules, whose embarrassment
+she had observed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page36" id="page36"></a>[pg&nbsp;36]</span>
+&quot;Monsieur Réju told me yesterday interviews
+were so important. They make people
+interested. They&mdash;&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But the people are already interested in
+Mademoiselle Blanche,&quot; Durand interposed,
+gallantly. &quot;That's why my <i>confrère</i> and I
+have come here. The Parisians want to
+know all about Mademoiselle. She's the
+sensation of the hour. Her name is on
+everybody's lips.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He glanced at Mademoiselle Blanche with
+his most languishing smile, and Jules felt a
+sudden desire to kick him. The acrobat
+tried to look pleased, but she succeeded
+only in appearing more confused. Jules
+was surprised to see how frail she was. Her
+figure, full and vigorous in the ring, seemed
+so thin in her plain, tight-fitting gray dress,
+that he felt sure she must have been padded
+for her performance.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm going to ask Mademoiselle a great
+many questions,&quot; Durand resumed, still leering
+at the acrobat.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But I have nothing to tell,&quot; she replied,
+speaking for the first time.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But you must have been born, and grown
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page37" id="page37"></a>[pg&nbsp;37]</span>
+up, and done a great many things besides,
+that the rest of us don't do,&quot; the journalist
+laughed, growing more familiar. Jules' dislike
+for him was rapidly developing into
+hatred.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Durand's familiarity, however, seemed to
+please the acrobat's mother.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Blanche is too modest,&quot; she said. &quot;She's
+had a great many things happen to her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Have you always been in the circus,
+Mademoiselle?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, ever since she was a child,&quot; her
+mother answered. &quot;Her father was an
+acrobat.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;So it's in the family. And were you in
+the circus too, Madame?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame Perrault shook her head, and
+Jules thought he saw her blush under the
+powder. &quot;No, I have never been in public
+life. My husband's family lived in Boulogne,
+where I lived too. They were all acrobats.
+After my marriage I used to travel with the
+circus, and when Blanche was born, Monsieur
+Perrault wanted her to perform, too. When
+she was only five years old, they used to
+appear together.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page38" id="page38"></a>[pg&nbsp;38]</span>
+&quot;Then you have travelled a great deal,
+Mademoiselle?&quot; Durand turned his fascinating
+glance on the girl. She looked at her
+mother, and as she was about to reply, Madame
+Perrault resumed: &quot;Ah, my daughter
+has been over nearly the whole world,&mdash;in
+England, in Germany, in Russia&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Have you ever been in America?&quot; Jules
+asked quickly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The acrobat shook her head.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But she has had such offers&mdash;such splendid&mdash;such
+magnificent offers to go there,&quot;
+the mother cried, clasping her hands.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But I'm afraid,&quot; the girl murmured,
+glancing at Jules with her big timid eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Afraid of the voyage?&quot; Jules asked. Her
+eyes were still fixed upon him, and he felt as
+if every nerve in his body were vibrating.
+&quot;That's nothing. I have made it twice,
+and I wasn't sick a day.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">This was not true, for on each trip Jules
+had been sick for several days; but he made
+the remark with such ease, that for the
+moment he felt convinced himself of its
+truth. Mademoiselle Blanche looked at him
+admiringly, and he saw that he had made
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page39" id="page39"></a>[pg&nbsp;39]</span>
+an impression on the mother, too, established
+himself in her regard as a travelled
+person, a man of importance.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then Monsieur has been in America?&quot;
+said Madame Perrault.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, yes,&quot; Jules replied, carelessly. &quot;All
+over it. It's a wonderful country.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mademoiselle Blanche sighed, and her
+mother glanced at her wistfully.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But it's too far,&quot; Madame resumed with
+a shake of the head. &quot;We could not go
+so far from the children.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then you have other children?&quot; said
+the journalist. &quot;Are they in the circus,
+too?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For the first time, the girl's face brightened.
+&quot;Oh, no!&quot; she replied, with a suggestion
+of horror in her tone.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;They are very young,&quot; the mother explained.
+&quot;Jeanne is only fourteen and
+Louise will be eleven next month. They are
+with my sister in Boulogne.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Durand made a little sign of impatience
+which indicated to Jules that he was not
+getting the information he wanted. Besides,
+he was evidently displeased by the failure
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page40" id="page40"></a>[pg&nbsp;40]</span>
+of his leers to produce any apparent effect
+upon the girl; she seemed to be unconscious
+of them.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And Monsieur Perrault,&quot; he said, &quot;he
+is still performing?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">An expression of pain appeared in the
+mother's face, and Mademoiselle dropped
+her eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, he died three years ago,&quot; Madame
+Perrault replied. &quot;He was killed at Monte
+Carlo. He fell from the trapeze.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">There was silence for a moment, and the
+journalist tried to infuse into his insipid
+little face a look of sympathy. Just how
+much sympathy he felt was shown by his
+next remark.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I couldn't help wondering last night,&quot;
+he said briskly, &quot;when I saw Mademoiselle
+perform, how she felt just before she took
+that plunge. How do you feel, Mademoiselle?
+Aren't you frightened, just a little?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The girl shook her head. &quot;I have done
+it for so many years, I don't think of being
+afraid. My father taught me never to have
+the least fear. He wouldn't have been
+killed if the trapeze hadn't broken.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page41" id="page41"></a>[pg&nbsp;41]</span>
+&quot;And we take every precaution,&quot; Madame
+Perrault quickly explained.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Durand began to ask questions about the
+various cities Mademoiselle had visited.
+Most of the replies came from Madame Perrault,
+who seemed to have constituted herself
+her daughter's mouthpiece. Which
+audiences did she like best to play to?
+The Germans! Durand shook his head.
+He wouldn't dare to say that in a French
+paper. It might make Mademoiselle unpopular
+with the Parisians. Ah, but Mademoiselle
+liked the Parisians, too. Didn't she
+find them very enthusiastic? No? That
+was simply because they were thrilled, overcome,
+silenced by her performance. Durand
+grew excited in extolling the merits of Parisian
+audiences. For their favorites they
+would do anything, and Mademoiselle was
+fast becoming one of the most popular of
+their favorites. Of course they had their
+peculiarities. When a performer vexed them,
+there were no limits to their wrath. Had
+Mademoiselle heard of the attack on Sophie
+Lenoir at the <i>Ambassadeurs</i>? The audience
+had thrown at her everything they
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page42" id="page42"></a>[pg&nbsp;42]</span>
+could lay hands on, and she had fainted, or
+pretended to faint, on the stage.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Indeed, much of the conversation was supplied
+by the journalist himself. He had
+apparently abandoned hope of making the
+acrobat talk; so he addressed most of his
+speeches to the mother, whom he drew out by
+many artful devices. Mademoiselle Blanche
+sat looking on in open-eyed surprise, as if she
+did not have a share in the matters under
+discussion. Occasionally she would glance
+appealingly at Jules; when he looked back,
+she would blush and turn her head away.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">While Durand was in the middle of one
+of his stories, Madame Perrault drew a small
+gold watch from her pocket. The journalist
+jumped from his chair.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;We are keeping Mademoiselle from
+dressing,&quot; he said, as Jules rose, too. &quot;A
+thousand pardons. We will go in just a
+moment. There's only one more question.
+That is about your presents, Mademoiselle,
+your gifts.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;My gifts?&quot; the acrobat repeated vaguely.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, from the princes, the crowned
+heads you've appeared before.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page43" id="page43"></a>[pg&nbsp;43]</span>
+&quot;Ah!&quot; the mother exclaimed, in a long
+breath, &quot;Blanche has received so many!
+There was the brooch from the Emperor
+of Russia, and the ring from the Prince
+of Roumania, a costly diamond, monsieur, so
+clear and beautiful, and the little gold watch
+studded with pearls from the King of
+Bavaria, the 'mad King' they call him, you
+know&mdash;and then&mdash;then the bracelet set
+with rubies from the Duchess of Merlino,
+when Blanche was in Bucharest. Ah, but
+we have none of these here. They are all
+at home, they&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Here in Paris?&quot; Durand asked, impatiently.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, monsieur, in Boulogne,&quot; Madame
+Perrault answered, and Jules saw an expression
+of wonder and pain cross her daughter's
+face.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Durand was rubbing his silk hat with his
+glove, and regarding it intently.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then,&quot; he said, looking up quickly,
+&quot;there must have been some adventures&mdash;some
+admirers, that have followed Mademoiselle,
+perhaps, eh?&quot; he added, leering
+insinuatingly at the mother.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page44" id="page44"></a>[pg&nbsp;44]</span>
+Madame smiled, and the face of the
+acrobat turned pink. Jules wanted to seize
+the little journalist by the neck, and throw
+him out of the door.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, in Bucharest,&quot; cried Madame, &quot;the
+young&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Mamma!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame Perrault shrugged her shoulders,
+and smiled suggestively. &quot;Perhaps we'd
+better not speak of that. Blanche is a good
+girl,&quot; she added, patting her daughter on
+the back. &quot;She's good to her mother, and
+she's good to her sisters. Ah, <i>ma chère</i>!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The girl had turned her head away.
+Durand offered her his hand gallantly, and
+then beamed on the mother. &quot;I will come
+and see you some time, if you will give
+me permission,&quot; he said condescendingly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Some Sunday,&quot; Madame Perrault replied.
+&quot;It's the only day when Blanche is free.
+And you will bring your friend, perhaps,
+if he is still in Paris,&quot; she added amiably,
+with a quick glance and smile at the journalist
+from Marseilles. Then she produced
+two cards and passed them to the callers.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules murmured a civil response to the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page45" id="page45"></a>[pg&nbsp;45]</span>
+invitation, and, after bowing low to the ladies,
+he followed Durand and closed the door
+behind him. The expression of languishing
+pleasure in the journalist's face had given
+place to a look of hilarious merriment.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Did you ever see such a block? She
+didn't have a word to say. I don't believe
+she has an idea. And she thought she was
+impressing me with her modesty! And the
+gifts from the crowned heads&mdash;wasn't that
+droll? Of course, the old lady made up
+every one of those stories. She's a sharp
+one, with her painted lips and her powdered
+cheeks. Her little game is to get a rich
+husband for the girl, and I'll wager a week's
+salary she'll succeed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules said nothing. He knew it would be
+useless to argue with Durand. If he were
+to give his opinion of Mademoiselle Blanche,
+the journalist would laugh, and say he didn't
+understand women, especially actresses. So,
+when Durand suddenly asked him what he
+thought of the girl, he merely shrugged his
+shoulders.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">As they passed out they met Réju, who
+offered them seats if they cared to remain for
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page46" id="page46"></a>[pg&nbsp;46]</span>
+the rest of the performance. Durand explained
+that he must return at once to the
+office, and urged Jules to accept the invitation.
+When Jules found himself alone in
+the first row of the orchestra he breathed
+with relief. He had never before realized
+what an odious little creature Durand was.
+For the moment he forgot even to feel gratitude
+for the introduction to the acrobat.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He was unable to take an interest in the
+performance, and he looked at his watch to
+see how long he would have to wait for the
+appearance of Mademoiselle Blanche. It was
+just twenty minutes past ten. Suddenly it
+occurred to him that he would have time
+to go out and buy some flowers for her.
+He left his seat, and hurried to the nearest
+shop in the <i>Boulevard</i>. There he bought
+the finest bunch of white roses he could
+find, went back to the theatre, and sent
+them to the acrobat with his card. When
+at last Mademoiselle Blanche ran into the
+arena, he was thrilled with joy. She wore
+his flowers in her belt.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page47" id="page47"></a>[pg&nbsp;47]</span></p>
+
+<h2>V</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">That night Jules Le Baron knew that
+for the first time in his life he was
+really in love. He had often fancied himself
+in love before, and he had enjoyed the
+experience; now he discovered his mistake.
+Love was not the pure delight he had imagined
+it to be. It is true, he had moments
+of ecstasy, of sublime self-congratulation,
+when he felt with stronger conviction that
+the world was made for him and he had been
+created to conquer the world; but during the
+next few days these were followed by long
+periods of depression, of abject despair.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">At times, too, the grotesqueness of this
+infatuation appalled him. To be in love
+with an acrobat, a woman who earned her
+bread by hurling herself from the top of a
+building, who risked her life every day, sometimes
+twice a day, that she might live! Then,
+at the thought of her amazing courage, Jules
+would be overcome, and if alone in his
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page48" id="page48"></a>[pg&nbsp;48]</span>
+room at home, he would throw himself on the
+bed, bury his head in the pillow and groan.
+Indeed, at this period he went through many
+strange and violent performances. Madeleine
+became alarmed for his health, and
+thought of sending for a doctor.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He could not apply himself to his work;
+he made so many mistakes in his English
+correspondence that Monsieur Mercier had
+to ask him to be more careful. The twins
+noticed his condition and chaffed him, and
+insisted on knowing &quot;her name&quot;; in secret
+they decided that Jules had been investing
+his money badly; he had often boasted to
+them about his little property. They tried
+to cheer him by urging him to join them in
+their nocturnal expeditions, but he always
+replied that he was staying at home in the
+evening now. As a matter of fact, he spent
+every night or a portion of every night at the
+<i>Cirque Parisien</i>, and at each appearance of
+Mademoiselle Blanche, he was gratified to see
+that she wore his nightly offering of roses in
+her belt. He never received an acknowledgment
+of these tributes, for he did not
+dare write his address on the cards he sent
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page49" id="page49"></a>[pg&nbsp;49]</span>
+with them. Once, as she stood in the net,
+just before climbing the rope to make her
+great plunge, he fancied that his eye caught
+hers, and she smiled at him. He decided
+afterward that he had been mistaken; but
+the thought of that smile prevented him
+from sleeping half the night.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules was keeping his courage alive in the
+hope of seeing her at her apartment on Sunday.
+His only fear was that Durand would
+be there. Durand's published interview with
+Mademoiselle Blanche was so flippant that it
+deepened the hatred Jules had already conceived
+for the journalist. He resolved on
+Sunday to explain to Madame Perrault that
+he was not what Durand had represented
+him to be and to appear in his own character;
+he was conceited enough to believe that
+in his own character he could make quite as
+good an impression as in any other. Besides,
+had not Mademoiselle Blanche been
+impressed by the fact that he had visited
+America?</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On Saturday night he sent his silk hat
+to be blocked, and his frock-coat to be
+pressed, and he bought a pair of white gloves.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page50" id="page50"></a>[pg&nbsp;50]</span>
+Madeleine found him much more agreeable
+on Sunday morning than he had been during
+the week; but, though he seemed to be
+recovering his spirits, she still felt worried.
+In the afternoon he presented himself before
+her for inspection, asked if his coat set well,
+if she liked the colour of his gloves, what she
+thought of the violets that he wore. She
+became enraptured over his appearance, told
+him that he had never looked so beautiful,
+and saw him go away with a radiant face.
+Then, as the door closed behind him, she
+went into her little chamber and wept. The
+truth had flashed upon her! Her Jules was
+in love! Some one else was going to take
+his mother's place and hers. She felt all the
+jealousy and misery that his own mother
+might have felt at the moment, combined
+with a pathetic consciousness that she had
+no right to grieve. Jules was everything in
+the world to her, she said to herself, and she
+was nothing to him. She was an old broken
+woman, and for the rest of her days she
+should have to live alone.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules had become her pride and the source
+of her happiness. Yet she really saw very
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page51" id="page51"></a>[pg&nbsp;51]</span>
+little of him&mdash;the only meal he took at home
+was his breakfast&mdash;but she really existed for
+the pleasure of serving him and looking at
+his face in the morning. Now, in spite of
+her misery, she knelt before the statue of
+the Blessed Virgin that stood on a little table
+beside her bed, and prayed that the woman
+who was going to take her place might be a
+good woman, and worthy of her boy. In
+her simple affection for Jules she believed
+that he had only to show that he cared for
+a woman to have her throw herself into his
+arms.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">It was hardly three o'clock, too early for a
+call, Jules thought, as he walked toward the
+<i>rue St. Honoré</i>; but he was so impatient
+to see Mademoiselle Blanche again that he
+could not wait till later in the afternoon.
+During the week the sun had hardly appeared,
+and the succession of leaden skies
+had helped to depress his spirits. To-day,
+however, the sky was blue and the sun shone
+so brightly that it seemed almost like spring.
+He was in one of his buoyant moods, when
+he felt sure of his ability to conquer. In
+his fine clothes and with his confident manner,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page52" id="page52"></a>[pg&nbsp;52]</span>
+he looked very handsome; several pretty
+girls gratified him by staring at him as he
+passed. If he impressed people he didn't
+know, why couldn't he impress Mademoiselle
+Blanche? He planned a great many things
+to say to her. He would be particularly
+amiable to the mother, too, and tell her all
+about America.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The number in the <i>rue St. Honoré</i> that
+Madame Perrault had given corresponded
+with one of the great white stucco apartment
+houses abounding in Paris. He passed
+under the wide vaulted entrance, and asked
+the wife of the <i>concierge</i> if Madame Perrault
+lived there. &quot;<i>Au sixième</i>,&quot; was the
+shrill reply, and he started up the narrow
+stairs. When he reached the <i>sixième</i>, the top
+floor of the house, he panted and waited for
+a moment before ringing, to catch his breath.
+Then he carefully arranged his cuffs, touched
+with his gloved hand his silk cravat and his
+flowers and, with a sigh of anticipation, he
+rang the bell.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">A trim little servant of not more than
+fifteen opened the door. When Jules asked
+for Madame Perrault, she shook her head.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page53" id="page53"></a>[pg&nbsp;53]</span>
+&quot;She went out an hour ago, monsieur, and
+she won't be back till four.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules' heart sank. Of course, mother and
+daughter were out together. He was about
+to turn away despairingly, but he suddenly
+thought of inquiring if Mademoiselle were
+at home. The maid nodded.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Shall I say that monsieur wishes to see
+her?&quot; she asked, stepping back that he
+might enter.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;If you please,&quot; he replied, as he followed
+the girl into the little <i>salon</i>. It was furnished
+wholly in Japanese fashion; the walls
+were hung with Japanese draperies, and a
+large thick rug covered the floor. On the
+mantel, prettily draped with a wide piece of
+flowered silk, stood a number of photographs,
+one of them a duplicate of the portrait of
+Mademoiselle Blanche that he had seen in
+the entrance of the Circus. As Jules glanced
+at this, he heard a light step in the adjoining
+room, and when he turned, Mademoiselle
+Blanche herself was looking at him out of
+her dark eyes. She walked toward him,
+flushing a little, and extended her hand.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I am sorry mamma is not here,&quot; she
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page54" id="page54"></a>[pg&nbsp;54]</span>
+said. &quot;She went out only a few minutes
+ago, and she'll be back soon. But we&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You didn't expect any one so early. I
+ought to apologize, but I was impatient to
+come. Then&mdash;I&mdash;I hoped to find you alone.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;So you have,&quot; she laughed, pointing to a
+chair near the grate-fire. She wore a dress
+of dark silk with little white spots in it that
+became her wonderfully, Jules thought.
+Around her neck was a piece of muslin,
+open at the throat, and muslin encircled her
+wrists. Once again Jules was impressed by
+the delicacy of her appearance; her skin
+had an almost transparent whiteness, and
+there was no colour in her cheeks, save
+when she flushed, which she did at the least
+cause.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;How pleasantly you are lodged here,&quot;
+said Jules, looking around the room. The
+apartment was as small as his own, which
+he had considered one of the smallest in
+Paris.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, we were fortunate to get it. And
+it seems so odd&mdash;it belongs to an actress
+who's spending the winter in the South
+of France. We have taken it furnished.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page55" id="page55"></a>[pg&nbsp;55]</span>
+&quot;Then you're to be here all the winter?&quot;
+said Jules, feasting his eyes on the clear
+white forehead, the white neck that he could
+see beneath the muslin. How beautiful she
+was! His surmise about the teeth had been
+correct; they were small and white, with
+little bits of red between them.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No,&quot; she replied, &quot;I've been engaged
+at the <i>Cirque</i> until the first of January.
+Then I shall go to Vienna, and appear there
+for several months.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah!&quot; For a moment Jules was silent.
+&quot;But you will take a rest before you go
+to Vienna?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She shook her head.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No. I should like to go home for Christmas
+to be with my sisters. But they will
+come to Paris instead.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But doesn't it tire you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No. It isn't hard. And I never like
+to stop. I must keep in practice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For an instant Jules was touched by a
+curious sympathy. There certainly was something
+pathetic, even abnormal, in the thought
+that this frail woman hurled herself six days
+in the week from the top of a building.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page56" id="page56"></a>[pg&nbsp;56]</span>
+Then he was thrilled again by the marvel
+of it, by the consciousness that he was sitting
+opposite the phenomenon, gazing into her
+eyes, hearing her voice, receiving her smiles.
+He could think of nothing to say, but he
+felt quite happy; he would have liked to
+sit there for hours in mute admiration.
+Mademoiselle Blanche, however, looked confused;
+she seemed to be shaping something
+in her mind.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It was very kind of you to send the
+flowers,&quot; she said at last. &quot;I would have
+thanked you before if I had known where
+you lived. They were very lovely.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">His face shone with pleasure at the
+thought that she had recognized him as the
+sender, and he leaned toward her. &quot;You
+needn't thank me,&quot; he said. &quot;I felt repaid
+when I saw them in your belt.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then he told her how he had gone to
+the circus every night just to see her; how
+he admired her performance, her grace and
+skill on the trapeze, her courage in making
+the great plunge. As he spoke, her face
+kept changing colour. She seemed to him
+like a bashful child, and he marvelled at her
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page57" id="page57"></a>[pg&nbsp;57]</span>
+ingenuousness, for surely she must be used
+to praise. Then he recalled what Durand
+had said about her affectation of modesty,
+and he wondered if the journalist could have
+been right; but when he looked into the
+girl's clear eyes he saw nothing but beauty
+and truth.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When he had finished speaking of her
+performance, he began to talk about himself,
+his favourite topic with women. He
+told her about his visit in the United States,
+and he made fun of the Americans for drinking
+water instead of wine at table, and for
+many other customs that had amused him
+because they were so unlike the ways of
+Parisians. He also imitated the speech of
+some of the Americans he had known, and
+he was surprised to find that she understood
+what he said. She had learned English
+from her father, she explained; he had often
+performed in London, and she had been
+there with him twice. Then he began to
+speak with her in English to display his
+accomplishment, and he felt disappointed
+on discovering that she could converse quite
+as fluently, and with a better accent. So
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page58" id="page58"></a>[pg&nbsp;58]</span>
+he returned to French, and told her about
+his life in Paris, his dear old Madeleine who
+kept him so comfortable in his little apartment,
+his work at the office, and about
+Dufresne and Leroux. She showed no surprise
+when he revealed Durand's duplicity;
+she merely said that she hadn't liked the
+journalist, and her mother had been vexed by
+the article. She seemed so interested that
+he went back to his early days, before the
+death of his father and mother, described
+his life at the <i>lycée</i>, his love of sport, his
+passion for the circus, his boyish adventures
+at Montmartre, his happy days in summer
+at Compiègne, his mother's goodness and
+her foolish pride in him. He was so unconscious
+in his egotism that it was touching
+to hear him; Mademoiselle Blanche seemed
+to be unconscious of it, too, for she listened
+with a serious, absorbed attention. While
+he was in the midst of an analysis of his
+own qualities, the little clock on the mantel
+struck four and Mademoiselle Blanche looked
+up quickly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Mamma will be here very soon now,&quot; she
+said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page59" id="page59"></a>[pg&nbsp;59]</span>
+Jules felt a sudden irritation. At that
+moment the coming of Madame Perrault
+seemed like an intrusion. The reference to
+it had the effect of stopping his confidences;
+it was as if she had already appeared in
+the room. He rose from his seat, and
+began to examine the photographs on the
+mantel. Then he took up one of them, a
+large photograph of a man of more than
+fifty, with a white pointed beard, a shock
+of iron-grey hair, and laughing eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Is this your father, mademoiselle?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She shook her head.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;That is my mother's <i>fiancé</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He turned to her quickly. &quot;Your mother's
+<i>fiancé</i>!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes. My mother has been engaged a
+long time. She would have been married
+a year ago but for me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, then you don't like it&mdash;you don't
+want her to marry again?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I should not care&mdash;that is, I should
+be glad for Jeanne and Louise. Monsieur
+Berthier is very rich, and he has been kind
+to the girls. He has offered to give them
+a home.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page60" id="page60"></a>[pg&nbsp;60]</span>
+Jules came near laughing. It seemed to
+him ridiculous that the old powdered woman
+he had seen in the dressing-room of the
+Circus should marry again.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then how have you prevented the marriage?&quot;
+he asked.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Because I must work,&quot; she replied simply,
+&quot;and mamma cannot leave me. If mamma
+married Monsieur Berthier, she would have
+to stay in Boulogne.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah!&quot; A light broke on Jules. The
+mother would not marry until her eldest
+daughter was married. So, of course, she
+must be anxious to find a husband for Mademoiselle
+Blanche. He felt as if Providence
+were paving the way toward happiness for
+him. For a moment he did not speak again.
+Then he said: &quot;But you will marry some
+day, and then your mother won't have to
+travel with you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She flushed, and made a deprecating gesture.
+&quot;I shall always stay in the circus,&quot;
+she said. &quot;It's my life. I can't think of
+any other.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then he gradually drew her out. She
+surprised him by telling him of the monotony
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page61" id="page61"></a>[pg&nbsp;61]</span>
+of her life. With most of the other performers
+she had merely a slight acquaintance;
+the coarseness of the women and the
+vulgarity of the men shocked her. Her
+only companion in her travels was her
+mother. Yes, it was lonely sometimes not
+to know other girls of her own age, and it
+was very hard to be separated from Jeanne
+and Louise. She worried a great deal about
+Jeanne, who had shown a fondness for the
+circus. She thought if her mother married,
+Jeanne would give up all thought of
+becoming a performer. Of course, it
+was different with herself; she had been
+bred to the circus, but she couldn't bear
+the thought of Jeanne's being there, too.
+Jeanne was very pretty and lively; Aunt
+Sophie was obliged to be strict with her.
+Louise was so different, so quiet and simple,
+and religious, almost a <i>dévote</i>. As she spoke
+of her sisters, Mademoiselle Blanche grew
+very animated. Jules blamed himself for
+the momentary doubt he had felt about her.
+If Durand could only hear her now! But
+Durand doubted every woman.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">It was nearly five o'clock when Madame
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page62" id="page62"></a>[pg&nbsp;62]</span>
+Perrault returned. When she saw Jules, she
+showed no surprise, but smiled upon him
+broadly and extended her hand. Mademoiselle
+Blanche lapsed into silence and,
+as her mother talked, with a superabundance
+of gesture and with tireless vivacity, she
+could feel Jules' eyes fixed upon her. She
+knew that Jules hardly heard what was being
+said, and when he rose to take his departure,
+she made no effort to detain him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I should like to come again,&quot; he said
+to the girl.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Some afternoon, perhaps,&quot; Madame Perrault
+suggested amiably. &quot;Blanche always
+rests between three and four, but after that
+she could see you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But I am at my office till six.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, yes!&quot; Madame Perrault exclaimed
+with a smile. &quot;That wicked journalist! You
+must tell him we were vexed with his article.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then may I come in the evening? Perhaps
+you'll let me take you to the theatre
+some night?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame Perrault clapped her hands.
+&quot;That would be perfect!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mademoiselle Blanche said nothing, but
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page63" id="page63"></a>[pg&nbsp;63]</span>
+it was to her that Jules directed his next
+remark.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Perhaps to-morrow night; I will come
+at eight o'clock.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame Perrault displayed her gleaming
+teeth patched with gold, and her daughter
+merely bowed and said, &quot;Thank you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">As Jules was putting on his overcoat in the
+little hall, he heard a voice say:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;<i>Il est très gentil, ce monsieur</i>,&quot; but though
+he listened he could not catch the reply.
+He was radiantly happy, however. When he
+reached the street, he felt like running; with
+an effort he controlled himself, and walked
+buoyantly home with a smile on his face.
+He would take Madeleine out to dinner, as
+he used to take his mother when they celebrated
+his holidays!</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page64" id="page64"></a>[pg&nbsp;64]</span></p>
+
+<h2>VI</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">The next night, promptly at eight o'clock,
+Jules appeared in the little <i>salon</i> in
+the <i>rue St. Honoré</i>, bearing his offering of
+flowers to Mademoiselle Blanche. Madame
+Perrault gave him the quiet reception of an
+old friend, and he felt as if he had long been
+in the habit of calling at the apartment. Madame
+Perrault informed him that she had just
+risen from dinner, and asked him to drink
+a cup of coffee. Then the three figures sat
+in the dimly-lighted room and talked; that
+is, Jules and Madame Perrault talked, for
+Blanche ventured a remark only when a
+question was put to her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">A few moments later, Madame Perrault
+went into the next room where she was
+occupied with the little maid in making a
+dress; so Jules was left alone with her
+daughter. They had very little to say to
+each other, and Jules was content to sit in
+silence and rapt adoration. As he looked at
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page65" id="page65"></a>[pg&nbsp;65]</span>
+her, her name kept singing in his mind:
+Blanche! He wondered if he should ever
+dare to address her in this way. How beautiful
+she was as she sat there, the soft light
+of the fire falling on her face and hands, and
+on the folds of her gown! He was glad she
+was so quiet; he hated women that talked
+all the time. That was the great fault with
+Madame Perrault; if she said less, he would
+like her, in spite of her powder and paint.
+Since hearing that she was engaged, and
+wanted to get her daughter married, Jules'
+feelings toward her had softened.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">It was nearly ten o'clock before they left
+for the theatre. Jules called a cab, and all
+three squeezed into it with a great deal of
+laughter on the part of Madame Perrault.
+As they rattled over the rough pavement,
+the noise was so great that they could not
+talk, and Jules gave himself up to contemplating
+the serious face of Mademoiselle
+Blanche. The thought that he was riding
+with her to the scene of her triumphs thrilled
+him. He felt as if he were having a share in
+her performance, as if her glory were reflected
+on him. Ah, if Dufresne and Leroux could
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page66" id="page66"></a>[pg&nbsp;66]</span>
+see him now! How they would be impressed,
+and how they would envy him!</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Before bidding his friends good-night, he
+asked if he might not take them home; he
+would remain till the end of the performance,
+anyway, he said. Instead of entering the
+theatre at once, he sauntered along the
+<i>Boulevard</i> toward the <i>place de la Bastille</i>.
+What were the other performers to him?
+Without Mademoiselle Blanche the <i>Cirque
+Parisien</i> would not be worth visiting. He
+did not return to the theatre till it was nearly
+time for her to appear. Réju was standing at
+the door, and made a sign for him to pass in
+without paying. Jules accepted the invitation
+with a twinge of conscience. He wondered
+what Réju would think if he discovered
+Durand's imposition.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">After the performance, Jules waited at the
+stage-door for half an hour till Mademoiselle
+Blanche appeared again. Then he asked
+her and her mother to take supper with
+him at one of the restaurants in the <i>Boulevard</i>.
+Madame Perrault consented amiably,
+and they entered a little <i>café</i>, where a half-dozen
+young men and girls were sitting round
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page67" id="page67"></a>[pg&nbsp;67]</span>
+a table, playing cards. Jules wanted to order
+a bottle of champagne; but Mademoiselle
+Blanche objected; he could scarcely keep
+from smiling when she said she would much
+rather have beer. So he called for three
+bocks and some cheese sandwiches, and over
+this simple repast they became very gay.
+Madame Perrault was the liveliest of the
+three, and she amused Jules by a description
+of her <i>fiancé</i>, who had been in love with
+her, she said, long before her marriage with
+Blanche's father. She seemed to think it
+was very droll that he should want to marry
+her now; she had told him he would do much
+better to marry Blanche, or to wait till Jeanne
+grew up. Under the warmth of her humor,
+Jules' prejudices against her disappeared,
+and he found himself growing fond of her.
+At that moment he longed to confide in her,
+to tell her all about his infatuation for her
+daughter, and to ask her advice about the
+best way of pleasing the girl.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When they had left the <i>café</i>, and Jules
+had taken his friends home and dismissed
+the cab, he fell again into the depression of
+the week before. As he walked to the <i>rue</i>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page68" id="page68"></a>[pg&nbsp;68]</span>
+<i>de Lisbonne</i> in the damp night, he blamed
+Durand for having introduced him to the Perraults.
+If he hadn't met Mademoiselle Blanche
+he might have gone on living comfortably,
+enjoyed his daily work, his little dinners, his
+visits to the theatre, his comfortable apartment,
+with Madeleine to look after his wants.
+Now he was upset, at sea. He hated the
+routine of the office; the vulgar stories of
+Dufresne and Leroux disgusted him; the
+apartment was cold and lonely; Madeleine
+was always interfering with him. He resolved
+not to go to the <i>Cirque</i> again; he
+would try to forget Mademoiselle Blanche
+and her mother's chatter. But when he
+went to bed it was of her that he thought,
+and he dreamed that he saw her again, in
+her white silk tights, climbing hand over
+hand to the top of the Circus, tumbling
+through the air, and bouncing with a thud to
+her feet on the padded net.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The next morning he felt better, and he
+called himself a fool for his misery of the
+night before. As he looked back on the
+evening, he decided that, of course, if they
+hadn't liked him, they would not have
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page69" id="page69"></a>[pg&nbsp;69]</span>
+allowed him to take them to the theatre and
+back, and to a <i>café</i> for supper. He wondered
+what they would think if he called for
+them again that night. Perhaps it would be
+better to wait for two or three days. But at
+the end of the afternoon he felt so impatient
+to see Mademoiselle Blanche that he determined
+to risk seeming intrusive. So he
+bought another bunch of white roses, and at
+eight o'clock he reappeared in the apartment.
+Madame Perrault greeted him just as
+she had done the night before, without a suggestion
+of surprise in her manner. This made
+him feel so bold that he did not apologize, as
+he had intended to do, but took his place by
+the fire as if he had a right to be there.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In this way, Jules Le Baron's courtship
+began. It seemed to him a strange courtship.
+It taught him a great many things,&mdash;among
+others, how little he knew about
+women. As he had lived in Paris all of his
+thirty years, with the exception of his three
+memorable months in America, he thought
+he understood women; now he saw his mistake.
+He had not led a particularly good
+life, though it was so much better than the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page70" id="page70"></a>[pg&nbsp;70]</span>
+lives of most of his acquaintances that he
+considered himself a man of rather superior
+character. If he had studied his character
+more carefully, he would have discovered
+that his superiority was not a matter of
+morals, but of taste and temperament. Vice
+seemed to him vulgar, and it made him uncomfortable;
+so in its grosser forms he had
+always avoided it. He had, however, the
+Parisian's frank, ingenuous, almost innocent
+fondness for the humorously indecent, and
+his attitude toward life was wholly French.
+The mention of virtue made him laugh and
+shrug his shoulders. Most women, he thought,
+were naturally the inferiors of men; so the
+better he understood the character of Mademoiselle
+Blanche, the more surprised he
+grew. Indeed, there were times when he
+felt awed in her presence and ashamed of
+himself. She seemed to know the world
+and yet to be untainted by it, to turn away
+instinctively from its evil phases. If her
+innocence had been ignorant, he could not
+have respected it; the knowledge that she
+had lived in the midst of temptation made
+her goodness seem almost sublime.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page71" id="page71"></a>[pg&nbsp;71]</span>
+Jules fell into the habit of calling for the
+Perraults in the evening, and he soon became
+recognized at the <i>Cirque</i> as their escort.
+Réju, who still showed respect for him as a
+journalist, admitted him to the theatre every
+night without charge, and he was also permitted
+to enter the sacred precincts beyond
+the stage-door, where, instead of waiting on
+the sidewalk, he stood in a cold corridor,
+dimly lighted by sputtering lamps. After
+the performance, he sometimes took his
+friends into the little <i>café</i> for beer and sandwiches,
+and occasionally Madame Perrault
+would prepare a supper at home.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules' equilibrium became restored again;
+he made fewer mistakes at the office and he
+even deceived the twins, who had come to
+the conclusion that he must be in love. With
+Madeleine, in spite of his first confidences,
+he had little to say about Mademoiselle
+Blanche, and she did not dare ask him
+questions. His silence and his improved
+appetite, together with his renewed amiability,
+made her hope that he had recovered
+from his infatuation, and she felt easier in
+mind.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page72" id="page72"></a>[pg&nbsp;72]</span>
+On the Saturday evening following his first
+call on Mademoiselle Blanche, while Jules
+was sitting in the little apartment, he asked
+the girl if they might not pass Sunday together.
+&quot;We might drive through the <i>Bois</i>
+into the country,&quot; he suggested.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She had been looking into the fire, and
+she glanced at him hesitatingly. &quot;We always
+go to mass on Sunday morning,&quot; she
+said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a moment Jules appeared confused.
+&quot;But can't you go to early mass?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame Perrault, who was in the next
+room, called out: &quot;It's no use trying to
+persuade her not to go to high mass,
+monsieur. She'd think something terrible
+was going to happen to her if she didn't go.
+Now, I go at eight o'clock; so I have the
+rest of the day free.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules looked at Mademoiselle Blanche and
+smiled, and she smiled back.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I like to hear the music,&quot; she explained
+apologetically.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, she's too religious for <i>this</i> world,&quot;
+Madame Perrault laughed. &quot;I believe she'd
+go to mass every morning of her life if she
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page73" id="page73"></a>[pg&nbsp;73]</span>
+didn't have to stay up so late at night.
+She ought to be in a convent instead of a
+circus.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;In a convent!&quot; Jules exclaimed, in mock
+alarm.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Don't you ever go to church?&quot; the girl
+asked, turning to Jules.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He looked confused again. &quot;I? Well, no.
+To tell the truth, I haven't been in a church
+for nearly ten years. Oh, yes I have. I went
+to a funeral two years ago at the Trinity.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But weren't you&mdash;weren't you brought
+up to go to church?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Brought up to go to church? Oh, yes;
+my mother went to church every Sunday
+of her life. I used to go with her after my
+father died.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">A long silence followed. Mademoiselle
+Blanche turned again to the fire, and Jules
+had a sensation of extreme unpleasantness.
+Like many Parisians, he never thought about
+religion. He had been so affected by the
+skepticism of his associates that he had no
+real belief in any doctrine. He saw now
+for the first time that serious complications
+might arise from his religious indifference.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page74" id="page74"></a>[pg&nbsp;74]</span>
+It was very disagreeable, he thought, to be
+confronted with it in this way. Indeed, the
+more he thought about it, the more annoyed
+he became. He felt that he must justify
+himself in some way. So at last he spoke up:
+&quot;I suppose you're shocked because I don't
+go to church, aren't you, mademoiselle?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mademoiselle Blanche looked down at her
+hands lying folded in her lap.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm sorry.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Sorry?&quot; he repeated, trying to laugh.
+&quot;Why are you sorry? I rather like it.
+I never did enjoy going to church.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;We don't go to church to enjoy it, do
+we?&quot; she asked gently.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He sank back in his seat, and looked
+at her. &quot;No, I suppose not.&quot; Then, after
+a moment, he suddenly leaned forward.
+&quot;We can't all be good like you, mademoiselle.
+Perhaps if I had known you
+always, I should go to church. I'd do
+anything to please you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But you ought not to go to please me.
+You ought to go for your own good.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;So you think it does good, then&mdash;going
+to church?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page75" id="page75"></a>[pg&nbsp;75]</span>
+&quot;I'm sure of it,&quot; she replied, gazing into
+the fire. &quot;Sometimes,&mdash;when I feel unhappy
+because I haven't seen the girls for
+so long, and because I must be separated
+from them so much, or when Aunt Sophie
+complains about Jeanne, or Jeanne has been
+unkind to Louise, or disobedient, then, after
+I've been to church, I feel better.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Why do you feel better?&quot; he asked,
+more to keep her talking than because he
+cared for her answer.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Because I feel sure,&quot; she went on, holding
+her head down, &quot;I feel sure it will all
+come out right&mdash;if I only have faith.
+Jeanne is a good girl; she's never disobedient
+or unkind with me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then you worry about Jeanne?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes&mdash;sometimes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But you don't worry so much after
+you've been at church?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And that is why you like to go to
+church?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;That's one reason. But there are others&mdash;a
+great many others.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He felt like laughing at the simplicity of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page76" id="page76"></a>[pg&nbsp;76]</span>
+her reasoning, and yet he was touched.
+He had a sudden desire to take her in his
+arms and stroke her soft hair and tell her
+he loved her. Then he heard her mother's
+step in the next room, and this roused
+him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I should like to go to church with you
+sometimes,&quot; he said. &quot;May I?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Take him to-morrow, Blanche,&quot; cried
+Madame Perrault, and at that moment Jules
+could have kissed her, too. &quot;There's going
+to be a special service at <i>St. Philippe de Roule</i>
+at ten o'clock. The music will be good.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">That was how Jules first happened to go
+to church with Mademoiselle Blanche. After
+mass they walked up the <i>Champs Élysées</i> and
+then along the <i>avenue du Bois de Boulogne</i>,
+in the midst of the multitude of promenaders.
+A few of the men recognized the girl, and
+turned to look after her. She seemed not
+to see them, but Jules did, and he felt very
+proud to be her escort. She looked very
+pretty in her tight-fitting black jacket and
+little hat tipped with fur, her cheeks scarlet
+with the early frost. She was the last person
+in the crowd, Jules thought, who would be
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page77" id="page77"></a>[pg&nbsp;77]</span>
+taken for an acrobat. It seemed to him
+wonderful that she should appear so unlike
+the marvel that she was, and this lack of
+resemblance to herself made her the more
+attractive to him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">After that day, Jules went to church with
+Mademoiselle Blanche every Sunday. At first
+the sight of the priests in their vestments,
+of the altar-boys in their white surplices, of
+the white altar gleaming with candles and
+plate and enshrouded in incense, and the
+reverberation of the organ, mingled with
+the voices singing the music of the mass,
+all reminded him so strongly of his mother,
+that his old affection for her swept over
+him, and brought tears to his eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">His own disbelief had made him doubt
+even the faith of others. It had also inspired
+him with the hatred for priests, so
+common even among Parisians of traditions
+like his own. Now, as he watched them,
+chanting at the altar, they seemed harmless
+as other men. He tried, as he went mechanically
+through the service, to count the men
+he knew who went to church. Nearly all
+of his acquaintances, he found, scoffed at it.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page78" id="page78"></a>[pg&nbsp;78]</span>
+Then gradually the service became subtly
+mingled with his love for the girl beside him,
+and for her sake he loved it. The organ
+seemed to sing her praise exultingly. He
+would have liked to tell her of this fancy,
+but he did not dare; he knew it would
+shock her. In a short time, going through
+the mass with her grew to mean to him an
+expression of his love, a spiritual exaltation
+which he offered as a tribute, not to God,
+but to her.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page79" id="page79"></a>[pg&nbsp;79]</span></p>
+
+<h2>VII</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">By the month of November, Jules had
+identified himself with Madame Perrault
+and her daughter. He took his position
+as their friend and recognized escort
+so quickly and so quietly that he was himself
+surprised by it. There were moments when
+he had a fear that it was all an illusion, that
+some night he should find the stage-door
+of the <i>Cirque</i> slammed in his face.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">It was while watching Mademoiselle Blanche
+in the ring that he found it most difficult to
+realize his happiness. He actually <i>knew</i> this
+wonderful creature in white tights who darted
+from trapeze to trapeze, who posed like
+a marble statue on the rope, who shot
+through the air like a thunderbolt! He saw
+her every day; he loved her, and she knew
+that he loved her. Sometimes he fancied
+that she loved him in return&mdash;from an expression
+in her face, a glance of her eyes,
+a blush, a tremor when his hand touched
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page80" id="page80"></a>[pg&nbsp;80]</span>
+hers. He did not dare speak to her about
+his love; he doubted if he should ever dare
+to speak; at a word he feared his happiness
+might be shattered.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Sometimes on Sunday afternoons he drove
+with Mademoiselle Blanche and her mother
+into the country, and on Sunday nights he
+would dine and pass the evening with them
+in the little apartment. Occasionally he had
+long talks with the mother; in these he told
+about his family and about his property,
+laying stress on the fact that even if he lost
+his place at the office his income was large
+enough to support him. She told him, in
+return, about her own family and her husband's,
+and gave him a humorous account
+of her sister-in-law, Blanche's Aunt Sophie.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Blanche is a little like her,&quot; she said.
+&quot;Sophie takes everything <i>au grand sérieux</i>.
+Then she's strict with the children, and
+that's a great mistake, for Jeanne hates
+restraint, and Louise doesn't need it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She also told him amusing stories about
+Monsieur Berthier's devotion to her. He
+had offered himself to her while she was
+at the convent where she was educated, near
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page81" id="page81"></a>[pg&nbsp;81]</span>
+Boulogne, and she had refused him twice.
+Her family had objected to her marriage
+with Blanche's father, simply because he
+was an acrobat. No, she hadn't fallen in
+love with him at the circus. She never saw
+him perform till a short time before she
+became engaged to him. Ah, it had been
+hard for her to be separated from him so
+much. Sometimes she travelled with him
+in his long journeys; but while the children
+were very young, she couldn't. Blanche had
+been such a consolation to him. Madame
+Perrault believed that husband and wife
+ought never to be separated; it was bad
+for both of them. If she had her life to
+live over again, she would always travel with
+her husband, no matter how far he went.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Most of Jules' talk with Madame Perrault,
+however, consisted of a discussion of the
+qualities of her daughter, whose praises she
+constantly sang for him. Blanche's ambition,
+she said, was to provide dowries for her
+sisters; she had already accumulated a few
+thousand francs, and these she had set aside
+for the girls. She never seemed to think
+that she herself needed a <i>dot</i>. Ah, sometimes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page82" id="page82"></a>[pg&nbsp;82]</span>
+Madame was very much worried about
+her daughter's future. Blanche could not
+marry any of the other performers; they
+were not worthy of her, and their coarseness
+and roughness shocked her. Of course,
+they were good enough in their way, but
+their way was not Blanche's way.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then, as Madame became more familiar
+with Jules, she also grew more confidential.
+Yes, Blanche had had a great many admirers.
+The young Prince of Luperto had fallen
+desperately in love with her in Bucharest
+three years before, and he had followed her
+all over Europe. But she had refused to
+notice any of his letters,&mdash;and oh, <i>mon
+Dieu!</i> such letters! Madame had read
+every one of them, and she had met the
+Prince the night he tried to force himself
+into Blanche's dressing-room. He seemed
+<i>such</i> a gentleman, and he had the most
+beautiful eyes! But Blanche,&mdash;she was so
+frightened. She cried and cried, and for
+weeks she was in terror of her life! Then
+there were others,&mdash;so many, so many.
+One by one, Madame Perrault unfolded their
+histories to Jules, and he listened in rapt
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page83" id="page83"></a>[pg&nbsp;83]</span>
+attention, with a growing appreciation of
+the daughter's charms and of the mother's
+amiability.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules often wondered why he did not hear
+more talk about the circus in the little apartment.
+The subject was rarely mentioned.
+Mademoiselle Blanche displayed no nervousness
+before or after her performance. She
+practised a little in the morning at home,
+she said, to keep her muscles limber; she
+had done the same things on the trapeze
+so often that they had become easy to her.
+Once Jules met in the apartment the oily
+little Frenchman who always held the rope
+when Mademoiselle Blanche climbed to the
+top of the <i>Cirque</i>, and then he learned for
+the first time that Monsieur Pelletier was
+Mademoiselle's agent. &quot;And he is such
+a trial to us,&quot; the mother explained when
+he was gone. &quot;He makes such bad terms,
+and we have to pay him such a high percentage;
+and then he sometimes mixes up
+our dates, and we don't know what to do.
+Ah, if we could only have some one to take
+care of our affairs that we could trust. It
+is so hard for two unprotected women.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page84" id="page84"></a>[pg&nbsp;84]</span>
+Jules thought of this speech many times.
+Indeed, he fairly brooded over it. For
+several weeks he had felt that his career
+was too limited; he hated the thought of
+being tied down to his business all his life.
+He was made for something better than that,
+for a grander, a more conspicuous <i>rôle</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In his youth he had thought of the army,
+then of a diplomatic career; for a time, too,
+of the stage. But he had been too poor
+to enter either of the first two professions,
+and for the stage he was unfitted by temperament.
+Now, in his imagination a brilliant
+career stretched before him, combining both
+glory and love. Up to the present he had
+not lived; his life was about to begin. The
+world seemed to open out to him! He would
+travel from one end of the earth to the
+other in an unbroken march of triumph.
+Even Paris lost attractiveness for him and
+seemed uninteresting and petty; he pitied
+the poor <i>boulevardiers</i> who were bound to
+a wretched routine of existence, who loved
+it simply because they knew of no other.
+He would not only visit America again&mdash;this
+time not in a sordid capacity, friendless and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page85" id="page85"></a>[pg&nbsp;85]</span>
+lonely, but surrounded by a retinue&mdash;he
+would go also to Russia, to India, to Australia,
+perhaps to Japan and the other
+countries of the remote East. The night
+when he was first enchanted by this vision,
+he could not sleep for excitement till nearly
+four o'clock. Then he saw the vision realized,
+only to be shattered by Madeleine's
+cracked voice, and her injunction that it
+was time for him to get up and go to his
+work.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In the evening, when he saw his friends
+again, he found them very unhappy; they
+had just received news from Jeanne that
+Aunt Sophie was very ill, threatened with
+pneumonia. Madame Perrault was in tears,
+and Mademoiselle Blanche's eyes showed
+that she, too, had been crying. The next
+day, they said, Jeanne had promised to write,
+and the next night Jules learned that bad
+news had been received. The doctor pronounced
+the case pneumonia, and said the
+patient was in great danger. Mamma must
+come on, Jeanne wrote. But Madame explained
+to Jules with sobs that she could
+not leave Blanche.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page86" id="page86"></a>[pg&nbsp;86]</span>
+&quot;And my poor Jeanne, what will she do,
+a child of fourteen with only the little Louise
+to help her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then Jules became inspired. His faithful
+Madeleine&mdash;she would save the situation.
+Madame Perrault might go to Boulogne
+by the first train, and Madeleine
+would take her place, would be a second
+mother to Mademoiselle Blanche, accompany
+her to the theatre, help her to dress,
+come back with her, keep her from being
+lonely. Jules wanted to rush off at once,
+and bring Madeleine to the <i>rue St. Honoré</i>,
+for inspection and approval.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then the girl's quiet wisdom asserted itself.
+Jeanne had said there was no immediate
+danger; so if Mamma took the train
+in the morning, that would be in quite time
+enough. After their <i>petit déjeuner</i> they might
+call on Madeleine, or Monsieur Jules might
+tell them if she would come. Then Jules
+burst into a eulogy of Madeleine's qualities:
+he had never before realized what a good
+soul she was. He would bring her with him,
+he said, in the morning, on his way to the
+office; he knew she would be glad to come.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page87" id="page87"></a>[pg&nbsp;87]</span>
+On this occasion Jules had a chance to
+display his executive ability. After leaving
+his friends at the Circus, he drove home
+furiously, found Madeleine sound asleep in
+the big chair by the fireplace, woke her up,
+and explained the situation.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Now, my dear Madeleine,&quot; he said at
+the end, &quot;you are to go to that poor girl
+and take her mother's place; she will love
+you, and you will love her. So be good to
+her for my sake, Madeleine,&quot; and he leaned
+over, and patted the old woman's wrinkled
+hand affectionately. Madeleine was moved,
+chiefly, however, by Jules' unwonted tenderness.
+She had never known an actress, not
+to speak of a performer in a circus, and she
+felt alarmed at the thought of meeting one.
+But she felt sure that Mademoiselle Blanche
+must be good. Hadn't Jules said so?
+Jules had not said that he was in love with
+Mademoiselle; he trusted Madeleine to find
+that out for herself; he also trusted Madeleine
+to find out a few other things for him.
+Secretly he was blessing the chance that
+enabled him to send Madeleine to Mademoiselle;
+for the moment he did not even think
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page88" id="page88"></a>[pg&nbsp;88]</span>
+of the personal discomfort it would cause
+himself.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">That night Jules told his friends that
+Madeleine had consented to come, and he
+promised to bring her with him in the
+morning. Madeleine was greatly agitated,
+and rose unusually early to make an elaborate
+toilette. She rarely went out, save to
+the shops and to mass; so she had not kept
+up with the fashions, and her best dress was
+made in a mode long before discarded.
+She was a very grotesque figure as she
+walked in her queer little bonnet with long
+ribbons flying from it, and her wide skirts.
+When they reached the apartment in the
+<i>rue St. Honoré</i>, Jules thought he saw an
+expression of amusement in Madame Perrault's
+face, but Blanche greeted Madeleine
+with great kindliness. Then the mother
+explained that she had just received a letter
+from Jeanne, saying Aunt Sophie was in no
+immediate danger, but begging her to come
+as soon as possible. Jules saw that both his
+friends were pleased with Madeleine, and it
+was quickly arranged that she should install
+herself in the apartment that day, and at four
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page89" id="page89"></a>[pg&nbsp;89]</span>
+o'clock Madame Perrault would leave for
+Boulogne. He departed radiantly happy,
+with the promise to return at three to take
+Madame to the station. He secured leave of
+absence from the office, and on his return to
+the apartment he found Madeleine there,
+helping Mademoiselle Blanche to make a
+new dress.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'll be ready in a minute,&quot; Madame Perrault
+cried from the adjoining room.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Are you coming with us, mademoiselle?&quot;
+Jules asked.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, I won't let her,&quot; her mother replied.
+&quot;It's too cold, and it would tire her. You
+aren't afraid to ride alone in a cab with me,
+are you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules was surprised by her vivacity; he
+knew that she was greatly worried about her
+sister, yet in the midst of her agitation she
+could joke. If he had known her less he
+would have supposed that she was a woman
+of little feeling. She presently flounced out
+of the room, putting on her gloves and
+smiling.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Madeleine and Blanche have become
+great friends,&quot; she said. &quot;I'm afraid I shall
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page90" id="page90"></a>[pg&nbsp;90]</span>
+be jealous of her. When I come back there
+won't be any place for me.&quot; Then she took
+her daughter by both hands and Jules saw
+the glimmer of tears in her eyes. &quot;Good-bye,
+dear,&quot; she said, kissing the girl on both
+cheeks. &quot;You must write to me every day,
+and I'll write to you. In a week, at least, I
+shall be back. I have a presentiment that
+Sophie will improve as soon as I get
+there.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mademoiselle Blanche clung tightly to her
+mother, and kissed her again and again.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There, there! Now, my child&mdash;there!&quot;
+With a parting embrace, Madame Perrault
+tore herself away, crying as she passed out of
+the door, &quot;Good-bye, Madeleine. Take
+care of the little one! And remember
+Monsieur Jules is coming back to dinner.
+I'm going to invite him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">This was the first time she had ever
+called Jules by his first name, and on hearing
+it he felt a thrill of joy. She hurried before
+him down the steep stairs, wiping her eyes.
+When they entered the cab, she had controlled
+herself again, and was smiling as
+usual.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page91" id="page91"></a>[pg&nbsp;91]</span>
+The cab rattled so noisily over the pavement
+that during most of the ride to the
+station they kept silent. They arrived there
+half an hour ahead of time, and this they
+spent in walking up and down the platform.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You must be very kind to my Blanche
+while I'm away,&quot; said Madame Perrault.
+&quot;She will be very lonely. She hasn't been
+separated from me before since her father
+died.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules assured her that he would be a
+second mother to her. He would take her
+and Madeleine to the <i>Cirque</i> every night,
+and in the morning on his way to the office
+he would call to ask if he could do her
+any service. &quot;She'll be spoiled when you
+come back,&quot; he concluded with a smile.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a moment they walked without speaking.
+The station was so cold that their
+breaths made vapour in the air. Yet Jules
+felt warm enough; his whole being seemed
+to glow.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There's something I want to tell you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She made a sign with her head that she
+was listening.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm in love with Mademoiselle Blanche,&quot;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page92" id="page92"></a>[pg&nbsp;92]</span>
+he said, impressively, finding a delicious
+relief in speaking the words.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She smiled roguishly into his face.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Is that all?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">They looked into each other's eyes, and
+read there a mutual understanding.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then you've known all along?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Of course, from the very first, from the
+first night you came into the dressing-room,
+and pretended to be a reporter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, I thought you had forgiven that.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;So I have&mdash;that is, there was nothing
+to forgive. You didn't deceive me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Do you mean that you knew at the time
+I wasn't a reporter? And Blanche&mdash;she
+knew too?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, poor dear, she didn't know. Yet it
+was plain as daylight. Ah, my friend, I
+haven't lived fifty years for nothing. Don't
+you suppose I could tell from your looks and
+your manner, and what you said, and what
+you <i>didn't</i> say,&mdash;don't you suppose I could
+tell from all that, what you had come for?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules looked into her face again.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;How good you are!&quot; he sighed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She burst out laughing.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page93" id="page93"></a>[pg&nbsp;93]</span>
+&quot;Good? I am not good. Blanche taught
+me that years ago. There's nothing like
+having a good daughter to take a mother
+down. She makes me feel ashamed every
+day of my life.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;That's just the way she makes me feel,&quot;
+Jules cried, delighted to find that some one
+else shared his feeling. &quot;Then she's so
+gentle and so kind,&quot; he rhapsodized, &quot;and she
+thinks so little about herself! Do you&mdash;do
+you think&mdash;&mdash;Oh, that's what almost drives
+me to despair sometimes. I hardly dare go
+near her. I hardly dare to speak to her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame Perrault took a deep breath.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You almost make me feel young again,&quot;
+she said, with a smile.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Do you think I could make her love
+me?&quot; Jules asked, marvelling at his own
+humility.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Do you mean that you want to know
+whether I think she's in love with you or
+not?&quot; Madame Perrault said briskly. &quot;Ah,
+my friend, I can't answer that question.
+You must ask her yourself.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then you give me permission to ask her?
+You are willing? You have no objection?&quot;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page94" id="page94"></a>[pg&nbsp;94]</span>
+He stopped suddenly, and looked radiantly
+at Madame Perrault's face. &quot;How <i>good</i> you
+are, madame!&quot; he repeated.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She began to laugh again,&mdash;a peculiar,
+gurgling laugh that came from her throat.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Why should I object? You are a good
+fellow. You would make Blanche a good
+husband. It's time for her to get married.
+She needs some one to protect her. I can't
+follow her about all the rest of my life.
+She is twenty-two. Why shouldn't she
+marry?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules' ardor was cooled by this practical reasoning;
+it made him practical too. He told
+Madame Perrault again of his little property.
+He could well afford to marry, he said. He
+loved Mademoiselle Blanche with all his
+heart; he couldn't live without her; he
+would give up everything for her; he would
+follow her everywhere. Ah, if he only knew
+whether she cared for him or not! She was
+so strange, so reserved. It was so hard to
+tell with a girl like her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You are right there, my friend. She has
+great reserve. With my Jeanne or Louise, I
+should know everything. But with Blanche,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page95" id="page95"></a>[pg&nbsp;95]</span>
+<i>non!</i> But I never pry into her secrets; I
+have learned better. She has a great deal of
+inner life; she thinks a great deal; she is
+not like the other flighty women that you see
+in the circus. If she had not been born to
+the circus, if she had been brought up as
+Louise has been, she would be a <i>religieuse</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules would have become rhapsodical again
+if the whistle of the train had not sounded,
+and he was obliged hurriedly to help Madame
+Perrault into her compartment. He shook
+the hand that she offered him, received a
+few last messages, and he watched the train
+as it pulled out of the station. Then, with a
+sigh, he turned and walked back to his
+office.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page96" id="page96"></a>[pg&nbsp;96]</span></p>
+
+<h2>VIII</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">After the departure of Madeleine, Jules
+would have found his apartment cheerless,
+if he had not used it merely for sleeping.
+As soon as he rose in the morning, he went
+to Madame Perrault's, where he breakfasted
+with Mademoiselle Blanche. In spite of her
+duties elsewhere, Madeleine kept his rooms in
+order, and his new domestic arrangements did
+not in the least inconvenience him. Indeed,
+he liked them, and he almost dreaded the return
+of Mademoiselle's mother. This would
+probably not take place for several weeks,
+however, for the illness of her aunt Sophie
+proved to be very tedious, though after the
+first ten days she was pronounced out of
+danger. Madeleine had speedily won the
+affections of Mademoiselle Blanche, and she
+secretly confided to Jules that the girl was
+an angel.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I knew you'd think so,&quot; Jules replied.
+&quot;I've thought so ever since I first saw her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page97" id="page97"></a>[pg&nbsp;97]</span>
+&quot;Ah, but it's wicked that she should have
+to do those dreadful things every night!&quot;
+Madeleine cried, rolling her eyes, and throwing
+up her hands in horror. &quot;It freezes my
+blood.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But she likes it,&quot; Jules explained.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, it's wicked just the same, the poor
+child!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madeleine had speedily adapted herself to
+her duties as dresser to Mademoiselle Blanche,
+and her nightly trips to the theatre were the
+most exciting experiences of her life. After
+seeing the plunge from the top of the Circus,
+however, she had refused to look at it again.
+&quot;It freezes my blood,&quot; she would repeat,
+whenever Jules referred to it. &quot;It's too
+horrible!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But she makes a lot of money by it,&quot;
+Jules insisted.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She would do much better to stay poor,&quot;
+Madeleine replied, with a tartness that was rare
+with her and made Jules burst out laughing.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Madeleine,&quot; he said, confidentially. &quot;Madeleine,
+come over here.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madeleine bent her head towards him with
+a smile on her face.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page98" id="page98"></a>[pg&nbsp;98]</span>
+&quot;Madeleine, do you think there's any one&mdash;any
+one that she cares about particularly&mdash;any
+one you know? Eh?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madeleine's wrinkles deepened, as the
+smile spread over her face and lighted her
+faded eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, Monsieur Jules, she is very fond of
+her sisters. She is always talking about them,
+especially about <i>la petite</i> Jeanne. Then she's
+very fond of her mamma, too, of course.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Madeleine, you're trying to plague me
+now. You know I don't mean that. I mean
+any&mdash;any&mdash;?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Any gentleman, Monsieur Jules?&quot; the
+old woman asked.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, Madeleine, any gentleman.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madeleine grew thoughtful.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She often speaks of Monsieur Berthier,
+who is going to marry her mother. She
+says he's very kind to her sisters.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And is that all, Madeleine? Doesn't
+she speak of any one else? Doesn't she ever
+speak of&mdash;of me?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, yes, Monsieur Jules, she thinks you've
+been very good to her and her mother. She
+often speaks of that.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page99" id="page99"></a>[pg&nbsp;99]</span>
+This was all the information that Jules
+could extract from Madeleine. On several
+occasions he tried her again, but though she
+seemed amused by his questions, she evaded
+them. Once he said to her:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Madeleine, how would you like to go
+away with me&mdash;to travel&mdash;a long distance?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madeleine carefully considered the question.
+Then she replied simply:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I should not like to leave Paris, Monsieur
+Jules, but, if you wanted me to go, I would
+go.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">After that, Madeleine was less worried.
+She had little to say, and, like most silent
+people, she observed and thought a great
+deal. For Mademoiselle Blanche she had
+conceived a genuine affection, and she looked
+forward with regret to the time when she
+would have to leave the <i>rue St. Honoré</i> for
+Jules' lonely apartment.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">One Saturday night, on their return from
+the Circus, Jules asked Mademoiselle Blanche
+if she were going to high mass the next
+day as usual. He was surprised when she
+replied that she was going at eight o'clock
+instead.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page100" id="page100"></a>[pg&nbsp;100]</span>
+&quot;But that is too early,&quot; he said. &quot;You
+won't have sleep enough.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm going to communion,&quot; she explained.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He could not understand why this announcement
+should impress him as it did.
+He had supposed that of course she went
+to communion; she had probably gone to
+confession early in the afternoon before the
+<i>matinée</i>. Once again he felt awed by her
+goodness. How strange it was that she
+should be in the confessional at three o'clock,
+and two hours later perform in her fleshings
+before a crowd of people! The very publicity
+of her life seemed to exalt the simplicity
+and the purity of her character.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules was so absorbed in thinking of these
+things that he did not speak again till the
+cab reached the <i>rue St. Honoré</i>. Then, as
+he helped Mademoiselle out, he said:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'll go to church with you to-morrow, if
+you will let me. You won't leave before half-past
+seven, will you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She protested that he ought not to get up
+so early; he needed a good night's rest
+after his hard work of the week. But he
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page101" id="page101"></a>[pg&nbsp;101]</span>
+laughed and waved his hand to her in parting,
+and told her not to wait for him after
+a quarter to eight; now that he didn't have
+Madeleine to call him, he might not wake up
+in time.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He was in time, however, and as he walked
+to church in the cold December air with
+Mademoiselle by his side, he felt repaid for
+his sacrifice. She wore a tight-fitting fur
+coat and a black cloth dress, with the little
+fur-trimmed hat he had admired when he
+first walked with her in the <i>Champs Élysées</i>.
+Her face was protected by a thick dotted
+veil, but under it he could see her sparkling
+eyes and the color in her cheeks.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm paying you a very great compliment,&quot;
+he said, as they hurried along
+towards <i>St. Philippe de Roule</i>. &quot;I haven't
+got up so early on a Sunday since I was a
+boy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She smiled in reply; it was too cold for
+her to speak. He could see her breath
+steaming faintly through the veil.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He felt a curious desire to hear her voice
+again; he did not realize that her devotion
+to the Church made her seem more remote
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page102" id="page102"></a>[pg&nbsp;102]</span>
+from him, but he had an unpleasant consciousness
+that his own lack of religious
+faith created a barrier between them.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In the church he kept glancing from the
+priest celebrating the mass, to her. She was
+absorbed in reading her prayer-book, and
+she did not once look up at him. He compared
+her as she appeared then with her
+appearance in the glamor of the circus ring.
+She was the same person, yet different. She
+represented to him a kind of miracle. How
+humble she was, how sweet and good, as she
+knelt there!</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When the priest began to distribute the
+communion and Blanche left her seat and
+joined the throng approaching the altar,
+Jules was touched with a tenderness he had
+never felt before. He buried his face in his
+hands, and prayed that he might be made
+worthy of her. He did not dare pray for
+her love; a certain sense of shame at having
+neglected God and church for so many years,
+at having lived solely for his own gratification,
+kept him from that; but if he had
+examined his motives, he would have found
+that this was really what he was praying for.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page103" id="page103"></a>[pg&nbsp;103]</span>
+He deceived himself so easily that he instinctively
+felt that he might be able to
+deceive God too.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On leaving the church, Jules proposed
+that they go to a restaurant for breakfast.
+&quot;We'll make a holiday of it,&quot; he said, &quot;and
+drink to your Aunt Sophie's health.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">But Blanche protested that Madeleine
+would expect them, and would be worried if
+she were not back by half-past nine.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then we'll go out at one o'clock. I'll
+take you over to Bertiny's, in the <i>Champs
+Élysées</i>. It's very gorgeous; the twins
+took me there once to celebrate Dufresne's
+luck when he won five hundred francs at the
+races.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Though the sun was shining, it was still
+very cold, and as they hurried to the little
+apartment Jules could see that she was
+trembling. Madeleine had prepared some
+hot coffee for them and some eggs, and over
+these they were very gay. Jules was in a
+particularly good humor, and Mademoiselle
+Blanche laughed at his jokes, though most
+of them she had heard before. She had a
+very pretty laugh, he thought,&mdash;like her
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page104" id="page104"></a>[pg&nbsp;104]</span>
+mother's, though not so deep and gurgling.
+After breakfast her face flushed from her
+walk and she looked even prettier than she
+appeared in the church.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">As Madeleine cleared away the table,
+Blanche began to water the flowers by the
+window, and Jules opened the copy of the
+<i>Petit Journal</i> that he had bought on the way
+from the church. He kept glancing up at
+Mademoiselle, however, and each time he
+looked at her he had a new sensation of
+pleasure. How domestic she looked in the
+little dress of gray wool that she had put on
+after her return from mass! She seemed to
+create an atmosphere of home around her.
+In her belt were the roses he had given her
+the night before, still fresh and sparkling with
+drops of water from her fingers. How good
+it was, he thought, that he could be with her
+like this! How lonely his own apartment
+would be to him when Madame Perrault came
+back! He almost wished that she would
+never return, that she would marry Monsieur
+Berthier, and they might go on in this way
+forever. He laughed at the thought, and
+just then Mademoiselle turned her head.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page105" id="page105"></a>[pg&nbsp;105]</span>
+&quot;Monsieur seems to be amused,&quot; she said.
+&quot;What is he smiling at?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm smiling because I'm so happy,&quot;
+Jules replied. &quot;Don't you smile when
+you're happy?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She took a seat by the table, where she
+rested one hand.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, I don't think I do,&quot; she said, apparently
+giving the question serious consideration.
+&quot;When I am very happy I look
+serious. Then mamma sometimes fancies I
+feel sad.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He took a cigarette-case from his pocket
+and began to smoke.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Do you know,&quot; he said at last, &quot;I
+shall be sorry when your mother returns?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Sorry?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, because Madeleine will come back
+to me then, and I shall have to stay at home.
+I can't come any more as I do now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">A look of alarm appeared in her face.
+&quot;But why can't you come just the same?&quot;
+she asked, innocently.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He burst out laughing, and he felt a sudden
+desire to pat her on the cheek as he
+might have done to a child. What a child
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page106" id="page106"></a>[pg&nbsp;106]</span>
+she was, anyway! Yet he would not have
+wished her to be different; she seemed to
+him just what a young girl should be.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;When your mother comes, I can't take
+breakfast with you any more, and I can't
+come early on Sunday mornings and stay all
+day. I shall have to go back to my lonely
+apartment.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But you have Madeleine,&quot; she said, with
+a faint smile.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Madeleine, yes, and she is good enough
+in her way.&quot; Then he suddenly threw his
+cigarette into the fireplace, and bent toward
+her. &quot;Don't you know,&quot; he whispered,
+in a voice so low that Madeleine, who was
+moving about in the next room, could not
+hear him, &quot;can't you see that it's <i>you</i> I
+shall miss? Can't you see that you've become
+everything in the world to me? Without
+you, dear Blanche, I shouldn't care to
+live. Before I met you I didn't know what
+life really was&mdash;I didn't know what love
+was. I loved you the first time I saw you,
+and the more I've seen you, the better I've
+known you, the dearer you've become to
+me. I don't think I ever really understood
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page107" id="page107"></a>[pg&nbsp;107]</span>
+what it was to be pure and good till I
+knew you. You've made me ashamed of
+myself. Sometimes I feel as if I had no
+right to go near you. But I do love you,
+Blanche, and they say love helps a man to
+be good. I haven't dared to tell you this
+before; I've been afraid to ask you if you
+loved me. But this morning in church, it
+all came over me so&mdash;so that I must tell
+you. Blanche,&quot; he went on, taking her
+hand, &quot;you aren't offended with me for
+saying this, are you? I love you so much&mdash;I
+can't help loving you. If you'll only love
+me a little, dear, I'll be satisfied. Won't
+you tell me if you do care for me a little&mdash;just
+a little?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He knelt by her side, and tried to look
+into her face; but she turned her head away,
+and he saw that her neck was crimson. Her
+bosom kept rising and falling convulsively.
+Then he pressed toward her and clasped her
+in his arms and kissed her again and again,&mdash;on
+the face, the forehead, the hair, even on
+her ears when she buried her head on his
+shoulder. His lips were wet with her tears,
+and he felt radiantly, exultantly happy.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page108" id="page108"></a>[pg&nbsp;108]</span>
+&quot;I love you, I love you!&quot; he kept repeating.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For the first time he felt sure that his love
+was returned; but he was not satisfied. He
+wanted to hear her speak out her love. His
+lips were on her cheek, and she was lying
+motionless in his arms, as he whispered:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Won't you say that you love me, dear?
+Just three words. That isn't much, and it
+will make me the happiest man that ever
+lived.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Instead of speaking, she put her arms
+on his shoulders, as a child might have
+done, and he pressed her close to his
+breast again. Then he heard a noise behind
+him, and he saw Madeleine standing,
+big-eyed, in the doorway; she seemed too
+startled to move. He rose quickly to his
+feet, and still holding Blanche's hand, he
+said:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Madeleine, come here!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She came forward timidly, as if afraid she
+might be punished for her intrusion.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Mademoiselle Blanche is going to be my
+wife, Madeleine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madeleine held out her arms to the girl,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page109" id="page109"></a>[pg&nbsp;109]</span>
+and for a moment they stood clasped in
+each other's embrace.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, Monsieur Jules,&quot; the old woman
+cried, &quot;I pray God your mother can look
+down from heaven and see what a good
+daughter she's getting!&quot;</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page110" id="page110"></a>[pg&nbsp;110]</span></p>
+
+<h2>IX</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">After confessing his love, Jules experienced,
+mingled with his exultation,
+a feeling of bewildered amazement at his
+own boldness. This was followed by a poignant
+regret that he hadn't spoken before.
+Now, however, that his weeks of doubt and
+of intermittent misery were over, he gave
+himself up to his happiness, which manifested
+itself in a wild exuberance of spirits.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In a short time he was speaking humorously
+of those weeks, ridiculing himself as if
+he had already become different, almost another
+person from what he had been then.
+He told Blanche about his tortures, and even
+succeeded in extorting a confession from her
+that she had been in love with him since the
+first Sunday when he had called at the apartment
+and acknowledged Durand's duplicity;
+she, too, had had her doubts and her fears.
+Then they became very confidential, and by
+the time the morning was over, and they found
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page111" id="page111"></a>[pg&nbsp;111]</span>
+themselves in the restaurant, they felt as if
+they had known each other intimately for
+years.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In spite of Blanche's protests, Jules ordered
+a bottle of champagne and an elaborate
+luncheon.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I suppose I ought to have asked Madeleine
+to come,&quot; he said, &quot;but I wanted to
+be alone with you. Some day before your
+mother returns, we'll have another <i>fête</i>, and
+take Madeleine with us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In the morning, when he spoke about a
+definite engagement, and she protested that
+her mother must be consulted, he had told
+her of his talk with Madame Perrault at the
+railway station. Now he went on to make
+plans for their marriage. There was no reason,
+he argued, why they should wait a long
+time; her mother had been engaged to Monsieur
+Berthier for three years, but she would
+not marry till Blanche had a protector. Jules
+liked to talk of himself in this character; it
+gave him a feeling of importance. So, altogether,
+he went on, the sooner the marriage
+took place the better. He would give up
+his place in the wool-house, and devote himself
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page112" id="page112"></a>[pg&nbsp;112]</span>
+to his wife's career; for, of course, they
+couldn't be separated. They would be very
+happy travelling about, from one end of the
+world to the other.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">It never occurred to either of them that
+Blanche might retire from the ring after
+marriage. She herself seemed to regard
+the circus as part of her life; she had been
+born in it, and she belonged to it as long as
+she was able to perform. As for Jules, he
+could not have dissociated her from the
+thought of the circus. Even now he felt as
+if he had himself become wedded to it, that
+he had acquired a kind of proprietary interest
+in it. He discussed Blanche's professional
+engagements as if they were his own.
+Why, he asked, couldn't the marriage take
+place during the weeks that intervened between
+her engagement at the <i>Cirque Parisien</i>
+and her appearance in Vienna? Jeanne and
+Louise could come up to Paris for Christmas
+and the New Year, and be present at the
+ceremony. By that time he would have his
+affairs arranged so that he could go with her
+to Vienna.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Of course, they must dismiss Pelletier after
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page113" id="page113"></a>[pg&nbsp;113]</span>
+their marriage. Jules would take charge of
+his wife's affairs; his capacity for business
+would enable him to make good terms for
+her. He would plan wonderful tours; he
+would write to America, perhaps, and secure
+engagements for her there; artists were wonderfully
+well paid in America, better than in
+any other country, and they would enjoy
+seeing the new world together.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche listened to his talk with a touching
+confidence; she seemed to think it natural
+that he should speak as if he had authority
+over her. She made no protest against any
+of his suggestions, though she repeated that
+nothing could be decided till her mother
+returned to Paris.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But we'll write to your mother,&quot; said
+Jules. &quot;We'll write to her this very day&mdash;this
+afternoon when we go back.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a moment her face clouded.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What's the matter? Don't you want
+me to write to your mother?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She did not reply at once. When she did
+speak, she kept her eyes fixed on her plate.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It will be so hard to be separated from
+her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page114" id="page114"></a>[pg&nbsp;114]</span>
+Jules laughed, and bent toward her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But you can't stay with her always,&quot; he
+said tenderly. &quot;Then we'll take Madeleine
+with us. That will be a capital plan. She's
+strong and healthy, though she's over sixty,
+and she won't mind the travelling. Besides,
+we shall be in Vienna three months, and
+we'll rent a little apartment. It will be like
+being at home.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He spoke as if their future were settled,
+and his tone of confidence seemed to reassure
+her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I should like to have Madeleine,&quot; she
+said simply. &quot;She is so good.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On their return to the apartment, they
+devoted themselves to writing long letters to
+Madame Perrault. Jules' letter was full of
+rhapsodies, of promises to be kind to the
+girl who had consented to be his wife, and
+of his plans for the future. They read their
+letters to each other, or rather Jules read
+all of his, and Blanche read part of hers,
+firmly refusing to allow him to hear the rest.
+They spent a very happy afternoon together,
+and in the evening Madeleine had a sumptuous
+dinner for them, with an enormous
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page115" id="page115"></a>[pg&nbsp;115]</span>
+bunch of fresh roses on the table. In the
+evening they went to the <i>Comédie Française</i>,
+to finish what Jules declared to be the happiest
+day of his life.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules counted that day as the beginning of
+his real career. He looked back on himself
+during the years he had lived before it almost
+with pity. Since leaving the <i>lycée</i>, he had
+been merely a drudge, a piece of mechanism
+in the odious machinery of business. He
+had been content enough, but with the contentment
+of ignorance. How lonely and
+sordid his existence out of the office had
+been! He thought of his solitary dinners
+in <i>cafés</i>, surrounded by wretched beings like
+himself deprived of the happiness that comes
+from home and from an honest love. To
+the twins and his other comrades at the
+office he said nothing of the change that had
+taken place in his life; he was afraid they
+would chaff him; of course, when they heard
+he was going to marry an acrobat, they would
+make foolish jokes and treat him with a
+familiar levity. He determined not to tell
+them of his marriage until the eve of his
+departure from business; he would have to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page116" id="page116"></a>[pg&nbsp;116]</span>
+give the firm at least a fortnight's notice;
+but he would merely explain to Monsieur
+Mercier that he intended to devote a few
+months to travel, and thought of going to
+America.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame Perrault replied at once to Jules'
+letter. She made no pretence of being surprised
+by the news it contained; and she
+expressed her pleasure at the engagement,
+and gave her consent. But they must not
+make any definite plans until her return to
+Paris. That would be in about two weeks,
+for Aunt Sophie was very much better now
+and rapidly gaining strength, though she had
+as yet been unable to leave her bed. As
+soon as Sophie could go out, she was to be
+carried to the house of her cousin, Angélique
+Magnard, who would give her the best of
+care. Then Madame Perrault would be able
+to take Jeanne and Louise to Paris for the
+holidays; the girls were wild to see their dear
+Blanche again and to meet Jules. Monsieur
+Berthier talked of coming with them; he,
+too, was eager to make the acquaintance of
+Blanche's future husband.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">After these preliminaries, Madame Perrault
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page117" id="page117"></a>[pg&nbsp;117]</span>
+devoted herself to practical matters.
+She felt it her duty to inform Monsieur Jules
+that Blanche had no <i>dot</i>; she had earned
+a great deal of money, but most of it had
+been spent in maintaining the family; since
+the death of her father she had been their
+sole support. Of course, after marriage,
+her daughter's earnings would belong to
+Jules; but he must distinctly understand
+that he was taking a penniless bride. After
+her own marriage, Madame Perrault would
+have no fear for the future; Monsieur Berthier
+had promised of his own accord to
+provide for the girls; indeed, it was chiefly
+for their sake that, at the age of fifty-three,
+she was willing to marry again. So Blanche
+would no longer have her family dependent
+on her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules replied with an impassioned letter.
+He didn't care whether Blanche had a <i>dot</i>
+or not. He wanted to marry her because
+he loved her, because without her his life
+would be unendurable: he would marry her
+if she were the poorest girl in France. It
+took him several pages to say this, and he
+read the letter with satisfaction, and then
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page118" id="page118"></a>[pg&nbsp;118]</span>
+aloud to Blanche, who laughed over it, and
+gave him a timid little kiss in acknowledgment
+of his devotion. He thought he had
+done a commendable act, and he felt convinced
+that every word he had written was
+true.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">At the office Jules grew reserved, and he
+resented haughtily the familiarities of the
+twins. Indeed, to all of his companions
+in the wool-house he could not help displaying
+the superiority he felt. He would be
+there only a few weeks longer, and he acted
+as if he were conferring a favor on his employer
+by staying. The twins spent many
+hours in discussing the change in him; but
+they could not discover the cause.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You ought to have heard him talk to
+old Mercier the other day,&quot; said Leroux.
+&quot;You'd think he was the President receiving
+a deputation.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Early in November, Blanche received a
+letter from her mother, saying Aunt Sophie
+was so much better that they had decided
+to move her the next day, and two days
+later she would herself leave Boulogne with
+the girls and Monsieur Berthier. Jules was
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page119" id="page119"></a>[pg&nbsp;119]</span>
+both glad and sorry to hear the news,&mdash;sorry
+because his long <i>tête-à-têtes</i> with Blanche
+would end for a time, and glad because he
+would be able to arrange definitely with
+her mother for the marriage. Madeleine
+grieved at parting with the girl, but was consoled
+when Jules explained that she would
+probably be needed every night at the circus
+after Madame Perrault's return, for, of course,
+Monsieur Berthier would want to take his
+<i>fiancée</i> to the theatres. In speaking of
+Monsieur Berthier, Jules had adopted a
+facetious tone, which half-amused and half-pained
+Blanche.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;How droll it will be,&quot; he said one day,
+&quot;to have two pairs of lovers billing and cooing
+together.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Mamma doesn't bill and coo,&quot; the girl
+replied, with just a suggestion of resentment
+in her tone. &quot;She's too sensible.&quot; Then
+Jules patted her affectionately on the cheek,
+and told her she mustn't take what he said
+so seriously.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Monsieur Berthier must be a very good
+man, or he wouldn't get such a good wife,&quot;
+he said lightly. Then, with a comic look
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page120" id="page120"></a>[pg&nbsp;120]</span>
+in his eyes, he added as an afterthought:
+&quot;What a very good person I must be!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The next night, when Jules appeared in
+the <i>rue St. Honoré</i> for dinner, he found the
+little apartment crowded. Madame Perrault
+embraced him, and by addressing him as
+&quot;my son,&quot; seemed to receive him formally
+into the family. Then she introduced the
+two girls, who were much larger than he
+had imagined them to be. Jeanne, rosy-cheeked
+and black-eyed, approached him
+fearlessly, and offered her hand with a smile;
+Louise, fair and slight, with her light brown
+hair braided down her back, looked frightened,
+and blushed furiously when she received
+her salutation. The little fat man
+standing in front of the mantel, Jules recognized
+at once from his pointed white beard
+and laughing eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I should have known you in a crowd
+on the <i>Boulevard</i>,&quot; Jules said, as he extended
+his hand. &quot;You're exactly like
+your photograph.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And you are even better-looking than
+Mathilde said you were,&quot; Monsieur Berthier
+replied. &quot;Ah, little one,&quot; he went on,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page121" id="page121"></a>[pg&nbsp;121]</span>
+turning to Blanche, and giving her a pinch
+on the arm, &quot;you're getting a fine, handsome
+husband.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules tried to make friends with the girls.
+With Jeanne he had no difficulty; she was
+quite ready to banter with him, and he found
+her pert and quick-witted. Louise, however,
+was so shy that he could extract only monosyllables
+from her. She seemed to him very
+like Blanche, only less pretty. Jeanne had
+Blanche's beauty, more highly-colored and
+exuberant; her snapping black eyes showed,
+too, that she had a will and a temper of
+her own. Jules began to chaff her, to make
+her show her spirit, but she parried his jests
+good-humoredly, and she retaliated very
+smartly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I don't see how you ever dared to fall
+in love with Blanche,&quot; she said. &quot;Aren't
+you afraid of her?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Afraid of her?&quot; Jules laughed. &quot;Why
+should I be afraid of her?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, I don't know. I suppose because
+she's so good. I'm afraid of her sometimes.
+And I'm afraid of Louise when she gets her
+pious look on. How did you happen to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page122" id="page122"></a>[pg&nbsp;122]</span>
+fall in love with her? Do tell me. I'll
+never tell in the world.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I just saw her, that's all,&quot; Jules explained
+with mock gravity. &quot;Isn't that
+enough?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;In the circus?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules nodded.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then you fell in love with her because
+she does such wonderful things, and looks
+so beautiful in the ring. Now, you wouldn't
+have fallen in love if you'd just met her like
+any one else.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But it was because she wasn't like anyone
+else that I did fall in love with her,&quot;
+Jules insisted, with the air of carrying on
+the joke.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But if she'd never been in the circus&mdash;if
+you'd just met her here, or anywhere else
+except in the circus&mdash;do you think you
+would have fallen in love with her then?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Of course I should,&quot; Jules replied unhesitatingly,
+though he knew he was lying.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jeanne shrugged her shoulders and looked
+skeptical.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I wish I could be in the circus,&quot; she
+said, &quot;and get flowers, and be admired, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page123" id="page123"></a>[pg&nbsp;123]</span>
+earn a lot of money like Blanche. And
+isn't it the funniest thing,&quot; she went on,
+growing more confidential, &quot;Blanche doesn't
+care about it at all.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;About the flowers, and being admired,
+and all that?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes. And she says the circus isn't a
+good place for a young girl. But I say if
+it's good enough for her, it's good enough
+for me. Anyway, if mamma doesn't let me
+do what Blanche does, I'm going on the
+stage when I grow up.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules was amused by her talk, and drew her
+out by deft questions. While she was animatedly
+describing her life in the convent of
+Boulogne, where the nuns were always holding
+up Louise as a model of good behavior
+to her, dinner was announced, and they all
+went out into the dining-room, where Jules and
+Blanche had passed so many hours together.
+This time Jules' place was between Jeanne
+and Louise. Jeanne went on with her
+chatter, and Louise scarcely spoke, save to
+Blanche, with whom she kept exchanging
+affectionate smiles.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;The girls are vexed with me,&quot; said
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page124" id="page124"></a>[pg&nbsp;124]</span>
+Madame Perrault, &quot;because I won't let
+them go to the Circus to-night.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The pale face of Louise brightened with
+eagerness and Jeanne turned to her mother
+and cried pleadingly:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, I think it's a shame. The first
+time we've been in Paris, too, and we want
+to see Blanche perform again so much!
+Why can't we go, mamma? Please, please
+let us go.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, let the children go,&quot; said Monsieur
+Berthier good-naturedly. &quot;It would be
+cruel to send them to bed early their first
+night in Paris.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then Jules added his voice in the girls'
+behalf, but Madame Perrault shook her head
+decidedly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I can't have them up so late. Besides,
+they need to rest after their journey. If you
+are good, Jeanne, and don't tease me to go
+to-night, I'll take you and Louise to the
+<i>matinée</i> on Saturday.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, the <i>matinée</i>!&quot; Jeanne pouted, turning
+for sympathy to Jules. &quot;Who cares for
+the <i>matinée</i>! Isn't it too bad?&quot; she went
+on in a low voice, so that her mother
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page125" id="page125"></a>[pg&nbsp;125]</span>
+shouldn't hear her. &quot;When I grow up,
+Monsieur Jules, I shall go to the theatre
+every night&mdash;yes, every night of my life. I
+don't care what happens.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jeanne was sullen and Louise looked sad
+when they were left alone with Charlotte, the
+little maid.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I won't go to bed till twelve o'clock,&quot;
+Jeanne cried, as her mother, with parting
+injunctions, went out, followed by the
+others. &quot;I shall sit up and cry all the
+evening.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Nine o'clock, my dear,&quot; said Madame
+Perrault serenely. &quot;You know what I said
+about Saturday.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The door was slammed behind them and,
+as they filed downstairs, they heard Jeanne
+go stamping back into the <i>salon</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Don't you think you're severe with the
+child, Mathilde?&quot; said Berthier.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, Félix, not too severe, if you mean
+that. It's the only way to keep her in
+check. She has too much spirit. I'm afraid
+of it sometimes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;That's just the way you used to be at
+her age,&quot; he laughed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page126" id="page126"></a>[pg&nbsp;126]</span>
+&quot;And that's just why I mean to keep her
+down,&quot; she replied, almost sternly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Jeanne has all the spirit of the family,&quot;
+said Berthier, glancing at Jules.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">After the performance they returned to the
+apartment for supper. Jules was surprised to
+find the table steaming with hot dishes, bright
+with flowers and with wine-glasses. Madeleine,
+who seemed to be in the secret, put on
+an apron, and proceeded to assist Charlotte.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;We've prepared a little feast for you,&quot;
+Madame Perrault explained, &quot;in honour of
+Blanche's engagement. Félix has provided
+the champagne.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Berthier rubbed his hands and smiled,
+and they took their places at the table.
+They were all hungry and in good spirits.
+This was the happiest time of the day for
+Blanche; though she never consciously
+worried about her work, she always felt
+relieved when her performance was done,
+and she was free to go home and rest. The
+little rosy-cheeked Charlotte busied herself
+around them, passing dishes and bringing
+on fresh ones.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It's a shame to keep this poor child up
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page127" id="page127"></a>[pg&nbsp;127]</span>
+so late,&quot; said Berthier, when she had left the
+room for a moment. &quot;Why not send her
+to bed?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'll send her as soon as she brings in the
+rest of the things,&quot; Madame Perrault replied.
+&quot;She and Madeleine can have something to
+eat together. I sha'n't have to send Madeleine
+home with you to-night, Jules. We've
+made a bed for her in Charlotte's room.
+She's a good creature, your Madeleine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Charlotte came in with the rest of the
+dishes, and Madame Perrault told her to eat
+something, and go to bed. &quot;And tell Madeleine
+not to wait up for us. You can clear
+the things away in the morning. Did Jeanne
+go to bed at nine o'clock, Charlotte?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, madame.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And without any trouble?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, madame.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What did she do to amuse herself during
+the evening?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Charlotte's cheeks took on a deeper red.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She tried to imitate Mademoiselle
+Blanche in the circus,&quot; she confessed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, that accounts for the broken chair!
+Good night, Charlotte.&quot; Then, as the girl
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page128" id="page128"></a>[pg&nbsp;128]</span>
+left the room, Madame Perrault sighed.
+&quot;That Jeanne will be the death of me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'll take her in hand when she comes
+to me,&quot; Berthier laughed. &quot;We'll have to
+find a husband for her. That will cure her
+of her craze for the circus.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;A husband for Jeanne, little Jeanne!&quot;
+Madame Perrault exclaimed in horror.
+&quot;She's barely fourteen.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And in two years she'll be a woman.
+I was in love with you at fifteen. Don't you
+remember? We thought of eloping.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;<i>Taisez-vous!</i>&quot; cried Madame Perrault,
+flushing, and trying not to join in the laughter
+that the speech excited from Jules. &quot;You
+make me a great fool before my daughter and
+my new son.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;He isn't your son yet,&quot; Berthier insisted,
+to tease her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But he will be soon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;That's just what I wanted you to say!&quot;
+Jules cried. &quot;The sooner the better. Tomorrow
+would suit me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The glasses had been filled with champagne,
+and Berthier lifted his glass high in
+the air, crying:</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page129" id="page129"></a>[pg&nbsp;129]</span>
+&quot;Let us drink to the <i>fiancés</i>! May their
+marriage be long and their engagement short!
+Here's health and happiness to them!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">They all stood up smiling and drank
+together. Then as they sat down again,
+Berthier went on:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, I know the folly of long engagements.
+Get married, get married, my children,
+as soon as you can, while love is young.
+I once knew a young girl&mdash;as beautiful as
+the morning&mdash;more beautiful, a thousand
+times more beautiful. Well, this young girl
+loved a handsome, yes, I may say a fairly
+handsome, at any rate, an honest young fellow,
+who fairly worshipped her in return. But the
+stern parents of this beautiful young girl&mdash;&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;<i>Taisez-vous!</i>&quot; Madame Perrault repeated.
+&quot;No more nonsense. If your beautiful
+young girl hadn't obeyed her parents,
+where would Blanche Perrault be at this moment,
+I should like to know?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, my friend,&quot; said Berthier to Jules,
+&quot;it's the women who forget. Only the men
+are constant in this world.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame Perrault rolled her eyes in mock
+horror.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page130" id="page130"></a>[pg&nbsp;130]</span>
+&quot;Constant&mdash;the men!&quot; she repeated
+scornfully. &quot;They don't know what constancy
+is. If it weren't for the constant
+women in the world, the men would go
+straight to the devil.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Berthier burst into hilarious laughter. He
+loved nothing better than to be vanquished
+in an argument by Madame Perrault. Indeed,
+he often argued simply in order to
+provoke her. He gave Jules a quick glance
+and a nod which plainly said: &quot;Isn't she a
+fine woman? Have you ever seen a woman
+so clever?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The innocent pleasantries of the old lovers,
+however, were lost on Jules. He wanted to
+discuss in all seriousness his forthcoming
+marriage, and this was certainly a suitable
+occasion. So he determined to put the conversation
+on another basis.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I am sure Monsieur Berthier is right
+about long engagements,&quot; he said, &quot;and
+there's no reason why our engagement
+shouldn't be short. I love Blanche, and
+Blanche loves me, and we think we can
+make each other happy. I can afford to
+marry&mdash;I have a little property&mdash;and when
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page131" id="page131"></a>[pg&nbsp;131]</span>
+she marries me Blanche will have a protector
+in her professional career.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Bravo!&quot; cried Berthier. &quot;That was
+said like a man!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And the sooner I'm married, the better
+for you,&quot; Jules went on, fixing his eyes on
+Berthier's white beard. &quot;Then Madame
+Perrault won't be tied down to Blanche, and
+there's no reason why you shouldn't be
+married, too.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;We might have a double marriage!&quot;
+said the little man jocosely.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, no, <i>no</i>!&quot; Madame exclaimed.
+&quot;When I'm married I shall be married
+very quietly in Boulogne, without any fuss.
+These children shall be married first. Then
+some day, Félix, you and I shall walk to the
+church and it will be over in five minutes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Berthier breathed a long sigh, and laid
+his hand gently on Madame Perrault's arm.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I've waited a great many years for those
+five minutes, <i>chérie</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Blanche's engagement at the Circus ends
+the last day of the year,&quot; Jules resumed,
+&quot;and she begins her season in Vienna on
+the fifteenth of January. Now, there's no
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page132" id="page132"></a>[pg&nbsp;132]</span>
+reason in the world that I can think of to
+prevent our being married between the first
+of January and the fifteenth.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then, from every point of view, they discussed
+the time of the marriage. Madame
+Perrault raised the question of dresses for
+the bride, of Jules' inability to arrange his
+affairs in so short a time, but these and all
+other objections were overruled.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche herself had very little to say;
+when her mother asked her point-blank if
+she wanted the marriage to take place so
+early, she replied that she was willing if
+Jules and the others decided it was best. She
+seemed more like a passive spectator than
+one actively interested in the discussion;
+her eyes kept roving from Jules to her mother,
+and from her mother back to Jules. Berthier
+supported Jules valiantly, and at two
+o'clock, Madame Perrault was finally won
+over, and it was decided that the marriage
+should take place during the first week in
+January. Jules kissed Blanche on the cheek,
+and there was general embracing and laughter.
+Then the little party broke up, and Monsieur
+Berthier followed Jules down the stairs.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page133" id="page133"></a>[pg&nbsp;133]</span>
+&quot;Ah, my boy,&quot; he said, as they stood on
+the sidewalk, before saying good-night, &quot;I'd
+give all the money I've made for your
+youth. Youth is the time for love. In my
+youth it came to me, but I lost it. Take
+good care of it, my friend,&quot; he concluded,
+tapping Jules' hand affectionately as they
+were about to go their separate ways.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page134" id="page134"></a>[pg&nbsp;134]</span></p>
+
+<h2>X</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules at once began preparations for
+his marriage. He gave notice of his
+intention to leave the wool-house, and to
+move from his apartment. Monsieur Mercier
+showed no regret at his departure.
+&quot;I've observed that you were no longer
+interested in your work,&quot; he said coldly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules turned away with a sense of disappointment
+and pain, feeling that he had been
+badly treated. Though he said nothing to
+the twins about his going, they speedily
+heard of it and gibed him for the reason.
+He preferred to maintain an air of mystery,
+but one morning Leroux came into the office,
+shaking a copy of the <i>Triomphe</i> in the air.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Let me congratulate you!&quot; he cried, extending
+his hand. &quot;I respect a man that
+can make a stroke like that. I've known
+you were up to some game all along,&quot; he
+added insinuatingly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page135" id="page135"></a>[pg&nbsp;135]</span>
+Jules looked at the paper, and in the column
+devoted to news of the theatre he read of the
+engagement of Mademoiselle Blanche, of the
+<i>Cirque Parisien</i>, to Monsieur Jules Le Baron,
+a young business man of wealth. Dufresne
+added his congratulations, and one after another
+during the day Jules' other comrades
+came up to shake his hand. No wonder he
+had been putting on airs with them! They
+treated him very jocosely, however, teased
+him about his reputed wealth, and tortured
+him with their coarse jokes, so that he looked
+forward with relief to escaping from them.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">All of Jules' leisure was passed with
+Blanche and her family. He made friends
+with the girls and with Monsieur Berthier.
+The better acquainted he became with
+Louise the more he liked her; Jeanne
+sometimes vexed him by making fun of
+him, though he was careful not to betray
+his annoyance. For Monsieur Berthier he
+felt a genuine esteem; the little man was
+always in good humor, though Jules suspected
+that, in spite of his success in business,
+his whole life had been clouded by the disappointment
+of his youth. As for Madame
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page136" id="page136"></a>[pg&nbsp;136]</span>
+Perrault, notwithstanding the apparent lightness
+of her character, which had at first
+prejudiced him against her, the effective
+way in which she managed her affairs made
+him realize that she was a woman to be
+respected. Sometimes Jules wondered what
+kind of man Blanche's father had been; he
+fancied that of the two the mother had been
+by far the stronger.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules passed Christmas with his friends
+and spent a month's salary on gifts for
+Blanche and her sisters. For the girls
+Madame had a <i>fête</i> in the morning after
+mass, with a Christmas tree laden with
+presents, and decorated with candles and
+trinkets and <i>bonbons</i>. She chose this time
+of day, as both in the afternoon and evening
+Blanche gave performances.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The next morning Madame Perrault
+learned through Pelletier that the circus in
+Vienna where Blanche had been engaged
+to appear was a little more than ninety
+feet high; so the plunge would be fifteen
+feet deeper than it was in Paris. This news
+created excitement in the family. It made
+Madame so nervous that she urged that the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page137" id="page137"></a>[pg&nbsp;137]</span>
+engagement be given up and an offer that
+had come from Nice be accepted; but Jules
+laughed at the idea.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What's a difference of fifteen feet to
+Blanche?&quot; he said. &quot;It's just as easy for
+her to dive ninety feet as to dive seventy-five.
+The only thing for Blanche to do is
+to go to Vienna as soon as her engagement
+here is over. Then she can practise the
+plunge every morning for two weeks. We'll
+simply have to get married a little earlier
+than we intended.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame Perrault saw the force of the
+argument, and Monsieur Berthier seconded
+Jules. As for Blanche, she declared that
+she should not be afraid of the plunge; at
+Bucharest she had made a plunge of nearly
+eighty-three feet. So it was agreed that the
+civil marriage should take place very quietly
+on the third of January, and the religious ceremony
+the day after. Jules and his bride
+could leave Paris by the afternoon train,
+accompanied by Madeleine. Madame Perrault
+was anxious to keep any notice out of
+the papers, if possible; she thought it might
+injure Blanche professionally. She had been
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page138" id="page138"></a>[pg&nbsp;138]</span>
+greatly vexed by the paragraph in the <i>Triomphe</i>
+and had attributed it to Durand; but
+Jules explained that the <i>Triomphe</i> was not
+Durand's paper; besides, the journalist had
+been sent for the winter to the Riviera as
+correspondent.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On the last day of the year Jules bade
+farewell to his associates at the wool-house.
+Most of them regretted his departure, for
+before his sudden accession of dignity he
+had been well liked among them. The next
+morning, on the first day of his emancipation,
+when he went to the apartment in the <i>rue
+St. Honoré</i>, he found some pieces of silver
+there, the gift of his old comrades. He knew
+at once that the twins had started a subscription
+for him, and he felt ashamed of his treatment
+of them during his last weeks among
+them. He soon forgot about them, however,
+and was absorbed in the preparations for his
+new life. He had sold most of his furniture,
+save a few pieces that were so intimately
+associated with the memory of his mother
+that he could not part with them.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For Madeleine this was a trying time; she
+performed her numerous duties, involving
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page139" id="page139"></a>[pg&nbsp;139]</span>
+several journeys to the <i>rue St. Honoré</i>, with
+a look of bewilderment in her face, as if she
+could not adjust herself to the change that
+was about to take place in her life.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Two days before the time chosen for their
+civil marriage, Jules was sitting alone with
+Blanche, beside the fireplace where he had
+passed most of his courtship. They had
+been making plans for Vienna, and Jules
+felt as if he were already at the head of a
+household.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Do you know,&quot; he said, glancing at
+the engagement ring on her left hand that
+sparkled in the firelight, &quot;I haven't been
+able to make up my mind yet what to give
+you for a wedding present. I wish you'd
+tell me what you'd like. I want to give
+you something that will please you very
+much.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She looked intently into the fireplace, and
+did not reply.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Isn't there something that you want especially?&quot;
+Then Jules saw her face flush,
+and he went on quickly: &quot;Ah, I know there
+is, but you're afraid to tell. Now, out with
+it. Is it a diamond brooch, or one of those
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page140" id="page140"></a>[pg&nbsp;140]</span>
+queer little gold watches that women carry,
+set with jewels, or one of those bracelets
+that we saw in the shop in the <i>rue de la Paix</i>
+the other day?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She began to laugh, and without turning
+her eyes toward him, she said:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You know I don't care for those things.
+But there&mdash;there is something&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Well, out with it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It isn't a&mdash;it isn't what you think&mdash;a
+present or anything like that; but it is something
+I should like to have you&mdash;something
+that would make me very happy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then tell me what it is,&quot; said Jules, impatiently.
+&quot;What are you afraid of? Am I
+such an ogre?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a moment she did not answer. Then
+she said timidly: &quot;I wish you'd go to confession
+before we're married.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He burst into a laugh that rang through
+the apartment.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, is that all? So you're afraid to
+marry such a wicked person as I am till the
+Church has forgiven him and made him good
+again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She shook her head.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page141" id="page141"></a>[pg&nbsp;141]</span>
+&quot;No, it isn't that, Jules. I don't believe
+you are wicked. I don't believe you ever
+were; but I should be so much happier if
+you would go to confession, and then before
+we're married in church we could go to
+communion together.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He threw himself beside her chair, seized
+her head in his hands, and kissed her on the
+forehead. &quot;I'm not fit to be your husband.
+You're too good for me,&quot; he said softly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She drew away from him with a smile.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And will it make you very much happier
+if I go to confession?&quot; he asked.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, Jules, very much.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For an instant he hesitated, looking into
+her eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then I'll go,&quot; he said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She turned to him, and threw her arms
+around his neck. As he held her closely
+to him, his lips pressed against her hair,
+he went on:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But it will be hard for me, Blanche. I
+haven't been to confession for more than
+twelve years. Think of all the things I shall
+have to tell.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It will be over in a few minutes,&quot; she said
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page142" id="page142"></a>[pg&nbsp;142]</span>
+reassuringly. &quot;Then you'll be glad you've
+done it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He rose to his feet and drew his chair
+nearer hers.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I've even forgotten how to make a confession.
+I don't even remember the <i>Confiteor</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then I shall have to teach it to you.
+It's in my prayer-book, and you can take it
+and learn it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But I sha'n't know what to do. I shall
+appear awkward and foolish.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It's easy enough. You begin by examining
+your conscience; then you&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Examining my conscience! I shall have
+to wake it up first. It's been sound asleep
+all these years. Ah, my dear Blanche, you
+can't imagine how pleasant it is to have your
+conscience asleep.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She ignored his jesting, and went on:
+&quot;Then you have to be sorry for what you've
+done,&mdash;for the sins, I mean.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But if you're not sorry. They've been
+very pleasant, a good many of them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Of course, if you aren't sorry you can't
+go to confession. That's what people go
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page143" id="page143"></a>[pg&nbsp;143]</span>
+for, because they <i>are</i> sorry, and because they
+intend to try to be better.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But all the confessions in the world
+wouldn't make me better. It's only you
+that can do that. I'm sorry for my sins
+simply because, when I think of them, they
+take me so far away from you. If I hadn't
+met you, I shouldn't have thought they
+were so bad. But when I think of you,
+Blanche, and when I look at you, you seem
+so good&mdash;well, I&mdash;I feel ashamed, and
+then I want to be good too. Why can't
+I confess to you?&quot; he went on banteringly.
+&quot;You'd do me more good than all the
+priests in Christendom. Only I'm afraid
+I should shock you. I suppose the priests
+hear stories like mine every day; so one
+or two more or less wouldn't make any
+difference to them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She turned her head away, and he saw
+that he had offended her. So he patted her
+cheek and smiled into her face.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What a little <i>dévote</i> she is, anyway!
+She's vexed even when I joke about her
+religion. Don't you see that it's all fun,
+dear? I'm going to do everything you say,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page144" id="page144"></a>[pg&nbsp;144]</span>
+make a clean breast of it to the priest, tell
+him I'm sorry, and promise to be good for the
+rest of my life. It won't be hard to promise
+that. How can I help being good when I
+shall have you with me all the time?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then for an hour they talked seriously
+about the confession. The more he thought
+of the ordeal, the more nervous Jules felt.
+Sins came back to him, committed during
+those first few years after he left the <i>lycée</i>,
+when his freedom was novel and delicious.
+How could he tell of those things, how could
+he put them into the awful baldness of
+speech? He knew that no sin could be
+concealed in the confessional; but he asked
+Blanche if he would have to be particular,
+if he couldn't say in a general way that he
+had broken this commandment or that.
+He was alarmed by her reply that she told
+everything, that sometimes the priest asked
+probing questions. He couldn't endure the
+shame of speaking out those horrors. He
+was afraid, however, to acknowledge his
+fears to the girl; they might make her suspect
+what he had done, and inspire her with
+a loathing for him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page145" id="page145"></a>[pg&nbsp;145]</span>
+Jules had heard that some men told the
+women they were going to marry of their
+lapses, and he had been greatly amused.
+It never occurred to him that he ought to
+reveal the dark passages in his life to
+Blanche; these would simply shock her,
+give her wrong ideas about him, perhaps
+make her suspicious and jealous after marriage.
+His sins he had always regarded as
+follies of youth: they did not in any way
+affect his character or his honor as a gentleman.
+Now, however, he was looking back
+on himself, not from the point of view of the
+man of the world, but of a good woman.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">That night, on leaving Blanche at the
+theatre, instead of roaming in the <i>Boulevards</i>,
+or reading the papers in the <i>cafés</i>, as he
+had of late been doing till half-past ten,
+he took a <i>fiacre</i> to the Madeleine, where
+he spent one of the most disagreeable hours
+of his life. Vespers were being sung, and
+the church was nearly full; he sought an
+obscure corner, knelt there before a picture
+of Christ carrying the Cross of Calvary, repeated
+an &quot;Our Father,&quot; and a &quot;Hail Mary,&quot;
+which came back to him like an echo of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page146" id="page146"></a>[pg&nbsp;146]</span>
+his mother's voice, and then gave himself
+up to the task of examining his conscience.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The whole panorama of his manhood
+passed before him, the life of the young
+Parisian at the close of the century,&mdash;selfish,
+cynical, pleasure-loving, sense-gratifying,
+animal. He buried his face in his hands.
+Oh, what an existence! Yet he dared to
+take a pure young girl for his wife, to make
+her the mother of his children! He could
+not think of himself or of his sins without
+reference to her, and the more he thought
+of her and of them, the deeper his shame
+became, and this shame he mistook for contrition.
+This then was what Blanche had
+meant by saying that he must be sorry for
+what he had done, and must promise to fight
+against temptation. From the depth of his
+heart he believed he was sorry.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then he took from his pocket the prayer-book
+that she had given him, and read
+several times the act of contrition and the
+<i>Confiteor</i>. The repetition recalled them to
+his memory, and he was ready for his confession
+to the priest the next day. With
+a sigh he rose from his seat, feeling as if
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page147" id="page147"></a>[pg&nbsp;147]</span>
+he had thrown off the burden of his past
+life and received a benediction.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The next afternoon, when Jules entered
+with Blanche the church of <i>St. Philippe de
+Roule</i>, he found groups of people kneeling
+around the confessional boxes and in front
+of the altars. He had resolved to confess to
+Father Labiche, who, Blanche had told him,
+was the most lenient of all the fathers. The
+names of the priests were printed on the
+boxes, and the largest crowd was gathered
+around the box assigned to Jules' choice.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm afraid you'll have to wait a long
+time,&quot; Blanche whispered.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Never mind,&quot; Jules replied nervously.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He felt almost glad that he was to have
+a respite. The sight of the confessional
+boxes and of the people whispering prayers,
+together with the atmosphere of devotion
+that pervaded the place, had filled him with
+terror. Blanche made a sign to him to go
+forward and join the group awaiting Father
+Labiche, and she herself stopped near the
+group beside it, knelt and made the sign of
+the cross. Jules, too, knelt before one of the
+hard-wood benches, and prayed that he might
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page148" id="page148"></a>[pg&nbsp;148]</span>
+have the courage and grace to make a good
+confession. Then he went over again the
+sins that he had to confess, and he repeated
+the <i>Confiteor</i> and the act of contrition.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">All day long these prayers, and the items
+of his confession, had been surging in his
+mind, and now, as he sat up and waited for
+his turn to come in the procession that
+passed in and out on either side of the confessional,
+they kept repeating themselves.
+He looked at the wrinkled women around
+him, and wondered if their feelings were
+like his; he could see no nervousness, no
+fear in their faces; they seemed to be
+absorbed, almost exalted in their devotion.
+Then he began to grow impatient, and
+wished that the people who entered the confessional
+would not take so much time. He
+could catch glimpses of the dark figure of
+the priest, bending his head from one side
+to the other, and glancing out at the people.
+In his line at least fifteen persons were
+waiting their turn before him; it would
+take Father Labiche more than two hours,
+Jules feared, to hear them and the fifteen
+others in the opposite line. His thoughts
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page149" id="page149"></a>[pg&nbsp;149]</span>
+turned to Blanche, and he wondered if she
+had been heard yet. He looked around,
+and saw her in the crowd behind him, reading
+her prayer-book; she kept apart from
+the others, and had evidently finished her
+confession and was waiting for him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">How gentle and good she looked; how
+different from her appearance in the ring!
+Once again he saw her tumbling through
+the air in her silk tights. He tried to drive
+this thought from his mind, but again and
+again he saw her, climbing hand over hand
+to the top of the Circus, hurling herself backward,
+spinning through the air, striking the
+padded net with a thud, bouncing up again,
+and landing, with the pretty gesture of both
+hands, on her feet. And in two days she
+would be his wife! They would go away
+together, and whenever she performed in
+public, he would appear with her, hold the
+rope while she climbed to the top of the
+building, make the dramatic announcement
+that would awe the audience into silence,
+and then scamper across the net to the platform
+before she fell.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For more than an hour Jules thought of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page150" id="page150"></a>[pg&nbsp;150]</span>
+this brilliant future; then he suddenly realized
+where he was, and he saw that he had
+moved up within three places of the confessional.
+In a few moments it would be his
+turn to go into that dark box, where so
+many ghastly secrets were told, where he
+would be obliged to reveal all the vileness
+and the weakness of his human nature. His
+nerves vibrated; he felt as if something
+within him were sinking, as if his courage
+were leaving him. Then his lips began
+again to repeat the <i>Confiteor</i>, and his mind
+ran nervously over his self-accusations.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The woman before him remained so long
+in the confessional that he wondered if she
+would ever come out; but when she did
+appear he had a sudden access of terror.
+He rose mechanically, however, made his
+way into the box, and knelt beside the
+little closed slide, through which the priest
+conferred with the penitents. He could
+hear the low murmur of Father Labiche's
+voice, and the more faint responses of a
+woman confessing on the other side. He
+tried not to listen, but he could not help
+catching a few words. Suddenly the slide
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page151" id="page151"></a>[pg&nbsp;151]</span>
+was opened, and he confronted the kindly
+face of the old priest whose right hand
+was raised in blessing.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche had seen Jules enter the confessional,
+and she waited for him to appear
+again. The woman who had entered before
+him on the other side soon came out; so
+Jules was now making his peace with God.
+She lowered her head, and breathed a
+simple prayer of thankfulness. Ten, fifteen
+minutes passed; still he did not come.
+She wondered why Father Labiche kept him
+there so long. When at last he did appear,
+his face was white. Poor Jules! she thought.
+How hard it must have been for him, and
+how good he was to have gone through it
+so heroically. He walked forward to the
+main altar, and there he knelt for several
+moments. When he came back, he found
+her waiting.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Come,&quot; he said, touching her on the
+arm.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">They did not speak till they were in the
+street.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It was pretty tough,&quot; he said doggedly.
+&quot;I thought he'd never let me out.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page152" id="page152"></a>[pg&nbsp;152]</span>
+She smiled up into his face. &quot;But it's
+all over now, Jules.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, it's all over,&quot; he repeated grimly.
+&quot;But I should hate to go through it again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">They hurried on through the nipping
+January air.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm afraid we shall be late for dinner,
+Jules. It must be after half-past six, and
+then we have so many things to do to-night.
+My trunks aren't all packed yet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I would help you if I could,&quot; Jules
+replied, &quot;but I must go back to the church.
+Father Labiche gave me the Stations of
+the Cross for penance. He said he thought
+it would do me good before I was married to
+reflect on the sufferings of Christ,&quot; he explained
+with a smile.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then you told him you were going to be
+married?&quot; she laughed, her breath steaming
+in the air.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;He asked how I happened to come to
+confession after staying away so long; so
+I had to acknowledge that I did it to please
+you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The little apartment was in commotion
+over Blanche's marriage and departure two
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page153" id="page153"></a>[pg&nbsp;153]</span>
+days later; the <i>petit salon</i> was littered with
+dresses, and the two girls were greatly
+excited over their new frocks. Jules saw
+that he was in the way, and soon after
+dinner he left his friends, saying that he
+would have the carriages ready for them at
+half-past seven in the morning; Blanche,
+her mother, and Monsieur Berthier would
+ride with him in one, and in the other the
+girls would go with Madeleine and Pelletier,
+who had been invited on account of his long
+business association with the family.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">That night at church Jules did his best to
+put himself into a religious frame of mind
+and to feel a proper pity for the sufferings of
+Christ. As he passed from station to station
+in the Way of the Cross, he reflected seriously
+on the significance of each, and he said
+his prayers devoutly. But his mind was
+constantly distracted by the thought of the
+girl he loved and of his marriage the next
+day. At the most inopportune moments
+visions of Blanche would haunt him as she
+looked in the ring, climbing the rope and
+whirling through the air.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When his prayers were said he felt
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page154" id="page154"></a>[pg&nbsp;154]</span>
+radiantly happy. He had done his duty,
+and he felt that he deserved to be rewarded.
+It was only nine o'clock, but he hurried
+home at once to go on with his packing.
+When he went to bed that night, he dreamed
+that he was making his first appearance in
+the circus at Vienna, holding the rope for
+his wife, and speaking the thrilling words of
+warning to the audience.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In the morning Jules and Blanche received
+communion at early mass, and later they
+went with Madame Perrault and Monsieur
+Berthier to the Mayor's office, where the
+civil marriage ceremony was performed.
+This Jules regarded merely as a formality,
+though it made him feel that she was at
+last his, his forever! No one could take
+her away from him now! The next morning
+was clear and cold, and the sun shone as he
+looked out of his window in the dismantled
+apartment. He smiled as he thought that
+his lonely days as a bachelor were over. At
+ten o'clock he drove to the <i>rue St. Honoré</i>
+with Madeleine, who looked a dozen years
+younger in her simple black silk with a piece
+of white lace at her throat, the gift of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page155" id="page155"></a>[pg&nbsp;155]</span>
+Madame Perrault. Blanche, in her white
+satin dress with the bunch of white roses
+he had sent to her in her hand, had never
+seemed to him so beautiful. It was after
+eleven o'clock when they reached <i>St. Philippe</i>,
+and a crowd of idlers hung about the door
+and followed them into the church.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">To Jules the mass that preceded the
+marriage ceremony seemed interminable;
+he kept glancing at Blanche's flushed face
+and downcast eyes, and plucking at his
+gloves. Then, when he found himself standing
+before the priest, holding Blanche's
+hand, and listening to the solemn words of
+the service, he came near bursting into tears.
+He thought afterward how ridiculous he
+would have been if he hadn't been able to
+control himself. He was relieved when the
+service was ended, and as he walked to the
+vestry with his wife on his arm, he could
+have laughed aloud for joy.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When the register had been signed and
+they had shaken hands with the priest, they
+drove at once to the <i>café</i> in the <i>avenue de
+l'Opéra</i>, where Jules had ordered a sumptuous
+breakfast. There they remained till four
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page156" id="page156"></a>[pg&nbsp;156]</span>
+o'clock. Monsieur Berthier was the gayest
+of them all, and he was seconded by Jeanne,
+who pretended to flirt desperately with Jules
+and made pert speeches to Pelletier. Then
+they all returned to the <i>rue St. Honoré</i>, where
+Blanche changed her wedding finery for a
+travelling dress.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">During the farewell between Blanche and
+her family, Jules suffered; he never could
+bear the sight of women in tears. He was
+greatly relieved when he put his almost
+hysterical wife and Madeleine into the carriage,
+and slammed the door behind him.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page157" id="page157"></a>[pg&nbsp;157]</span></p>
+
+<h2>XI</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">They went straight to Vienna, arriving
+fatigued from their long journey.
+After three days, spent at a little French
+hotel, Jules found near the <i>Ringstrasse</i> a furnished
+apartment that suited him, and they
+took possession at the end of the week.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche soon felt at home, but Madeleine,
+though she had become deeply attached to
+her new mistress, and now had more companionship
+than she had known since the
+death of Jules' mother, secretly grieved for
+her beloved Paris, and looked and acted as
+if utterly bewildered.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The day of his arrival in Vienna, Jules
+proceeded to the Circus and had a long talk
+with Herr Prevost, the manager, with regard
+to his wife's engagement. He explained the
+difference in the plunge Blanche would be
+obliged to take there from her usual one,
+and persuaded Prevost to make this a feature
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page158" id="page158"></a>[pg&nbsp;158]</span>
+in his advertisements; he also secured permission
+for Blanche to practise in the ring
+every morning till her engagement began.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">So he went back to the hotel elated, and
+explained to Blanche that, after all, in the
+theatrical life good management was half the
+battle. Now that she had shaken off that
+worthless Pelletier and he himself had taken
+charge of her affairs, she would undoubtedly
+be recognized in a very few years as the
+greatest acrobat in the world.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She must sit at once, in costume, for some
+new photographs, and he would send them
+to the leading managers of Europe and America.
+If they could only arrange to go to
+America under good auspices, their fortune
+would be made. Instead of receiving, as they
+were doing in Vienna, five hundred francs a
+week, they would be paid as much as twice
+that amount in New York, if not more. Indeed,
+Jules had so much to say about America,
+he seemed to have it on the brain.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche experienced no difficulty in making
+her plunge in the new amphitheatre, and
+after her first trial there, declared that she
+had no fear for the public performances.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page159" id="page159"></a>[pg&nbsp;159]</span>
+Jules, however, insisted on her practising
+every morning; she must keep her muscles
+limber, he said; besides, if she didn't practise,
+she might lose confidence.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He found himself treating her as her
+mother had done, directing her movements
+like those of a child, and she obeyed him
+as if she considered his attitude toward her
+eminently natural and right. Even Madeleine
+adopted a motherly tone with her,
+chose the dresses she should wear each day,
+and instructed her in a thousand feminine
+details.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche, Jules was surprised and secretly
+annoyed to discover, could speak German,
+and in the mornings she sometimes gave him
+lessons. He also picked up a good deal of
+German slang in the <i>cafés</i> that he frequented
+during the day, where he drank coffee and
+read whatever French and English papers he
+could find.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">After his wife's performances began, he
+found himself falling into a routine of life.
+In spite of his distaste for his duties at the
+wool-house, he had expected to miss them at
+first; but he quickly became accustomed to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page160" id="page160"></a>[pg&nbsp;160]</span>
+his leisure. He really considered himself a
+busy person, for in addition to his nightly
+appearance in the arena, momentary but intensely
+dramatic, he spent considerable time
+in fraternizing with the Viennese journalists,
+to secure newspaper puffs for his wife,
+in conferring with Prevost, and in corresponding
+with managers for future engagements.
+After his first month in Vienna, he
+felt as if he had been connected with the
+circus for years.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche heard constantly from home, from
+either her mother or one of the two girls,&mdash;more
+often from Louise than from Jeanne,
+who hated to write letters. Six weeks after
+her departure from Paris, her mother became
+Madame Berthier, without, as she had said,
+&quot;any fuss,&quot; and was now installed with the
+children in the big house where Félix had
+passed so many lonely years as a bachelor.
+Jules and Blanche wrote a joint letter of congratulation,
+and after that Blanche seemed
+even happier than she had been; it was so
+good, she said, to think that the girls were
+provided for.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In the afternoons Jules took walks or
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page161" id="page161"></a>[pg&nbsp;161]</span>
+drives with his wife, and on Sundays he accompanied
+her to early mass in the little
+church that they had discovered near their
+apartment. Blanche would have liked to go
+to high mass, but to this Jules strenuously
+objected; it was too long, and he couldn't
+understand the sermon, and altogether it
+made him sleepy. Sometimes on Sundays
+they would go to one of the <i>cafés</i> for <i>déjeuner</i>
+or dinner, and over this they used to be very
+happy, for it recalled the first months of their
+love.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">After a time, however, these walks grew less
+frequent. Jules stayed at home more, and
+Madeleine became solicitous for Blanche's
+health. Jules had long talks with Prevost;
+Blanche had been engaged at the Circus for
+three months, and Prevost wished to reengage
+her for the spring season; but Jules
+explained that he had already received several
+offers for the spring, and had refused them
+all; his wife needed a long rest, and from
+Vienna they would go to Boulogne for a few
+months, to be with her people.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The reference to the engagements was not
+exactly true; Jules had one offer only for the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page162" id="page162"></a>[pg&nbsp;162]</span>
+summer; that was from Trouville. For the
+autumn he had a fairly generous offer from
+South America, and a better one from the
+Hippodrome in London, to begin on the
+first of December. He had practically decided
+to accept the offer from London; but
+before giving a definite answer, he resolved
+to consult Blanche about it.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It will just fit in with our plans,&quot; he said.
+&quot;On the first of May we'll take a good
+long rest. We'll go to your mother's old
+house. It hasn't been let yet, you know,
+and no one will want it before then. So you
+and Madeleine and I will live there together,
+and we'll pass the days out of doors, and
+take long walks by the sea, and forget all
+about the circus. Then, when you are well
+and strong again, we'll go to London, and
+astonish the English, who think there's nothing
+good in France. What do you say, dear?
+Don't you think that's a good plan?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes,&quot; she said slowly. &quot;It will be very
+nice, Jules, if&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;If? If what?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;If I'm alive,&quot; she answered softly, turning
+her head away.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page163" id="page163"></a>[pg&nbsp;163]</span>
+He took her in his arms and pressed his
+cheek against hers. &quot;What a foolish little
+girl it is to talk like that! Of course you'll
+be alive, and you'll be even better and
+stronger and happier than you are now.
+And then think of all the good times you'll
+have this summer with Jeanne and Louise
+and your mother and Monsieur Berthier.
+We'll have <i>fêtes</i> for the girls at our house,
+and every day we'll go to see your mother.
+You don't think she'll be too proud to receive
+us, do you, now that she's rich and
+important? I suppose she's the queen of
+Boulogne, with her carriages and her horses
+and her servants. She'll soon be getting
+a husband for Jeanne, some fine young
+fellow with a lot of money. And won't
+Jeanne put him through his paces? She's
+a high-stepper, that Jeanne, and I should
+pity the man who got her and didn't understand
+her. Think of trying to keep
+Jeanne down!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In her moments of depression he always
+spoke to her like that, and for the time it
+cheered her; but when the spring came,
+she drooped visibly, and Jules became
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page164" id="page164"></a>[pg&nbsp;164]</span>
+alarmed; sometimes she would have attacks
+of convulsive weeping, and these would be
+followed by hours of profound sadness, during
+which she spoke scarcely a word. There were
+other days when she would be full of courage
+and hope, gayer than she had ever been;
+then they would drive into the country and
+she would take deep draughts of the fresh
+spring air, and her eyes would brighten and
+her cheeks flush.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In spite of his anxiety, these days were
+very happy for Jules; the thought that he
+might lose her made her dearer to him.
+Sometimes he would take her hand and tell
+her that without her he couldn't live; she
+had made him realize how wretched his
+existence had been before marriage; he
+could not go back to that again. Then she
+would rest her head on his shoulder and
+whisper that she would try to be brave.
+Her sufferings seemed to be wholly in her
+mind; the doctor Jules consulted said that,
+bodily, she was perfectly strong, and could
+easily fill her engagement at the circus; her
+work in the ring had given her a remarkable
+development of the muscles and the chest;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page165" id="page165"></a>[pg&nbsp;165]</span>
+if she stopped the work now, and ceased to
+practise, she would suffer from the inaction.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules, however, felt relieved when the fifteenth
+of April came, and they were able to
+leave Vienna for Paris. There they remained
+only a day, for they were eager to reach
+Boulogne and the little home that Madame
+Berthier had arranged for them, in the house
+where Blanche had been born, and had passed
+the few weeks in each year when she was not
+travelling.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When they arrived, early in the afternoon,
+Madame Berthier and the girls, together with
+Berthier, were at the station to meet them,
+and they received a rapturous greeting, the
+girls clinging to their sister with frantic embraces.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;We had <i>déjeuner</i> prepared for you at
+your house,&quot; said Madame, when the first
+greetings were over. &quot;I knew you'd want
+to go there the first thing. Then to-night
+you are to come and dine with us. I feel as
+if I hadn't seen you for years.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But we've never met Madame Berthier
+before,&quot; Jules replied, making a feeble attempt
+to be gay, for he saw that Blanche's
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page166" id="page166"></a>[pg&nbsp;166]</span>
+meeting with her mother threatened to upset
+her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame blushed like a young girl, and
+turning, led the way to the carriages.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;One of these is for you and Jules,&quot; she
+said. &quot;I don't mean just for now, but for
+all the time you are here. Félix chose the
+horse for you, dear, and she's so gentle you
+can drive her alone if you want to.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm going to put the three girls and
+their mother in the big carriage,&quot; Berthier
+said to Jules, &quot;and you and Madeleine and
+I will follow them.&quot; The arrival of his stepdaughter
+seemed to have given him as much
+pleasure as any of the others, and his good-natured
+face was radiant. &quot;Jump in, girls,&quot;
+he cried, holding out his hand to Blanche.
+&quot;We'll have to turn those lilies of yours into
+roses this summer, my dear. Here, Jeanne,
+stop flirting with Jules, or we won't let you
+come with us. You wouldn't have known
+our little Louise, Blanche, if you hadn't
+expected to find her here, would you?
+She's grown an inch in four months. It's
+the most wonderful thing I've ever known
+in my life. And would you believe it?&mdash;she's
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page167" id="page167"></a>[pg&nbsp;167]</span>
+become a perfect chatterbox&mdash;she's
+worse than Jeanne. Sometimes I have to
+run out of the room to read my paper in
+peace and have a quiet smoke.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The whole family seemed to have agreed
+to assume toward Blanche the bantering tone
+that Jules had adopted. When they reached
+the house they continued their gayety, though
+Blanche, tired from her journey, sank weakly
+on the couch in the <i>salon</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She looked around, however, and saw
+that the room had been redecorated, probably
+by Monsieur Berthier, and when she
+felt rested she went all over the house and
+observed many new pieces of furniture, and
+many touches here and there that made the
+place more attractive and homelike. &quot;Ah,
+it is so good to be at home,&quot; she said to
+her mother when they were alone; and then
+Madame Berthier took her in her arms and
+kissed her on the forehead and told her she
+must have courage for Jules' sake.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">After the excitement of Paris and Vienna,
+Jules found it hard to accustom himself to the
+dull life at Boulogne. He bought a small
+yacht, and found amusement in sailing with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page168" id="page168"></a>[pg&nbsp;168]</span>
+his new acquaintances, and sometimes, when
+the weather was fine, he took Blanche and
+the girls with him. He also occupied himself
+with the little garden around his cottage;
+but this soon bored him, and he gave it
+over to Monsieur Berthier's gardener, who
+came every few days to look after it. In
+the afternoons he drove with Blanche far
+into the country, and sometimes they stopped
+at a little <i>café</i> by the roadside and had an
+early dinner, and then hurried home before
+the damp night should close around them.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On these occasions they had many earnest
+talks, and Jules was surprised by the seriousness
+and depth of his wife's mind; at any
+rate, she impressed him as being wonderfully
+profound. The longer he knew her,
+the more she awed and puzzled him; there
+were moments when she seemed to dwell
+in another world, a world that made her
+almost a stranger to him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Since her return to Boulogne she had grown
+much more cheerful than she had been during
+those last weeks in Vienna; but a thousand
+little things she said showed him that
+beneath the surface of her thought there
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page169" id="page169"></a>[pg&nbsp;169]</span>
+still lurked a strange melancholy, an unchangeable
+conviction that life was slipping
+away from her. He spoke of this once to
+her mother, and she explained mysteriously
+that he must expect that; it was very natural
+with one of Blanche's temperament. She
+had known many cases like it before.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">As the summer passed, Jules said little to
+his wife about the circus; indeed, her work
+was scarcely mentioned between them, though
+every morning she practised her exercises.
+Jules, however, had decided that they should
+go to London late in November and, the
+first week of the following month, appear at
+the Hippodrome, which had been established
+with great success the year before, at a short
+distance from the Houses of Parliament.
+The contract had not been signed, for Jules
+had written to Marshall, the manager, that he
+could not bind himself to an engagement
+until early in the autumn; but he explained
+that his word was as good as any contract.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When September came, Blanche seemed
+much better for her months of rest; her
+eyes were brighter, and her cheeks were shot
+with color. Sometimes Jules wished that
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page170" id="page170"></a>[pg&nbsp;170]</span>
+she were not quite so religious; she went
+to early mass every morning now, and rather
+than let her go alone, he went with her, for
+Madeleine had assumed the duties of the
+household. Their evenings, which during
+the summer had been spent chiefly on the
+porch of Monsieur Berthier's house, were
+now passed in their <i>salon</i>, bright with flowers,
+sometimes with a wood-fire crackling on the
+old-fashioned hearth. Blanche's fingers were
+always busy with soft, fleecy garments, which
+Jules used sometimes to take in his hands
+and rub affectionately against his face. Then
+he often noticed a light in her eyes that he
+had never seen before; it reminded him of
+pictures of the Madonna. Sometimes he was
+so touched when he looked at her that he
+would take her in his arms and hold her
+close for a long while. Their evenings together
+became very dear to him; yet they
+said little to each other: he was content to
+sit and watch her, with the curtains drawn
+to shut out the rest of the world.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Occasionally Father Dumény would come
+in for an hour's chat. He was a large-framed,
+heavy man, with deep gray eyes shaded by
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page171" id="page171"></a>[pg&nbsp;171]</span>
+enormous eyebrows that moved up and down
+as he spoke. He spoke as he walked, slowly
+and lumberingly, and he had a quaint humor
+that used to delight Blanche and puzzle Jules.
+When he appeared, she always brightened,
+and she liked to hear his doleful accounts
+of his rheumatism. He seemed to find
+humor in everything, even in his arduous
+duties and his ailments.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, my children,&quot; he would say, &quot;why
+should any one go to the theatre for pleasure?
+This life is nothing but a comedy, if you only
+look at it in the right way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">From Blanche he derived a great deal of
+amusement; that she should perform in a
+circus always seemed a joke to him, and
+he was continually making fun over it. He
+had never been at a circus; so, though he
+had baptized Blanche and had met her
+during her visits in Boulogne, he had never
+seen her perform. Once when Jules showed
+him a photograph of Blanche as she appeared
+while posing on the rope, he rolled
+his eyes and pretended to be much shocked,
+and they all laughed together.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I suppose you two people will be leaving
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page172" id="page172"></a>[pg&nbsp;172]</span>
+this nest of yours before winter comes,&quot; he
+said one night. &quot;You've made your plans
+already, haven't you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules looked down at Blanche, but she
+avoided his eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;We haven't decided definitely,&quot; Jules replied,
+&quot;but we think of going to London.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche sighed, and Father Dumény
+glanced at her quickly and then smiled up
+at Jules.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She has a notion that she isn't going
+to live,&quot; Jules added, nodding at his wife.
+&quot;Ridiculous, isn't it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Father Dumény put his hands to his
+sides, and for a moment his great body
+shook with laughter.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Why, I expect to baptize at least half
+a dozen of your children! In a few years
+we shall see them trotting around here in
+Boulogne and coming to my Sunday-school
+to be prepared for their first communion.
+We need all the good Catholics we can have,
+in these days, to fight against the infidelity
+that's ruining the country. Ah, my dear
+child,&quot; he said, patting Blanche's hand,
+&quot;when you're a grandmother with a troop
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page173" id="page173"></a>[pg&nbsp;173]</span>
+of children around you, you'll look back and
+smile at these foolish little fears.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">After that night he came oftener, and
+kept Blanche laughing with his gayety.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;When you go to London,&quot; he said one
+evening, &quot;I shall give you letters to some
+dear English friends of mine,&mdash;Mr. and
+Mrs. Tate. I met the Tates when I was
+in Paris visiting Father Brémont more than
+ten years ago. Mr. Tate represented the
+banking-house of Welling Brothers, of London,
+there, and now he's in London as a
+member of the firm, I believe. You'll like
+Mrs. Tate, my dear. She's a good soul, and
+she speaks French almost as well as English.
+I shall expect to hear that you've become
+great friends.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But we aren't sure of going to England
+yet,&quot; Blanche replied with a weary smile.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Perhaps we shall go to America,&quot; Jules
+laughed. &quot;I want Blanche to see the country.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Toward the end of September Blanche
+drooped again, and her mother was with
+her nearly every moment of the day, remaining
+sometimes till late at night. The girls
+had gone back to the convent, but they
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page174" id="page174"></a>[pg&nbsp;174]</span>
+were allowed to come home twice a week,
+and most of their freedom they devoted
+to their sister, whom they treated with a
+protecting tenderness that used to afford
+Jules secret amusement. Madame Berthier
+maintained a cheerful composure in her
+daughter's presence, but when alone with
+Jules she became so serious that for the first
+time he grew nervous. Then as his anxiety
+deepened he began to resent it, as he did
+any long-continued annoyance. Why should
+they be kept in idleness and suspense so
+long? How stupid to be buried in a wretched
+provincial town when they might be earning
+thousands of francs in Vienna, or Bucharest,
+or Paris!</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then one night he was suddenly aroused
+from his sleep, and he felt a sensation of
+mingled horror and awe. He dressed himself
+quickly, his whole being wrung by the
+groans he heard from the next room, and
+tore out of the house to Doctor Brutinière's,
+five minutes away. After delivering his
+message, he ran breathlessly to summon
+Madame Berthier. It took her scarcely
+five minutes to dress, and then they were
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page175" id="page175"></a>[pg&nbsp;175]</span>
+in the street together. Madame Berthier
+went at once to Blanche's room, and Jules
+paced up and down in the half-lighted <i>salon</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">That was the ghastliest night of Jules Le
+Baron's life. He was overwhelmed by the
+knowledge that Blanche was in agony, that
+she was battling for life, that at any moment
+he might hear she was dead. Why should
+the burden of suffering fall on her? Oh,
+how cruel Nature was, how pitiless to women!
+The poor child, the poor little one,
+to be tortured so! Several times he listened
+for a sound, and the silence terrified him.
+Suddenly he heard a shriek, loud and piercing,
+that only the most exquisite pain could
+have wrung, and he clenched his hands in
+impotent horror and misery.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The stillness that followed made him fear
+that she was dead, and he could hardly
+keep from rushing up the stairs and learning
+the truth. After a few moments, as he
+stood at the door, he heard another cry,
+small, timorous, peevish, that changed to a
+wail and then died away. He turned into
+the room, clapsed his face in his hands,
+and cried, &quot;Thank God, thank God! And
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page176" id="page176"></a>[pg&nbsp;176]</span>
+mercy for her, my God, mercy for my poor
+little Blanche!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">After what seemed to him a long time,
+during which he was tortured with suspense,
+a door opened and shut, and he heard a
+rustling on the stairs. He stepped out into
+the hall and saw Madame Berthier descending.
+She stopped, smiled, and put her hand
+to her lips; he could see traces of tears
+in her eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Come up,&quot; she whispered. &quot;It's all
+over. It's a girl, and Blanche has her in
+her arms.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules bounded up the stairs. &quot;Only a
+minute, you know,&quot; she said softly, &quot;and
+you must be very quiet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When she opened the door he almost
+pushed her aside in his eagerness to enter.
+The Doctor and Madeleine were standing
+beside the bed, where Blanche, white but
+bright-eyed and smiling, was lying with the
+babe nestling close to her. Jules flung himself
+by her side, and kissed her passionately,
+murmuring incoherent words of love and
+thankfulness.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page177" id="page177"></a>[pg&nbsp;177]</span></p>
+
+<h2>XII</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">The weeks of convalescence that followed
+were the happiest Blanche had ever
+known. She felt wrapped in the devotion of
+her husband and her family, and exalted by her
+love for her child. At moments she feared
+that she could not live through such happiness.
+Sometimes she would fancy that all
+her sufferings had been only a dream, and
+then she would turn and find with a thrill of
+joy the babe lying beside her. Jules would
+sit by the bed holding her hand, and making
+jokes about their daughter's future. They
+had decided that she should be called
+Jeanne, and no one but Father Dumény
+should baptize her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">One morning, when Blanche was sitting up
+in bed for the first time, Jules entered the
+room with a letter in his hand and in his
+face a look of exultation.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It's from Marshall,&quot; he said, &quot;from the
+Hippodrome in London, you know. He
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page178" id="page178"></a>[pg&nbsp;178]</span>
+wants me to make a contract for six months,
+from the first of January. I was afraid he
+might back out because we held off so long.
+But this makes it all right. You'll have
+more than a month to get strong again and
+to practise in.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules was so excited by the prospect that
+he did not notice the look of alarm that had
+appeared in his wife's eyes. She lay still,
+with one arm extended on the coverlet, her
+head leaning to one side, and her dark
+hair making a background for her white
+face.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;'We want you to open on the first,'&quot;
+Jules read aloud. &quot;'Let us hear from you
+as soon as possible and we will send on the
+contract for your signature.' Of course,&quot; he
+went on, folding the note, &quot;we must jump
+at it. What do you say?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a moment she looked at him without
+speaking. Then she replied weakly, &quot;Do
+what you think best, Jules.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Good!&quot; he said, jumping up. &quot;I'll
+write now. We've lost a lot of time, you
+know, and we must make up for it when we
+get back to work.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page179" id="page179"></a>[pg&nbsp;179]</span>
+&quot;Do you&mdash;do you think I'll be strong
+enough?&quot; she went on, as if she hadn't heard
+him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Strong enough!&quot; he laughed. &quot;Of
+course you'll be strong enough in seven
+weeks more. You're nearly your old self
+now,&quot; he added affectionately. &quot;Don't you
+worry about that.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When he had closed the door and left her
+alone, she felt as if her body were sinking
+into the bed from weakness. The circus
+again! That ghastly plunge! Since the
+birth of her child she had hardly thought of
+it. Now the thought horrified her! How
+could she leave her babe and risk her life
+night after night? Perhaps some night&mdash;oh!
+it was too horrible. She couldn't, she
+couldn't! She lifted her hands to her face
+as if to shut out the horror of the thought.
+Then she turned to the little Jeanne who
+was sleeping beside her, and drew her close
+to her bosom.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She had lost courage! It would never
+come back to her. When Jules returned
+she would tell him, and she would beg him,
+for Jeanne's sake, to give up that engagement
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page180" id="page180"></a>[pg&nbsp;180]</span>
+in London till she felt well again.
+Oh, if they could only leave the circus forever!
+If she could only do as other women
+did, devote her life to her child. The circus
+was no place for a mother.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then it suddenly flashed upon her that if
+she said these things to Jules he would urge
+her to place Jeanne in her mother's care
+while they were in England; but to that she
+would never consent, never. She would
+rather give up performing altogether. Yes,
+when Jules came back she would speak of this.
+He loved the circus, but for Jeanne's sake he
+would give it up, she knew he would.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">But when Jules did return, he was so
+enthusiastic about the engagement in London
+that she did not dare oppose it. &quot;Think of
+the sensation we'll make there!&quot; he said.
+&quot;How those stupid English will open their
+eyes! And then we'll surely have big offers
+from other places. After a London success
+we can make a fortune in America. They
+say the Americans are crazy over everything
+that makes a hit in London. Oh,&quot; he went
+on, stretching his arms and yawning, &quot;it will
+be a relief to get out of this dull old town.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page181" id="page181"></a>[pg&nbsp;181]</span>
+Think of the months we've wasted here.
+I feel rusty already.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Something in his tone as well as his words
+frightened her, and a feeling of helplessness
+came over her when he put his hand on her
+forehead and said gently: &quot;You must try to
+get strong as soon as possible, dear. Think
+of all the practising you'll have to do for
+your plunge.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She turned her head away, and he observed
+nothing strange in her manner. She
+wanted to speak of taking Jeanne with them,
+but a fear that he might object restrained
+her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Two days later, when her mother and
+Jules were in the room together, Madame
+Berthier, with apparent carelessness, asked
+what they were going to do with the little
+one while they were travelling. &quot;Of course
+you can't carry her about with you. So you'd
+better leave her with me. I'll take the best
+of care of her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She was startled by the light that flashed
+into her daughter's eyes. &quot;No, no!&quot;
+Blanche cried. &quot;We shall keep her with us
+always. I couldn't bear to leave her here.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page182" id="page182"></a>[pg&nbsp;182]</span>
+I couldn't&mdash;I couldn't go away without
+her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madame Berthier and Jules exchanged
+glances, and Blanche saw that her intuition
+was correct. They had been discussing the
+project of leaving the child in Boulogne.
+She felt as if they were conspiring against her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Don't you think it would be better if
+your mother&mdash;&quot; Jules began, but Blanche
+cut him short.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;We shall have Madeleine. She will help
+me to take care of Jeanne. I couldn't go
+without her,&quot; she repeated, with tears in her
+voice.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There, there!&quot; said Madame Berthier,
+becoming alarmed. &quot;Have your own way.
+Perhaps it's better that you should keep the
+child with you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche read annoyance in her husband's
+face, but she said nothing. A few moments
+later, Madame Berthier left the room and
+Jules followed. She knew they had gone to
+discuss the little scene that had just taken
+place. But she resolved that she would
+not give up the child! Rather than do that
+she would stay in Boulogne.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page183" id="page183"></a>[pg&nbsp;183]</span>
+The fear of being separated from Jeanne,
+made her decide not to refer in any way
+to her terror of the plunge. That might
+strengthen Jules' belief that the presence
+of the child disturbed her, and he might
+insist on a separation. Besides, she tried to
+convince herself that as she grew stronger
+her nervousness would disappear. It must
+of course be due solely to her weak condition.
+Once restored to health, the plunge
+would be, as it always had been, merely part
+of her daily routine.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">But in spite of her rapidly increasing
+strength, Blanche found that after three
+weeks she was still depressed by the thought
+of her season in London. Jules complained
+that she was devoting herself too much to
+Jeanne; she must drive out more, and walk
+with the girls, and give more time to her
+exercises. Her mother, too, grew severe
+with her. &quot;One would think there never
+was another child in the world,&quot; she said,
+and then Blanche suspected that Jules had
+been complaining of her. &quot;The little one is
+a dear, and I love her,&quot; Madame Berthier
+continued, &quot;but you have your work to do,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page184" id="page184"></a>[pg&nbsp;184]</span>
+and you must think of that too. No wonder
+Jules is growing impatient.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules had already received the contract for
+the engagement at the Hippodrome, and on
+signing it at his request, Blanche had had a
+horrible fancy that she was putting her signature
+to a warrant for her own doom. Once
+she thought of confiding her fear to her
+mother, but her mother would be sure to
+repeat what she said to Jules. At any cost,
+she felt she must hide it from him. Then
+she determined to tell Father Dumény, but
+when the moment came she had not courage
+to put her feeling into words, and she was
+ashamed of it as a superstition. So she
+decided that she would keep the miserable
+secret to herself, finding no relief save in gusts
+of weeping when she was alone with the child.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Once Jules found her with traces of tears
+in her eyes. &quot;What's the matter?&quot; he
+asked gently, taking her hand.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She turned her head away. &quot;I don't
+feel well,&quot; she said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He looked at her closely. &quot;You'll be
+well when you get back to your work.
+That's what the matter is. You aren't used
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page185" id="page185"></a>[pg&nbsp;185]</span>
+to being idle. The best thing for us to do
+is to leave here the day after Christmas.
+That will give you nearly a week for
+practice in London, and we'll have time to
+look about for rooms there. Since we are
+going to have Jeanne with us, we'll want to
+take an apartment in some quiet street.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When he went away she sat for a long
+time without speaking. In a week they
+would be far away from this place, among
+strangers. She wondered why she had not
+suffered so on leaving home before. Until
+now she had regarded the circus as part of
+her life; she had not hoped for any other
+kind of life. How strange it was that Jules
+should love it so! Sometimes it seemed&mdash;&mdash;But
+it was right that she should go on with
+her work, for she must earn money for the
+little Jeanne now. Perhaps in a few years
+she would make a fortune, and then Jules
+could not object to her leaving the circus.
+But before a few years passed she would be
+obliged to go through her performance more
+than a thousand times. At this thought her
+heart seemed to stop beating, and then it
+thumped against her side.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page186" id="page186"></a>[pg&nbsp;186]</span>
+Their Christmas in Boulogne at Monsieur
+Berthier's house reminded them of their <i>fête</i>
+in Paris of the year before. Berthier himself
+led in the gayety, and the girls were in
+the wildest spirits. Blanche sat among them
+with the child in her arms, looking, as Jules
+said, as if she were posing for a Madonna.
+In the evening Father Dumény came to
+bid his friends good-bye. He pretended
+to pinch the little Jeanne on the cheek, and
+he made jokes with Blanche about her terror
+before the child's birth. &quot;She's the healthiest
+baby I've ever baptized,&quot; he said. &quot;You
+should have heard her roar when I poured
+the water on her head. That's a good sign.
+I suppose you'll make a great performer of
+her too,&quot; he continued, smiling into the face
+of the mother, but growing serious when he
+saw the effect of the question.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Never!&quot; exclaimed Blanche.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;We're going to earn a fortune for her,&quot;
+said Jules with a smile. &quot;So she won't have
+to work at all. We'll settle down in Paris
+and make a fine lady of her, and marry her
+into the nobility.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche did not speak again for a long
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page187" id="page187"></a>[pg&nbsp;187]</span>
+time. They knew she was depressed at the
+thought of leaving home the next day. When
+Father Dumény rose, he took a letter from
+the pocket of his long black coat.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I almost forgot about this. Here's the
+introduction I promised you to my friends
+in London. You will like Mrs. Tate, my
+dear,&quot; he said to Blanche, &quot;and she'll make
+a great pet of the little one. She hasn't
+any children of her own, poor woman. Be
+sure to go to see them,&quot; he concluded, &quot;and
+present my compliments to them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When he was gone, Jules shrugged his
+shoulders and turned to his wife. &quot;What
+do we want to meet those people for?&quot;
+he said. &quot;What will they care about
+us?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The next day they left Boulogne, after
+many farewell injunctions from the Berthiers,
+and much weeping on the part of Blanche
+and her sisters. Blanche stood for a long
+time with Madeleine, who held the little
+Jeanne in her arms, waving farewell to her kindred
+on the wharf, and watching the shores
+of France recede from her gaze. When the
+last vestige of land disappeared in the wintry
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page188" id="page188"></a>[pg&nbsp;188]</span>
+fog and she found herself shut in by the
+shoreless sea, she turned away with a feeling
+of hopeless weariness. She had a morbid
+presentiment that she was leaving home
+forever.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page189" id="page189"></a>[pg&nbsp;189]</span></p>
+
+<h2>XIII</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate ran her eyes over the pile
+of letters at her plate on the breakfast-table.
+She was a large, florid woman of
+forty, verging on stoutness, with an abundance
+of reddish-brown hair.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What a lot of mail!&quot; she said to her
+husband, who was absorbed in reading the
+&quot;Daily Telegraph,&quot;&mdash;a small man, with black
+hair and moustache tinged with gray, and
+small black eyes finely wrinkled at the corners.
+&quot;Here's a letter from Amy dated at
+Cannes. They must have left Paris sooner
+than they intended; and here's something
+from Fanny Mayo,&mdash;an invitation to dinner,
+I suppose. Fanny told me she wanted us
+to meet the Presbreys next week,&mdash;some
+people she knew in Bournemouth.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Fanny's always taking up new people,&quot;
+said Tate from behind his paper, &quot;and dropping
+them in a month.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page190" id="page190"></a>[pg&nbsp;190]</span>
+&quot;And here's something else with a French
+stamp on it. Let me see. From Boulogne?
+It must be from Father Dumény. Yes, I
+recognize the handwriting.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Another subscription, I suppose,&quot; her
+husband grunted.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;He hasn't written for nearly a year. I
+wonder what started him this time. What
+a dear old soul he is! Do you remember
+the night we took him out to a restaurant in
+Paris and he was so afraid of being seen? I
+always laugh when I think of that.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What's he got to say?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">With her knife, Mrs. Tate cut one end of
+the letter open, and her eye wandered slowly
+down the page.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;He's been ill, he says, but he's able
+to be about now. He came near running
+over here last summer, but he couldn't get
+away.&quot; For a few moments Mrs. Tate was
+absorbed in reading; then she exclaimed
+with a curious little laugh: &quot;How funny!
+Listen to this, will you? He's left what he
+really wrote for till the end,&mdash;like a woman.
+He wants us to look after a <i>protégée</i> of his,
+a girl that he baptized, the daughter of an
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page191" id="page191"></a>[pg&nbsp;191]</span>
+acrobat. Did you ever hear of such a thing?
+She's in the circus herself, and she's going
+to appear at the Hippodrome next week.
+She performs on the trapeze, and then she
+dives backward from the roof of the building&mdash;backward,
+mind you! Could anything
+be more terrible?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I should think she'd be right in your
+line,&quot; Tate replied without lifting his eyes
+from his paper. &quot;She'll be something new.
+You can make a lion of her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Don't be impertinent, Percy. This is a
+very serious matter. It seems the girl's
+married and had a child about two months
+ago. She's going to resume her performances.
+She doesn't know a soul in London;
+so she'll be all alone.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I thought you said she had a husband.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;So I did. He's given them a letter to
+us, but he doesn't think they'll present it.
+I suppose those theatrical people live in a
+world of their own. But of course I shall
+go to see her. Perhaps I can do something
+for her. Anyway, it'll be interesting
+to meet an acrobat. I've never known one
+in my life.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page192" id="page192"></a>[pg&nbsp;192]</span>
+&quot;As I said,&quot; her husband remarked, turning
+to his bacon and eggs, &quot;you can introduce
+her into society. People must be tired
+of meeting artists and actors and musicians.
+She'll be a novelty.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You're very disagreeable to-day, Percy,&quot;
+Mrs. Tate responded amiably, after sipping
+the coffee that had been steaming beside her
+plate. &quot;You are always attributing the meanest
+motives to everything I do.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He gave a short laugh. &quot;But you must
+acknowledge that you do some pretty queer
+things, my dear.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She ignored the remark, and a moment
+later she went on briskly: &quot;I must go and
+see this acrobat woman&mdash;whoever she is.
+If I don't&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What's her name?&quot; Tate asked, turning
+to his paper and searching for the theatrical
+columns.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Madame Jules Le Baron, Father Dumény
+calls her. But I suppose she must
+have a stage name. Most of them have.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I don't see that name in 'Under the
+Clock!' The Hippodrome? No, it isn't
+there. I wonder if this can be the one:
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page193" id="page193"></a>[pg&nbsp;193]</span>
+'On Monday evening next, Mademoiselle
+Blanche, the celebrated French acrobat, will
+give her remarkable performance on the
+trapeze and her great dive from the top of
+the Hippodrome.'&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate sighed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, it must be. Mademoiselle Blanche!
+How stagey it sounds! I wonder what she's
+like.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;We might go to see her first and then
+we could tell whether she's possible or not.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Go to the Hippodrome!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, why not? It's perfectly respectable.
+Only it doesn't happen to be fashionable.
+In Paris, you know, it's the thing
+to attend the circus. Don't you remember
+the La Marches took us one night?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, and I remember there was a dreadful
+creature&mdash;she must have weighed three
+hundred pounds&mdash;who walked the tight-rope
+and nearly frightened me to death. I thought
+she'd come down on my head.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then it's understood that we're to go
+on Monday? If we go at all we might as
+well be there the first night. It'll be more
+interesting.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page194" id="page194"></a>[pg&nbsp;194]</span>
+Mrs. Percy Tate was a personage in London.
+For several years before her marriage,
+at the age of twenty-five, she had been
+known as an heiress and a belle. Even then
+she had a reputation for independence of
+character, and for an indefatigable zeal for
+reforming the world. Her name stood at
+the head of several charitable societies, and
+she was also a member of many clubs for the
+improvement of the physical and spiritual
+condition of the human race. Since her
+marriage she had grown somewhat milder;
+her friends used to say that Percy Tate had
+&quot;trained&quot; her. They also said that she had
+&quot;made&quot; him; without her money he would
+never have become a member of the rich
+firm of Welling and Company.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Percy Tate's business associates, however,
+knew the fallacy of this uncharitable opinion.
+With his dogged determination and his keen
+insight into the intricacies of finance, Tate
+was sure of forging ahead in time, with or
+without backing. His association with Welling
+and Company gave the house even greater
+strength than it had had before; for in addition
+to his reputation as a financier, he had
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page195" id="page195"></a>[pg&nbsp;195]</span>
+made his name a synonym for stanch integrity.
+He had passed sixteen happy years
+with his wife, wisely directed her charities,
+wholesomely ridiculed her enthusiasms, followed
+her into the Catholic Church, where
+he was quite as sincere if a much less ardent
+worshipper; and in all the serious things of
+life he treated her, not as an inferior to be
+patronized, but as an equal that he respected,
+with no display of sentiment, but with sincere
+devotion. She, on her part, was amused by
+his humor and guided by his advice, though
+she often pretended to ignore it; and she
+never allowed any of her numerous undertakings
+to interfere with her regard for his
+comfort or the happiness of her home.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The manager of the Hippodrome had extensively
+advertised the appearance of Mademoiselle
+Blanche, and on Monday night
+the amphitheatre was crowded. The Tates
+arrived early in order to see the whole performance;
+as they had never been at the
+Hippodrome before, the evening promised
+to be amusing for them. Tate, however, became
+so interested in the menagerie through
+which they passed before entering the portion
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page196" id="page196"></a>[pg&nbsp;196]</span>
+of the vast building devoted to the exhibitions
+in the ring that they remained there more
+than an hour. The interval between their
+taking seats and the appearance of the acrobat
+rather bored them.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I wish they'd hurry up and let her come
+out,&quot; said Mrs. Tate. &quot;And yet I almost
+dread seeing her make that horrible plunge.
+This must be the first time she's done it
+since the birth of her baby. Isn't it really
+shocking?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, I suppose these people are as much
+entitled to babies as any other people.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She cast a reproachful glance at him, and
+did not reply for a moment. Then she said:
+&quot;But what must her feelings be now&mdash;just
+as she's getting ready?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I dare say she's glad to get back to her
+work and earn her salary again. Her husband
+probably doesn't earn anything. Those
+fellows never do.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She must be frightened nearly to death.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Tate laughed softly. &quot;You'll die from
+worrying about other people.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What are they doing now?&quot; Mrs. Tate
+asked, turning her eyes to the ring. &quot;I suppose
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page197" id="page197"></a>[pg&nbsp;197]</span>
+that rope they're letting down is for her
+to climb up on, and that's the net she'll fall
+into. How gracefully that trapeze swings! I
+feel quite excited. Every one else is too.
+Can't you see it in their faces? There must
+be thousands of people here. How strange
+they look! Such coarse faces.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It's the great British middle class.
+This is just the kind of thing they like.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It reminds me of pictures of the Colosseum.
+I can almost fancy their turning their
+thumbs down. Here she comes. How light
+she is on her feet! And isn't she pretty!
+But she looks awfully thin and delicate, and
+she's as pale as a ghost.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You'll attract all the people round us.
+Of course she's pale. She's probably powdered
+up to the eyes, like the women we
+used to see in Paris.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;How lightly she goes up that rope,&quot;
+Mrs. Tate whispered, &quot;and what wonderful
+arms she has! Just like a man's. They
+look as if they didn't belong to her body.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Silently and dexterously Blanche reached
+the main trapeze, and for a moment she sat
+there, with her arms crooked against the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page198" id="page198"></a>[pg&nbsp;198]</span>
+rope on either side, and rubbing her hands.
+For the first time during her career she
+was terrified in the ring. She had hoped
+that as soon as she resumed her work
+the terror she had felt since Jeanne's birth
+would pass away. Now, however, it made
+her so weak that she feared she was going
+to fall.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She was thinking of the child as she had
+seen her crowing in the crib. If anything
+should happen to her she might never see
+Jeanne again. She was vaguely conscious
+of the vast mass of people below her, waiting
+for her to move. She took a long breath
+and nerved herself for the start, before making
+her spring to the trapeze below; she
+must have courage for the sake of the little
+Jeanne, she said to herself. Mechanically
+she began to sway forward and backward;
+then she shot into the air, and with a sensation
+of surprise and delight she continued
+her performance.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate watched her with an expression
+of mingled fear, interest, and pleasure in her
+face.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Isn't she the most wonderful creature
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page199" id="page199"></a>[pg&nbsp;199]</span>
+you ever saw, Percy?&quot; she cried, clutching
+her husband's arm. &quot;It's horrible, yet I
+can't help looking. Suppose she should
+fall!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She'd merely drop into the net. There's
+nothing very dangerous about what she's
+doing now. Keep still.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I never saw anything more graceful.
+She <i>is</i> grace itself, isn't she? See how her
+hair flies; I should think it would get into
+her eyes and blind her. I shall speak to her
+about that when I see her. I shall certainly
+<i>go</i> to see her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In a round of applause, Blanche finished
+her performance on the trapeze and then
+began her posing on the rope, whirling
+slowly, with a rhythmic succession of motions
+to the net. Then Jules, in evening
+dress, with a large diamond gleaming in his
+shirt-front, stepped out on the net, and for
+an instant they conferred together. Suddenly
+she clapped her hands, bounded on the rope
+again, and while Jules held it to steady her
+motion, she climbed hand over hand to the
+top of the building. There she sat, looking
+in the distance like a white bird ready to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page200" id="page200"></a>[pg&nbsp;200]</span>
+take flight, her dark hair streaming around
+her head.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I feel as if I were going to faint,&quot; Mrs.
+Tate whispered.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Her husband glanced at her quickly.
+&quot;Yes, you'd better&mdash;in this crowd. A
+fine panic you'd create! Want to go
+out?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She seemed to pull herself together. &quot;No,
+I think I shall be able to bear it. If I can't,
+I'll look away. What's that he's saying?
+What horrible English he speaks! I can't
+understand a word. <i>Oh!</i>&quot; she gasped, clutching
+her husband by one arm and holding
+him firmly as Blanche dropped backward
+and whirled through the air; and this exclamation
+she repeated in a tone of horrified
+relief when the girl struck the net, bounded
+into the air again, and landed on her feet.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">They rose with the applauding crowd and
+started to leave the place. &quot;In my opinion,&quot;
+said Mrs. Tate, clinging to her husband's
+arm and drawing her wrap closely around
+her, &quot;in my opinion such exhibitions are
+outrageous. There ought to be a law against
+them. Think of that poor little creature
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page201" id="page201"></a>[pg&nbsp;201]</span>
+going through that every night. Of course
+she'll be killed sometime. I wonder if she's
+afraid. I should think she'd expect every
+night to be her last.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What nonsense you're talking. Of
+course those people don't feel like that.
+If they did they'd never go into the business.
+It's second nature to them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But they're <i>human</i> just like the rest
+of us, and that woman is a mother,&quot; Mrs.
+Tate insisted. &quot;Don't you suppose she
+thinks of her baby before she makes that
+terrible dive? It's a shame that her husband
+should allow her to do it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There you are, trying to regulate the
+affairs of the world again. Why don't you
+let people alone? They'd be a good deal
+happier, and so would you. Her husband
+probably likes to have her do it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Well, I shall go to see her anyway,&quot; Mrs.
+Tate cried with determination. &quot;Then I
+can find out all about her for myself.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For the next three weeks Mrs. Tate was
+absorbed by various duties in connection
+with her charitable societies. One morning,
+however, she suddenly realized that she had
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page202" id="page202"></a>[pg&nbsp;202]</span>
+neglected to comply with Father Dumény's
+request, and she resolved to put off her other
+engagements for the afternoon and call at
+once on the acrobat; if she didn't go then,
+there was no knowing when she could go.
+At four o'clock she found herself stepping
+into a hansom in front of her house in
+Cavendish Square.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The address that Father Dumény had sent
+led her to a little French hotel with a narrow,
+dark entrance, dimly lighted by an odorous
+lamp. She poked about in the place for
+a moment, wondering how she was to find
+any one; then a door which she had not
+observed was thrown open, and she was confronted
+by a little man with a very waxed
+moustache, who smiled and asked in broken
+English what Madame wanted. She stammered
+that she was looking for Madame
+Le Baron, and the little man at once called
+a <i>garçon</i> in a greasy apron, who led the
+way up the narrow stairs. When they had
+reached the second landing the boy rapped
+on the door, and Mrs. Tate stood panting
+behind him. For several moments there
+was no answer; then heavy steps could be
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page203" id="page203"></a>[pg&nbsp;203]</span>
+heard approaching, and a moment later
+Madeleine's broad figure, silhouetted by the
+light from the windows from behind, stood
+before them. Mrs. Tate saw at a glance that
+she was French, and addressed her in her
+own language.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;<i>Mais oui</i>,&quot; Madeleine replied. &quot;Madame
+is at home. Will Madame have the
+goodness to enter?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Say that I'm Father Dumény's friend,
+please,&quot; said Mrs. Tate as she gave Madeleine
+a card. Then she glanced at one
+corner of the room, where a large cradle,
+covered with a lace canopy, had caught her
+eye. &quot;Is the baby here?&quot; she asked
+quickly, going toward it.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, no&mdash;not now. She sometimes
+sleeps here in the morning; but she is with
+her mother in the other room now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madeleine disappeared, and Mrs. Tate's
+eyes roved around the room. She recognized
+it at once as the typical English lodging-house
+drawing-room; she had seen many
+rooms just like it before, when she had called
+on American friends living for a time in
+London. It was large and oblong, facing
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page204" id="page204"></a>[pg&nbsp;204]</span>
+the tall houses on the opposite side of the
+street that cut off much of the light; the wall
+paper was ugly and sombre, and the carpet,
+with its large flowery pattern, together with
+the lounge and chairs, completed an effect
+of utter dreariness.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate wondered how people could
+live in such places; she should simply go
+mad if she had to stay in a room like this.
+Then she wondered why Madame Le Baron
+hadn't brightened up the apartment a bit;
+the photographs on the mantel, in front of
+the large French mirror, together with the
+cradle in the corner, were the only signs it
+gave of being really inhabited. How vulgar
+those prints on the wall were! They and
+the mirror were the only French touches
+visible, and they contrasted oddly with their
+surroundings. While Mrs. Tate was comfortably
+meditating on the vast superiority
+of England to France, the door leading to
+the next room opened and Blanche entered
+the room. She looked so domestic in her
+simple dress of blue serge that for an instant
+her caller did not recognize her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She held out her hand timidly. &quot;Father
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page205" id="page205"></a>[pg&nbsp;205]</span>
+Dumény has spoken to me about you,&quot; she
+said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Father Dumény must think I am an extremely
+rude person. I meant to come
+weeks ago,&quot; Mrs. Tate replied, clasping the
+hand and looking down steadily into the
+pale face. &quot;But I've been busy&mdash;so busy,
+I've had hardly a minute to myself. However,
+I did go to see you perform.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, at the Hippodrome?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, the very first night. Mr. Tate and
+I went together. We were both&mdash;er&mdash;wonderfully
+impressed. I don't think I ever
+saw anything more wonderful in my life than
+that plunge of yours.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate adjusted herself in the chair
+near the window, and Blanche took the
+opposite seat. &quot;I'm glad you liked it,&quot;
+she said with a sigh.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Liked it. I can't really say I did like it.
+I must confess it rather horrified me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It does some people. My mother never
+likes to see me do it&mdash;though I've done it
+for a great many years now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But doesn't it&mdash;doesn't it make you
+nervous sometimes?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page206" id="page206"></a>[pg&nbsp;206]</span>
+&quot;I never used to think of it&mdash;before my
+baby was born.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, the baby! May I see her? Just
+a peep.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She was asleep when I left,&quot; Blanche
+replied, unconsciously lowering her voice as
+if the child in the next room might know
+she was being talked about; &quot;but she will
+wake up soon. She always wakes about
+this time. Madeleine is with her now, and
+she'll dress her and bring her in.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a quarter of an hour they talked about
+the little Jeanne, and Blanche, inspired by
+Mrs. Tate's vivid interest and sympathy,
+grew animated in describing the baby's
+qualities; when she was born she weighed
+nearly nine pounds, and she had not been
+sick a day. Then she had grown so! You
+could hardly believe it was the same child.
+She very rarely cried,&mdash;almost never at
+night. Mrs. Tate had heard mothers talk
+like that before, but Blanche's <i>naïveté</i> lent
+a new charm to the narration; she kept in
+mind, however, their first topic, and at the
+next opportunity she returned to it.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then what do you do with the child at
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page207" id="page207"></a>[pg&nbsp;207]</span>
+night?&quot; she asked. &quot;I suppose your servant
+goes to the circus with you, doesn't
+she? Of course you can't leave the baby
+alone.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, no,&quot; Blanche replied. &quot;We have a
+little girl to stay with her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate was surprised. So these circus
+people lived as other people did, with servants
+to wait on them, with a nurse for the
+child. She had instinctively thought of them
+as vagabonds. On discovering that they
+were well cared for, she had a sensation
+very like disappointment; they seemed to
+be in no need of help of any sort. She was
+curious to know more of the life of this girl,
+who seemed so <i>naïve</i> and had such a curious
+look of sadness in her eyes. Mrs. Tate
+deftly led Blanche to talk about her husband,
+and in a few minutes, by her questions
+and her quick intelligence, she fancied that
+she understood the condition of this extraordinary
+<i>ménage</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Percy had been right; the wife supported
+the family and the husband was a mere
+hanger-on; but it was evident from the way
+he was mentioned that the romance still
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page208" id="page208"></a>[pg&nbsp;208]</span>
+lasted. Then Blanche made a reference to
+Jules which led her visitor to make inquiries
+with regard to him, and these changed her
+view of the situation. So, before marriage,
+Monsieur had been in business, and he had
+probably given it up to follow his wife in her
+wanderings. She surmised that they were
+not absolutely dependent on the circus for
+their daily bread; perhaps this accounted for
+their comfortable way of living.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">While apparently absorbed in conversation
+Mrs. Tate continued this train of thought.
+She had never known any one connected
+with the circus before, she explained with a
+smile; people who lived in London all the
+time were apt to be so very narrow and ignorant;
+but she wanted to hear all about it,
+and Madame must tell her. Blanche was
+able to tell very little, for she was not used to
+discussing her work. By adroit questioning,
+however, Mrs. Tate led her on to an account
+of her early career from her first appearance
+as a child with her father to her development
+into a &quot;star&quot; performer.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The narrative seemed to her wildly interesting.
+How fascinating it would be if she
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page209" id="page209"></a>[pg&nbsp;209]</span>
+could persuade the girl to relate her story in
+a drawing-room! It would be the sensation
+of the winter. But this poor child never
+could talk in public, even in her own tongue.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But do tell me,&quot; said Mrs. Tate, when
+Blanche had described the months her father
+had spent in teaching her to make the great
+plunge. &quot;Doesn't it hurt your back? I
+should think that striking with full force day
+after day on that padded net would destroy
+the nervous system of a giant.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche smiled and shook her head. &quot;It
+never used to hurt. I've only felt it lately,
+since the baby was born,&quot; she said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then it does hurt now?&quot; Mrs. Tate cried
+eagerly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Sometimes. I feel so tired in the morning
+now. I never used to; and sometimes
+when I wake up my back aches very much.
+But I try not to think of it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But, my dear child, you ought to think
+of it. You mustn't allow yourself to be injured&mdash;perhaps
+for life.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche turned pale. &quot;Do you think it
+can be serious?&quot; she asked timidly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate saw that she had made a false
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page210" id="page210"></a>[pg&nbsp;210]</span>
+step. &quot;Of course not&mdash;not <i>serious</i>. It's
+probably nothing at all. I haven't a doubt
+a physician could stop it easily. Have you
+spoken to any one about it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No; not even to my husband. I
+shouldn't like to tell him. It would make
+him unhappy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate became thoughtful. &quot;I wonder
+if Dr. Broughton couldn't do something for
+you. He's our physician, and he's the
+kindest soul in the world. I'm always sending
+him to people. Suppose I should ask
+him to come and call on you some day.
+Perhaps he'll tell you there's nothing the
+matter, and then you won't be worried any
+more.&quot; She glanced into the pale face and
+was startled by the look she saw there. &quot;Oh,
+you needn't be afraid,&quot; she laughed. &quot;He
+won't hurt you. But, of course, if you don't
+want him to come, I won't send him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche clasped her hands and dropped
+her eyes. &quot;I think I should like to have
+him come if&mdash;if&mdash;my husband&mdash;&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But he needn't know anything about
+it,&quot; said Mrs. Tate, with feminine delight at
+the prospect of secrecy. &quot;We won't tell
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page211" id="page211"></a>[pg&nbsp;211]</span>
+him anything. If he meets Monsieur Le
+Baron here you can just say I sent him to
+call on you. Besides, he can come some
+time when your husband isn't here,&quot; she
+added with a smile.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Jules generally goes out in the afternoon,&quot;
+Blanche replied, feeling guilty at the
+thought of concealing anything from him.
+&quot;He likes to read the French papers in a
+<i>café</i> in the Strand.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then I'll tell Dr. Broughton to come
+some afternoon. He'll be delighted. I
+don't believe <i>he's</i> ever known an acrobat
+either,&quot; she laughed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">They talked more of Blanche's symptoms,
+and Mrs. Tate speedily discovered that since
+the birth of the baby Blanche had not been
+free from terror of her work; every night
+she feared might be her last. She did not
+confess this directly, but Mrs. Tate gathered
+it from several intimations and from her own
+observations. She felt elated. What an interesting
+case! She had never heard of anything
+like it before. This poor child was
+haunted with a horrible terror! This accounted
+for the pitiful look of distress in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page212" id="page212"></a>[pg&nbsp;212]</span>
+her eyes. Then Mrs. Tate's generous heart
+fairly yearned with sympathy; but this she
+was careful to conceal. She saw that by
+displaying it she would do far more harm
+than good; so she pretended to be amused
+at the possibility of Blanche's injuring herself
+in making the plunge.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It must have become second nature to
+you,&quot; she said, &quot;after all these years. You're
+probably a little tired and nervous. Dr.
+Broughton will give you a tonic that will
+restore your old confidence. Meantime,&quot;
+she added enthusiastically, &quot;I'm going
+to take care of you. I'm coming to see
+you very often, and I shall expect you to
+come to see me. Let me think; this is
+Thursday. On Sunday night you and Monsieur
+Le Baron must come and dine with us
+at seven o'clock. We'll be all alone. I
+sha'n't ask any one. But wait a minute.
+Why wouldn't that be a good way for your
+husband to meet Dr. Broughton? I'll ask
+him to come, too. He often looks in on
+Sundays. That will be delightful.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She rose to her feet and shook out her
+skirts. &quot;I suppose I must go without seeing
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page213" id="page213"></a>[pg&nbsp;213]</span>
+the baby. But I shall&mdash;&mdash;&quot; She looked
+quickly around at the clicking sound that
+seemed to come from the door. Then the
+door opened, and Jules, in a heavy fur-trimmed
+coat and silk hat, stood before
+her. She recognized him at once, and as
+he bowed hesitatingly, she extended her
+hand and relieved the awkwardness of the
+situation. &quot;I won't wait for Madame to
+introduce me,&quot; she said, just as Blanche was
+murmuring her name.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then you are the lady Father Dumény
+spoke to us about!&quot; Jules said with a
+smile.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes; and your wife and I have become
+the best of friends already.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And you've made friends with the
+baby too, I hope,&quot; Jules replied, removing
+his coat and throwing it over a chair. She
+liked his face more than she had done
+at the Hippodrome; he had a good eye,
+and, for a Frenchman, a remarkably clear
+complexion.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No; she's asleep,&quot; Blanche replied.
+&quot;I asked Madeleine to bring her in if she
+woke up.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page214" id="page214"></a>[pg&nbsp;214]</span>
+&quot;But you must see her,&quot; Jules insisted.
+&quot;I'll go and take a peep at her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He went to the door leading to the next
+room, opened it softly, and glanced in.
+Then he made a sign that the others were
+to follow, and he tiptoed toward the bed
+where Jeanne lay sleeping, her face rosy
+with health, and her little hands tightly
+closed. Madeleine, who had been sitting
+beside the bed, rose as they approached
+and showed her mouthful of teeth.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a few moments they stood around the
+child, smiling at one another and without
+speaking. Then they tiptoed out of the
+room, and closed the door behind them.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I shall come again soon some morning,&quot;
+Mrs. Tate whispered, as if still afraid of disturbing
+the child, &quot;when the baby's awake.&quot;
+Then she went on in a louder tone: &quot;She's
+a dear. I know I shall become very fond
+of her. And you're coming to us next
+Sunday night,&quot; she added, as she bade
+Jules good-bye. &quot;Your wife has promised.
+I shall expect you both. Perhaps I shall
+come before then; I want to get acquainted
+with Jeanne.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page215" id="page215"></a>[pg&nbsp;215]</span>
+She kissed Blanche on both cheeks, after
+the French fashion. &quot;I sha'n't forget, you
+know. We have great secrets together already,&quot;
+she laughed, turning to Jules as she
+passed out of the door.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page216" id="page216"></a>[pg&nbsp;216]</span></p>
+
+<h2>XIV</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">As soon as Percy Tate confronted his
+wife at the table that night he saw
+that something was on her mind.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You've been to see those circus people,&quot;
+he said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;How did you know that?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, clairvoyance,&mdash;my subtle insight
+into the workings of your brain!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I suppose Hawkins told you. Well, I
+<i>have</i> been to see them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Tate began to pick at the bread beside his
+plate. He often became preoccupied when
+he knew his wife wanted him to ask questions;
+this was his favorite way of teasing
+her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It's the strangest <i>ménage</i> I ever saw in
+my life,&quot; Mrs. Tate exclaimed at last, unable
+to keep back the news any longer. &quot;And
+it's just as I thought it would be. That
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page217" id="page217"></a>[pg&nbsp;217]</span>
+poor little creature simply lives in terror of
+being killed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Tate rolled his eyes. &quot;'In the midst of
+life we are in death,'&quot; he said solemnly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It's altogether too serious a matter to
+be made a joke of, Percy. If you could
+have heard&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Now, my dear, you know what I told
+you. You went to see that woman with the
+deliberate expectation of finding her a person
+to be sympathized with, and I can see
+that you've imagined a lot of nonsense
+about her. Why in the world don't you
+let such people alone? You belong in your
+place and she belongs in hers, and the
+world is big enough to hold you both without
+obliging you to come together. You
+can't understand her feelings any more than
+she can understand yours. You wonder how
+you'd feel if you were in her place; you
+can't realize that if you <i>were</i> in her place
+you'd be an altogether different person. If
+you had to go through her performances, of
+course you'd be scared to death; but you
+forget she's been brought up to do those
+things; it's her business, her life. I knew
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page218" id="page218"></a>[pg&nbsp;218]</span>
+you'd go there and work up a lot of ridiculous
+sympathy, and badger that woman for
+nothing!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">At the beginning of this speech Mrs. Tate
+had sat back in her chair with an expression
+of patient resignation in her face. When
+her husband finished she breathed a long
+sigh. &quot;I hope you've said it all, Percy.
+You're so tiresome when you make those
+long harangues. Besides, you've only succeeded
+in showing that you don't understand
+the case at all.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then, as they finished their soup, Mrs.
+Tate gave an account of her call of the
+afternoon, ending with a graphic repetition
+of the talk with Blanche about the pains
+in her back.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I shall certainly tell Dr. Broughton about
+it,&quot; she cried. &quot;That poor child&mdash;she
+really <i>is</i> nothing <i>but</i> a child&mdash;she's just
+killing herself by inches, and her husband
+is worse than a brute to let the thing
+go on.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;So you want to stop it and take away
+their only means of support.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It isn't their only means of support. It
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page219" id="page219"></a>[pg&nbsp;219]</span>
+seems the husband has money. That makes
+it all the worse.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Now, let me say right here, my dear, I
+wash my hands of this affair. If you want to
+rush in and upset those people's lives, go
+ahead, but I'll have nothing to do with it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I wish you wouldn't scold me so, Percy.
+It seems to me I usually bear the consequences
+of what I do. And I don't see
+what harm there can be in consulting Dr.
+Broughton. You're always cracking him
+up yourself.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Tate burst into a loud laugh. &quot;If that
+isn't just like a woman! Turning it onto
+poor old Broughton.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, sometimes you're so <i>aggravating</i>,
+Percy!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Two days later, in spite of her husband's
+opposition, Mrs. Tate consulted Dr. Broughton,
+and he promised, as soon as he could,
+to call some morning at the little hotel in
+Albemarle Street. Before he appeared there
+Mrs. Tate ingratiated herself into the affections
+of the family. As Blanche grew more
+familiar with her, she confided to her many
+details of her life, and Mrs. Tate speedily
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page220" id="page220"></a>[pg&nbsp;220]</span>
+possessed the chief facts in connection with
+it. These facts did not increase her esteem
+for Jules, whose days, in spite of his duties as
+his wife's manager, were spent in what she
+regarded as wholly unpardonable idleness.
+She also suspected that Jules disliked her;
+it must have been he who sent word that
+they would be unable to accept her invitation
+for dinner on Sunday evening. This, however,
+did not prevent their being invited for
+the following Sunday. Mrs. Tate was determined
+to secure her husband's opinion of
+her new <i>protégés</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Before Sunday came Dr. Broughton unexpectedly
+made his appearance in the Tates'
+drawing-room one evening.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I've seen your acrobat,&quot; he said to the
+figure in yellow silk and lace, reading beside
+the lamp. &quot;Don't get up. Been out? I
+hardly thought I'd find you in; you're such
+a pair of worldlings.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;We came away early. I had a headache,&quot;
+said Tate, shading his eyes with one hand
+and offering the other to the visitor. &quot;Or,
+rather, I pretended I had.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The Doctor, a short, stout man of fifty, with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page221" id="page221"></a>[pg&nbsp;221]</span>
+grayish brown hair, and little red whiskers
+jutting out from either side of his face, and
+with enormous eyebrows shading his keen
+eyes, gathered his coat-tails in his hand, and
+took a seat on the couch.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It's late for a call&mdash;must be after ten.
+But I knew this lady of yours would want
+to hear about her acrobat. Nice little creature,
+isn't she? Seems ridiculous she should
+belong to a circus.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She doesn't belong there,&quot; Mrs. Tate
+replied, briskly inserting a paper-knife in her
+book and laying the book on the little table
+beside her. &quot;I've never seen any one so
+utterly misplaced. Did you have a talk with
+her?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes&mdash;a talk. That was all; but that
+was enough. Her husband was out.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;O, you conspirators!&quot; Tate exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then you've satisfied yourself about
+her?&quot; said his wife, ignoring him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes. She has a very common complaint,
+a form of meningitis; slumbering meningitis,
+it's often called. Many people have it without
+knowing it; and she might have had it
+even if she hadn't taken to thumping her
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page222" id="page222"></a>[pg&nbsp;222]</span>
+spine half a dozen times a week.  The
+trouble's located in the spine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There, I told you so!&quot; exclaimed Mrs.
+Tate; and &quot;What a lovely habit women have
+of never gloating over anything!&quot; her husband
+added amiably.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Percy, I wish you'd keep quiet! Do
+you really think it's serious, Doctor?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The Doctor held up his hands meditatively,
+the ends of the fingers touching, and
+slowly lifted his shoulders. &quot;In itself it may
+be serious or it may not. Sometimes trouble
+of that sort is quiescent for years, and the
+patient dies of something else. Sometimes
+it resists treatment, and leads to very serious
+complications,&mdash;physical and mental. I've
+had cases where it has affected the brain
+and others where it has led to paralysis. In
+this case it is likely to be aggravated.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;By the diving, you mean?&quot; said Mrs.
+Tate.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Exactly. That has probably been the
+cause of the trouble lately&mdash;if it wasn't the
+first cause. It may go on getting worse, or it
+may remain as it is for years, or it may disappear
+for a time, or possibly, altogether.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page223" id="page223"></a>[pg&nbsp;223]</span>
+Mrs. Tate breathed what sounded like a
+sigh of disappointment. &quot;Then it isn't so
+bad as I thought,&quot; she said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a moment the Doctor hesitated. Then
+he replied: &quot;Yes, it's worse. The mere
+physical pain that it causes Madame Le
+Baron is of comparatively little account. I
+think we may be able to stop that. The
+peculiarity of the case is the nervousness,
+the curious fear that seems to haunt her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In her excitement Mrs. Tate almost bounced
+from her seat. &quot;That is <i>exactly</i> what I said.
+The poor child hasn't a moment's peace.
+It's the most terrible thing I ever heard
+of. And to think that that man&mdash;her husband&mdash;&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It's always the husband,&quot; Tate laughed.
+&quot;Broughton, why don't you stand up for
+your sex?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Percy wants to turn the whole thing into
+ridicule. I think it's a shame. I can't tell
+you how it has worried me. I feel so&mdash;&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;For Heaven's sake, Broughton, I wish
+you'd give my wife something to keep her
+from feeling for other people. If you don't,
+she'll go mad, and I shall too. She wants
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page224" id="page224"></a>[pg&nbsp;224]</span>
+to regulate the whole universe. I have a
+horrible fear that she's going to get round
+to me soon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The Doctor smiled, and bent his bushy
+eyes on the husband and then on the
+wife.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It's a peculiar case,&quot; he repeated
+thoughtfully, when they had sat in silence
+for several moments. &quot;It couldn't be
+treated in the ordinary way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;How in the world did you get so much
+out of her?&quot; Mrs. Tate asked. &quot;She's the
+shyest little creature.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I had to work on her sympathies. I
+got her to crying,&mdash;and then, of course, the
+whole story came out. As you said, she's
+haunted by the fear of being killed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But that's the baby,&quot; said Mrs. Tate
+quickly. &quot;She told me she never had the
+least fear till her baby was born.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The Doctor lifted his eyebrows. &quot;It's
+several things,&quot; he replied dryly, refusing to
+take any but the professional view.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then they discussed the case in all its aspects.
+The haunting fear Dr. Broughton regarded
+as the worst feature. &quot;She says when
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page225" id="page225"></a>[pg&nbsp;225]</span>
+she goes into the ring, that usually leaves her;
+but if it came back just before she took her
+plunge it would kill her. The least miscalculation
+would be likely to make her land
+on her head in the net, and that would mean
+a broken neck. It's terrible work,&mdash;that.
+The law ought to put a stop to it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;The law ought to put a stop to a good
+many things that it doesn't,&quot; Mrs. Tate
+snapped. &quot;To think that in this age of
+civilization&mdash;&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There she goes, reforming the world
+again!&quot; her husband interrupted.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But if the law doesn't stop it in this
+case,&quot; she went on, &quot;<i>I</i> will.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a time they turned from the subject
+of Blanche and her ills to other themes; but
+when, about midnight, Dr. Broughton rose to
+leave, Mrs. Tate went back to it. &quot;We're
+going to have the Le Barons here for dinner
+next Sunday,&quot; she said. &quot;I wish you'd
+come in if you can. I want Percy to see
+what they're like.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She relies on my judgment after all,&quot;
+said Tate, following the guest to the door.
+As they stood together in the hall, &quot;You
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page226" id="page226"></a>[pg&nbsp;226]</span>
+think the case is serious then?&quot; he asked
+quietly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The Doctor whispered something in his
+ear, and Tate nodded thoughtfully. &quot;And
+how do you think it'll end if she doesn't
+stop it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Dr. Broughton tapped his forehead with
+his hand. &quot;This is what I'm most afraid
+of.&quot; He seized his stick and thrust it under
+his arm. &quot;But giving up her performance,
+I'm afraid, would be like giving up her
+life. She was practically born in the circus,
+you know, and I suspect from what your
+wife has told me that her husband fell
+in love with her in the circus. Outside
+of that she seems to have no interest in
+anything,&mdash;except, of course, her family
+and her baby. But to take her out of the
+circus would be like pulling up a tree by
+the roots.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Dr. Broughton was so used to making
+hurried exits from patients' houses that he
+lost no time in getting away from Tate. As
+he went down the steps his host stood with
+one hand on the knob of the front door,
+thinking. The Doctor had unconsciously
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page227" id="page227"></a>[pg&nbsp;227]</span>
+given him a most fascinating suggestion.
+Around this his mind played as he walked
+back to the drawing-room, where his wife
+was yawning, and gathering, some books to
+take upstairs. He said nothing to her about
+it; before expressing his fancy, he decided
+to wait until he saw those curious people.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page228" id="page228"></a>[pg&nbsp;228]</span></p>
+
+<h2>XV</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate was right in surmising that
+Jules had conceived a dislike for
+her. The first day he saw her he decided
+that she was a tiresome, interfering Englishwoman,
+and he watched with annoyance her
+growing intimacy with Blanche, whom he
+wished to keep wholly to himself. Of his
+wife's success at the Hippodrome he felt as
+proud as if it were his own; he loved to
+read the notices of it in the papers, and
+while Blanche was performing, to walk about
+in the audience and hear her praises. He
+had come to look upon her as part of himself,
+as his property; and this sense of proprietorship
+added to the fascination that her
+performance had for him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Though his first ardor of devotion had
+passed, he was still tender with her; but his
+tenderness always had reference more to her
+work than to herself. He watched her as
+the owner of a performing animal might have
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page229" id="page229"></a>[pg&nbsp;229]</span>
+watched his precious charge. Sometimes he
+used to lose patience with her for her devotion
+to the little Jeanne; if Jeanne cried at
+night she would want to leave the bed to
+soothe her. In order to prevent this, Jules
+had the child's crib moved into Madeleine's
+room, to the secret grief of the mother,
+who, however, did not think of resisting
+his commands. In his way Jules was fond
+of Jeanne; but he could not help thinking
+that before she came Blanche had given
+all her love to him. However, there was
+some excuse for that; but there was no
+reason why a stranger like Mrs. Tate should
+come in and take possession of them, act
+like a member of the family, and put a lot
+of silly ideas into his wife's head.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The mere fact that Mrs. Tate was English
+would have been enough to prejudice Jules
+against her even if he had not objected to
+her personal qualities. He hated the English,
+and he hated England, especially London.
+Even Blanche, who was blind to his
+faults, speedily discovered that his boast of
+being a born traveller had no foundation in
+fact. On arriving in London he had gone
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page230" id="page230"></a>[pg&nbsp;230]</span>
+straight to a French hotel, where he was
+served to French cooking by a <i>garçon</i>
+trained in the <i>cafés</i> of the <i>Boulevards</i>.
+Since then he had associated only with the
+few French people he could find in the city;
+if he hadn't been eager to read everything
+printed about Blanche, he would never have
+looked at any but French papers. At home
+he spent a large part of his time in ridiculing
+the English, just as on his return from
+America he had ridiculed the Americans.
+Now, at the thought of being obliged to
+dine with a lot of those <i>bêtes d'Anglais</i> he
+felt enraged. He had already refused one
+invitation. Why wasn't that enough for
+them? The second he would have refused
+too, if Blanche had not insisted that another
+refusal would be a discourtesy to Father
+Dumény's friends. Ah, Father Dumény, a
+fine box he had got them into, the tiresome
+old woman that he was, with his foolish jokes
+and his rheumatism!</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules never forgot that dinner. In the
+first place, he was awed by the magnificence
+of the Tates' house; it surpassed anything
+of the kind he had ever seen in France or
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page231" id="page231"></a>[pg&nbsp;231]</span>
+in America; it had never occurred to him
+that the English could have such good
+taste. Then, too, in spite of the efforts of
+his hosts to make him comfortable, he felt
+awkward, ill at ease, out of place. As soon
+as he entered the drawing-room, Blanche
+was taken upstairs by Mrs. Tate, and Jules
+was left with the husband and with Dr.
+Broughton.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">A moment later the Doctor disappeared,
+and for the next half-hour Jules tried to
+maintain a conversation in English. Tate
+turned the conversation to life in Paris as
+compared with the life of London, but Jules
+had so much difficulty in speaking English
+that they fell at last into French.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Meanwhile, Blanche sat in the library with
+Mrs. Tate and Dr. Broughton, whom she
+had not seen since the day of his call upon
+her. The Doctor had at once won her confidence,
+and since her talk with him she had
+felt better, and she fancied that the tonic he
+gave her had already benefited her. But
+she still had that pain in her back, she said,
+and that terrible fear; every night when she
+kissed the little Jeanne before going to the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page232" id="page232"></a>[pg&nbsp;232]</span>
+Hippodrome, she felt as if she should never
+see the child again. If she didn't stop feeling
+like that, she didn't know what would
+happen.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;If you could give up the plunge for a
+while,&quot; the Doctor suggested, &quot;you'd be
+very much better for the rest. Then you
+might go back to it, you know.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But I'm engaged for the season,&quot;
+Blanche replied in French, which the Doctor
+readily understood, but refused to speak.
+&quot;I can't break my contract.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Perhaps you could make a compromise,&quot;
+Mrs. Tate suggested. &quot;You could go on
+with your trapeze performance,&mdash;with everything
+except the dive.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I was really engaged for that,&quot; said
+Blanche, a look of dismay appearing in her
+face. &quot;There are many others that perform
+on the trapeze.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But you might try to make some arrangement,&quot;
+Mrs. Tate insisted. &quot;Your husband
+could talk it over with the managers.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, but he would not like it,&quot; Blanche
+replied with evident distress. &quot;It would
+make him so unhappy if he&mdash;if he knew.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page233" id="page233"></a>[pg&nbsp;233]</span>
+&quot;If he knew you were being made ill by
+your work!&quot; Mrs. Tate interrupted. &quot;Of
+course it would make him unhappy, and it
+would be very strange if it didn't. But
+it's much better to have him know it than
+for you to go on risking your life every
+night.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Dr. Broughton gave his hostess a glance
+that made her quail. A moment later, however,
+she gathered herself together.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I didn't mean to say that, dear, but now
+that I <i>have</i> said it, there's no use mincing
+matters. The Doctor has told me plainly
+that if you go on making that plunge every
+night in your present state of nervousness it
+will certainly result in your death&mdash;in one
+way or another. So the only thing for you
+to do, for the sake of your baby, and your
+husband, and for your own sake too,&mdash;the
+only thing for you to do is to stop it, at
+least for a time. If you were to break your
+neck it would simply be murder,&mdash;yes,
+murder,&quot; she repeated, glancing at the Doctor,
+who was looking at her with an expression
+that showed he thought she was going
+too far.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page234" id="page234"></a>[pg&nbsp;234]</span>
+Tears had begun to trickle down Blanche's
+cheeks, and now they turned to sobs. For
+a few moments she lost control of herself,
+and her frail figure was shaken with grief.
+Dr. Broughton said nothing, and he looked
+angry. Mrs. Tate paid no attention to him;
+she went over to Blanche, took her in her
+arms, and began to soothe her. In a few
+moments the sobbing ceased, and Mrs. Tate
+went on:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It's best that you should know this, dear,
+though perhaps I've been cruel in telling it
+to you so bluntly. We must tell your husband
+about it, too. I'm sure he'll be distressed
+to hear how much you've suffered, and he'll
+be glad to do anything that will help you.
+So now we'll send the Doctor away, and
+bathe your face with hot water, and go down
+to dinner and try to forget about our troubles
+for a while.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">If Jules had not been absorbed in his own
+embarrassment at the dinner-table he might
+have discovered traces of agitation in his
+wife's face. He was secretly execrating the
+luck that had brought him among these people,
+and he resolved when he returned home to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page235" id="page235"></a>[pg&nbsp;235]</span>
+tell Blanche that he would have nothing more
+to do with them. If she was willing to have
+that prying Englishwoman about her all the
+time, she could, but she mustn't expect him
+to be more than civil to her. The conversation
+had turned on English politics, and
+as Jules had nothing to offer on the subject,
+his enforced silence increased his discomfort.
+Mrs. Tate was devoting herself to Blanche,
+who sat beside her, relating in French stories
+of her life in Paris. Jules felt resentful; no
+one paid attention to him; when he dined
+out in Paris he was always one of the leaders
+in the talk. He wanted to justify himself, to
+show these people that he was no fool, that
+he was worthy of being the husband of a
+celebrity.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">By a fortunate chance, the talk drifted to
+American politics, and Jules, seeing his opportunity,
+seized it. A few moments later
+he was launched on an account of his travels
+in the United States. Tate, relieved at having
+at last found a topic his guest could discuss,
+gave Jules full play, and listened to him
+with a light in his eyes that showed his wife
+he was secretly amused. Indeed, Jules' criticisms
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page236" id="page236"></a>[pg&nbsp;236]</span>
+of America and his descriptions of
+the peculiarities of Americans greatly entertained
+them.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The dinner closed in animated talk, much
+to the relief of Mrs. Tate, who feared it
+would be a great failure; it made her realize,
+however, that as show people the Le
+Barons were quite useless. She was afraid
+Blanche had been bored; she had been sitting
+almost speechless during the meal, sighing
+heavily now and then, as if thinking that
+in a few hours her respite would be over,
+and she would have to return to her horrible
+work.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate was quite ready to make any
+sacrifice to rescue Blanche from the terrors
+of her circus life; in the enthusiasm of
+the moment she said to herself, that rather
+than let her continue making that plunge,
+she would offer to <i>pay</i> her husband what she
+earned, in order to take his wife out of the
+ring altogether. At the thought of persuading
+him to do this, Mrs. Tate felt that at last
+she had a definite task to perform; it was almost
+like a mission, and the harder it proved
+to be, the more exalted she would feel.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page237" id="page237"></a>[pg&nbsp;237]</span>
+After their return to the drawing-room,
+Mrs. Tate, with a delightful feeling that she
+was engaged in a conspiracy, made a mysterious
+sign to Dr. Broughton to come to her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I suppose Percy's been whispering to
+you not to have anything to do with this
+scheme of mine, but don't pay any attention
+to him. Do you know, I think the best
+way would be to take the husband into the
+library and have it out there. He must <i>be</i>
+told, you know. He hasn't a suspicion of
+it,&mdash;not a suspicion. You wait a few minutes,
+and as soon as I get a chance, I'll ask
+him to follow me out.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The Doctor smiled and shrugged his
+shoulders.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You must take the responsibility,&quot; he
+said carelessly. &quot;I shall merely do my
+professional duty. Mr. Tate has just been
+telling me about a curious idea&mdash;&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Don't pay any attention to his ideas.
+Percy thinks everything ought to be left to
+regulate itself. A fine world it would be if
+every one thought as he does. Now you go
+back to him, and follow me when I tell you.
+No, I have a better plan. You go into the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page238" id="page238"></a>[pg&nbsp;238]</span>
+library with Percy. I'll come in there in a
+few minutes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">A quarter of an hour later, when Mrs. Tate
+entered the library with Jules, she found her
+husband and the Doctor there, half-hidden
+in a cloud of smoke.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;This poor man, too, has been dying for
+another cigar,&quot; she said; &quot;but he's too
+polite to say so. So while he's smoking we
+can have our talk. We'll take our coffee in
+here, too. Percy, you go and see that
+Madame Le Baron is properly served. I've
+had to leave her there alone for a minute,
+but I said I'd send you in. Dr. Broughton
+and I are going to have a secret conference
+with Monsieur Le Baron.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Secret conferences are always dangerous,&quot;
+Tate replied, rising to leave the room. &quot;Look
+out for them!&quot; he added with a smile to
+Jules, as he hesitated at the door. When
+he had closed the door behind him, he stood
+in the hall a moment, thinking.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Tate was a man of sense, of &quot;horse-sense,&quot;
+one of his friends used to say of him, and
+not given to forebodings. Now, however,
+he had a distinct regret that his wife was
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page239" id="page239"></a>[pg&nbsp;239]</span>
+interfering in this matter, and fear of the
+consequences. She often did things that he
+disapproved, and he made no objection, for
+he believed that she had as much right to
+independence as himself; but in this case
+he would have liked to interfere. He had
+spoken to Dr. Broughton about his feeling
+in the matter, and the Doctor had merely
+laughed. Well, the Doctor knew better than
+he did; perhaps, after all, his own theory was
+absurd. At any rate, he could not be held
+accountable for any trouble that might result
+from his wife's meddling. This thought,
+however, gave him little consolation. He
+usually suffered for her mistakes much more
+than she did herself.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When he went back to the drawing-room,
+he had difficulty in sustaining a conversation
+with Blanche; he kept thinking of the conference
+in the next room, wondering what
+the result would be. He was prepared to
+see Jules enter with a pale face and set lips
+and with wrath in his eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When Jules finally entered between his
+hostess and the Doctor, Tate scanned his face
+narrowly; it was not white, and the lips
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page240" id="page240"></a>[pg&nbsp;240]</span>
+were not set, but the whole expression had
+changed to a look of dogged determination
+and ill-concealed rage. He sat near his wife,
+staring at her as if he had never seen her
+before.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a few moments the conversation was
+resumed, but the atmosphere seemed chilled.
+Then the Doctor rose to say good-night, explaining
+that he had promised to call on a
+patient in Curzon Street before going home.
+This seemed to be the signal for the breaking-up,
+and all of the guests left at the same
+moment, Mrs. Tate calling out to Blanche
+at the door of the drawing-room that she
+would look in on her the next day if she
+were not too busy.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When the front door had closed, Tate
+turned to his wife.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Well, you had a stormy time of it, didn't
+you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She walked toward the centre of the drawing-room
+and stood under the chandelier,
+keeping her eyes fixed on her husband's face,
+which seemed to be much more serious than
+usual.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What makes you think so?&quot; she asked,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page241" id="page241"></a>[pg&nbsp;241]</span>
+removing a bracelet from her arm and nervously
+twirling it.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I could tell from the expression in his
+eyes, and from the way you and the Doctor
+acted. He was furious, wasn't he?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Furious? Le Baron? Hardly; though
+I could see he didn't believe a word we
+said. He was almost too startled to understand
+it at first. The little goose hadn't
+said a word to him about it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And what did he say when you told him
+she ought to give up her performance? How
+did he like that?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;He didn't like it at all, apparently. But
+I didn't expect him to like it. It means
+money out of his pocket.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, it means more than that, if I'm not
+mistaken.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What else can it mean?&quot; she said, lifting
+her eyebrows questioningly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It means the end of whatever affection
+he has for his wife. Of course he never had
+much. A man of his sort doesn't.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She looked at him with curiosity in her
+face. &quot;What difference does her performing
+make in his affection for her?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page242" id="page242"></a>[pg&nbsp;242]</span>
+&quot;Can't you see that he didn't fall in love
+with <i>her</i>? He fell in love with her performance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate put one finger to her lips and
+hesitated for a moment. Then she said
+slowly:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;How ridiculous you are, Percy! As if
+any one ever heard of such a thing!&quot;</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page243" id="page243"></a>[pg&nbsp;243]</span></p>
+
+<h2>XVI</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">On the way home in the hansom that
+he had called, Jules scarcely spoke.
+Blanche kept glancing at him covertly; she
+had never before seen that look in his face,
+and it alarmed her; he seemed to be trying
+to keep back the anger that showed itself in
+his half-closed eyes and his firm-set chin.
+When they reached the lodgings, Blanche
+found Madeleine sound asleep by the fireplace,
+and without waking her, she started
+to go into the next room to see if Jeanne
+were comfortable. When she reached the
+door, Jules said in a low voice:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Wait here a minute. I have something
+to say to you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">At the sound of the words, Madeleine's eyes
+opened slowly, and she blinked at Jules, who
+was glancing angrily at her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;This is a pretty way you take care of
+Jeanne. She might have had a dozen convulsions
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page244" id="page244"></a>[pg&nbsp;244]</span>
+without your knowing anything about
+them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In spite of Jules' command, the reference
+to the convulsions, which had nearly cost
+Jeanne her life a few weeks after birth, sent
+Blanche agitatedly into the nursery. Madeleine
+lumbered behind her, and both were
+relieved to find the child sleeping contentedly
+in her cradle, her cheeks flushed, and her
+chubby hands clenched at her breast.
+Blanche would have liked to pass several
+moments there in rapt adoration, but Jules
+appeared at the door and made a sign to her
+to come to him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Madeleine will look out for her,&quot; he said,
+pointing to the cradle. &quot;Go to bed,
+Madeleine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche tiptoed out of the room, removed
+her wraps, and, with the overcoat
+Jules had thrown on the couch, hung them
+in the little closet beside the big mirror.
+Jules, who had taken a seat in front of the
+fire-place, watched her impatiently, and
+then motioned her to sit in the chair
+opposite him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Now perhaps you'll be kind enough to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page245" id="page245"></a>[pg&nbsp;245]</span>
+tell me what all this means. I knew that
+Englishwoman would be up to some mischief.
+What does it mean?&quot; he said sternly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche looked timidly into his face; the
+expression of anger that she had noticed on
+their way home was still there. She did not
+know what to say, and tears of misery filled
+her eyes and rolled slowly down her cheeks.
+Then weakened by her previous outburst,
+she covered her face with her hands, and
+began to sob, giving expression to all the
+torture that had come from the horror of
+her performance, from her incessant terror
+of being killed and separated from Jeanne.
+Jules was at first touched, and then alarmed,
+by the unexpected display of grief.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He waited, thinking that it would soon expend
+itself; then when the sobs continued,
+he went over to her, and taking her gently
+in his arms, tried to soothe her by stroking
+her hair and calling her by the endearing
+names he had used during the first weeks of
+their marriage, and begging her to control
+herself for his sake, it hurt him so. After
+this last appeal, Blanche put her arms round
+his neck, and buried her head on his breast,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page246" id="page246"></a>[pg&nbsp;246]</span>
+and for a few moments they sat together
+without speaking, her body shaken now and
+then from the violence of her grief. Then
+Jules began to question her quietly, and the
+whole story of her sufferings since Jeanne's
+birth came out so pathetically that, in spite
+of his anger, he was touched, and convinced
+that, after all, the Englishwoman had been
+right.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In his remorse that Blanche had suffered
+in silence, and he had not found it out, had
+done nothing to help her, he declared he
+would have the diving stopped at once, no
+matter what the cost might be. Rather than
+see her unhappy, he would make her give
+up performing altogether, if that were necessary.
+At any rate, he would go to Marshall
+the next day and see what could be done
+about taking her name off the bills. They
+would leave this disgusting London, perhaps
+for the south of France, where Blanche could
+have a long rest, and gather strength for her
+visit to America the next year. For a long
+time they talked over the plan, and then Jules
+made Blanche go to bed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You'll not be able to do your work tomorrow,&quot;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page247" id="page247"></a>[pg&nbsp;247]</span>
+he said, &quot;if you sit up much longer.
+Of course, you can't stop it at once. Marshall
+wouldn't listen to that. You're his
+best attraction, and he'll have to advertise
+your last appearances.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For more than an hour after Blanche left
+him, Jules walked up and down the little
+drawing-room, smoking cigarettes. The
+revelation of his wife's trouble had so upset
+him that he felt unable to sleep. But it was
+of himself, not of her, that he was chiefly
+thinking. Dr. Broughton had told him that
+a long rest might cure Blanche of her nervous
+terror and relieve her of the pains in
+the back, but it was probable that she would
+be affected again as soon as she resumed her
+performance.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">If this proved true, his own career would be
+ruined; there would be no more travelling,
+no more triumphs! Blanche would sink into
+obscurity, would become a mere nonentity,
+devoted to her child and house-keeping, like
+scores of other wives and mothers that he
+knew and despised in Paris. Out of the
+circus, she was utterly commonplace, Jules
+said to himself, and the fact came to him
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page248" id="page248"></a>[pg&nbsp;248]</span>
+with the force of a revelation! But for that
+he would never have married her; the brilliancy
+of her talent had dazzled him! And
+now, if she had to leave the circus, how beautifully
+he would have been tricked! He
+would be tied down to her and her child!
+The expense of maintaining them would
+oblige him to live meanly, in a way that he
+had never been used to, that he loathed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">What a fine trap he had got himself into!
+There was absolutely no escape, unless
+Blanche recovered from her ridiculous
+cowardice. And all on account of that infant,
+who had come into the world without
+being wanted, and had spoiled his life!
+For the moment Jules hated Jeanne. He
+wished she had never been born, or had died
+at birth; then all this trouble wouldn't have
+occurred. But for Jeanne, Blanche might
+have accepted that offer for a summer season
+at Trouville. Then he wouldn't have
+been bored at Boulogne, and Father Dumény
+wouldn't have given him that letter to those
+beasts of English.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then Jules' wrath turned from Jeanne to
+Father Dumény, and on him he poured all
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page249" id="page249"></a>[pg&nbsp;249]</span>
+his old bitterness against priests. They were
+always interfering, those black-coated, oily-tongued
+hypocrites. Oh, if he had Father
+Dumény there! He would have liked to
+choke him!</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The more Jules thought, the more convinced
+he became that his wife's nervousness
+was due to imagination rather than to any
+physical cause. Then, too, Blanche had been
+homesick after her long stay in Boulogne,
+where she saw her mother and her sisters
+every day. What a fool he had been to
+allow her to go there! He hated the whole
+pack of them&mdash;Father Dumény, Madame
+Berthier, her tiresome old husband, all!
+What right did they have to interfere with
+Blanche? She was his wife, she belonged to
+him alone. When he reached this point
+Jules had worked himself into a fine indignation;
+but he had exhausted his cigarettes,
+and it was now nearly twelve o'clock. Instead
+of going to bed, however, he threw
+himself on the couch in the corner of the
+room, where a few hours later Blanche found
+him, sleeping soundly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules woke in an irritable mood, cross
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page250" id="page250"></a>[pg&nbsp;250]</span>
+with Madeleine, indifferent to Jeanne, with
+whom he usually liked to gambol after breakfast,
+and silent with his wife. For a time
+he said nothing to Blanche about their talk
+of the night before, and the expression of
+his face prevented her from touching upon
+it. Till eleven o'clock he was busily engaged
+in writing letters; when he had
+finished these, he turned to Blanche, who
+was sitting alone by the table, making a
+dress for Jeanne.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I've just written to Hicks in New York,&quot;
+he said, &quot;the man who made me that fine
+offer for next September. I told him we
+couldn't sign the contract yet. That'll probably
+make him offer us more money, and
+it'll give you time to find out whether you
+can go on with your work again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But I shall surely go on with it,&quot; said
+Blanche, hardly daring to look into his face.
+&quot;I shall be well again after a rest. I know
+I shall. The Doctor said&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Never mind what the Doctor said. I
+don't believe he knows anything about it.
+You're just a little nervous, that's all. You
+worry about little things too much, about
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page251" id="page251"></a>[pg&nbsp;251]</span>
+Jeanne especially. Why can't you let Madeleine
+take care of Jeanne? She knows a
+good deal more about children than you do.
+That's what we pay her for. The child
+costs us enough, Heaven knows, and if your
+salary's going to be cut off, we'll have to be
+pretty economical.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a moment Blanche said nothing; her
+lips quivered, but she controlled herself.
+Jules looked at her narrowly, and said to
+himself that she was not half so pretty as she
+had been; she was growing thinner, and
+there were little lines in her face that ought
+not to be in the face of one so young as her
+mother said she was. How weak, how helpless
+she seemed! Once the thought of her
+weakness and ingenuousness had given him
+pleasure; now it only made him realize his
+own superiority.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Perhaps,&quot; she suggested hesitatingly,&mdash;&quot;perhaps
+Mr. Marshall might be willing to
+make a new contract. Perhaps he would
+let me go on with my performance on the
+trapeze and the rope&mdash;without the dive.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I've thought of that,&quot; Jules replied, rising
+and going to the closet for his overcoat.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page252" id="page252"></a>[pg&nbsp;252]</span>
+&quot;But it isn't at all likely. He's been advertising
+your dive all over London, and it's
+been his best feature. He'll be pretty mad
+when I tell him you're going to give it up.
+He'll probably try to make me pay a forfeit
+for breach of contract.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;For breach of contract!&quot; she repeated
+blankly. &quot;I&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, don't worry about it,&quot; said Jules,
+with a pang of regret for the pain he had
+caused her. &quot;I think I can make that all
+right. I suppose that old Doctor would
+write a certificate if I asked him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He drew on the fur-lined coat, and as he
+took his gloves from his pocket he started
+for the door, without kissing Blanche. Then,
+at the door, glancing back, and seeing her
+standing in the middle of the room with a
+look of helpless pain in her face, he turned
+and walked towards her, and bent his face
+to hers.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There, there, dear, don't worry,&quot; he said.
+&quot;You'll be all right again in a little while!&quot;
+At the door he added: &quot;I shall be back in
+an hour or two, and tell you what Marshall
+says.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page253" id="page253"></a>[pg&nbsp;253]</span>
+The hour or two proved to be three hours,
+and these Blanche passed chiefly in walking
+up and down the apartment. She could not
+keep still; she felt convinced that something
+dreadful was going to happen. She hardly
+dared even to talk to Jeanne, as if she
+fancied the child might divine her misery.
+She feared that she would be unable to
+give up her performance, and she feared
+she would have to go on with it. If she
+did give it up, she had a presentiment that
+she would pay dear for the release; if she
+did not, she knew it would result in her
+death.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Ever since coming to London, she had
+prepared herself for the catastrophe. No
+one, not even kind-hearted Mrs. Tate,
+could imagine the agony of mind she had
+endured. And it was all for Jeanne! Her
+very sufferings had fed her love for the child.
+If she and Jules could go away with Jeanne,
+far away, where they would never hear or
+think of performances again, how happy
+they would be! But she must go on with
+her work; she ought to fight against her
+weakness. Jules had said she would grow
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page254" id="page254"></a>[pg&nbsp;254]</span>
+strong again; she had always believed what
+he said, and perhaps he was right now. Perhaps
+after a rest she would want to go back
+to the ring. But she was afraid, she was
+afraid! Poor little Jeanne! Every few moments
+she ran into the room where Jeanne
+was taking her mid-day sleep. She wanted
+to clasp the child to her breast and walk
+up and down the room with her. But for
+several weeks she had not dared to hold her
+in her arms for fear of dropping her from
+nervousness.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Instead of going directly to the Hippodrome,
+Jules turned into Piccadilly, where he
+had seen the sign of a French physician.
+He had suddenly decided to seek further
+medical advice before speaking to Marshall,
+and he did not propose to trust Blanche's
+case to another Englishman. He was obliged
+to wait in Dr. Viaud's outer office for more
+than an hour. The Doctor received him
+with what seemed to Jules an almost suspicious
+courtesy; but this disappeared as
+soon as he explained that he was French.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules was gratified by the interest paid to
+his repetition of Blanche's confession of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page255" id="page255"></a>[pg&nbsp;255]</span>
+night before. The Doctor did not interrupt
+till Jules had mentioned the advice given by
+the English physician.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Broughton!&quot; he exclaimed, repeating
+the name after Jules. &quot;You couldn't have
+consulted a better man. He's at the head
+of his profession here in London.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When he had questioned Jules about
+Blanche's symptoms, he said thoughtfully:
+&quot;I cannot add anything to the advice Dr.
+Broughton has given,&mdash;that is, of course,
+with my present knowledge of the case. But
+I have absolute confidence in his judgment.
+The pains in the back I do not fear so much
+as the terrible apprehension that you say
+haunts your wife. In itself that is, of course,
+great suffering; and the consequences may
+be fatal. Your wife's dive requires iron
+nerve, and that is being constantly weakened
+by her continual worrying. I agree with
+Dr. Broughton that she at least needs a rest
+as soon as possible. There can't be two
+opinions about that. But I should not like
+to interfere with Dr. Broughton's&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules understood at once, and rose from
+his seat.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page256" id="page256"></a>[pg&nbsp;256]</span>
+&quot;I merely wanted to see what you thought.
+If you had disagreed&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, but Dr. Broughton is very reliable!&quot;
+said the Frenchman, with a smile and a shrug,
+as if afraid of even a suggestion of professional
+discourtesy.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules left him feeling bitterly disappointed.
+There was no hope then! He had surmised
+that the shrewd-eyed Englishman
+knew his business. There was nothing to
+do but to go to Marshall and explain the
+situation.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When he returned from the Hippodrome
+to the apartment Blanche met him at the door.
+His face was darkened with a scowl.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What did he say?&quot; she asked nervously,
+as he entered and threw his overcoat on
+a chair. &quot;Was he&mdash;was he angry?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Angry? No; he was altogether too
+cool. If he'd been angry I shouldn't have
+cared. I'd have liked that a good deal
+better.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then we sha'n't have to pay a forfeit?&quot;
+said Blanche, glancing up into his face.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He turned away and threw himself wearily
+on the couch. &quot;No, you won't have to pay
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page257" id="page257"></a>[pg&nbsp;257]</span>
+a forfeit, but you'll have to go on with the
+engagement.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;With the diving?&quot; she said, her face
+growing white.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, with the other work&mdash;on the trapeze
+and the rope. He said you'd have
+to elaborate that, and he'd pay you half
+what you're getting now till you were ready
+to do the diving again. He wants to keep
+you on account of your name. He's advertised
+you all over the city, and even out
+in the country places near London.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But he&mdash;he doesn't object to my giving
+up the plunge?&quot; Blanche repeated, in a
+tone which suggested that her professional
+pride was hurt.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;He didn't when I told him the Doctor
+had forbidden your going on with it for a
+while. Besides, he had another reason for
+not objecting.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What was that?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;He showed me a letter he'd just had
+from that woman who made such a sensation
+in Bucharest while we were in Vienna.
+Don't you remember? I showed you some
+of her notices. She does a swimming act,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page258" id="page258"></a>[pg&nbsp;258]</span>
+and dives from a platform into a tank.
+She's been playing in the English provinces,
+and now she wants to come to London.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;So he's going to engage her in my
+place?&quot; Blanche gasped.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;In your place?&quot; Jules repeated irritably.
+&quot;How can he engage her in your
+place when he's going to keep you? We've
+got to live, and it won't hurt you to go on
+with your work on the trapeze and the rope.
+He knows your name will be an attraction,
+and if he engages that Englishwoman, she'll
+be another card for him&mdash;a big one. He
+says she's been drawing crowds in Manchester
+for six weeks.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What's her name?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;King&mdash;Lottie King&mdash;or something like
+that.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Is she pretty? Did he show you her
+pictures?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes; her manager sent him a whole box of
+them. She's <i>petite</i>, with wicked little eyes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Dark?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, blonde.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And what is her dive?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page259" id="page259"></a>[pg&nbsp;259]</span>
+&quot;How high is it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Fifty feet, Marshall said; but one of the
+circus hands told me it wasn't much more,
+than forty.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh!&quot; There was a suggestion of a
+sneer in her tone, and Jules looked up in
+surprise.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Of course, it's nothing compared with
+yours,&quot; he said, to console her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;When is she going to begin?&quot; she
+asked, after a moment.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Going to begin? Do you mean here in
+London? Marshall hasn't signed with her
+yet. She's engaged in Manchester for three
+weeks longer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then I shall have to go on with my dive
+till she comes?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I suppose so,&quot; Jules replied coldly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She saw that he did not wish to continue
+the conversation; so she went into the
+nursery, leaving him lying on the couch,
+where he often took an afternoon nap;
+since coming to London he had grown very
+lazy, and had gained flesh. Blanche found
+Jeanne wide awake and crowing in Madeleine's
+arms. She sat beside the cradle,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page260" id="page260"></a>[pg&nbsp;260]</span>
+and taking the child in her lap, sent Madeleine
+out of the room. Jeanne snatched
+at the brooch she wore at her throat, and
+laughed into her face. Blanche tried to
+smile in reply, but the tears welled into
+her eyes again, and fell in big drops on
+her cheeks.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page261" id="page261"></a>[pg&nbsp;261]</span></p>
+
+<h2>XVII</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">Three days after Jules' talk with Marshall,
+the forthcoming engagement at
+the Hippodrome of Miss Lottie King was
+announced in the London newspapers.
+Blanche signed a new contract, by which
+she agreed to perform for several weeks
+longer on the trapeze and on the rope at
+half the salary she had been receiving. Marshall
+said that no mention of the plunge
+would be made in the papers; her name
+would continue to &quot;draw,&quot; and the public
+would be satisfied with Miss King's great
+dive into the tank. This remark made Jules
+very angry, and it also depressed Blanche,
+who felt as if she had already been deposed
+from her supremacy as the chief attraction
+at the Hippodrome. Indeed, as the time
+drew near when she was to cease making
+the plunge, instead of feeling happier, she
+grew more despondent; she had already
+elaborated her performance on the trapeze
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page262" id="page262"></a>[pg&nbsp;262]</span>
+by introducing several new feats that she
+and Jules had planned together, but with
+these she was not satisfied; she felt like an
+actor obliged to play small parts after winning
+success in leading characters.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">As for Jules, he did not try to hide his
+discontent at the change in his wife's work.
+In the first place, it made his brief but dramatic
+public appearance unnecessary; in
+future he would be obliged to conduct
+Blanche to the circus, and live again like
+any mere hanger-on to the skirts of a public
+performer. The <i>rôle</i> was ignoble, unworthy
+of him. Then, too, he chafed at the
+thought of his wife's decline in importance
+at the Hippodrome; he fancied that when
+her inability to go on with the plunge had
+become known to the other performers they
+would lose respect for her and for himself.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He secretly doubted if the public would
+accept Blanche merely for her performance
+on the trapeze and on the rope. Almost
+any one could do that; but in the plunge she
+was without a rival. He hoped that, as a
+compensation for his vexation, the performance
+of Miss King would be a failure.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page263" id="page263"></a>[pg&nbsp;263]</span>
+Forty feet! What did that amount to in
+comparison with the magnificent plunge of
+more than ninety feet that Blanche had
+made at Vienna?</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Already Jules had begun to think of his
+wife in the past tense chiefly, as if she lived
+in the triumphs she had made by her nightly
+flight through the air. Indeed, she seemed
+to him almost another person now. Instead
+of looking on her almost with reverence, as
+he had done, he felt sorry for her, as if she
+were his inferior; and though he continued
+to treat her with kindness, there was a suggestion
+of pity, almost of contempt, in his
+manner toward her. She sought consolation
+in her child, who, she thought, grew stronger
+and more beautiful every day. For Jeanne's
+sake she tried to be glad the time was so
+near when she should give up risking her
+life; but the nearer it grew, the more depressed
+she became, and the more she
+thought about that woman who was to take
+her place.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate, who had definitely taken
+Blanche under her protection, and called
+at the little hotel several times each week,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page264" id="page264"></a>[pg&nbsp;264]</span>
+had been delighted at what she considered
+the fortunate solution of a shocking difficulty.
+Now that Blanche was to stop making
+that horrible dive, there was no reason
+why she shouldn't be the happiest woman
+in the world. With her keen instinct, however,
+she observed that Blanche was not
+happy; she wondered, too, at the frequent
+absence of the husband from this <i>ménage</i>.
+Jules couldn't be very devoted, she thought,
+for a man who had been married little more
+than a year. Perhaps, however, he avoided
+her; for, in spite of his French politeness,
+he had not been able to conceal his dislike
+for her. For this reason she did not ask
+him to dinner again. She often took Blanche
+and Jeanne to drive in the afternoon, and
+pointed out the celebrities that they passed
+in the Park.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;My husband says I take you to drive
+just to show you off,&quot; she said jokingly
+one day. &quot;He thinks I have a mania for
+celebrities.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, but I'm not a celebrity!&quot; Blanche
+replied, with a smile that was almost sad.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Not a celebrity? Of course you are. I
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page265" id="page265"></a>[pg&nbsp;265]</span>
+haven't a doubt that half the people we meet
+recognize you. You know, it's been quite
+the fashion to go to the Hippodrome this
+year.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But I sha'n't be a celebrity much longer,&quot;
+said Blanche, glancing at the bare boughs of
+the trees, and wondering if any other place
+could be as desolate as London in winter.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Why not? You don't think of retiring
+into private life altogether, do you?&quot; Mrs.
+Tate laughed.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, but I shall only be an ordinary performer
+after this week.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But I'd rather be an ordinary performer
+and keep my neck whole than be an <i>ex</i>traordinary
+one and risk my life every night,&quot;
+Mrs. Tate retorted sharply. She was vexed
+with Blanche for not appreciating her emancipation.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">They rode on in silence for a few moments.
+Then Blanche said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There's some one going to take my
+place, you know.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Some one that's going to make that
+dreadful plunge?&quot; Mrs. Tate cried in horror.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, not that. She jumps into a tank of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page266" id="page266"></a>[pg&nbsp;266]</span>
+water&mdash;from a platform&mdash;only about forty
+feet. My jump is more than seventy-five
+feet,&quot; Blanche added with a touch of pride.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate rested her hands in her lap and
+burst out laughing. &quot;What a ridiculous
+thing! I beg your pardon, dear, but I can't
+help being amused. Of course it doesn't
+seem funny to you. You're used to it; but
+it does to me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then she questioned Blanche about the
+new performer, and Blanche repeated what
+Jules had told her and what she had since
+heard of the woman at the Hippodrome.
+Mrs. Tate was greatly interested, and laughed
+immoderately; afterward, however, when she
+had returned home and thought over the conversation,
+she regarded it more seriously.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What do you think, Percy?&quot; she said at
+the dinner table that night. &quot;Those Hippodrome
+people have engaged a creature to
+dive into a tank of water from a platform.
+Of course, that's to take the place of Madame
+Le Baron's plunge. Could anything be more
+absurd? The worst of it is that the poor
+little woman is frightfully jealous already. I
+could see that from the way she talked.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page267" id="page267"></a>[pg&nbsp;267]</span>
+What a dreadful world it is, isn't it? They're
+all like that, aren't they, even the best of
+them? Do you remember that poor Madame
+Gardini who sang here one night? She told
+me if she had her life to live over again she'd
+never dream of going on the stage. She said
+opera-singers were the unhappiest people in
+the world,&mdash;just poisoned with jealousy.
+And these circus people are exactly like
+them!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What makes you think she's jealous?
+What was it she said?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;It wasn't <i>what</i> she said, it was the <i>way</i>
+she talked about the woman. Her husband
+says she's a great beauty.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, the husband says so, does he?&quot; Tate
+remarked dryly. A moment later he added:
+&quot;I wish you hadn't had anything to do with
+those people!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You've said that a dozen times, Percy,
+and I wish you'd stop. For my part, I'm
+very glad I've met them. If I hadn't, that
+poor little creature would be in her grave
+before the end of a year.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Perhaps she'll wish that she <i>were</i> in her
+grave before the end of the year.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page268" id="page268"></a>[pg&nbsp;268]</span>
+&quot;What do you mean by that?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Nothing, dear, nothing. Don't catch
+at everything I say. How is she now&mdash;any
+better? I suppose she's easier in
+mind now that she's going to stop that
+diving?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;That's the strangest thing about it,&quot; Mrs.
+Tate answered, with a change of tone. &quot;I
+thought she would be, too, but she isn't.
+I really believe she's sorry she's giving
+it up. But perhaps that's because she's
+been doing it all her life. She'll miss it
+at first&mdash;even if it did worry her nearly to
+death!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Has Dr. Broughton been to see her
+lately?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No; he said it wouldn't be necessary.
+He's going to wait to see what effect the rest
+from the diving will have on her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a few moments Tate looked thoughtfully
+at his wife. &quot;Upon my word,&quot; he said,
+&quot;I half suspect that you <i>want</i> something
+to happen to that little woman. It would
+just be romantic enough to suit you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Percy, how can you talk so? You're
+simply brutal.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page269" id="page269"></a>[pg&nbsp;269]</span>
+&quot;She might at least break a leg to please
+you,&quot; her husband laughed, &quot;before giving
+up that plunge.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche made her last dive without the
+accident that Tate had regarded as indispensable
+to dramatic effect. Indeed, since
+knowing that she was to give it up, she
+seemed to have lost much of her terror of
+the plunge; she thought of it now chiefly with
+regret. That night, as she rode home with
+Jules and Madeleine, she seemed depressed;
+Jules, too, was even more sullen than he had
+been for the past two weeks. When they
+had entered the lodgings and were eating
+their midnight meal, she said:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;If to-morrow is pleasant we might take
+Jeanne for a drive in the country. The air
+would do her good.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I can't go,&quot; he replied indifferently. &quot;I
+have something else to do. Besides, it would
+cost too much. We shall have to be economical
+now that you're going to be on half-salary.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The next morning Jules left the hotel at
+eleven o'clock, saying that he shouldn't be
+back for luncheon. He did not explain where
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page270" id="page270"></a>[pg&nbsp;270]</span>
+he was going, and Blanche did not question
+him. She busied herself with Jeanne, and
+this distracted her till Jeanne fell sound
+asleep. Then she became a prey to her
+old melancholy, and for an hour she walked
+up and down the room, to the bewilderment
+of Madeleine, who could not understand
+what the matter was.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Is Madame suffering with the pain in her
+back?&quot; Madeleine asked at last.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">No, Madame was not suffering. She had
+not been troubled by the pain for several
+days; she hoped it would leave her for
+good now that she had stopped taking the
+plunge.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah, God be praised that you do that no
+longer!&quot; Madeleine cried, lifting her withered
+hands to heaven and rolling her eyes. &quot;It
+was too terrible. Since that first night in
+Paris, when I went with you and Monsieur
+Jules, I never dared to look. It was <i>affreux</i>!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But Jules loved it,&quot; said Blanche, throwing
+herself into a chair beside the old woman.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Ah, yes, Madeleine acknowledged. He
+used to rave about it in the little flat in the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page271" id="page271"></a>[pg&nbsp;271]</span>
+<i>rue de Lisbonne</i>. Once Madeleine heard him
+talking in his sleep about the circus and the
+wonderful dive; he always slept with his door
+wide-open, and she often heard him talking
+away like one wide-awake. He had told
+her that it was the most wonderful thing he
+had ever seen, and no other woman in the
+world would have dared to do it. Madeleine
+was always delighted to have a chance to talk
+about Jules, and she babbled on, never suspecting
+that her words were making Blanche
+suffer.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Do you think,&quot; Blanche said at last,
+&quot;do you think he would have loved me if
+I hadn't done that&mdash;if I hadn't done that
+plunge, I mean&mdash;in the Circus?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madeleine glanced at her quickly; she
+was unable to grasp the significance of the
+question. &quot;But he did see you in the Circus,&quot;
+she replied. &quot;If he hadn't seen you
+there, <i>chérie</i>, he wouldn't have seen you
+at all.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, yes, that's true.&quot; Blanche realized
+that it would be useless to try to explain
+what she meant. Then, after a moment,
+she added, &quot;And now that I've given up the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page272" id="page272"></a>[pg&nbsp;272]</span>
+dive,&mdash;perhaps I shall never be able to do
+it again; the Doctor said I might not,&mdash;now
+that I've given it up, do you think he'll
+love me just the same?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Madeleine's faded eyes turned to Blanche
+and examined her closely. &quot;If he'll love
+you just the same?&quot; she repeated. &quot;What
+has put such a strange idea into your head,
+child? Of course he'll love you just the
+same.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then Madeleine was launched on a flood
+of eulogy. Jules was so good, so faithful, so
+affectionate. There was not another like
+him. He had always been so tender with
+his mother; and oh, how his poor mother
+had worshipped him! Madeleine's praises
+had the effect of soothing Blanche for a
+time; they also made her ashamed of the
+half-conscious suspicion which had arisen
+in her mind, and which she would not have
+dared to formulate even to herself. She only
+permitted herself to acknowledge that his
+present manner toward her was different
+from his old one. She was also disturbed
+by his refusal for the past three Sundays to
+go to church with her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page273" id="page273"></a>[pg&nbsp;273]</span>
+The next afternoon Jules came home
+in a rage. &quot;I've been down to see Marshall,&quot;
+he said. &quot;What do you suppose the
+old fool's gone and done? He had the
+door of your dressing-room opened this
+morning and all your things turned out into
+Miss Van Pelt's old room,&mdash;the little hole
+next door, you know. It's hardly big
+enough to breathe in. He said you weren't
+the star any longer, and he must give the
+room to Miss King. It seems she's a kicker
+and he's afraid of a row.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche had nothing to say in reply; this
+seemed to her only another indignity added
+to those she had already suffered. The worst
+was to come in the evening, when her rival
+would share the applause that used to be hers.
+A few moments later she asked,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Was she there&mdash;that woman?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No; she hasn't appeared yet, and Marshall
+was a little nervous. She was to come
+up from Manchester in a train that got in
+during the afternoon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But suppose she doesn't come.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, she'll come fast enough. Marshall
+had a telegram saying she'd started. Her
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page274" id="page274"></a>[pg&nbsp;274]</span>
+big iron tub arrived this morning. They
+were putting it in the ground and laying the
+pipes for the water when I was there. They
+keep it covered till her act begins.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What does she do besides her jump?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, Marshall says she goes through a
+lot of antics, stays under the water till she
+nearly dies of suffocation, and cooks a meal,
+and&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Under water?&quot; Blanche gasped.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, of course not, you ninny,&quot; Jules
+cried impatiently. His wife's simplicity had
+long before ceased to amuse him. &quot;She
+does it while she's floating. Then one of
+the circus boys falls into the tank, and she
+shows how she used to rescue people out in
+California.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then she's an American.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She's lived in America all her life, but
+her father was an Englishman, and she was
+born in England. Her father kept a swimming
+school out in San Francisco; that's
+how she got into the business. They say
+she's got a lot of medals for saving lives.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">As Jules walked into the next room to
+change his clothes for the evening, he said
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page275" id="page275"></a>[pg&nbsp;275]</span>
+to himself that his wife was growing very
+stupid and tiresome.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche sat alone for a few moments, feeling
+cold and forlorn. She could not keep
+from thinking and wondering about that
+woman; she was anxious and yet afraid to
+see her. She could not account for the dislike
+and terror with which the mere thought
+of the woman inspired her. She had never
+before regarded the other performers in the
+circus as her rivals; so, for the first time in
+her life, she knew the bitterness of jealousy.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Before preparing for the evening she went
+into the nursery, and for several moments sat
+beside the cradle where Jeanne was peacefully
+sleeping, her little face rosy with health.
+The poor child, she thought, could never
+know the sacrifice she had made for her.
+She was glad she had made it; she had
+done her duty; but it was hard, it was so
+hard! Then she bent over and kissed
+Jeanne on the cheek; the child drew her
+head away, and buried her face impatiently
+in the pillow. Blanche turned her gently in
+the crib, adjusted the lace covering, and
+stole out of the room.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page276" id="page276"></a>[pg&nbsp;276]</span>
+Jules met her as she was closing the door
+softly behind her. &quot;What have you been
+doing in there?&quot; he cried petulantly. &quot;Why
+can't you let Jeanne alone when she's asleep?
+Every time she takes a nap you go in and
+wake her up. No wonder&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I haven't waked her,&quot; Blanche replied
+apologetically. &quot;I only went in to see if she
+needed anything, and I sat beside her a
+moment.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Well, you'll spoil her if you keep on.
+From the way you act one would imagine
+that Jeanne was the only creature in the
+world worth thinking about!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">They both took their places at the table
+which Madeleine had prepared, and proceeded
+silently with their dinner. Madeleine,
+who hovered about them, wondered
+what the matter was; she had never seen
+Monsieur Jules like this before; he usually
+had a great deal to say. When she had left
+the room for a few minutes, Jules looked up
+from his plate.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I've been wondering whether we ought
+to keep Madeleine or not. She's a great
+expense. We could get along just as well
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page277" id="page277"></a>[pg&nbsp;277]</span>
+without her. The <i>garçon</i> could serve our
+meals. We have to pay for the service
+whether we get it or not.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When he had spoken he was startled by
+the look in his wife's face. Not keep Madeleine!
+The mere thought of parting with
+the old woman, whom she had come to
+regard almost as a second mother, shocked
+her so much that for a moment she could
+not formulate a reply.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But we couldn't get along without her!&quot;
+she said. &quot;Think of all she does for me
+and for Jeanne!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, Jeanne! It's always Jeanne, Jeanne.
+I'm sick of hearing her name. If Jeanne
+hadn't been born we shouldn't be in the
+pretty box we're in now, and you'd be going
+on with your work like a sensible woman.
+I tell you we must economize. We're under
+heavy expenses here, and we're going to lose
+a lot of money by this imaginary sickness of
+yours.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I can't let Madeleine go,&quot; Blanche replied.
+&quot;I should die without her. I should
+die of loneliness. And she loves you so, as
+much as if you were her son, and she loved
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page278" id="page278"></a>[pg&nbsp;278]</span>
+your mother. She has often talked to me
+about her. I can't, I can't let her go. I'd
+rather&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Very well, then. Don't say anything
+more about it. We'll have to economize
+in some other way. Here she comes now.
+So keep quiet, or she'll want to find out
+what we've been talking about.&quot;</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page279" id="page279"></a>[pg&nbsp;279]</span></p>
+
+<h2>XVIII</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">The Hippodrome was crowded on the
+night of Miss King's first appearance.
+Jules, in evening dress as usual, leaned against
+the railing behind the highest tier of seats.
+At this moment he felt that he had been
+duped by fate, and he wanted to revenge
+himself on the crowd that had come to rejoice
+over his disappointment; for their presence
+seemed like a personal insult to him.
+But for the machinations of that crazy Englishwoman,
+Blanche would now be going on
+with her work; by this time they might have
+made arrangements for her visit to America
+in the early summer. However, the mischief
+was done, and there was no knowing when it
+would be undone. Blanche might have recovered
+in a few weeks from her terror of
+the plunge; but after once yielding to it, she
+would probably never get over it.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules believed in presentiments, and he
+had a strong presentiment that Blanche had
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page280" id="page280"></a>[pg&nbsp;280]</span>
+taken her plunge for the last time. He tried
+to console himself, however, with the hope
+that Lottie King would make a failure. The
+extensive advertising that Marshall had given
+her made Jules hate the girl; her name had
+been posted in places all over London where
+his wife's alone had been. To Jules this
+was the most cruel evidence of his own
+decadence.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Half an hour before it was time for Blanche
+to appear Jules sauntered toward her dressing-room.
+When he reached the door, he
+stopped in surprise; he could hear an unfamiliar
+voice speaking English. Some one
+must be in there with Blanche and Madeleine.
+When he entered, he saw a plump,
+pretty young woman, with a shock of yellow
+hair and big blue eyes, dressed in a tight-fitting
+bathing-suit of blue flannel and in
+blue silk stockings. He recognized her at
+once from her photographs.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Hello!&quot; she cried, glancing at Jules
+familiarly. &quot;Is this him? Introduce me,
+won't you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a moment Blanche, whose face had
+been made up and whose figure, dressed in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page281" id="page281"></a>[pg&nbsp;281]</span>
+white silk tights, was covered with the cloak
+she threw off as she entered the ring, looked
+confused. Then she presented Jules to Miss
+King, who beamed upon him with extravagant
+pleasure.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Your wife's been telling me about you,&quot;
+she said. &quot;I've been making friends with
+her. I wanted to see what she was like, and
+I supposed she'd want to see what I was
+like. So we've agreed not to scratch each
+other's eyes out. You speak English too,
+don't you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">This gave Jules an opportunity to reiterate
+his story about having learned English
+in America.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;So you've been to America!&quot; Miss King
+cried, her eyes bigger than ever, and her
+open mouth showing her white, square teeth.
+&quot;Were you with a troupe there?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules shook his head. &quot;I wasn't married
+then.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Ah!&quot; The diver glanced sharply at
+Blanche, and then back at Jules, as if making
+a rapid calculation of their ages. &quot;Been
+married long?&quot; she asked.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;A little over a year,&quot; Blanche replied.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page282" id="page282"></a>[pg&nbsp;282]</span>
+&quot;Too bad your wife had to give her dive
+up, ain't it?&quot; the girl said to Jules. &quot;I hear
+it was great. But I suppose you'll do it
+again, won't you, when you're better?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche flushed. &quot;I don't know,&quot; she
+said, with a half-frightened look at Jules.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Well, I would if I was you. It's sensational
+things like that that ketches 'em. My
+act's kind of sensational, but it ain't in it with
+yours for cold nerve an' grit. When you do
+it again you'd oughter go to America. You
+can make a good deal more there than you
+do here. I came over just for the reputation.
+It helps you a lot over there if you've
+made a hit in Europe.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But you are English, aren't you?&quot; Jules
+asked.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, yes, I s'pose I am, in a sort of way.
+I was born over here, but my father took me
+to America when I was about six, an' I'm
+American to the backbone.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Have you been in the ring long?&quot;
+Blanche asked.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, I only took to giving performances
+about five years ago; but I've been in the
+swimming business all my life. My Dad
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page283" id="page283"></a>[pg&nbsp;283]</span>
+had a swimming school out in 'Frisco; but
+there's more money in this business. But I
+guess I'm keeping you folks. It must be
+most time for your act. Good-bye. P'raps
+I'll see you later. I'm mighty glad you
+can speak English,&quot; she laughed, with a
+glance at Jules. &quot;I travelled with a troupe
+once with a lot of Italians in it, and my,
+what a time I had tryin' to talk with 'em!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She hurried out, leaving Jules with a vision
+of tousled yellow hair, a roguish smile, and
+gleaming white teeth, and with the sound of
+a rich contralto voice in his ears. As soon
+as the door closed, he turned to Blanche.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;How did she happen to come in here?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She wanted me to help her with one of
+her slippers that was torn. Madeleine sewed
+it up for her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Hasn't she got any maid?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She left her behind in Manchester. She
+was sick. She's coming on when she gets
+better.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules merely grunted and walked out of
+the room. The sound of the contralto voice
+was still in his ears. What a sweet voice it
+was! She seemed to him just like an American
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page284" id="page284"></a>[pg&nbsp;284]</span>
+in spite of her birth, and Jules preferred
+the Americans to the English. He wondered
+what her performance was like, and
+he waited impatiently for Blanche to finish
+her act on the trapeze and the rope. As
+his eyes followed Blanche, he kept seeing
+the tousled hair and the broad smile revealing
+the white teeth.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">It took several moments for the tank to
+be arranged for the crowning performance.
+The audience waited in good-natured patience,
+however, and when finally the plump
+little figure in blue flannel ran out, there was
+a round of applause. Lottie King had added
+a touch of rouge to either cheek, and she
+looked very pretty as she ran up the flight
+of steps leading to the edge of the tank,
+poised there for a moment with the fingers
+of both hands touching high in the air, and
+then dived in a graceful curve into the water.
+She speedily reappeared, shaking her head
+and laughing, and struck out for the rope
+that hung from the platform. This she
+climbed hand over hand, the water dripping
+from her figure, and glistening on her
+face.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page285" id="page285"></a>[pg&nbsp;285]</span>
+Jules, whose eyes had been eagerly following
+her, was surprised to see that she was
+going to begin her act with the dive, instead
+of keeping it for the climax. She seemed to
+take it very coolly, he thought, as she stood
+on the swaying platform, rubbing her face
+with a handkerchief and rearranging one of
+the sleeves of her costume. Then she steadied
+the platform, and, an instant later, she
+was cutting, feet foremost, through the air,
+her arms by her side and her body rigid.
+When she reached the water, there was very
+little splashing, and she speedily reappeared,
+shaking her head again and displaying her
+white teeth.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules had watched the dive breathlessly,
+Just as he had watched Blanche's on the night
+when he first saw her in the <i>Cirque Parisien</i>,
+and now he followed her feats of skill and
+strength with wonder and fascination. When
+she remained beneath the surface for more
+than three minutes he felt as if he himself
+were stifling, and when she reappeared,
+calm and smiling, he took a long breath.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He supposed that the rescue of one of the
+circus hands who fell opportunely into the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page286" id="page286"></a>[pg&nbsp;286]</span>
+tank would end the performance; but instead
+of leaving the ring, Lottie King climbed
+again to the platform. Surely, Jules thought,
+she would make a mistake if she repeated
+that plunge. Instead, however, she swung
+on the edge, leaped backward into the air,
+and after several swift turns, fell with a
+crash into the water. As she swam to the
+ladder, the band burst into triumphant music,
+and the audience cheered, and began to
+climb down from the circular seats and to
+rush to the spot where she was to make
+her exit.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then Jules roused himself. He felt as if
+he had been in a dream. He had difficulty
+in reaching Blanche's dressing-room, for the
+crowd had gathered at the entrance to the
+ring in order to catch another glimpse of the
+dripping figure of the diver. When finally
+he succeeded in making his way there, he
+found Blanche sitting motionless, her arms
+resting on the table. He at once divined
+the cause of her dejection.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You see what you've brought on yourself,&quot;
+he said. &quot;A lot you'll amount to now!
+You might as well give up the business.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page287" id="page287"></a>[pg&nbsp;287]</span>
+Madeleine looked at him with mild reproach
+in her eyes. He paid no attention
+to her, however. He walked back to the
+door, and turning, he added: &quot;But you
+can't stay here all night. I thought you'd
+be dressed by this time. I'll wait out here
+for you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules looked anxiously up and down the
+corridor, but he saw no one. He could hear
+the noise of the crowd slowly wending out of
+the Hippodrome, and from the dressing-rooms
+on either side the buzz of voices.
+Miss King must have succeeded in making
+her escape to her room.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page288" id="page288"></a>[pg&nbsp;288]</span></p>
+
+<h2>XIX</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">If Jules had tried, he would have been
+unable to explain the fascination that
+Lottie King's performance had for him. In
+daring it was greatly inferior to his wife's
+plunge; but the fact that Blanche had lost
+courage lent her rival's serene indifference
+to danger an added attractiveness for him.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Every night he watched her with more
+delight. Besides being plucky and skilful,
+she was so pretty and so amusing! Jules
+liked to talk with her in the evening before
+she made her appearance, and she used to
+convulse him with laughter by her sallies.
+She soon fell into the habit of running
+into Blanche's room to ask Madeleine to
+do services for her, and toward Blanche she
+adopted a manner of half-amused patronage.
+By the end of the first week, Blanche had
+conceived a great dislike for her. This
+might have been at least partly due to her
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page289" id="page289"></a>[pg&nbsp;289]</span>
+discovery of the pleasure which Jules took in
+the diver's society.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate had expected that, after ceasing
+to make her plunge, Blanche would improve
+in health; but she speedily saw that she was
+mistaken. One afternoon she called at the
+hotel in Albemarle Street and found Blanche
+alone with the little Jeanne; Madeleine had
+just gone out to do some errands. They had
+a long talk, during which Blanche was obliged
+to confess that the pain in her back troubled
+her just as much as ever, and that she was
+very unhappy. When Mrs. Tate tried to
+find out why she was unhappy, she could
+elicit no satisfactory explanation. As soon
+as she arrived home that night, she repeated
+the conversation to her husband.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Do you suppose the little creature can
+be mercenary, Percy?&quot; she said. &quot;Do you
+think she can be sorry she isn't risking her
+neck every day? I wanted to tell her this
+morning she ought to be ashamed of herself&mdash;she
+ought to think of her child. Suppose
+she had been killed! What would have become
+of the child, <i>I'd</i> like to know!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;That other person has made a hit, I see.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page290" id="page290"></a>[pg&nbsp;290]</span>
+They're booming her in the papers. Did
+she speak of her?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Not a word!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;H'm!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What do you mean by that, Percy?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, nothing.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I suppose you think she's jealous of her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Jealous?&quot; Tate repeated, lifting his
+eyes. &quot;You told me yourself that she was
+jealous before she even saw the other
+performer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Yes, and now she's jealous of her
+success.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, <i>professional</i> jealousy,&quot; he said,
+throwing back his head. A moment later
+he added: &quot;There are worse kinds of
+jealousy than that in the world.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate looked at him closely, but his
+eyes were fixed on his plate. For a few
+moments they did not speak; she was pondering
+his last remark. They understood
+each other so well that they often divined
+each other's thoughts. Now she saw that he
+did not care to discuss the subject, and she
+let it drop. She continued to think about it
+so much, however, that she determined to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page291" id="page291"></a>[pg&nbsp;291]</span>
+go to the Hippodrome alone some day, to a
+<i>matinée</i>, and see for herself what Blanche's
+successor as a star performer was like.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She returned home with a sickly feeling of
+regret and torturing anticipation; she had
+not only seen Lottie King, but she had also
+studied the face of Jules Le Baron, who,
+unconscious of her gaze, stood within a few
+yards of her seat. What she had observed
+in his expression, however, she did not communicate
+to her husband.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Her visit at the Hippodrome made her
+resolve to be even kinder to Blanche than
+she had been; she would take her and the
+child to drive in the Park two or three times
+a week,&mdash;oftener if she could. Mrs. Tate
+tried to shake off her forebodings, but for
+the rest of the day they clung to her, and
+the next morning she woke with them fresh
+in mind. So she resolved to drive at once
+to Albemarle Street. The weather was too
+dull to take the child out, and she would
+pass the morning with Blanche and try to
+cheer her up.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When she reached the hotel she felt
+relieved to find Blanche in a much better
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page292" id="page292"></a>[pg&nbsp;292]</span>
+frame of mind than she had been on the
+occasion of her last call. The pain had left
+her for a few days, Blanche explained, and
+she had been greatly encouraged; even Jules
+had spoken of her improvement; he had
+been so patient with her, and now she felt
+ashamed of having been so dispirited. Mrs.
+Tate went away with a feeling that she
+had been a fool, that her forebodings were
+ridiculous.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">One night at the end of the week, Tate
+returned home with the announcement that
+he was to start for Berlin the next day, to
+confer with the heads of a banking-house
+there with regard to the floating of a great
+loan. He gave her the choice of staying
+at home or of starting with him after only
+a few hours of preparation. She chose to
+start, and for two months she did not see
+London again; for, once away from the
+routine of his work, Tate took advantage of
+the opportunity to run for a holiday from
+Berlin down to Dresden, and thence over
+to Paris. During this time Mrs. Tate forgot
+her self-imposed cares, and gave herself up
+to the pleasures of travelling.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page293" id="page293"></a>[pg&nbsp;293]</span>
+When she returned home, she was surprised
+to hear that Madame Le Baron had
+called several times, and had left word that
+she was anxious to see her as soon as she
+came back. This news sent her with a
+throbbing heart to Albemarle Street; she
+felt sure that something terrible had happened,
+something she might have prevented
+by staying in London. She was always assuming
+responsibilities and then dropping
+them! How often her husband had told
+her that! She had been more than culpable,
+she kept saying to herself, in going away
+without even bidding Blanche good-bye,
+without even leaving an address.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">When she arrived at the hotel, at the
+close of a cold, foggy afternoon, she was surprised
+to be told by the <i>garçon</i> that Madame
+Le Baron had left, and had gone to an
+apartment in Upper Bedford Place. &quot;It
+was too expensive for them here,&quot; the <i>garçon</i>
+explained with a contemptuous grin.
+&quot;So they went to a private house.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate drove at once to the number
+the boy gave her, and a few moments later
+she was climbing the stairs to Blanche's
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page294" id="page294"></a>[pg&nbsp;294]</span>
+apartment. She was out of breath when she
+rapped on the door, and still breathing hard
+when Madeleine admitted her into the shabby
+drawing-room. A moment later, as Blanche
+appeared from the next room, she uttered an
+exclamation.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Good Heavens, child, what has happened
+to you! You're whiter than ever, and so
+<i>thin</i>! What have you been doing to yourself?
+Have you had an illness?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche shook her head. &quot;No, I haven't
+been ill,&quot; she replied, but her looks and
+her manner seemed to belie her words.
+The gray cloth dress which had once
+fitted her tightly now hung loosely about
+her; her face was drawn and of a chalklike
+pallor, and under the eyes were two
+black lines betraying weeks of suffering and
+sleeplessness.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;You were thin enough before I went
+away,&quot; said Mrs. Tate, &quot;but now you're a
+perfect spectre.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then she went on to explain how she had
+happened to desert her friends for so long a
+time. &quot;I know you have something to tell
+me,&quot; she said, starting from her seat, &quot;but
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page295" id="page295"></a>[pg&nbsp;295]</span>
+before you begin I want to see Jeanne. How
+is she? But first tell me how you happened
+to come way up here. Isn't it a long distance
+for you to climb after your performance
+every night?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Jules chose these rooms because they
+were so much cheaper than the hotel,&quot;
+Blanche replied simply. &quot;We prepare our
+own meals, too, and we save in that way.
+You know my salary is so much smaller than
+it used to be.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate made no comment, and they
+went into the other room, where Jeanne was
+sleeping in the crib.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She sleeps nearly all the time,&quot; said
+Blanche, with a faint smile that seemed to
+exaggerate the expression of pain and weariness
+in her face.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;How big she's growing!&quot; Mrs. Tate
+whispered. &quot;There's certainly nothing the
+matter with <i>her</i>, the dear little thing, with
+her fat rosy cheeks. I'd just like to take
+her in my arms and hug her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For several minutes they stood talking
+about the child; then they left her with
+Madeleine and went back to the drawing-room,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page296" id="page296"></a>[pg&nbsp;296]</span>
+which Mrs. Tate's keen eyes discovered
+was used also as a bedroom. &quot;They
+must be economizing with a vengeance,&quot;
+she thought. Blanche closed the door, and
+took a seat behind her visitor on the couch.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Now I want to hear all about it,&quot; Mrs.
+Tate cried. &quot;Something has happened.
+What is it?&quot; She took both of Blanche's
+hands and looked into her eyes. &quot;What is
+it?&quot; she repeated.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a moment they sat looking at each
+other. Then Blanche bent forward, buried
+her head on Mrs. Tate's lap, and burst into
+tears. Mrs. Tate said nothing, and allowed
+the paroxysm to spend itself. Then, gradually,
+the story came out.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules didn't love her any more, Blanche
+moaned. He had been cruel to her, oh, so
+cruel; he had said such dreadful things!
+And then there had been days and days
+when he scarcely spoke to her or to the little
+Jeanne or to Madeleine, and he had
+grown so strict with them all; he hardly
+allowed Madeleine enough to buy the things
+they needed. And once, he had said such
+dreadful things about Jeanne. He didn't
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page297" id="page297"></a>[pg&nbsp;297]</span>
+love even Jeanne any more,&mdash;poor little
+Jeanne! He said they would have been
+better off if she had never been born. Oh,
+that had nearly killed her, that he should
+have spoken so about Jeanne. She didn't
+care so much about herself, though sometimes
+she wanted to die. One night she
+had prayed that God would take her and
+Jeanne together. Jules had always been so
+good to her until&mdash;until that woman came,
+that woman who had taken her place in the
+circus. It was that woman who had come
+between them, with her white teeth and
+her mocking laugh. She was making a fool
+of Jules; she did not care for him, but she
+pretended that she did, just to amuse herself.
+Jules followed her about everywhere;
+he even talked of going to America, because
+she was to go in a few weeks, when her engagement
+at the Hippodrome was over. But
+Blanche would die; she would throw herself
+into the river with Jeanne in her arms rather
+than go there now. Ah, it had been so hard
+for her, alone in a strange country, with no
+one but Madeleine to confide in. Madeleine
+had been so good; but she, too, had grown
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page298" id="page298"></a>[pg&nbsp;298]</span>
+afraid of Jules in these last weeks. They
+scarcely dared to speak when he was at
+home, now.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">From broken utterances, Mrs. Tate pieced
+together the whole miserable story. For the
+moment, her pity was lost in admiration for
+her husband's perspicacity. He had foreseen
+this! Now, for the first time, she realized
+what she had vaguely surmised before,
+the full meaning of his mysterious remark
+about Blanche and Jules. Then she turned
+her attention to the prostrate figure before
+her, offering sympathy and counsel. She
+knew that she was speaking in platitudes,
+but they were all she could offer then; and,
+after all, it was Blanche's own outburst that
+would do the poor pent-up creature the
+most good, the consciousness that she had
+some one to confide in.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate stayed in the little apartment a
+long time, and when she went away, Blanche
+seemed to feel more hopeful. &quot;Act as if
+he were just as kind to you as ever,&quot; was
+her parting injunction, &quot;and I know everything
+will come out all right. He'll find
+out that that dreadful woman is only making
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page299" id="page299"></a>[pg&nbsp;299]</span>
+a fool of him, and then he'll care more for
+you than ever.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In her heart, however, Mrs. Tate knew
+that what she said was not true. Jules had
+probably grown tired of his wife. The more
+she thought of the case, the more she pitied
+Blanche,&mdash;the more she realized what a
+tragedy in the poor little woman's life it
+meant. And she really had been to blame,
+she kept saying to herself. But for her interference,
+Blanche would have gone on with
+her diving, that other performer would not
+have come to the Hippodrome, and all of
+Blanche's agony of jealousy and neglect
+would have been avoided.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Oh, what a lesson it taught her! Never,
+<i>never</i> would she interfere in a family again!
+She would have done much better to let
+Blanche go to her death, rather than to
+drive her to despair, perhaps to a worse
+form of death by her meddling.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On reaching home, she was in a fever of
+remorse and sympathy, and she passed a
+miserable hour waiting for her husband to
+return. When at last he did appear, she
+met him in the hall.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page300" id="page300"></a>[pg&nbsp;300]</span>
+&quot;Percy,&quot; she cried dramatically, &quot;you're
+a prophet!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Am I, indeed?&quot; he said, putting his
+umbrella in the rack. &quot;Do you mean to
+say this is the first time you've found it
+out?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'll never doubt your word again, Percy,&quot;
+she went on, stifling a sob. Her appeal to
+her husband for sympathy threatened to
+make her hysterical, but she controlled herself
+and gasped out: &quot;Don't you remember
+what you said about that man, Le Baron,&mdash;you
+know, the night he dined here, about
+his falling in love with his wife's performance!
+Well, that's just what he did do.
+He didn't fall in love with <i>her</i>; he's never
+<i>been</i> in love with her, poor thing. Fortunately
+she doesn't know that. It's only her
+<i>performance</i>, that horrible plunge she used
+to make, that he's been in love with all
+along.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I don't see anything very prophetic
+about that,&quot; he said, walking into the drawing-room,
+where she followed him, clutching
+at the lace handkerchief in her hand. &quot;It
+was as plain as daylight to any one that
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page301" id="page301"></a>[pg&nbsp;301]</span>
+heard him talk and saw what kind of man
+he was.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I don't mean your seeing merely that.
+I could tell from what you said that you
+saw a great deal more. Don't you remember
+what you said about <i>professional</i> jealousy
+not being the worst kind of jealousy in the
+world? That was the first thing that opened
+my eyes. I went to the next <i>matinée</i> to see for
+myself if it could be true, and if I hadn't
+been an idiot I should have realized it all
+then. But the next day, just before we left
+for Berlin, I called on that poor woman, and
+she seemed so much easier in mind, I thought
+I must have misunderstood what you meant
+and been mistaken about that look.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;My dear, I don't quite follow you. Aren't
+you just a little bit illogical?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;No, I'm not. I'm perfectly logical.
+I never was more logical in my life.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I suppose you mean that the fellow has
+got tired of his wife, now that she's given
+up her dive, and he's fallen in love with
+the other woman.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate rose tragically from her chair
+and made a sweeping gesture with her
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page302" id="page302"></a>[pg&nbsp;302]</span>
+right hand. &quot;With the other woman's
+<i>performance</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Tate looked at her for a moment, with
+smiling incredulity. &quot;How ridiculous!&quot; he
+said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;That's exactly what I said when you
+told me he had fallen in love with his <i>wife's</i>
+performance. I said it was the most ridiculous
+thing I'd ever heard in my <i>life</i>. I
+couldn't have believed it if I hadn't observed
+it with my own eyes. But that afternoon
+I saw him&mdash;he stood near me, leaning
+against the railing&mdash;and I wish you could
+have seen the expression in his face while
+that woman was exhibiting herself, especially
+when she made her horrible dives.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">For a moment Tate stood without speaking.
+Then he said:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I'm afraid you're putting a romantic
+interpretation on a very simple sequence of
+events. That fellow probably did fall in
+love with his wife's performance, and incidentally
+he liked the money that went with
+it. When she stopped her diving and became
+an ordinary performer, like thousands
+of others, she ceased to interest him. Then
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page303" id="page303"></a>[pg&nbsp;303]</span>
+he looked around for some one else to be
+interested in, and when the other acrobatic
+person appeared he was just in the condition
+to be caught.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I don't believe it. It's a&mdash;&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There's one way, of course, of proving
+whether you're right or not,&quot; Tate interrupted,
+with a quizzical smile.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;What's that?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;If your theory is correct, the only thing
+for Madame Le Baron to do is to go back
+to her performance. Then she'll meet her
+rival on her own ground. From what I've
+read about that other performer, Madame
+Le Baron's dive must be twice as difficult
+and twice as thrilling as hers.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate turned to her husband with
+a look of admiration, her breath coming and
+going in quick gasps. &quot;Percy, that's the
+wisest thing you've ever said in your life.&quot;
+A moment later she added, with a change
+of tone: &quot;But isn't the whole thing <i>too</i>
+absurd?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He started to go upstairs. &quot;You know
+we're due at the Bigelows in an hour?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Wait a minute,&quot; said Mrs. Tate. &quot;I
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page304" id="page304"></a>[pg&nbsp;304]</span>
+want to think over what you said. You
+can't imagine how this thing has worried
+me. It's all due to my meddling. Oh, I
+know that; you needn't say anything to
+me about it. But I'm determined to help
+that poor woman if I can. Oh, if I had
+only followed your advice, and let them
+alone!&quot; she moaned.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There's no use worrying now. The mischief's
+done. He would probably have got
+tired of her anyway.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;If something isn't done to bring him
+back to her,&quot; she went on without heeding
+his remark, &quot;it will kill her. I'm sure of that.
+If you could only see her. She looks like
+a ghost, and her hands tremble so! I don't
+believe she's slept a wink for weeks. I
+don't see how she gets through her performances.
+A clinging creature like her
+just <i>lives</i> on affection. Before she was married
+she always had her mother to take care
+of her. To think that that man should treat
+her so! Oh, it's a shame, it's a shame!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Tate was standing at the door. &quot;If she's
+going to kill herself over that fellow, she
+might as well have gone on with her diving
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page305" id="page305"></a>[pg&nbsp;305]</span>
+and killed herself that way. You ask her if
+she doesn't want to go back to it,&quot; he
+added, with the quizzical smile, &quot;and see if
+she won't jump at the chance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Do you suppose that she can suspect
+for an instant that her husband fell in love
+with her performance?&quot; she said, her eyes
+following her husband up the stairs.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She probably hasn't reasoned it out, but
+I haven't a doubt she feels it intuitively,&quot;
+he replied, continuing his ascent. &quot;You just
+ask her if she doesn't want to make the
+plunge again and see what she'll say,&quot; he
+concluded, smiling down at her from the
+floor above.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page306" id="page306"></a>[pg&nbsp;306]</span></p>
+
+<h2>XX</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate tried, by an almost impassioned
+kindness, to atone for her
+neglect of Blanche during her absence from
+London. She sent her flowers from her
+conservatory, she bought gifts for the little
+Jeanne, she called at the apartment in Upper
+Bedford Place nearly every morning. During
+these visits she did not once meet
+Jules; Blanche told her that he always went
+away soon after breakfast, and seldom returned
+before dinner. Sometimes he did
+not accompany her to the Hippodrome, but
+he never failed to appear there during the
+evening. The management had offered to
+reëngage Miss King as soon as her contract
+expired, and the diver thought of postponing
+her return to America; but they had
+not as yet come to terms, as the girl wanted
+a much larger salary than she had been
+receiving.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page307" id="page307"></a>[pg&nbsp;307]</span>
+It was this information that reminded Mrs.
+Tate to ask Blanche if she were sorry she
+had given up her plunge and if she ever
+wished to resume it. Though she had at
+first been impressed by the solution of
+Blanche's troubles suggested by her husband,
+she had on sober second thought dismissed
+it as ridiculously romantic; such
+things might happen in novels, but they
+never could occur in real life. Her belief
+was shaken, however, when she saw the pale
+face light up at her question.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Oh, yes,&quot; Blanche cried, &quot;I have thought
+of it. Sometimes&mdash;sometimes I think it
+would be better if I hadn't given it up.
+Then&mdash;then that woman wouldn't have
+come.&quot; Her eyes filled with tears, but she
+controlled herself and, a moment later, she
+went on:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But I&mdash;I thought it was wrong for me
+to risk my life, and it made me so unhappy
+for Jeanne's sake. But sometimes I think I
+might have stopped being afraid. Before
+Jeanne was born I never had the least
+thought of fear, even after father was
+killed, because I knew that was because
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page308" id="page308"></a>[pg&nbsp;308]</span>
+the trapeze was weak. Oh, I'm sure,&quot; she
+went on piteously,&mdash;&quot;I'm <i>sure</i> I shouldn't
+be afraid any more!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But Dr. Broughton, you remember what
+he said, don't you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;He said that when I stopped making
+the plunge I should be better,&quot; Blanche replied
+simply. &quot;But I'm not better; I feel
+worse,&mdash;oh, so much worse! I know I
+should be better if I tried it again. And I
+sha'n't be afraid any more,&quot; she repeated,&mdash;&quot;even
+for Jeanne. It would be so much
+better for us all!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">This speech made Mrs. Tate wonder if,
+as her husband had suggested, Blanche had
+divined that Jules had cared for her performance
+rather than for herself, and fancied
+she could win him back by resuming it. Her
+interest increased when she learned that
+Jules and Miss King had not spoken to each
+other for two evenings. Miss King's maid,
+who had at last come from Manchester, and
+who knew a little Canadian French, had
+told Madeleine about it. Jules had urged
+Miss King to accept Marshall's terms, and
+was vexed with her because she refused and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page309" id="page309"></a>[pg&nbsp;309]</span>
+threatened to go back to America. This
+had made him even more disagreeable at
+home than he had been before; for the past
+few days he had not spoken one pleasant
+word to them, and he had not even noticed
+Jeanne.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">It was this information that rang in Mrs.
+Tate's consciousness when she had left the
+apartment. Jules and that woman had quarrelled!
+Of course, they would make it up
+again,&mdash;perhaps in a few days, perhaps
+that very day; but if they did not, the
+quarrel might be one of the means of winning
+him back to his wife. At any rate,
+she would speak to her husband about it.
+When, on her return home, she did speak,
+he burst out laughing.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I don't see how you can find anything
+funny in that!&quot; she said resentfully. &quot;It's
+a very serious matter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But it threatens to spoil my beautiful
+little romance!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Your beautiful romance? What do you
+mean?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;If you had persuaded her to go back to
+her diving, and if she drove the other woman
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page310" id="page310"></a>[pg&nbsp;310]</span>
+out of the field in that way, it would be a
+proof of my theory that he's fallen in love
+with the <i>performance</i> and not with the <i>performer</i>.
+But if his wife gets him back again
+now, it will be merely because the other
+woman has broken with him. There's nothing
+for him to do <i>except</i> to go back to his
+wife and be forgiven.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Well, I don't care what the reason is&mdash;if
+she only <i>gets</i> him back. She'll certainly die
+of jealousy and misery if she doesn't,&mdash;that's
+plain enough. In my opinion, Dr.
+Broughton was entirely wrong in his diagnosis
+of the case. She says herself that she
+misses her diving and she wants to take it up
+again. Her rest hasn't done her a particle
+of good. Anyway, I'll speak to the Doctor
+about it to-morrow. I'll write a note, and
+ask him to come in for tea if he can.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;And hold another council of war,&quot; her
+husband suggested.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;A council of <i>peace</i>,&quot; she retorted smartly.
+&quot;Oh, I know what you're thinking of! But
+I'm determined to undo the harm I've
+done. There's no time to be lost. If I
+can get that poor little woman to resume her
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page311" id="page311"></a>[pg&nbsp;311]</span>
+plunge while the husband's still quarrelling
+with the other performer, I feel sure everything
+will come out all right. He'll be interested
+in her again. Don't you remember
+how he used to brag about her? I suppose
+you don't, but he did; and I could tell that
+he was as proud of her as if she were the
+most wonderful creature in the world.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I don't see what she wants him for,&quot;
+Tate said carelessly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Well, you're not a woman, and you can't
+understand how women feel about men. I
+sometimes think the worse men are, the more
+their wives adore them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Tate smiled, but he made no reply; he
+was much more interested in the case than
+he would allow himself to appear to be.
+Indeed, he was so interested that he left
+his office the next day earlier than usual,
+in order to take part in the conference. He
+found his wife in earnest talk with the
+Doctor. Before coming to the house, Dr.
+Broughton, at Mrs. Tate's suggestion, had
+made a call on Madame Le Baron, and he
+expressed his alarm at having found her so
+thin and weak.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page312" id="page312"></a>[pg&nbsp;312]</span>
+&quot;Do you remember what I said the night
+we had our first talk about her?&quot; he asked,
+glancing at Tate. &quot;I was afraid then that if
+she gave up her work it might upset her,
+though I didn't see how she could go on
+with the diving and keep whatever health
+she had. Now she's a great deal worse off
+than she was when I last saw her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then they discussed the case in all its
+aspects. The Doctor laughed when Mrs.
+Tate declared she believed the poor woman's
+happiness depended on her resuming her
+plunge. &quot;Oh, it may seem absurd to you!&quot;
+she cried, growing more earnest under ridicule;
+&quot;but Percy believes it, though he may
+pretend to you that he doesn't. He was the
+one who first suggested it to me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I really think the diving wouldn't hurt
+her health so much as her worrying about
+her husband does,&quot; the Doctor admitted.
+&quot;Besides, she believes she won't be afraid
+of it any more. She says her rest from it
+has taken all her fear away.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Then you think the best thing for her to
+do would be to resume the plunge?&quot; said
+Mrs. Tate.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page313" id="page313"></a>[pg&nbsp;313]</span>
+For a moment the Doctor stroked his
+chin. &quot;Under the circumstances I should
+say it might,&quot; he replied slowly. &quot;At any
+rate, it would be worth trying. Of course, if
+that haunting fear returned she'd have to
+stop it again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">A look of triumph flashed from the face of
+Mrs. Tate; and when she glanced at her
+husband she saw that he was trying to dissemble
+his interest in the decision. &quot;I shall
+tell her that to-morrow!&quot; she cried. &quot;It'll
+be the best news the poor thing has had
+for a long time. She's crazy to begin that
+plunge again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I hope you are ready to take the consequences
+of your interference in this business,&quot;
+said Tate, dryly.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page314" id="page314"></a>[pg&nbsp;314]</span></p>
+
+<h2>XXI</h2>
+
+<p class="indent">The next morning, in a long and secret
+talk, Mrs. Tate communicated the
+Doctor's judgment to Blanche. She learned
+that Jules was still sullen and depressed.
+That, of course, was a sign that his quarrel
+with the diver had not as yet been made up.
+Blanche said that she would speak to him at
+once about resuming the plunge; so far as
+she knew, no one had as yet been engaged
+to take Miss King's place, and perhaps Mr.
+Marshall would make a new contract with
+her on the old terms. Mrs. Tate hurried
+away in a state of feverish excitement, dreading,
+yet hoping, that she might meet Jules
+on the stairs, in order to reveal the great
+news. She would have liked to return to
+the apartment that very afternoon, to learn
+the effect of the announcement upon him;
+but she controlled her impatience.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page315" id="page315"></a>[pg&nbsp;315]</span>
+Jules did not return till late in the afternoon.
+From his manner Blanche saw at once
+that he was in a surly mood. He flung his
+coat and hat on a chair and threw himself on
+the couch. For a long time she did not dare
+to speak to him. She thought he was going
+to sleep, but she suddenly saw him staring at
+her with a look that frightened her.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Jules!&quot; she said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He had closed his eyes again, and he
+seemed not to hear.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Jules.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He opened his eyes, and once more she
+met that look. &quot;What is it?&quot; he grunted.
+Her plaintive manner vexed him; it seemed
+like a reflection on himself.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;There's something I want to say to
+you,&quot; she went on apologetically, and with
+a suggestion of tearfulness in her voice, as if
+she felt disappointed at his manner of receiving
+her news.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">As he did not reply, she said: &quot;It's
+about&mdash;about my plunge. I have been
+thinking that I'm&mdash;I'm so much better
+now&mdash;I mean I'm not so nervous&mdash;perhaps
+I can begin it again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page316" id="page316"></a>[pg&nbsp;316]</span>
+He sat up on the couch, a light coming
+into his eyes. For a moment he was too
+surprised to speak. Then he said: &quot;Well,
+I'm glad you're coming to your senses!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Encouraged by the change in his manner,
+she repeated what Dr. Broughton had said
+to Mrs. Tate. At the mention of the names,
+Jules' face darkened; since that night at the
+Tates' he had felt a personal resentment
+against the Doctor, almost as strong as his
+hatred of the Englishwoman.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;So that woman's been here again today,
+has she?&quot; he said bitterly. After a
+brief silence, he added more gently: &quot;If
+you feel able to do the plunge again, the
+sooner you begin the better. I know that
+Marshall will be glad enough to renew the
+old contract. It will just fit in with his
+plans,&quot; he continued, with a grim thought
+of the diver's discomfiture on being superseded
+by Blanche. &quot;I'll speak to him this
+very night.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche tried to smile, but the effort ended
+in a sigh. She had thought that Jules would
+show more enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But we can't have any more nonsense,&quot; he
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page317" id="page317"></a>[pg&nbsp;317]</span>
+said, glancing at her again,&mdash;this time, however,
+without the bitterness she had before
+observed in his face. &quot;If you allow yourself
+to be afraid of the plunge again, it will simply
+ruin you as an attraction. It'll make the
+managers think you're unreliable, and they
+won't engage you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In spite of his apparent indifference, Jules
+was secretly delighted at the thought of his
+wife's resuming her great dive. For the past
+few days he had never felt so keenly the
+humiliation of his own position. A petulant
+remark of Lottie King's the day of their
+quarrel had kept ringing in his ears: &quot;What
+do <i>you</i> amount to anyway?&quot; Now he
+thought triumphantly of the restoration of
+his own dignity. With Blanche as the star
+attraction of the Hippodrome, earning a
+large salary, and with a choice of offers
+from all over the world, he would become
+a personage again! But he must guard her
+more carefully. He must in future keep her
+out of the way of interfering foreigners like
+Mrs. Tate, who would put a lot of nonsense
+into her head!</p>
+
+<p class="indent">That night, when Jules consulted Marshall,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page318" id="page318"></a>[pg&nbsp;318]</span>
+he learned what he had already surmised,
+that the manager was much upset by Miss
+King's refusal to extend her engagement on
+any but exorbitant terms, and though it
+would be completed in two weeks, he had
+not as yet found a sufficiently strong attraction
+to take her place; so he was not only
+willing, but glad, to renew with Blanche the
+contract she had at first made with him.
+Jules felt the more elated on being told that
+Miss King had not been nearly so good an
+attraction as his wife while giving the sensational
+plunge. He was in high spirits when
+he entered Blanche's dressing-room and told
+her the news. Blanche flushed with pleasure,
+not merely at the news, but at his affectionate
+manner as well; Madeleine, however, though
+she said nothing, seemed depressed. She
+had hoped that the poor child would never
+make that horrible dive again.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">After that night Blanche was so happy
+that she seemed like another creature from
+the thin, white-faced little woman of the past
+few weeks. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks
+flushed. Jules had been so different with her,
+she said to Mrs. Tate, since she had told him
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page319" id="page319"></a>[pg&nbsp;319]</span>
+she would go on with the plunge. The night
+before he had taken her to the Hippodrome,
+and after the performance they had gone
+with Madeleine to a <i>café</i>; it reminded them
+of the days of their courtship in Paris.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The two weeks that followed were the
+happiest Blanche had known since those first
+days after the birth of her child. Jules'
+devotion extended not only to her, but to
+little Jeanne and to Madeleine as well. For
+several days the gloom that had wrapped the
+city during most of the winter lifted; the
+sun shone, and the feeling of spring was
+in the air. In the afternoons Blanche took
+walks with Jules in the park, and on Sunday
+they went to mass together and then drove
+out to Richmond and dined there. They
+agreed to pretend that they were still in
+their days of courtship, and Jules delighted
+Blanche by repeating some of the foolish
+speeches he had made to her in the first
+weeks of their love.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then, too, they made great plans for
+the future. The negotiations with Hicks in
+New York had been broken off, but Jules
+had heard of an Australian manager who
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page320" id="page320"></a>[pg&nbsp;320]</span>
+was in London looking for performers to
+appear during the following winter in Melbourne.
+How fine it would be if they
+could go out there and give performances
+in the chief Australian cities! Blanche, however,
+showed so little enthusiasm for this
+plan that Jules abandoned it for a time.
+Besides, he himself liked better the plan
+she suggested of returning to the <i>Cirque
+Parisien</i>. They might make an engagement
+there that would enable them to pass
+the winter in Paris. How good it would
+be to be back there again! Perhaps they
+could secure the little apartment in the
+<i>rue de Lisbonne</i>. Jules became so enthusiastic
+that he wrote to the manager in Paris,
+proposing terms. After a winter there they
+might think of going to Australia, where
+they would be much better paid than in
+Paris.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The thought of returning to France added
+to Blanche's happiness. Oh, to see her
+mother and Jeanne and Louise again! How
+good it would be! There had been times
+during the past few weeks when she felt as if
+she could not bear to be separated from them
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page321" id="page321"></a>[pg&nbsp;321]</span>
+any longer. But in Paris they could come
+to see her; perhaps Monsieur Berthier would
+let her mother and the girls pass a few weeks
+with her. Of course, she would be with
+them in Boulogne for the summer. When
+she spoke of this to Jules, however, he said
+nothing. He had in mind other plans, a
+possible engagement at one of the French
+watering places; but he thought it best not
+to refer to this at present. He realized the
+importance of making as much money as
+possible and as quickly as possible. There
+was no knowing how long his wife's nerve
+would last. If she only held out for a few
+years longer, they could make a fortune in
+Australia and America. Then they could
+retire, and live comfortably in Paris for the
+rest of their lives. He expected to earn a
+great deal of money in America; but he had
+reasons for not speaking of that country at
+all for the present.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The two weeks during which Blanche was
+enjoying her new happiness were an exciting
+time for Mrs. Tate, who felt as if she were
+responsible for the success of her <i>protégée's</i>
+return to her former place in the Hippodrome.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page322" id="page322"></a>[pg&nbsp;322]</span>
+Every day she repaired to Upper
+Bedford Place and held long conferences
+with Blanche. Everything promised well,
+she thought. Jules showed no signs of
+returning to the thraldom of Lottie King.
+How providential, Mrs. Tate thought, the
+quarrel between them had been! She did
+not know that, even before his break with
+her, Jules had begun to tire of the diver's
+domineering manner and of her habit of
+ridiculing him; moreover, he had at last
+perceived that she was only playing with
+him. This had helped to prejudice him
+against her performance, and as the novelty
+of the performance wore off, he saw that it
+was far inferior in daring and skill to his
+wife's magnificent plunge. This had never
+lost its fascination for him, and now, as he
+assisted Blanche in her daily exercises he
+felt the old thrill at its brilliancy and his
+own sense of importance in having a part
+in it.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On the afternoon of the day when her
+plunge was to be resumed, Blanche took a
+long rest. She was awakened by the crowing
+of Jeanne in the next room. She raised
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page323" id="page323"></a>[pg&nbsp;323]</span>
+her hands to her head; at the thought of the
+ordeal of the evening, a sudden dizziness
+came upon her. It was more than three
+months since she had made the dive, and she
+wondered if she should be equal to it. How
+horrible if at the last moment she should lose
+her nerve! She arose quickly, hardly daring
+to allow herself to think, and she hurried to
+the child. How strong and beautiful Jeanne
+was! Blanche took her in her arms and
+pressed her closely. When Madeleine turned
+and lumbered out of the room, leaving them
+alone together, Blanche began to kiss the
+child passionately, and tears welled over on
+her cheeks. Then she bathed her face, for
+fear that Jules would see that she had been
+crying.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">That night at dinner, Jules was in high
+spirits. &quot;Marshall expects a big house,&quot;
+he said. &quot;He's spent a lot of money
+advertising your dive. He thinks of getting
+a big poster made of you flying through
+the air.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">During the whole of the meal Blanche
+was very quiet. Madeleine noticed that her
+eyes were shining. When it was time to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page324" id="page324"></a>[pg&nbsp;324]</span>
+go to the Hippodrome, Jules, wrapping his
+wife in her cloak, put his arms around
+her, and kissed her on the ear, as he had
+often done in the days of their engagement.
+She drew away and started for Jeanne's
+room.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Where are you going?&quot; he said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I want to kiss the little one good-night.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;But she's asleep!&quot; he cried impatiently.
+&quot;You mustn't wake her up.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">In spite of his protest, she silently made
+her way into the room where the child
+lay, closing the door behind her. Jules
+listened, thinking that Jeanne would cry on
+being disturbed; but there was no sound.
+Then he knew that she was praying by the
+crib, and this angered him. It was about
+time to put a stop to her notions, he said to
+himself. When, a moment later, she came
+out, her face was covered with a thick veil,
+and, after glancing at her sharply, he said
+nothing.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On arriving at the Hippodrome, they
+found Mrs. Tate in the star dressing-room,
+which had been assigned to Blanche again.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;I have been waiting for you,&quot; Mrs. Tate
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page325" id="page325"></a>[pg&nbsp;325]</span>
+said nervously. &quot;I suppose I have no right
+to be here, but I felt that I <i>must</i> see you,
+and I made my husband bring me. Are
+you quite well?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She had observed the look of disgust
+given her by Jules, but this did not disturb
+her nearly so much as the white face that
+Blanche presented. Moreover, she did not
+feel reassured when Blanche smiled and said
+she felt perfectly well.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Of course everything will be splendid.
+There's a tremendous crowd,&quot; Mrs. Tate
+added. &quot;You'll have a great success.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules, after bowing coldly, had turned from
+the room. As soon as the door closed behind
+him, Mrs. Tate seized Blanche by both
+hands and kissed her affectionately. &quot;I
+mustn't keep you from dressing,&quot; she said
+with a smile. &quot;Perhaps I'll come in and
+congratulate you when it's all over.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche grew a shade paler, and Mrs.
+Tate hesitated at the door. &quot;What is it?&quot;
+she said.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Nothing.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate walked toward her. &quot;Nothing?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Blanche turned her head away. &quot;If anything
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page326" id="page326"></a>[pg&nbsp;326]</span>
+should happen,&quot; she said quietly, &quot;the&mdash;the
+little one&mdash;I should like my mother
+to take her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Mrs. Tate began to breathe hard; but
+she burst out laughing. &quot;You silly child!
+Of course; I shall look after Jeanne anyway.
+Don't you worry about <i>her</i>. Now I
+must hurry out to that husband of mine.
+He'll be furious with me for keeping him
+waiting so long.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">A few moments before Blanche appeared
+in the ring, Jules returned to the dressing-room,
+resplendent in his evening clothes,
+with three diamonds gleaming on his shirt-front,
+and carrying a bouquet of white roses.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;These are just like the roses I bought
+for you the night I met you. I selected
+them this afternoon, and they've just come.
+You must wear them in your belt, as you
+did then,&quot; he said, as she flushed with pleasure
+and thanked him. &quot;I remember how
+tickled I was when I saw them; and oh,
+how I hated Pelletier when you took them
+out and gave them to him to hold, while you
+were going through your act.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then, as she adjusted the flowers in her
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page327" id="page327"></a>[pg&nbsp;327]</span>
+belt, he went on: &quot;It's the biggest house
+of the season! Marshall says you're the best
+attraction he ever had. Ready?&quot; he asked,
+surveying Blanche as she stood in her white
+silk tights. &quot;You look just as you did when
+I first saw you,&quot; he added, putting one hand
+on her cheek and kissing her lightly on the
+other. &quot;Come along.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Then he threw over her the robe she
+always wore on her way to the ring, and they
+hurried from the room. As Blanche ran out
+on the net and heard the applause of the vast
+audience, she felt a thrill of joy and an intoxicating
+sense of her own power. All fear
+seemed to leave her, and she laughed as
+she climbed hand over hand to the trapeze.
+From trapeze to trapeze she shot with delight;
+she had never felt so sure of herself,
+so exultant. When she returned to the net,
+Jules, who had taken his place at the rope,
+whispered to her: &quot;You're in great form
+to-night. Keep it up.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">She was smiling as she started on her long
+climb to the top of the building. But when
+she had taken her place on the beam from
+which she was to make her plunge and looked
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page328" id="page328"></a>[pg&nbsp;328]</span>
+down at the black mass in the distance, her
+strength seemed suddenly to leave her. Her
+fingers tightened on the beam, as if she felt
+afraid of losing her balance. Then she heard
+her husband's voice ring through the place,
+crying the familiar warning. She knew the
+moment had come for making the plunge;
+but she continued motionless. She felt as if
+her will had become suddenly paralyzed, and
+a moment later, as if her body were frozen.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">The black mass below seemed to dance
+before her, then to beckon to her, and in her
+ears she kept hearing the voice of little Jeanne
+and the sound of her laughter. Oh, she had
+known that this moment would come some
+time; she had known it ever since Jeanne was
+born. But she could not sit there forever;
+the crowd below was waiting to see her fall.
+If she did not make an effort she should lose
+her self-control and go plunging into the
+blackness. She must lift her hands and
+gather herself together, and hurl herself out
+as she had always done. But she had no
+strength; she could only lift her arms weakly.
+Then she tried to give her body the necessary
+impetus, and she plunged wildly into the air.</p>
+
+<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page329" id="page329"></a>[pg&nbsp;329]</span>
+There was a cry of horror from the crowd,
+and a moment later the white figure lay
+motionless in the net. The people rose
+from their seats and rushed toward the ring.
+The police tried to drive them back as Jules
+leaped into the net and seized the prostrate
+body in his arms.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;Keep them back,&quot; he cried frantically,
+not realizing that he was speaking French.
+&quot;She must have air.&quot; Then, turning, he
+said: &quot;Blanche! Blanche! Can't you
+speak? Open your eyes so I may know
+you aren't dead.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">He was terrified by the way her head fell
+back from her shoulders. &quot;We must get
+her out of this,&quot; he said desperately, to two
+of the circus men who had followed him on
+the net, as he glanced down at the struggling
+mass beneath him. &quot;Bring her to her
+dressing-room. Make those people get out
+of the way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="indent">With difficulty they bore her through the
+crowd. Some one threw her cloak over her
+as she passed. She gave no sign of life, but
+the expression in Jules' face showed that he
+still hoped. When they reached her room,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page330" id="page330"></a>[pg&nbsp;330]</span>
+they placed her on the floor, and Jules
+closed the door to keep out the crowd.
+Madeleine, who had been ringing her hands
+and moaning, quickly loosened the tight bodice.
+Then the door was forced open again,
+and Marshall entered with a physician, who
+quickly bent over the prostrate figure and
+listened for the heart-beat.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">&quot;She's dead,&quot; he said quietly.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Jules threw himself on the body in a
+paroxysm of despair.</p>
+
+<p class="center">THE END.</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p class="cnobmargin">PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS,</p>
+<p class="cnomargins">IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS,</p>
+<p class="cnomargins">FOR STONE AND KIMBALL, PUBLISHERS,</p>
+<p class="cnotmargin">NEW YORK, M DCCC XCVI</p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<div class="tnote">
+
+<p class="h2a">Transcriber's Notes:</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of
+the speakers. Those words were retained as-is.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">Errors in punctuations and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected
+unless otherwise noted.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On page 18, &quot;were&quot; was replaced with &quot;was&quot;.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On page 103, &quot;Champs Élyseés&quot; was replaced with &quot;Champs Élysées&quot;.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On page 118, &quot;wool house&quot; was replaced with &quot;wool-house&quot;.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On page 192, &quot;aimably&quot; was replaced with &quot;amiably&quot;.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On page 222, &quot;is&quot; was replaced with &quot;it&quot;.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">On page 294, &quot;palor&quot; was replaced with &quot;pallor&quot;.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Mademoiselle Blanche, by John David Barry
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MADEMOISELLE BLANCHE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 39383-h.htm or 39383-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/3/8/39383/
+
+Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Ernest Schaal, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+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.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+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
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+
+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/39383-h/images/titlepagelogo.png b/39383-h/images/titlepagelogo.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e353ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39383-h/images/titlepagelogo.png
diff --git a/39383.txt b/39383.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..48edb2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39383.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,6916 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mademoiselle Blanche, by John David Barry
+
+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: Mademoiselle Blanche
+       A Novel
+
+Author: John David Barry
+
+Release Date: April 5, 2012 [EBook #39383]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MADEMOISELLE BLANCHE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Ernest Schaal, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                          Mademoiselle Blanche
+
+                               _A Novel_
+
+                                   BY
+                             JOHN D. BARRY
+
+
+                             [Illustration]
+
+
+                                NEW YORK
+                           STONE AND KIMBALL
+                               MDCCCXCVI
+
+
+
+
+                          COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY
+                           STONE AND KIMBALL
+
+
+
+
+                          Mademoiselle Blanche
+
+                                   I
+
+
+"Andre!"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+The little waiter, with anxiety in his smooth, blond face, hurried to
+the table.
+
+"Bring me the _Soir_."
+
+Andre shot away, and presently returned, paper in hand.
+
+"What is there good at the theatres, Andre?"
+
+Andre wiped his hands in his soiled apron, and looked thoughtful.
+
+"There's the _Folies Bergeres_, monsieur. Dumont sings to-night."
+
+"Oh, she tires me. Her voice is cracked."
+
+"There's Madame Judic at the _Varietes_," Andre suggested, tentatively.
+
+"I saw her in the last piece."
+
+Andre scratched his head, and stared at the figure at the table.
+
+"Monsieur likes the _Cirque_, does he not?"
+
+Monsieur did not look up from the paper. "What's at the _Cirque_ now,
+Andre?"
+
+"At the _Cirque Parisien_? There's Mademoiselle Blanche, the
+acrobat. They say she's a marvel, monsieur,--and beautiful,--the
+most beautiful woman in Paris. She dives from the top of the
+building backwards--hundreds of feet."
+
+"So you think it's really good, Andre?"
+
+Andre nodded. Monsieur dropped the paper, paid his bill, left a little
+fee for the _garcon_, and took himself off. At the entrance he stopped
+and surveyed the surging crowd in the _Boulevard Montmartre_. He had
+just finished an excellent dinner with a glass of _chartreuse verte_; so
+he felt particularly complacent. As he prodded his teeth with the easy
+grace of the Frenchman who knows no shame of the toothpick, he tried to
+think out a plan for the evening. Nothing better occurred to him than
+Andre's suggestion. He was not in the mood for the _Casino de Paris_,
+nor for any of the other concert halls, nor even for the theatres. Yes,
+he would go to the Circus. He hadn't been there for ten days.
+
+For years Jules Le Baron had attended the _Cirque Parisien_ at least
+once a fortnight; his friends used to chaff him for his fondness for it.
+Those who had known him from a boy liked to remind him of his first
+great ambition--to be a performer on the trapeze. Though this amused him
+now, he had never lost his love for feats of daring and skill. Whenever
+he felt particularly tired from his work at the wool-house, he would go
+to the Circus; it refreshed him, and he fancied that it made him sleep
+well afterwards. His first love had been a beautiful Roumanian, who
+jumped through hoops of fire, landing on her velvet-caparisoned horse,
+without even singeing her long, blond hair. He was fifteen then, and he
+discovered that the lady was forty-five, though he could have sworn
+there was not a difference of more than three years in their ages. Since
+that time he had become enamoured of many of the glittering amazons of
+the arena, who shot through the air, or through hoops, or out of the
+mouths of cannons, or crossed dizzy heights on the tight-rope, or
+juggled with long, villainous-looking knives falling in showers into
+their hands.
+
+Those episodes, however, brightened Jules Le Baron's life long before he
+was twenty-five. He had since had many similar experiences in the larger
+arena of the world. Indeed, he gloried in his susceptibility; he used to
+give people to understand that, though fairly successful in business, he
+had a very keen appreciation of the sentiments, and of all the
+refinements of life. To a foreigner he would have expressed this
+complication by saying that he was Parisian to his finger-tips. In
+America, where, at the age of twenty-six, he passed three wretched
+months, he had been appalled by the lack of sentiment among the people.
+Of course, as he represented there the wool-house with which he had been
+connected since his sixteenth year, he met chiefly business men; but
+even these ought to have displayed an interest in something outside
+their commercial routine.
+
+It was those three months in America that gave Jules Le Baron his zest
+for Paris. Of course, he had always loved it; but till he left it, his
+love had not become self-conscious. America taught him what he had only
+dimly known before, that for him Paris was the only city in the world
+worth living in. He knew that people born away from Paris liked other
+cities; secretly, however, this amused him. He believed that no one,
+after living in Paris, could find any other place habitable. Indeed, any
+places, any people, any customs foreign to Paris seemed to him so droll
+that at the thought of some of them he often laughed aloud. America had
+given him things to laugh at for the rest of his life.
+
+Of course, Jules was proud of having visited America; it gave him a
+delightful feeling of superiority to his friends and acquaintances at
+home. He always felt pleased when the English and Americans that he met
+in business complimented him on his English; it enabled him to say
+carelessly: "Oh, I just picked it up when I was in America." He really
+had learned very little English there; nearly all he knew had been
+taught him by his father, a professor of chemistry in a small school in
+Paris, who had spent six months in England during the siege. He had
+acquired there, however, a smattering of American slang; on his lips it
+sounded delicious. His friends in Paris thought he spoke English
+beautifully, and frequently referred to his talent for languages. He had
+given them glowing accounts of his adventures in America, and said
+nothing of his desolate loneliness there; so they looked upon him as a
+born traveller,--as, altogether, a man of remarkable qualities. But for
+his English and his travels, they would merely have shrugged their
+shoulders at the mention of his name, and dismissed him with a "_Bon
+garcon!_"
+
+Jules Le Baron knew that he was much more than a _bon garcon_. His
+attitude toward the world expressed this; he always acted as if he felt
+the world had been made exclusively for him. After losing his father at
+fourteen, he promptly proceeded to link his mother in the closest bonds
+of slavery. Yet he was kind to her, too, and, in his way, he loved her,
+for she was made to obey, just as he had been born to command. When she
+died and left him alone at the age of twenty with a small property, he
+took a miniature apartment in the _rue de Lisbonne_, and adjusted
+himself to his new life. His salary at the wool-house, where his English
+helped to make him valuable, together with the property, gave him an
+income of ten thousand francs a year. He considered himself rich, a
+personage, one who ought to marry well.
+
+Jules had thought so much about marriage that, at thirty, it was
+surprising he should have remained unwedded. Every young woman he met he
+regarded as a candidate for his hand, and he spent a large part of his
+leisure in rejecting these innocent suitors. Even now, as he slowly made
+his way up the _Boulevard_, he fancied that the girls he passed were
+looking at him admiringly and enviously. He often smiled back at them,
+for he was rarely unkind and he never gratuitously wounded any one's
+feelings. With his mother, it is true, he had been occasionally severe,
+but merely to discipline her, to make her see things as he saw them. At
+this moment he felt particularly amiable. He was in Paris, on the
+_Boulevard_ that he loved, surrounded by the people that he loved, in
+the atmosphere which, as he had discovered in America, was as the very
+breath to his being. The spectacle was all for him! Paris, had been
+created that he might enjoy it!
+
+
+
+
+                                   II
+
+
+Saturday was the fashionable night at the _Cirque Parisien_, and the
+night when Jules usually attended it. This was Tuesday, however, and
+Jules decided not to be fashionable, but simply to amuse himself. As he
+approached the letters of light that flashed the name of the _Cirque_
+into the eyes of the _boulevardiers_, he suddenly remembered that he had
+promised to meet two of his comrades of the wool-house in the evening.
+He turned into the _rue Taitbout_, and as he was walking slowly through
+the long passageway leading into one of the large apartment-houses
+there, he felt himself suddenly seized in the darkness by two pairs of
+hands. He looked quickly around, and dimly recognized Dufresne and
+Leroux, who had come up from behind him. They were both types, short and
+swarthy, with oily faces, thick black moustaches, and pointed beards.
+
+"Why didn't you come before?" and "We've been waiting an hour," they
+cried together.
+
+"He's been up to some adventure, I'll wager," said Leroux.
+
+"Answer! The truth! No lies!" Dufresne exclaimed, shaking him by one
+shoulder.
+
+Jules pulled away with an effort.
+
+"I thought you were going to rob me!" he laughed.
+
+"You see, he doesn't answer," said Dufresne. "I told you he was up to
+some adventure."
+
+"Up to some adventure!" Jules repeated. "I've just been taking dinner,
+and I forgot I'd promised to meet you to-night. Where are you going?"
+
+"We're going to the _Folies Bergeres_, and then to a masked ball in
+Montmartre," Leroux answered, resuming his grip. "Come along."
+
+Jules pulled away with a laugh.
+
+"Thanks. Not to-night. I don't feel like it. Besides, I'm not dressed."
+
+"But _we're_ not dressed," they cried together, throwing open their
+coats. "You won't have to dress. Come on."
+
+Jules shook his head decidedly.
+
+"No," he insisted, "it's all very well for you young bucks. I'm too old.
+It tires me out for the next day; can't do my work. I think I'll look in
+at the Circus. Come along with me."
+
+They scoffed at the idea of going to the Circus, and tried to persuade
+him to accompany them, since he had kept them waiting so long. But he
+resisted, and, as he turned away from them, they clutched at him again,
+but he escaped, laughing, into the street, and he saw them shaking their
+fists after him. Those two "boys," as he called them, were always trying
+to drag him into their escapades. They looked so much alike that at the
+office they were called "the twins," and they were always getting into
+scrapes and into debt together.
+
+Before buying his ticket for the Circus, Jules looked carefully over the
+program on the posters in the long entrance. Some of the performers he
+had already seen and the names of a few of them were unfamiliar to him.
+One name was printed in larger letters than the others--Mademoiselle
+Blanche. Jules read the paragraph printed below, announcing Mademoiselle
+Blanche as the most marvellous acrobat in the world, and proclaiming
+that, in addition to giving her act on the trapeze, she would plunge
+backward from the top of the theatre, a height of more than seventy-five
+feet, into a net below. Jules smiled, and felt a thrill of his old
+boyish excitement at the prospect of seeing the feat performed.
+
+When he turned to buy his ticket, he noticed a large photograph on an
+easel, standing near the box-office. The name of Mademoiselle Blanche,
+printed under it, attracted him. The acrobat, her long sinuous limbs
+encased in white tights, was suspended in mid-air, one arm bent at the
+elbow, clinging to a trapeze. The tense muscles of the arm made a
+curious contrast with the expression of the face, which was marked by
+unusual simplicity and gentleness. The profile was clear, the curving
+eyelashes were delicately outlined, and the eyes were large and dark.
+Something about the lines of the small mouth attracted Jules. He studied
+the picture carefully to discover what it was. The whole expression of
+the face seemed to him to be concentrated in the mouth; he felt sure
+that the teeth were small and very white, and the woman's voice was soft
+and musical. The face differed from the ordinary types of performers he
+had seen; it reminded him of the faces of some of the girls in the
+convent of Beauvais, where his mother had once taken him to visit his
+cousin. The woman must be clever to make herself up so attractively. He
+wondered if the appearance of youth that she presented was also due to
+her cleverness. She might easily pass for twenty. Her figure looked
+marvellously supple; she had probably been trained for the circus from
+infancy, and she might be fifty years old.
+
+He decided not to buy a seat, but to go into the balcony where he could
+walk about and look down at the performance. If it bored him, he could
+rest on one of the velvet-cushioned seats till a new "turn" began. He
+found more people in the balcony than he had ever seen there before; as
+a rule they made only a thin fringe around the railing; now they were
+five and six deep. He established himself beside a post where he could
+catch glimpses of the arena and get a support, and there he remained for
+half an hour.
+
+To-night, however, the antics of the clown, the phenomenal intelligence
+of the performing dogs, even the agility of the Schaeffer family of
+acrobats, did not interest him. He was impatient to see Mademoiselle
+Blanche. Her name stood last on the program; she was probably reserved
+for a crowning attraction. Jules dropped on one of the velvet cushions,
+and rested there for another half-hour. Then some knife-throwing
+attracted him, and he slowly worked his way through the crowd to a place
+where he could look down at the performers. The knife-throwing was
+followed by an exhibition of trick-riding, which preceded the acrobat's
+appearance.
+
+Before this appearance took place, however, there was a long wait caused
+by the preparations made for the great plunge. A thick rope was
+suspended from one of the beams that supported the roof of the building,
+and under it a net was spread. Then the half-dozen trapezes that had
+been tied to the walls, were loosened, and as they swung in the air and
+the band played, Mademoiselle Blanche, in white silk tights, with two
+long strips of white satin ribbon dangling from her throat, ran into the
+ring, and bowed in response to the applause of the crowd.
+
+Jules Le Baron drew a long breath. The long supple limbs, the firm white
+arms and throat, the pale oval face, framed in dark hair that curled
+around the forehead, created a kind of beauty that seemed almost
+ethereal. The glamour of youth was over her, too; she could not be, at
+most, more than twenty. As she ran up the little rope ladder to the net
+and climbed hand over hand along the rope to one of the trapezes, Jules
+thought he had never seen such grace, such exquisite sureness of
+movement and agility. After reaching the trapeze, she sat there for a
+moment, smiling and rubbing her hands. Then she began to swing gently,
+and a moment later she shot through the air to another trapeze several
+feet away, and from that she passed on to the others with a bewildering
+swiftness.
+
+Jules had never seen a woman perform alone on the trapeze before, and
+this exhibition of skill and resource fascinated him. The feats were
+nearly all new, and some of them of unusual difficulty. When the girl
+had finished her performance on the trapeze she returned to the rope,
+and began to pose on it, twisting it around her waist, and hanging
+suspended with her arms in the air. In this way she rolled gently down
+to the net.
+
+The event of the evening was yet to come, however. After resting for a
+moment, Mademoiselle Blanche seized the rope again, and, hand over hand,
+she climbed to the top of the building; there she sat on a beam, so far
+from the audience that she seemed much smaller than she really was. The
+ring-master, a greasy-looking Frenchman in evening dress, appeared in
+the arena and commanded silence.
+
+"Mademoiselle Blanche must have perfect quiet," he cried, "in order to
+perform her great feat. The least noise might disturb her, and cause her
+death."
+
+Jules smiled at this speech; it was very clever, he thought. Of course,
+it was made merely to impress the audience. He wondered how Mademoiselle
+Blanche felt at that moment, perched up there so quietly, ready to hurl
+herself into the air. He did not have time to think much about this, for
+as he strained his eyes toward her, the signal for the fall was given,
+the white figure plunged backward, spun to earth, landed with a
+tremendous thump in the padded net, bounded into the air again, and
+Mademoiselle Blanche was bowing and kissing her fingers.
+
+For a moment not a sound was heard. Then the audience burst into
+applause, and Jules Le Baron breathed. He felt as if his heart had
+stopped beating. He had never seen such a thrilling exhibition before.
+All his old delight in the circus had come back to him. As he walked out
+with the crowd, he congratulated himself on not having gone with
+Dufresne and Leroux. He would not have missed his evening for a dozen
+balls in Montmartre!
+
+At the door he met Roger Durand, dramatic critic of the _Jour_. He had
+known Durand as a boy, and they had continued on a footing of
+half-hostile friendship.
+
+"So you've come to see the new sensation?" said the journalist, as they
+shook hands.
+
+"Just by chance," Jules replied. "I've never been more surprised in my
+life. Who is she?"
+
+"That's just what I haven't been able to find out. I've been talking
+about her tonight with old Reju--he's the man who makes the
+engagements--but he didn't seem to know much more about her than I did.
+He said he first heard of her in Bucharest. She made a hit there, too,
+some time last year."
+
+"But she's French, isn't she? Parisian?"
+
+"She's French, but Reju says she isn't Parisian--comes from the
+provinces somewhere. There's a woman goes about with her, her mother, I
+suppose. Reju says mamma keeps her down here," the journalist added with
+a smile, making a significant gesture with his thumb. "Mamma gets all
+the money, and Mademoiselle does all the work."
+
+Jules shrugged his shoulders. "Going to your office?" he said. "You have
+to turn night into day, haven't you?"
+
+"My dear fellow, night is the best part of life. Days were made for
+sleep. We've got mixed up, that's all, and only a few of us are clever
+enough to find it out. Come and have a glass of absinthe with me before
+I go back."
+
+Jules shook his head.
+
+"Some other time. A glass of absinthe would spoil me for to-morrow. _Au
+revoir._"
+
+He was glad to be alone again so that he might think over the evening.
+The beautiful figure whirling through the air still haunted him.
+"Mademoiselle Blanche!" The name seemed to sing in his mind. He wondered
+what her real name was. So she had a mother who kept her under her
+thumb! Then he wondered what she was like out of the circus--ignorant
+and vulgar, probably, like the rest of them. Yet in her looks she was
+certainly different from the rest. At any rate, he must go and see her
+performance again. He would go several times.
+
+
+
+
+                                  III
+
+
+When Jules arrived home he found supper on the table of his little
+dining-room. Madeleine, the old woman who had served his mother for
+years and remained with him after his mother's death, always left
+something for him at night. Now he turned away from it in disgust. His
+face was burning; he felt nervous, excited. After going to bed, he was
+unable to sleep. He kept seeing Mademoiselle Blanche tumbling through
+the air! He could not think of her except as in motion. He tried to
+recall her as she stood in the net, just before climbing the rope to the
+trapeze, but her figure was vague and shadowy. Then he tried to think
+out her features as he had observed them, and he found that he had quite
+forgotten her face; all that remained was an impression of sweetness, of
+a ravishing smile.
+
+When, finally, he fell asleep, he dreamed of her, still flashing through
+the air, striking with a thud the padded net, and bouncing to her feet
+again. He woke several times and felt impatient with himself for not
+being able to drive the thought away; yet when he sank again into sleep,
+the dream came back persistently.
+
+At half-past seven he rose, tired from his broken rest. He went at once
+to the long mirror that covered the door of his wardrobe, expecting to
+be confronted with the face of an invalid. His gray eyes were slightly
+inflamed and his cheeks had more than their usual color; otherwise his
+appearance was normal. For several moments he surveyed himself. As a
+rule he did not think much about his looks; he knew that he was
+considered handsome, and this gave him a half-unconscious gratification.
+When he wanted to please a woman he seldom failed. Now he had a distinct
+pleasure at the sight of the aristocratic curve of his nose, the strong
+outline of his chin, the full red lips under his thick brown moustache.
+Jules wished that he could keep from growing fat; but after all, he
+reflected philosophically, there was a difference in fatness; some men
+it made gross and vulgar; his own complexion, however, was so fair that
+he could never look gross. Even now there was a suggestion about him of
+the sleekness of a well-kept pigeon.
+
+When he went out to breakfast he found Madeleine looking doleful.
+Madeleine had known Jules from birth and considered herself a second
+mother to him. She was short and stout, with a mouthful of very bad
+teeth, some of which rattled when she spoke, as if they were about to
+fall out.
+
+"Monsieur Jules did not eat last night," she said as she poured his
+coffee and pushed his rolls into the centre of the little table.
+
+"No, Madeleine, I wasn't hungry." Jules took up the _Figaro_ that was
+lying on the table and began to look for a reference to Mademoiselle
+Blanche.
+
+"The coffee will grow cold, Monsieur Jules."
+
+Jules did not hear her. When preoccupied, he had a habit of ignoring
+Madeleine. Yet, in his way, he liked her; he often wondered what he
+would do without her; she was docile and attentive to his wants as his
+mother had been, and she was very inexpensive. For five minutes he read;
+then, when he found no reference to the acrobat, he threw down the paper
+with an exclamation of impatience, and seized his cup and sipped his
+coffee.
+
+"It's cold!" he cried.
+
+Madeleine's look of distress deepened.
+
+"Let me take that away," she said. "I'll get another cup."
+
+When she brought the cup and poured some of the hot coffee into it,
+Jules drained it, and pushed his chair away from the table.
+
+"But you have eaten nothing, Monsieur Jules!"
+
+"I'm not hungry this morning."
+
+"And you didn't eat anything last night," the old woman repeated,
+following him with her eyes. "Are you sick?"
+
+"No, no!" Jules replied, impatiently. "I don't feel like eating, that's
+all. Give me my hat and coat, Madeleine; I shall be late if I don't
+hurry."
+
+"Monsieur Jules doesn't look well," said Madeleine timidly, as she
+helped him on with his coat.
+
+"Oh, don't worry about me." At the door Jules turned. "I shall be out
+late again to-night, Madeleine. You needn't leave the light burning."
+
+The wool-house of Ballou, Mercier & Co., where Jules worked, was only
+ten minutes' walk from the _rue de Lisbonne_. On his way there, Jules
+resolved to say nothing to the twins about Mademoiselle Blanche. Of
+course, Leroux would ask him about the evening, and he would say simply
+that he had been rather bored. He wanted to keep Mademoiselle Blanche to
+himself. He even hoped that her performance would not be noised abroad,
+that she would not become one of those women whom all Paris went to see
+and every one talked glibly about. But she must be well-known already;
+it was evidently her performance that had crowded the Circus.
+
+At the office the twins had a great deal to say about the masked ball of
+the previous night, but Jules hardly heard them. He was still so haunted
+by the thought of Mademoiselle Blanche that he made several mistakes in
+his letters; since his return from America he had been placed in charge
+of all the English correspondence, and it was important that he should
+be exact. The day had never seemed so long to him, nor his work, in
+which he usually took pride, so dull. He was impatient for the evening.
+When six o'clock came, he hurried away without bidding the twins
+good-night.
+
+Jules walked toward the little restaurant in the _Boulevard_ where he
+had dined the night before. He wanted to see Andre again, to talk over
+Mademoiselle Blanche with him. He felt almost a personal affection for
+Andre now. The little _garcon_ was bewildered by Jules' affability, and
+overcome by the generous tip which he received as Jules left the place.
+Indeed, freed from the labors of the day, Jules felt buoyant and happy.
+But when he reached the Circus, his spirits sank; he had forgotten that
+Mademoiselle Blanche did not appear till nearly eleven. He would have to
+wait for her at least three hours!
+
+He felt so vexed that he turned away from the theatre and walked along
+the _Boulevard_. It was late in October, and a light rain was falling,
+mixed with snow. The _Boulevard_ was crowded with people, hurrying under
+umbrellas. Jules turned up the collar of his overcoat, and shivered.
+What was he to do till eleven? He might go to one of the theatres, but
+he would not enjoy it. When he reached the _Opera_, he had not made up
+his mind what to do, and he walked on as far as the Madeleine. He
+entered a _cafe_ opposite the church, and called for a bock and one of
+the illustrated papers. For an hour he sat there, sipping the beer and
+pretending to read. The jokes, however, which he usually enjoyed, seemed
+to him vulgar. He was thinking of the figure in white silk tights,
+shooting through the air. A score of times he called himself a fool for
+not being able to put that thought out of his mind; yet he felt nervous
+and irritable, simply because he was impatient to see the spectacle
+again. At last he became so uneasy that he looked for the waiter to pay
+his bill and leave. Then he felt a slap on the shoulder, and Durand's
+smiling face confronted him.
+
+There was no reason why Jules should have been displeased at seeing
+Durand; yet at that moment he felt resentful. The journalist was small
+and dapper, with the ends of his black moustache carefully waxed. His
+little black eyes were always sparkling with humor, and when he smiled
+he showed two rows of regular white teeth. Yet, in spite of the care of
+himself which he seemed to take, he never looked quite clean; his thick
+black hair was always dusty with dandruff, which fell on the shoulders
+of his coat. He spoke in a high thin voice and with a patronizing air
+that exasperated Jules.
+
+"I thought I recognized your back," he said, when Jules had turned his
+face toward him.
+
+Jules grunted and pointed to a chair at the little table. He wanted to
+show by his manner that he didn't like that familiar slap. Durand,
+however, was unruffled.
+
+"What are you doing here, anyway? Why aren't you at the theatre or one
+of the _cafes chantants_?"
+
+Jules took a puff of his cigarette, and then looked down at the little
+figure.
+
+"I might ask you the same question."
+
+"Oh, I'm working. This is a busy night for me." Then Durand's face
+lighted. "What do you suppose I've got to do to-night?"
+
+Jules knocked the ashes of his cigarette against the edge of the table.
+"Now, do you mean? I can't imagine. You're always doing impossible
+things."
+
+"I'm going to interview the little acrobat."
+
+Jules came very near jumping. He controlled himself, however, and
+carelessly lifted the cigarette to his lips again.
+
+"What little acrobat?" he asked, screwing his eyes.
+
+"The one you saw last night--at the _Cirque_--the _Cirque Parisien_."
+
+"Oh, Mademoiselle--Mademoiselle--what's her name--the one who dives from
+the top of the building?"
+
+"Yes, Mademoiselle Blanche. When I went back to the office last night, I
+told old Bargy about her--cracked her up to the skies, and he swallowed
+the bait, and sent me round to interview her to-night. Ah, my dear boy,
+that's one of the advantages of being a newspaper man. It opens every
+door to you. Whenever I want to get acquainted with a pretty actress, I
+simply go and interview her."
+
+He sat back in his seat and smiled and hummed a popular song, rapping
+the table with his fingers. The waiter came up and asked for his order.
+
+"Two bocks!" said Durand, looking at Jules.
+
+"No, no more for me. I haven't finished this yet." When the waiter went
+away, Jules glanced sleepily at the journalist. "You're a very lucky
+fellow, it seems to me. I should think it would be rather agreeable to
+know the pretty actresses."
+
+Durand shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes, yes--sometimes, no. Usually
+it spoils the illusion."
+
+Jules stared thoughtfully at his bock. "Aren't you afraid you'll be
+disillusioned by Mademoiselle Blanche?"
+
+"Oh, probably. They're all alike--when you come to know them. But
+there's something about her that made me think she might be a little
+different from the rest. At any rate, she's dev'lish pretty, isn't she?"
+
+"Do you think so?" Jules asked, with a deprecating lift of the eyebrows.
+
+"Think so! I know so! If you don't think so you must be hard to please."
+
+"Oh, I thought she was pretty in her circus rig. I should like to see
+her out of the ring. They make up so, those women. You can't tell
+whether they're really pretty or not."
+
+"Well, come around with me, and I'll introduce you. Then you can see for
+yourself."
+
+Jules nearly jumped again, but his cigarette helped him to disguise the
+impulse. "I'm afraid I shall be in the way," he said, after a meditative
+puff.
+
+Durand had seized the bock left on the table by the waiter, and was
+holding it over his head. When half the contents had disappeared, he
+smacked his lips and wiped them with his handkerchief. "Not at all.
+You'll help me draw her out. They say she does the shy-young-girl act;
+so she's hard to talk with. That seems to be a favorite pose of
+actresses nowadays."
+
+Jules' heart was throbbing. He was afraid that Durand would discover his
+elation. So he tried to appear indifferent and cynical. Durand's
+cynicism amused him; yet in the journalist's presence he was always
+trying to imitate it.
+
+When he had drained his bock, Durand stood up, surveyed with a
+professional eye the crowd at the tables, nodded to a few acquaintances,
+and made a sign to Jules that he was ready to go. It had ceased raining,
+but the sky was still leaden. The splendid portico of the Madeleine
+loomed out of the darkness, and the lights in the _Boulevard des
+Capucines_ were gleaming faintly in the mist. They met few people as
+they walked toward the _Opera_, but there was plenty of life around the
+theatres in the _Boulevard des Italiens_. When they reached the
+_Cirque_, Durand had a whispered consultation with the _Control_ who sat
+in self-conscious dignity and evening dress at the desk near the main
+door. He referred the journalist to a short fat man with a white beard,
+lounging a few feet away, and Jules stood apart while the two had an
+animated talk. After a few moments, Durand made a sign to Jules to come
+up, and Jules found himself presented to Reju as "my _confrere_,
+Monsieur Jules Le Baron, of the Marseilles _Gazette_." Reju was very
+amiable, and Jules felt angry, though he could not help being amused by
+Durand's serene impudence.
+
+They were conducted at once into the theatre, under the great arch,
+draped with French flags, where the performers made their exits and
+their entrances. Then they found themselves in a large bare room, with
+several passages radiating from it.
+
+"The dressing-rooms are here," Reju explained, pointing to the passages.
+"Mademoiselle Blanche's room is number 5. I don't know whether she has
+come yet or not. Her act doesn't begin till ten minutes of eleven. Wait
+here, and I'll see if she can receive you."
+
+Durand smiled at Jules, and as soon as Reju was out of hearing, he
+whispered: "I hope you didn't mind that little fairy-tale of mine. I had
+to pass you off as one of the fraternity. If I hadn't they wouldn't have
+let you come in. Now, don't forget your part, the Marseilles _Gazette_.
+It's a good republican paper. The editor's a great friend of mine."
+
+"I'm afraid I sha'n't be a credit to the profession. I've never seen any
+one interviewed in my life."
+
+"Then it'll be an education to you." Durand laughed. "Look out. Here he
+comes!"
+
+The fat little manager approached them with a smiling face; he evidently
+had in mind two free advertisements for the theatre.
+
+"Mademoiselle Blanche," he said impressively, "arrived five minutes ago,
+and she hasn't begun to dress yet. If you'll have the kindness to follow
+me, messieurs"--he concluded with a bow and a wave of the hand.
+
+Jules' body was tingling, and his heart beat violently. Durand, on the
+contrary, seemed more debonair than ever; with an air of importance, he
+strutted behind the manager, as if conferring an honor on the performer
+by his call. Reju rapped on the door, and after a moment a shrill voice
+piped:
+
+"_Entrez!_"
+
+
+
+
+                                   IV
+
+
+Durand made a bold entrance, and Jules followed sheepishly. The room was
+small and uncarpeted; on one side stood a wardrobe and a table, and on
+the opposite wall hung a large mirror that reflected nearly the whole of
+the apartment. The rest of the furniture consisted of two wooden chairs
+and a large trunk. Jules did not realize that he had observed these
+details till afterward, for his glance was bent on the face of
+Mademoiselle Blanche, who stood beside the trunk, surveying her callers
+with apprehension in her big eyes. On one of the chairs sat a woman of
+fifty, tall and thin, with strands of flesh hanging at her neck, her
+eyes bright, her lips aglow with a false bloom, and her cheeks pallid
+with powder. Jules recognized her at once as the acrobat's mother, and
+he had a shock of surprise and revulsion.
+
+The manager, after presenting the callers to Madame Perrault, and then
+to her daughter, excused himself with a flourish, and left the room.
+Madame Perrault was smiling and chattering at Durand, and Mademoiselle
+Blanche was flushed and confused.
+
+"I think we must be the first of the Parisian journalists to interview
+Mademoiselle," said Durand to the mother, letting his eyes turn vaguely
+to the acrobat for information.
+
+Madame Perrault gave a little jump, and glanced hastily at her
+daughter's face.
+
+"Yes, you are," she replied. "We did have--that is, there was a
+gentleman of the press who wanted to interview Blanche, but she--she was
+a little timid about it. Blanche is very timid; so we--we put it off.
+But interviewers are very----Ah, you will sit down, will you not?" she
+said to Jules, who had remained standing with his eyes fixed on the
+girl.
+
+Mademoiselle Blanche had taken a seat on the trunk, and her mother sat
+beside her so that Jules might occupy her chair. When they were all
+adjusted, Madame Perrault resumed, turning to Jules, whose embarrassment
+she had observed.
+
+"Monsieur Reju told me yesterday interviews were so important. They make
+people interested. They----"
+
+"But the people are already interested in Mademoiselle Blanche," Durand
+interposed, gallantly. "That's why my _confrere_ and I have come here.
+The Parisians want to know all about Mademoiselle. She's the sensation
+of the hour. Her name is on everybody's lips."
+
+He glanced at Mademoiselle Blanche with his most languishing smile, and
+Jules felt a sudden desire to kick him. The acrobat tried to look
+pleased, but she succeeded only in appearing more confused. Jules was
+surprised to see how frail she was. Her figure, full and vigorous in the
+ring, seemed so thin in her plain, tight-fitting gray dress, that he
+felt sure she must have been padded for her performance.
+
+"I'm going to ask Mademoiselle a great many questions," Durand resumed,
+still leering at the acrobat.
+
+"But I have nothing to tell," she replied, speaking for the first time.
+
+"But you must have been born, and grown up, and done a great many things
+besides, that the rest of us don't do," the journalist laughed, growing
+more familiar. Jules' dislike for him was rapidly developing into
+hatred.
+
+Durand's familiarity, however, seemed to please the acrobat's mother.
+
+"Blanche is too modest," she said. "She's had a great many things happen
+to her."
+
+"Have you always been in the circus, Mademoiselle?"
+
+"Yes, ever since she was a child," her mother answered. "Her father was
+an acrobat."
+
+"So it's in the family. And were you in the circus too, Madame?"
+
+Madame Perrault shook her head, and Jules thought he saw her blush under
+the powder. "No, I have never been in public life. My husband's family
+lived in Boulogne, where I lived too. They were all acrobats. After my
+marriage I used to travel with the circus, and when Blanche was born,
+Monsieur Perrault wanted her to perform, too. When she was only five
+years old, they used to appear together."
+
+"Then you have travelled a great deal, Mademoiselle?" Durand turned his
+fascinating glance on the girl. She looked at her mother, and as she was
+about to reply, Madame Perrault resumed: "Ah, my daughter has been over
+nearly the whole world,--in England, in Germany, in Russia--"
+
+"Have you ever been in America?" Jules asked quickly.
+
+The acrobat shook her head.
+
+"But she has had such offers--such splendid--such magnificent offers to
+go there," the mother cried, clasping her hands.
+
+"But I'm afraid," the girl murmured, glancing at Jules with her big
+timid eyes.
+
+"Afraid of the voyage?" Jules asked. Her eyes were still fixed upon him,
+and he felt as if every nerve in his body were vibrating. "That's
+nothing. I have made it twice, and I wasn't sick a day."
+
+This was not true, for on each trip Jules had been sick for several
+days; but he made the remark with such ease, that for the moment he felt
+convinced himself of its truth. Mademoiselle Blanche looked at him
+admiringly, and he saw that he had made an impression on the mother,
+too, established himself in her regard as a travelled person, a man of
+importance.
+
+"Then Monsieur has been in America?" said Madame Perrault.
+
+"Oh, yes," Jules replied, carelessly. "All over it. It's a wonderful
+country."
+
+Mademoiselle Blanche sighed, and her mother glanced at her wistfully.
+
+"But it's too far," Madame resumed with a shake of the head. "We could
+not go so far from the children."
+
+"Then you have other children?" said the journalist. "Are they in the
+circus, too?"
+
+For the first time, the girl's face brightened. "Oh, no!" she replied,
+with a suggestion of horror in her tone.
+
+"They are very young," the mother explained. "Jeanne is only fourteen
+and Louise will be eleven next month. They are with my sister in
+Boulogne."
+
+Durand made a little sign of impatience which indicated to Jules that he
+was not getting the information he wanted. Besides, he was evidently
+displeased by the failure of his leers to produce any apparent effect
+upon the girl; she seemed to be unconscious of them.
+
+"And Monsieur Perrault," he said, "he is still performing?"
+
+An expression of pain appeared in the mother's face, and Mademoiselle
+dropped her eyes.
+
+"No, he died three years ago," Madame Perrault replied. "He was killed
+at Monte Carlo. He fell from the trapeze."
+
+There was silence for a moment, and the journalist tried to infuse into
+his insipid little face a look of sympathy. Just how much sympathy he
+felt was shown by his next remark.
+
+"I couldn't help wondering last night," he said briskly, "when I saw
+Mademoiselle perform, how she felt just before she took that plunge. How
+do you feel, Mademoiselle? Aren't you frightened, just a little?"
+
+The girl shook her head. "I have done it for so many years, I don't
+think of being afraid. My father taught me never to have the least fear.
+He wouldn't have been killed if the trapeze hadn't broken."
+
+"And we take every precaution," Madame Perrault quickly explained.
+
+Durand began to ask questions about the various cities Mademoiselle had
+visited. Most of the replies came from Madame Perrault, who seemed to
+have constituted herself her daughter's mouthpiece. Which audiences did
+she like best to play to? The Germans! Durand shook his head. He
+wouldn't dare to say that in a French paper. It might make Mademoiselle
+unpopular with the Parisians. Ah, but Mademoiselle liked the Parisians,
+too. Didn't she find them very enthusiastic? No? That was simply because
+they were thrilled, overcome, silenced by her performance. Durand grew
+excited in extolling the merits of Parisian audiences. For their
+favorites they would do anything, and Mademoiselle was fast becoming one
+of the most popular of their favorites. Of course they had their
+peculiarities. When a performer vexed them, there were no limits to
+their wrath. Had Mademoiselle heard of the attack on Sophie Lenoir at
+the _Ambassadeurs_? The audience had thrown at her everything they could
+lay hands on, and she had fainted, or pretended to faint, on the stage.
+
+Indeed, much of the conversation was supplied by the journalist himself.
+He had apparently abandoned hope of making the acrobat talk; so he
+addressed most of his speeches to the mother, whom he drew out by many
+artful devices. Mademoiselle Blanche sat looking on in open-eyed
+surprise, as if she did not have a share in the matters under
+discussion. Occasionally she would glance appealingly at Jules; when he
+looked back, she would blush and turn her head away.
+
+While Durand was in the middle of one of his stories, Madame Perrault
+drew a small gold watch from her pocket. The journalist jumped from his
+chair.
+
+"We are keeping Mademoiselle from dressing," he said, as Jules rose,
+too. "A thousand pardons. We will go in just a moment. There's only one
+more question. That is about your presents, Mademoiselle, your gifts."
+
+"My gifts?" the acrobat repeated vaguely.
+
+"Yes, from the princes, the crowned heads you've appeared before."
+
+"Ah!" the mother exclaimed, in a long breath, "Blanche has received so
+many! There was the brooch from the Emperor of Russia, and the ring from
+the Prince of Roumania, a costly diamond, monsieur, so clear and
+beautiful, and the little gold watch studded with pearls from the King
+of Bavaria, the 'mad King' they call him, you know--and then--then the
+bracelet set with rubies from the Duchess of Merlino, when Blanche was
+in Bucharest. Ah, but we have none of these here. They are all at home,
+they--"
+
+"Here in Paris?" Durand asked, impatiently.
+
+"No, monsieur, in Boulogne," Madame Perrault answered, and Jules saw an
+expression of wonder and pain cross her daughter's face.
+
+Durand was rubbing his silk hat with his glove, and regarding it
+intently.
+
+"Then," he said, looking up quickly, "there must have been some
+adventures--some admirers, that have followed Mademoiselle, perhaps,
+eh?" he added, leering insinuatingly at the mother.
+
+Madame smiled, and the face of the acrobat turned pink. Jules wanted to
+seize the little journalist by the neck, and throw him out of the door.
+
+"Ah, in Bucharest," cried Madame, "the young--"
+
+"Mamma!"
+
+Madame Perrault shrugged her shoulders, and smiled suggestively.
+"Perhaps we'd better not speak of that. Blanche is a good girl," she
+added, patting her daughter on the back. "She's good to her mother, and
+she's good to her sisters. Ah, _ma chere_!"
+
+The girl had turned her head away. Durand offered her his hand
+gallantly, and then beamed on the mother. "I will come and see you some
+time, if you will give me permission," he said condescendingly.
+
+"Some Sunday," Madame Perrault replied. "It's the only day when Blanche
+is free. And you will bring your friend, perhaps, if he is still in
+Paris," she added amiably, with a quick glance and smile at the
+journalist from Marseilles. Then she produced two cards and passed them
+to the callers.
+
+Jules murmured a civil response to the invitation, and, after bowing low
+to the ladies, he followed Durand and closed the door behind him. The
+expression of languishing pleasure in the journalist's face had given
+place to a look of hilarious merriment.
+
+"Did you ever see such a block? She didn't have a word to say. I don't
+believe she has an idea. And she thought she was impressing me with her
+modesty! And the gifts from the crowned heads--wasn't that droll? Of
+course, the old lady made up every one of those stories. She's a sharp
+one, with her painted lips and her powdered cheeks. Her little game is
+to get a rich husband for the girl, and I'll wager a week's salary
+she'll succeed."
+
+Jules said nothing. He knew it would be useless to argue with Durand. If
+he were to give his opinion of Mademoiselle Blanche, the journalist
+would laugh, and say he didn't understand women, especially actresses.
+So, when Durand suddenly asked him what he thought of the girl, he
+merely shrugged his shoulders.
+
+As they passed out they met Reju, who offered them seats if they cared
+to remain for the rest of the performance. Durand explained that he must
+return at once to the office, and urged Jules to accept the invitation.
+When Jules found himself alone in the first row of the orchestra he
+breathed with relief. He had never before realized what an odious little
+creature Durand was. For the moment he forgot even to feel gratitude for
+the introduction to the acrobat.
+
+He was unable to take an interest in the performance, and he looked at
+his watch to see how long he would have to wait for the appearance of
+Mademoiselle Blanche. It was just twenty minutes past ten. Suddenly it
+occurred to him that he would have time to go out and buy some flowers
+for her. He left his seat, and hurried to the nearest shop in the
+_Boulevard_. There he bought the finest bunch of white roses he could
+find, went back to the theatre, and sent them to the acrobat with his
+card. When at last Mademoiselle Blanche ran into the arena, he was
+thrilled with joy. She wore his flowers in her belt.
+
+
+
+
+                                   V
+
+
+That night Jules Le Baron knew that for the first time in his life he
+was really in love. He had often fancied himself in love before, and he
+had enjoyed the experience; now he discovered his mistake. Love was not
+the pure delight he had imagined it to be. It is true, he had moments of
+ecstasy, of sublime self-congratulation, when he felt with stronger
+conviction that the world was made for him and he had been created to
+conquer the world; but during the next few days these were followed by
+long periods of depression, of abject despair.
+
+At times, too, the grotesqueness of this infatuation appalled him. To be
+in love with an acrobat, a woman who earned her bread by hurling herself
+from the top of a building, who risked her life every day, sometimes
+twice a day, that she might live! Then, at the thought of her amazing
+courage, Jules would be overcome, and if alone in his room at home, he
+would throw himself on the bed, bury his head in the pillow and groan.
+Indeed, at this period he went through many strange and violent
+performances. Madeleine became alarmed for his health, and thought of
+sending for a doctor.
+
+He could not apply himself to his work; he made so many mistakes in his
+English correspondence that Monsieur Mercier had to ask him to be more
+careful. The twins noticed his condition and chaffed him, and insisted
+on knowing "her name"; in secret they decided that Jules had been
+investing his money badly; he had often boasted to them about his little
+property. They tried to cheer him by urging him to join them in their
+nocturnal expeditions, but he always replied that he was staying at home
+in the evening now. As a matter of fact, he spent every night or a
+portion of every night at the _Cirque Parisien_, and at each appearance
+of Mademoiselle Blanche, he was gratified to see that she wore his
+nightly offering of roses in her belt. He never received an
+acknowledgment of these tributes, for he did not dare write his address
+on the cards he sent with them. Once, as she stood in the net, just
+before climbing the rope to make her great plunge, he fancied that his
+eye caught hers, and she smiled at him. He decided afterward that he had
+been mistaken; but the thought of that smile prevented him from sleeping
+half the night.
+
+Jules was keeping his courage alive in the hope of seeing her at her
+apartment on Sunday. His only fear was that Durand would be there.
+Durand's published interview with Mademoiselle Blanche was so flippant
+that it deepened the hatred Jules had already conceived for the
+journalist. He resolved on Sunday to explain to Madame Perrault that he
+was not what Durand had represented him to be and to appear in his own
+character; he was conceited enough to believe that in his own character
+he could make quite as good an impression as in any other. Besides, had
+not Mademoiselle Blanche been impressed by the fact that he had visited
+America?
+
+On Saturday night he sent his silk hat to be blocked, and his frock-coat
+to be pressed, and he bought a pair of white gloves. Madeleine found him
+much more agreeable on Sunday morning than he had been during the week;
+but, though he seemed to be recovering his spirits, she still felt
+worried. In the afternoon he presented himself before her for
+inspection, asked if his coat set well, if she liked the colour of his
+gloves, what she thought of the violets that he wore. She became
+enraptured over his appearance, told him that he had never looked so
+beautiful, and saw him go away with a radiant face. Then, as the door
+closed behind him, she went into her little chamber and wept. The truth
+had flashed upon her! Her Jules was in love! Some one else was going to
+take his mother's place and hers. She felt all the jealousy and misery
+that his own mother might have felt at the moment, combined with a
+pathetic consciousness that she had no right to grieve. Jules was
+everything in the world to her, she said to herself, and she was nothing
+to him. She was an old broken woman, and for the rest of her days she
+should have to live alone.
+
+Jules had become her pride and the source of her happiness. Yet she
+really saw very little of him--the only meal he took at home was his
+breakfast--but she really existed for the pleasure of serving him and
+looking at his face in the morning. Now, in spite of her misery, she
+knelt before the statue of the Blessed Virgin that stood on a little
+table beside her bed, and prayed that the woman who was going to take
+her place might be a good woman, and worthy of her boy. In her simple
+affection for Jules she believed that he had only to show that he cared
+for a woman to have her throw herself into his arms.
+
+It was hardly three o'clock, too early for a call, Jules thought, as he
+walked toward the _rue St. Honore_; but he was so impatient to see
+Mademoiselle Blanche again that he could not wait till later in the
+afternoon. During the week the sun had hardly appeared, and the
+succession of leaden skies had helped to depress his spirits. To-day,
+however, the sky was blue and the sun shone so brightly that it seemed
+almost like spring. He was in one of his buoyant moods, when he felt
+sure of his ability to conquer. In his fine clothes and with his
+confident manner, he looked very handsome; several pretty girls
+gratified him by staring at him as he passed. If he impressed people he
+didn't know, why couldn't he impress Mademoiselle Blanche? He planned a
+great many things to say to her. He would be particularly amiable to the
+mother, too, and tell her all about America.
+
+The number in the _rue St. Honore_ that Madame Perrault had given
+corresponded with one of the great white stucco apartment houses
+abounding in Paris. He passed under the wide vaulted entrance, and asked
+the wife of the _concierge_ if Madame Perrault lived there. "_Au
+sixieme_," was the shrill reply, and he started up the narrow stairs.
+When he reached the _sixieme_, the top floor of the house, he panted and
+waited for a moment before ringing, to catch his breath. Then he
+carefully arranged his cuffs, touched with his gloved hand his silk
+cravat and his flowers and, with a sigh of anticipation, he rang the
+bell.
+
+A trim little servant of not more than fifteen opened the door. When
+Jules asked for Madame Perrault, she shook her head.
+
+"She went out an hour ago, monsieur, and she won't be back till four."
+
+Jules' heart sank. Of course, mother and daughter were out together. He
+was about to turn away despairingly, but he suddenly thought of
+inquiring if Mademoiselle were at home. The maid nodded.
+
+"Shall I say that monsieur wishes to see her?" she asked, stepping back
+that he might enter.
+
+"If you please," he replied, as he followed the girl into the little
+_salon_. It was furnished wholly in Japanese fashion; the walls were
+hung with Japanese draperies, and a large thick rug covered the floor.
+On the mantel, prettily draped with a wide piece of flowered silk, stood
+a number of photographs, one of them a duplicate of the portrait of
+Mademoiselle Blanche that he had seen in the entrance of the Circus. As
+Jules glanced at this, he heard a light step in the adjoining room, and
+when he turned, Mademoiselle Blanche herself was looking at him out of
+her dark eyes. She walked toward him, flushing a little, and extended
+her hand.
+
+"I am sorry mamma is not here," she said. "She went out only a few
+minutes ago, and she'll be back soon. But we--"
+
+"You didn't expect any one so early. I ought to apologize, but I was
+impatient to come. Then--I--I hoped to find you alone."
+
+"So you have," she laughed, pointing to a chair near the grate-fire. She
+wore a dress of dark silk with little white spots in it that became her
+wonderfully, Jules thought. Around her neck was a piece of muslin, open
+at the throat, and muslin encircled her wrists. Once again Jules was
+impressed by the delicacy of her appearance; her skin had an almost
+transparent whiteness, and there was no colour in her cheeks, save when
+she flushed, which she did at the least cause.
+
+"How pleasantly you are lodged here," said Jules, looking around the
+room. The apartment was as small as his own, which he had considered one
+of the smallest in Paris.
+
+"Yes, we were fortunate to get it. And it seems so odd--it belongs to an
+actress who's spending the winter in the South of France. We have taken
+it furnished."
+
+"Then you're to be here all the winter?" said Jules, feasting his eyes
+on the clear white forehead, the white neck that he could see beneath
+the muslin. How beautiful she was! His surmise about the teeth had been
+correct; they were small and white, with little bits of red between
+them.
+
+"No," she replied, "I've been engaged at the _Cirque_ until the first of
+January. Then I shall go to Vienna, and appear there for several
+months."
+
+"Ah!" For a moment Jules was silent. "But you will take a rest before
+you go to Vienna?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"No. I should like to go home for Christmas to be with my sisters. But
+they will come to Paris instead."
+
+"But doesn't it tire you?"
+
+"No. It isn't hard. And I never like to stop. I must keep in practice."
+
+For an instant Jules was touched by a curious sympathy. There certainly
+was something pathetic, even abnormal, in the thought that this frail
+woman hurled herself six days in the week from the top of a building.
+Then he was thrilled again by the marvel of it, by the consciousness
+that he was sitting opposite the phenomenon, gazing into her eyes,
+hearing her voice, receiving her smiles. He could think of nothing to
+say, but he felt quite happy; he would have liked to sit there for hours
+in mute admiration. Mademoiselle Blanche, however, looked confused; she
+seemed to be shaping something in her mind.
+
+"It was very kind of you to send the flowers," she said at last. "I
+would have thanked you before if I had known where you lived. They were
+very lovely."
+
+His face shone with pleasure at the thought that she had recognized him
+as the sender, and he leaned toward her. "You needn't thank me," he
+said. "I felt repaid when I saw them in your belt."
+
+Then he told her how he had gone to the circus every night just to see
+her; how he admired her performance, her grace and skill on the trapeze,
+her courage in making the great plunge. As he spoke, her face kept
+changing colour. She seemed to him like a bashful child, and he
+marvelled at her ingenuousness, for surely she must be used to praise.
+Then he recalled what Durand had said about her affectation of modesty,
+and he wondered if the journalist could have been right; but when he
+looked into the girl's clear eyes he saw nothing but beauty and truth.
+
+When he had finished speaking of her performance, he began to talk about
+himself, his favourite topic with women. He told her about his visit in
+the United States, and he made fun of the Americans for drinking water
+instead of wine at table, and for many other customs that had amused him
+because they were so unlike the ways of Parisians. He also imitated the
+speech of some of the Americans he had known, and he was surprised to
+find that she understood what he said. She had learned English from her
+father, she explained; he had often performed in London, and she had
+been there with him twice. Then he began to speak with her in English to
+display his accomplishment, and he felt disappointed on discovering that
+she could converse quite as fluently, and with a better accent. So he
+returned to French, and told her about his life in Paris, his dear old
+Madeleine who kept him so comfortable in his little apartment, his work
+at the office, and about Dufresne and Leroux. She showed no surprise
+when he revealed Durand's duplicity; she merely said that she hadn't
+liked the journalist, and her mother had been vexed by the article. She
+seemed so interested that he went back to his early days, before the
+death of his father and mother, described his life at the _lycee_, his
+love of sport, his passion for the circus, his boyish adventures at
+Montmartre, his happy days in summer at Compiegne, his mother's goodness
+and her foolish pride in him. He was so unconscious in his egotism that
+it was touching to hear him; Mademoiselle Blanche seemed to be
+unconscious of it, too, for she listened with a serious, absorbed
+attention. While he was in the midst of an analysis of his own
+qualities, the little clock on the mantel struck four and Mademoiselle
+Blanche looked up quickly.
+
+"Mamma will be here very soon now," she said.
+
+Jules felt a sudden irritation. At that moment the coming of Madame
+Perrault seemed like an intrusion. The reference to it had the effect of
+stopping his confidences; it was as if she had already appeared in the
+room. He rose from his seat, and began to examine the photographs on the
+mantel. Then he took up one of them, a large photograph of a man of more
+than fifty, with a white pointed beard, a shock of iron-grey hair, and
+laughing eyes.
+
+"Is this your father, mademoiselle?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"That is my mother's _fiance_."
+
+He turned to her quickly. "Your mother's _fiance_!"
+
+"Yes. My mother has been engaged a long time. She would have been
+married a year ago but for me."
+
+"Ah, then you don't like it--you don't want her to marry again?"
+
+"I should not care--that is, I should be glad for Jeanne and Louise.
+Monsieur Berthier is very rich, and he has been kind to the girls. He
+has offered to give them a home."
+
+Jules came near laughing. It seemed to him ridiculous that the old
+powdered woman he had seen in the dressing-room of the Circus should
+marry again.
+
+"Then how have you prevented the marriage?" he asked.
+
+"Because I must work," she replied simply, "and mamma cannot leave me.
+If mamma married Monsieur Berthier, she would have to stay in Boulogne."
+
+"Ah!" A light broke on Jules. The mother would not marry until her
+eldest daughter was married. So, of course, she must be anxious to find
+a husband for Mademoiselle Blanche. He felt as if Providence were paving
+the way toward happiness for him. For a moment he did not speak again.
+Then he said: "But you will marry some day, and then your mother won't
+have to travel with you."
+
+She flushed, and made a deprecating gesture. "I shall always stay in the
+circus," she said. "It's my life. I can't think of any other."
+
+Then he gradually drew her out. She surprised him by telling him of the
+monotony of her life. With most of the other performers she had merely a
+slight acquaintance; the coarseness of the women and the vulgarity of
+the men shocked her. Her only companion in her travels was her mother.
+Yes, it was lonely sometimes not to know other girls of her own age, and
+it was very hard to be separated from Jeanne and Louise. She worried a
+great deal about Jeanne, who had shown a fondness for the circus. She
+thought if her mother married, Jeanne would give up all thought of
+becoming a performer. Of course, it was different with herself; she had
+been bred to the circus, but she couldn't bear the thought of Jeanne's
+being there, too. Jeanne was very pretty and lively; Aunt Sophie was
+obliged to be strict with her. Louise was so different, so quiet and
+simple, and religious, almost a _devote_. As she spoke of her sisters,
+Mademoiselle Blanche grew very animated. Jules blamed himself for the
+momentary doubt he had felt about her. If Durand could only hear her
+now! But Durand doubted every woman.
+
+It was nearly five o'clock when Madame Perrault returned. When she saw
+Jules, she showed no surprise, but smiled upon him broadly and extended
+her hand. Mademoiselle Blanche lapsed into silence and, as her mother
+talked, with a superabundance of gesture and with tireless vivacity, she
+could feel Jules' eyes fixed upon her. She knew that Jules hardly heard
+what was being said, and when he rose to take his departure, she made no
+effort to detain him.
+
+"I should like to come again," he said to the girl.
+
+"Some afternoon, perhaps," Madame Perrault suggested amiably. "Blanche
+always rests between three and four, but after that she could see you."
+
+"But I am at my office till six."
+
+"Ah, yes!" Madame Perrault exclaimed with a smile. "That wicked
+journalist! You must tell him we were vexed with his article."
+
+"Then may I come in the evening? Perhaps you'll let me take you to the
+theatre some night?"
+
+Madame Perrault clapped her hands. "That would be perfect!"
+
+Mademoiselle Blanche said nothing, but it was to her that Jules directed
+his next remark.
+
+"Perhaps to-morrow night; I will come at eight o'clock."
+
+Madame Perrault displayed her gleaming teeth patched with gold, and her
+daughter merely bowed and said, "Thank you."
+
+As Jules was putting on his overcoat in the little hall, he heard a
+voice say:
+
+"_Il est tres gentil, ce monsieur_," but though he listened he could not
+catch the reply. He was radiantly happy, however. When he reached the
+street, he felt like running; with an effort he controlled himself, and
+walked buoyantly home with a smile on his face. He would take Madeleine
+out to dinner, as he used to take his mother when they celebrated his
+holidays!
+
+
+
+
+                                   VI
+
+
+The next night, promptly at eight o'clock, Jules appeared in the little
+_salon_ in the _rue St. Honore_, bearing his offering of flowers to
+Mademoiselle Blanche. Madame Perrault gave him the quiet reception of an
+old friend, and he felt as if he had long been in the habit of calling
+at the apartment. Madame Perrault informed him that she had just risen
+from dinner, and asked him to drink a cup of coffee. Then the three
+figures sat in the dimly-lighted room and talked; that is, Jules and
+Madame Perrault talked, for Blanche ventured a remark only when a
+question was put to her.
+
+A few moments later, Madame Perrault went into the next room where she
+was occupied with the little maid in making a dress; so Jules was left
+alone with her daughter. They had very little to say to each other, and
+Jules was content to sit in silence and rapt adoration. As he looked at
+her, her name kept singing in his mind: Blanche! He wondered if he
+should ever dare to address her in this way. How beautiful she was as
+she sat there, the soft light of the fire falling on her face and hands,
+and on the folds of her gown! He was glad she was so quiet; he hated
+women that talked all the time. That was the great fault with Madame
+Perrault; if she said less, he would like her, in spite of her powder
+and paint. Since hearing that she was engaged, and wanted to get her
+daughter married, Jules' feelings toward her had softened.
+
+It was nearly ten o'clock before they left for the theatre. Jules called
+a cab, and all three squeezed into it with a great deal of laughter on
+the part of Madame Perrault. As they rattled over the rough pavement,
+the noise was so great that they could not talk, and Jules gave himself
+up to contemplating the serious face of Mademoiselle Blanche. The
+thought that he was riding with her to the scene of her triumphs
+thrilled him. He felt as if he were having a share in her performance,
+as if her glory were reflected on him. Ah, if Dufresne and Leroux could
+see him now! How they would be impressed, and how they would envy him!
+
+Before bidding his friends good-night, he asked if he might not take
+them home; he would remain till the end of the performance, anyway, he
+said. Instead of entering the theatre at once, he sauntered along the
+_Boulevard_ toward the _place de la Bastille_. What were the other
+performers to him? Without Mademoiselle Blanche the _Cirque Parisien_
+would not be worth visiting. He did not return to the theatre till it
+was nearly time for her to appear. Reju was standing at the door, and
+made a sign for him to pass in without paying. Jules accepted the
+invitation with a twinge of conscience. He wondered what Reju would
+think if he discovered Durand's imposition.
+
+After the performance, Jules waited at the stage-door for half an hour
+till Mademoiselle Blanche appeared again. Then he asked her and her
+mother to take supper with him at one of the restaurants in the
+_Boulevard_. Madame Perrault consented amiably, and they entered a
+little _cafe_, where a half-dozen young men and girls were sitting round
+a table, playing cards. Jules wanted to order a bottle of champagne; but
+Mademoiselle Blanche objected; he could scarcely keep from smiling when
+she said she would much rather have beer. So he called for three bocks
+and some cheese sandwiches, and over this simple repast they became very
+gay. Madame Perrault was the liveliest of the three, and she amused
+Jules by a description of her _fiance_, who had been in love with her,
+she said, long before her marriage with Blanche's father. She seemed to
+think it was very droll that he should want to marry her now; she had
+told him he would do much better to marry Blanche, or to wait till
+Jeanne grew up. Under the warmth of her humor, Jules' prejudices against
+her disappeared, and he found himself growing fond of her. At that
+moment he longed to confide in her, to tell her all about his
+infatuation for her daughter, and to ask her advice about the best way
+of pleasing the girl.
+
+When they had left the _cafe_, and Jules had taken his friends home and
+dismissed the cab, he fell again into the depression of the week before.
+As he walked to the _rue de Lisbonne_ in the damp night, he blamed
+Durand for having introduced him to the Perraults. If he hadn't met
+Mademoiselle Blanche he might have gone on living comfortably, enjoyed
+his daily work, his little dinners, his visits to the theatre, his
+comfortable apartment, with Madeleine to look after his wants. Now he
+was upset, at sea. He hated the routine of the office; the vulgar
+stories of Dufresne and Leroux disgusted him; the apartment was cold and
+lonely; Madeleine was always interfering with him. He resolved not to go
+to the _Cirque_ again; he would try to forget Mademoiselle Blanche and
+her mother's chatter. But when he went to bed it was of her that he
+thought, and he dreamed that he saw her again, in her white silk tights,
+climbing hand over hand to the top of the Circus, tumbling through the
+air, and bouncing with a thud to her feet on the padded net.
+
+The next morning he felt better, and he called himself a fool for his
+misery of the night before. As he looked back on the evening, he decided
+that, of course, if they hadn't liked him, they would not have allowed
+him to take them to the theatre and back, and to a _cafe_ for supper. He
+wondered what they would think if he called for them again that night.
+Perhaps it would be better to wait for two or three days. But at the end
+of the afternoon he felt so impatient to see Mademoiselle Blanche that
+he determined to risk seeming intrusive. So he bought another bunch of
+white roses, and at eight o'clock he reappeared in the apartment. Madame
+Perrault greeted him just as she had done the night before, without a
+suggestion of surprise in her manner. This made him feel so bold that he
+did not apologize, as he had intended to do, but took his place by the
+fire as if he had a right to be there.
+
+In this way, Jules Le Baron's courtship began. It seemed to him a
+strange courtship. It taught him a great many things,--among others, how
+little he knew about women. As he had lived in Paris all of his thirty
+years, with the exception of his three memorable months in America, he
+thought he understood women; now he saw his mistake. He had not led a
+particularly good life, though it was so much better than the lives of
+most of his acquaintances that he considered himself a man of rather
+superior character. If he had studied his character more carefully, he
+would have discovered that his superiority was not a matter of morals,
+but of taste and temperament. Vice seemed to him vulgar, and it made him
+uncomfortable; so in its grosser forms he had always avoided it. He had,
+however, the Parisian's frank, ingenuous, almost innocent fondness for
+the humorously indecent, and his attitude toward life was wholly French.
+The mention of virtue made him laugh and shrug his shoulders. Most
+women, he thought, were naturally the inferiors of men; so the better he
+understood the character of Mademoiselle Blanche, the more surprised he
+grew. Indeed, there were times when he felt awed in her presence and
+ashamed of himself. She seemed to know the world and yet to be untainted
+by it, to turn away instinctively from its evil phases. If her innocence
+had been ignorant, he could not have respected it; the knowledge that
+she had lived in the midst of temptation made her goodness seem almost
+sublime.
+
+Jules fell into the habit of calling for the Perraults in the evening,
+and he soon became recognized at the _Cirque_ as their escort. Reju, who
+still showed respect for him as a journalist, admitted him to the
+theatre every night without charge, and he was also permitted to enter
+the sacred precincts beyond the stage-door, where, instead of waiting on
+the sidewalk, he stood in a cold corridor, dimly lighted by sputtering
+lamps. After the performance, he sometimes took his friends into the
+little _cafe_ for beer and sandwiches, and occasionally Madame Perrault
+would prepare a supper at home.
+
+Jules' equilibrium became restored again; he made fewer mistakes at the
+office and he even deceived the twins, who had come to the conclusion
+that he must be in love. With Madeleine, in spite of his first
+confidences, he had little to say about Mademoiselle Blanche, and she
+did not dare ask him questions. His silence and his improved appetite,
+together with his renewed amiability, made her hope that he had
+recovered from his infatuation, and she felt easier in mind.
+
+On the Saturday evening following his first call on Mademoiselle
+Blanche, while Jules was sitting in the little apartment, he asked the
+girl if they might not pass Sunday together. "We might drive through the
+_Bois_ into the country," he suggested.
+
+She had been looking into the fire, and she glanced at him hesitatingly.
+"We always go to mass on Sunday morning," she said.
+
+For a moment Jules appeared confused. "But can't you go to early mass?"
+
+Madame Perrault, who was in the next room, called out: "It's no use
+trying to persuade her not to go to high mass, monsieur. She'd think
+something terrible was going to happen to her if she didn't go. Now, I
+go at eight o'clock; so I have the rest of the day free."
+
+Jules looked at Mademoiselle Blanche and smiled, and she smiled back.
+
+"I like to hear the music," she explained apologetically.
+
+"Oh, she's too religious for _this_ world," Madame Perrault laughed. "I
+believe she'd go to mass every morning of her life if she didn't have to
+stay up so late at night. She ought to be in a convent instead of a
+circus."
+
+"In a convent!" Jules exclaimed, in mock alarm.
+
+"Don't you ever go to church?" the girl asked, turning to Jules.
+
+He looked confused again. "I? Well, no. To tell the truth, I haven't
+been in a church for nearly ten years. Oh, yes I have. I went to a
+funeral two years ago at the Trinity."
+
+"But weren't you--weren't you brought up to go to church?"
+
+"Brought up to go to church? Oh, yes; my mother went to church every
+Sunday of her life. I used to go with her after my father died."
+
+A long silence followed. Mademoiselle Blanche turned again to the fire,
+and Jules had a sensation of extreme unpleasantness. Like many
+Parisians, he never thought about religion. He had been so affected by
+the skepticism of his associates that he had no real belief in any
+doctrine. He saw now for the first time that serious complications might
+arise from his religious indifference. It was very disagreeable, he
+thought, to be confronted with it in this way. Indeed, the more he
+thought about it, the more annoyed he became. He felt that he must
+justify himself in some way. So at last he spoke up: "I suppose you're
+shocked because I don't go to church, aren't you, mademoiselle?"
+
+Mademoiselle Blanche looked down at her hands lying folded in her lap.
+
+"I'm sorry."
+
+"Sorry?" he repeated, trying to laugh. "Why are you sorry? I rather like
+it. I never did enjoy going to church."
+
+"We don't go to church to enjoy it, do we?" she asked gently.
+
+He sank back in his seat, and looked at her. "No, I suppose not." Then,
+after a moment, he suddenly leaned forward. "We can't all be good like
+you, mademoiselle. Perhaps if I had known you always, I should go to
+church. I'd do anything to please you."
+
+"But you ought not to go to please me. You ought to go for your own
+good."
+
+"So you think it does good, then--going to church?"
+
+"I'm sure of it," she replied, gazing into the fire. "Sometimes,--when I
+feel unhappy because I haven't seen the girls for so long, and because I
+must be separated from them so much, or when Aunt Sophie complains about
+Jeanne, or Jeanne has been unkind to Louise, or disobedient, then, after
+I've been to church, I feel better."
+
+"Why do you feel better?" he asked, more to keep her talking than
+because he cared for her answer.
+
+"Because I feel sure," she went on, holding her head down, "I feel sure
+it will all come out right--if I only have faith. Jeanne is a good girl;
+she's never disobedient or unkind with me."
+
+"Then you worry about Jeanne?"
+
+"Yes--sometimes."
+
+"But you don't worry so much after you've been at church?"
+
+"No."
+
+"And that is why you like to go to church?"
+
+"That's one reason. But there are others--a great many others."
+
+He felt like laughing at the simplicity of her reasoning, and yet he was
+touched. He had a sudden desire to take her in his arms and stroke her
+soft hair and tell her he loved her. Then he heard her mother's step in
+the next room, and this roused him.
+
+"I should like to go to church with you sometimes," he said. "May I?"
+
+"Take him to-morrow, Blanche," cried Madame Perrault, and at that moment
+Jules could have kissed her, too. "There's going to be a special service
+at _St. Philippe de Roule_ at ten o'clock. The music will be good."
+
+That was how Jules first happened to go to church with Mademoiselle
+Blanche. After mass they walked up the _Champs Elysees_ and then along
+the _avenue du Bois de Boulogne_, in the midst of the multitude of
+promenaders. A few of the men recognized the girl, and turned to look
+after her. She seemed not to see them, but Jules did, and he felt very
+proud to be her escort. She looked very pretty in her tight-fitting
+black jacket and little hat tipped with fur, her cheeks scarlet with the
+early frost. She was the last person in the crowd, Jules thought, who
+would be taken for an acrobat. It seemed to him wonderful that she
+should appear so unlike the marvel that she was, and this lack of
+resemblance to herself made her the more attractive to him.
+
+After that day, Jules went to church with Mademoiselle Blanche every
+Sunday. At first the sight of the priests in their vestments, of the
+altar-boys in their white surplices, of the white altar gleaming with
+candles and plate and enshrouded in incense, and the reverberation of
+the organ, mingled with the voices singing the music of the mass, all
+reminded him so strongly of his mother, that his old affection for her
+swept over him, and brought tears to his eyes.
+
+His own disbelief had made him doubt even the faith of others. It had
+also inspired him with the hatred for priests, so common even among
+Parisians of traditions like his own. Now, as he watched them, chanting
+at the altar, they seemed harmless as other men. He tried, as he went
+mechanically through the service, to count the men he knew who went to
+church. Nearly all of his acquaintances, he found, scoffed at it. Then
+gradually the service became subtly mingled with his love for the girl
+beside him, and for her sake he loved it. The organ seemed to sing her
+praise exultingly. He would have liked to tell her of this fancy, but he
+did not dare; he knew it would shock her. In a short time, going through
+the mass with her grew to mean to him an expression of his love, a
+spiritual exaltation which he offered as a tribute, not to God, but to
+her.
+
+
+
+
+                                  VII
+
+
+By the month of November, Jules had identified himself with Madame
+Perrault and her daughter. He took his position as their friend and
+recognized escort so quickly and so quietly that he was himself
+surprised by it. There were moments when he had a fear that it was all
+an illusion, that some night he should find the stage-door of the
+_Cirque_ slammed in his face.
+
+It was while watching Mademoiselle Blanche in the ring that he found it
+most difficult to realize his happiness. He actually _knew_ this
+wonderful creature in white tights who darted from trapeze to trapeze,
+who posed like a marble statue on the rope, who shot through the air
+like a thunderbolt! He saw her every day; he loved her, and she knew
+that he loved her. Sometimes he fancied that she loved him in
+return--from an expression in her face, a glance of her eyes, a blush, a
+tremor when his hand touched hers. He did not dare speak to her about
+his love; he doubted if he should ever dare to speak; at a word he
+feared his happiness might be shattered.
+
+Sometimes on Sunday afternoons he drove with Mademoiselle Blanche and
+her mother into the country, and on Sunday nights he would dine and pass
+the evening with them in the little apartment. Occasionally he had long
+talks with the mother; in these he told about his family and about his
+property, laying stress on the fact that even if he lost his place at
+the office his income was large enough to support him. She told him, in
+return, about her own family and her husband's, and gave him a humorous
+account of her sister-in-law, Blanche's Aunt Sophie.
+
+"Blanche is a little like her," she said. "Sophie takes everything _au
+grand serieux_. Then she's strict with the children, and that's a great
+mistake, for Jeanne hates restraint, and Louise doesn't need it."
+
+She also told him amusing stories about Monsieur Berthier's devotion to
+her. He had offered himself to her while she was at the convent where
+she was educated, near Boulogne, and she had refused him twice. Her
+family had objected to her marriage with Blanche's father, simply
+because he was an acrobat. No, she hadn't fallen in love with him at the
+circus. She never saw him perform till a short time before she became
+engaged to him. Ah, it had been hard for her to be separated from him so
+much. Sometimes she travelled with him in his long journeys; but while
+the children were very young, she couldn't. Blanche had been such a
+consolation to him. Madame Perrault believed that husband and wife ought
+never to be separated; it was bad for both of them. If she had her life
+to live over again, she would always travel with her husband, no matter
+how far he went.
+
+Most of Jules' talk with Madame Perrault, however, consisted of a
+discussion of the qualities of her daughter, whose praises she
+constantly sang for him. Blanche's ambition, she said, was to provide
+dowries for her sisters; she had already accumulated a few thousand
+francs, and these she had set aside for the girls. She never seemed to
+think that she herself needed a _dot_. Ah, sometimes Madame was very
+much worried about her daughter's future. Blanche could not marry any of
+the other performers; they were not worthy of her, and their coarseness
+and roughness shocked her. Of course, they were good enough in their
+way, but their way was not Blanche's way.
+
+Then, as Madame became more familiar with Jules, she also grew more
+confidential. Yes, Blanche had had a great many admirers. The young
+Prince of Luperto had fallen desperately in love with her in Bucharest
+three years before, and he had followed her all over Europe. But she had
+refused to notice any of his letters,--and oh, _mon Dieu!_ such letters!
+Madame had read every one of them, and she had met the Prince the night
+he tried to force himself into Blanche's dressing-room. He seemed _such_
+a gentleman, and he had the most beautiful eyes! But Blanche,--she was
+so frightened. She cried and cried, and for weeks she was in terror of
+her life! Then there were others,--so many, so many. One by one, Madame
+Perrault unfolded their histories to Jules, and he listened in rapt
+attention, with a growing appreciation of the daughter's charms and of
+the mother's amiability.
+
+Jules often wondered why he did not hear more talk about the circus in
+the little apartment. The subject was rarely mentioned. Mademoiselle
+Blanche displayed no nervousness before or after her performance. She
+practised a little in the morning at home, she said, to keep her muscles
+limber; she had done the same things on the trapeze so often that they
+had become easy to her. Once Jules met in the apartment the oily little
+Frenchman who always held the rope when Mademoiselle Blanche climbed to
+the top of the _Cirque_, and then he learned for the first time that
+Monsieur Pelletier was Mademoiselle's agent. "And he is such a trial to
+us," the mother explained when he was gone. "He makes such bad terms,
+and we have to pay him such a high percentage; and then he sometimes
+mixes up our dates, and we don't know what to do. Ah, if we could only
+have some one to take care of our affairs that we could trust. It is so
+hard for two unprotected women."
+
+Jules thought of this speech many times. Indeed, he fairly brooded over
+it. For several weeks he had felt that his career was too limited; he
+hated the thought of being tied down to his business all his life. He
+was made for something better than that, for a grander, a more
+conspicuous _role_.
+
+In his youth he had thought of the army, then of a diplomatic career;
+for a time, too, of the stage. But he had been too poor to enter either
+of the first two professions, and for the stage he was unfitted by
+temperament. Now, in his imagination a brilliant career stretched before
+him, combining both glory and love. Up to the present he had not lived;
+his life was about to begin. The world seemed to open out to him! He
+would travel from one end of the earth to the other in an unbroken march
+of triumph. Even Paris lost attractiveness for him and seemed
+uninteresting and petty; he pitied the poor _boulevardiers_ who were
+bound to a wretched routine of existence, who loved it simply because
+they knew of no other. He would not only visit America again--this time
+not in a sordid capacity, friendless and lonely, but surrounded by a
+retinue--he would go also to Russia, to India, to Australia, perhaps to
+Japan and the other countries of the remote East. The night when he was
+first enchanted by this vision, he could not sleep for excitement till
+nearly four o'clock. Then he saw the vision realized, only to be
+shattered by Madeleine's cracked voice, and her injunction that it was
+time for him to get up and go to his work.
+
+In the evening, when he saw his friends again, he found them very
+unhappy; they had just received news from Jeanne that Aunt Sophie was
+very ill, threatened with pneumonia. Madame Perrault was in tears, and
+Mademoiselle Blanche's eyes showed that she, too, had been crying. The
+next day, they said, Jeanne had promised to write, and the next night
+Jules learned that bad news had been received. The doctor pronounced the
+case pneumonia, and said the patient was in great danger. Mamma must
+come on, Jeanne wrote. But Madame explained to Jules with sobs that she
+could not leave Blanche.
+
+"And my poor Jeanne, what will she do, a child of fourteen with only the
+little Louise to help her."
+
+Then Jules became inspired. His faithful Madeleine--she would save the
+situation. Madame Perrault might go to Boulogne by the first train, and
+Madeleine would take her place, would be a second mother to Mademoiselle
+Blanche, accompany her to the theatre, help her to dress, come back with
+her, keep her from being lonely. Jules wanted to rush off at once, and
+bring Madeleine to the _rue St. Honore_, for inspection and approval.
+
+Then the girl's quiet wisdom asserted itself. Jeanne had said there was
+no immediate danger; so if Mamma took the train in the morning, that
+would be in quite time enough. After their _petit dejeuner_ they might
+call on Madeleine, or Monsieur Jules might tell them if she would come.
+Then Jules burst into a eulogy of Madeleine's qualities: he had never
+before realized what a good soul she was. He would bring her with him,
+he said, in the morning, on his way to the office; he knew she would be
+glad to come.
+
+On this occasion Jules had a chance to display his executive ability.
+After leaving his friends at the Circus, he drove home furiously, found
+Madeleine sound asleep in the big chair by the fireplace, woke her up,
+and explained the situation.
+
+"Now, my dear Madeleine," he said at the end, "you are to go to that
+poor girl and take her mother's place; she will love you, and you will
+love her. So be good to her for my sake, Madeleine," and he leaned over,
+and patted the old woman's wrinkled hand affectionately. Madeleine was
+moved, chiefly, however, by Jules' unwonted tenderness. She had never
+known an actress, not to speak of a performer in a circus, and she felt
+alarmed at the thought of meeting one. But she felt sure that
+Mademoiselle Blanche must be good. Hadn't Jules said so? Jules had not
+said that he was in love with Mademoiselle; he trusted Madeleine to find
+that out for herself; he also trusted Madeleine to find out a few other
+things for him. Secretly he was blessing the chance that enabled him to
+send Madeleine to Mademoiselle; for the moment he did not even think of
+the personal discomfort it would cause himself.
+
+That night Jules told his friends that Madeleine had consented to come,
+and he promised to bring her with him in the morning. Madeleine was
+greatly agitated, and rose unusually early to make an elaborate
+toilette. She rarely went out, save to the shops and to mass; so she had
+not kept up with the fashions, and her best dress was made in a mode
+long before discarded. She was a very grotesque figure as she walked in
+her queer little bonnet with long ribbons flying from it, and her wide
+skirts. When they reached the apartment in the _rue St. Honore_, Jules
+thought he saw an expression of amusement in Madame Perrault's face, but
+Blanche greeted Madeleine with great kindliness. Then the mother
+explained that she had just received a letter from Jeanne, saying Aunt
+Sophie was in no immediate danger, but begging her to come as soon as
+possible. Jules saw that both his friends were pleased with Madeleine,
+and it was quickly arranged that she should install herself in the
+apartment that day, and at four o'clock Madame Perrault would leave for
+Boulogne. He departed radiantly happy, with the promise to return at
+three to take Madame to the station. He secured leave of absence from
+the office, and on his return to the apartment he found Madeleine there,
+helping Mademoiselle Blanche to make a new dress.
+
+"I'll be ready in a minute," Madame Perrault cried from the adjoining
+room.
+
+"Are you coming with us, mademoiselle?" Jules asked.
+
+"No, I won't let her," her mother replied. "It's too cold, and it would
+tire her. You aren't afraid to ride alone in a cab with me, are you?"
+
+Jules was surprised by her vivacity; he knew that she was greatly
+worried about her sister, yet in the midst of her agitation she could
+joke. If he had known her less he would have supposed that she was a
+woman of little feeling. She presently flounced out of the room, putting
+on her gloves and smiling.
+
+"Madeleine and Blanche have become great friends," she said. "I'm afraid
+I shall be jealous of her. When I come back there won't be any place for
+me." Then she took her daughter by both hands and Jules saw the glimmer
+of tears in her eyes. "Good-bye, dear," she said, kissing the girl on
+both cheeks. "You must write to me every day, and I'll write to you. In
+a week, at least, I shall be back. I have a presentiment that Sophie
+will improve as soon as I get there."
+
+Mademoiselle Blanche clung tightly to her mother, and kissed her again
+and again.
+
+"There, there! Now, my child--there!" With a parting embrace, Madame
+Perrault tore herself away, crying as she passed out of the door,
+"Good-bye, Madeleine. Take care of the little one! And remember Monsieur
+Jules is coming back to dinner. I'm going to invite him."
+
+This was the first time she had ever called Jules by his first name, and
+on hearing it he felt a thrill of joy. She hurried before him down the
+steep stairs, wiping her eyes. When they entered the cab, she had
+controlled herself again, and was smiling as usual.
+
+The cab rattled so noisily over the pavement that during most of the
+ride to the station they kept silent. They arrived there half an hour
+ahead of time, and this they spent in walking up and down the platform.
+
+"You must be very kind to my Blanche while I'm away," said Madame
+Perrault. "She will be very lonely. She hasn't been separated from me
+before since her father died."
+
+Jules assured her that he would be a second mother to her. He would take
+her and Madeleine to the _Cirque_ every night, and in the morning on his
+way to the office he would call to ask if he could do her any service.
+"She'll be spoiled when you come back," he concluded with a smile.
+
+For a moment they walked without speaking. The station was so cold that
+their breaths made vapour in the air. Yet Jules felt warm enough; his
+whole being seemed to glow.
+
+"There's something I want to tell you."
+
+She made a sign with her head that she was listening.
+
+"I'm in love with Mademoiselle Blanche," he said, impressively, finding
+a delicious relief in speaking the words.
+
+She smiled roguishly into his face.
+
+"Is that all?"
+
+They looked into each other's eyes, and read there a mutual
+understanding.
+
+"Then you've known all along?"
+
+"Of course, from the very first, from the first night you came into the
+dressing-room, and pretended to be a reporter."
+
+"Ah, I thought you had forgiven that."
+
+"So I have--that is, there was nothing to forgive. You didn't deceive
+me."
+
+"Do you mean that you knew at the time I wasn't a reporter? And
+Blanche--she knew too?"
+
+"No, poor dear, she didn't know. Yet it was plain as daylight. Ah, my
+friend, I haven't lived fifty years for nothing. Don't you suppose I
+could tell from your looks and your manner, and what you said, and what
+you _didn't_ say,--don't you suppose I could tell from all that, what
+you had come for?"
+
+Jules looked into her face again.
+
+"How good you are!" he sighed.
+
+She burst out laughing.
+
+"Good? I am not good. Blanche taught me that years ago. There's nothing
+like having a good daughter to take a mother down. She makes me feel
+ashamed every day of my life."
+
+"That's just the way she makes me feel," Jules cried, delighted to find
+that some one else shared his feeling. "Then she's so gentle and so
+kind," he rhapsodized, "and she thinks so little about herself! Do
+you--do you think----Oh, that's what almost drives me to despair
+sometimes. I hardly dare go near her. I hardly dare to speak to her."
+
+Madame Perrault took a deep breath.
+
+"You almost make me feel young again," she said, with a smile.
+
+"Do you think I could make her love me?" Jules asked, marvelling at his
+own humility.
+
+"Do you mean that you want to know whether I think she's in love with
+you or not?" Madame Perrault said briskly. "Ah, my friend, I can't
+answer that question. You must ask her yourself."
+
+"Then you give me permission to ask her? You are willing? You have no
+objection?" He stopped suddenly, and looked radiantly at Madame
+Perrault's face. "How _good_ you are, madame!" he repeated.
+
+She began to laugh again,--a peculiar, gurgling laugh that came from her
+throat.
+
+"Why should I object? You are a good fellow. You would make Blanche a
+good husband. It's time for her to get married. She needs some one to
+protect her. I can't follow her about all the rest of my life. She is
+twenty-two. Why shouldn't she marry?"
+
+Jules' ardor was cooled by this practical reasoning; it made him
+practical too. He told Madame Perrault again of his little property. He
+could well afford to marry, he said. He loved Mademoiselle Blanche with
+all his heart; he couldn't live without her; he would give up everything
+for her; he would follow her everywhere. Ah, if he only knew whether she
+cared for him or not! She was so strange, so reserved. It was so hard to
+tell with a girl like her.
+
+"You are right there, my friend. She has great reserve. With my Jeanne
+or Louise, I should know everything. But with Blanche, _non!_ But I
+never pry into her secrets; I have learned better. She has a great deal
+of inner life; she thinks a great deal; she is not like the other
+flighty women that you see in the circus. If she had not been born to
+the circus, if she had been brought up as Louise has been, she would be
+a _religieuse_."
+
+Jules would have become rhapsodical again if the whistle of the train
+had not sounded, and he was obliged hurriedly to help Madame Perrault
+into her compartment. He shook the hand that she offered him, received a
+few last messages, and he watched the train as it pulled out of the
+station. Then, with a sigh, he turned and walked back to his office.
+
+
+
+
+                                  VIII
+
+
+After the departure of Madeleine, Jules would have found his apartment
+cheerless, if he had not used it merely for sleeping. As soon as he rose
+in the morning, he went to Madame Perrault's, where he breakfasted with
+Mademoiselle Blanche. In spite of her duties elsewhere, Madeleine kept
+his rooms in order, and his new domestic arrangements did not in the
+least inconvenience him. Indeed, he liked them, and he almost dreaded
+the return of Mademoiselle's mother. This would probably not take place
+for several weeks, however, for the illness of her aunt Sophie proved to
+be very tedious, though after the first ten days she was pronounced out
+of danger. Madeleine had speedily won the affections of Mademoiselle
+Blanche, and she secretly confided to Jules that the girl was an angel.
+
+"I knew you'd think so," Jules replied. "I've thought so ever since I
+first saw her."
+
+"Ah, but it's wicked that she should have to do those dreadful things
+every night!" Madeleine cried, rolling her eyes, and throwing up her
+hands in horror. "It freezes my blood."
+
+"But she likes it," Jules explained.
+
+"Ah, it's wicked just the same, the poor child!"
+
+Madeleine had speedily adapted herself to her duties as dresser to
+Mademoiselle Blanche, and her nightly trips to the theatre were the most
+exciting experiences of her life. After seeing the plunge from the top
+of the Circus, however, she had refused to look at it again. "It freezes
+my blood," she would repeat, whenever Jules referred to it. "It's too
+horrible!"
+
+"But she makes a lot of money by it," Jules insisted.
+
+"She would do much better to stay poor," Madeleine replied, with a
+tartness that was rare with her and made Jules burst out laughing.
+
+"Madeleine," he said, confidentially. "Madeleine, come over here."
+
+Madeleine bent her head towards him with a smile on her face.
+
+"Madeleine, do you think there's any one--any one that she cares about
+particularly--any one you know? Eh?"
+
+Madeleine's wrinkles deepened, as the smile spread over her face and
+lighted her faded eyes.
+
+"Ah, Monsieur Jules, she is very fond of her sisters. She is always
+talking about them, especially about _la petite_ Jeanne. Then she's very
+fond of her mamma, too, of course."
+
+"Madeleine, you're trying to plague me now. You know I don't mean that.
+I mean any--any--?"
+
+"Any gentleman, Monsieur Jules?" the old woman asked.
+
+"Yes, Madeleine, any gentleman."
+
+Madeleine grew thoughtful.
+
+"She often speaks of Monsieur Berthier, who is going to marry her
+mother. She says he's very kind to her sisters."
+
+"And is that all, Madeleine? Doesn't she speak of any one else? Doesn't
+she ever speak of--of me?"
+
+"Oh, yes, Monsieur Jules, she thinks you've been very good to her and
+her mother. She often speaks of that."
+
+This was all the information that Jules could extract from Madeleine. On
+several occasions he tried her again, but though she seemed amused by
+his questions, she evaded them. Once he said to her:
+
+"Madeleine, how would you like to go away with me--to travel--a long
+distance?"
+
+Madeleine carefully considered the question. Then she replied simply:
+
+"I should not like to leave Paris, Monsieur Jules, but, if you wanted me
+to go, I would go."
+
+After that, Madeleine was less worried. She had little to say, and, like
+most silent people, she observed and thought a great deal. For
+Mademoiselle Blanche she had conceived a genuine affection, and she
+looked forward with regret to the time when she would have to leave the
+_rue St. Honore_ for Jules' lonely apartment.
+
+One Saturday night, on their return from the Circus, Jules asked
+Mademoiselle Blanche if she were going to high mass the next day as
+usual. He was surprised when she replied that she was going at eight
+o'clock instead.
+
+"But that is too early," he said. "You won't have sleep enough."
+
+"I'm going to communion," she explained.
+
+"Oh!"
+
+He could not understand why this announcement should impress him as it
+did. He had supposed that of course she went to communion; she had
+probably gone to confession early in the afternoon before the _matinee_.
+Once again he felt awed by her goodness. How strange it was that she
+should be in the confessional at three o'clock, and two hours later
+perform in her fleshings before a crowd of people! The very publicity of
+her life seemed to exalt the simplicity and the purity of her character.
+
+Jules was so absorbed in thinking of these things that he did not speak
+again till the cab reached the _rue St. Honore_. Then, as he helped
+Mademoiselle out, he said:
+
+"I'll go to church with you to-morrow, if you will let me. You won't
+leave before half-past seven, will you?"
+
+She protested that he ought not to get up so early; he needed a good
+night's rest after his hard work of the week. But he laughed and waved
+his hand to her in parting, and told her not to wait for him after a
+quarter to eight; now that he didn't have Madeleine to call him, he
+might not wake up in time.
+
+He was in time, however, and as he walked to church in the cold December
+air with Mademoiselle by his side, he felt repaid for his sacrifice. She
+wore a tight-fitting fur coat and a black cloth dress, with the little
+fur-trimmed hat he had admired when he first walked with her in the
+_Champs Elysees_. Her face was protected by a thick dotted veil, but
+under it he could see her sparkling eyes and the color in her cheeks.
+
+"I'm paying you a very great compliment," he said, as they hurried along
+towards _St. Philippe de Roule_. "I haven't got up so early on a Sunday
+since I was a boy."
+
+She smiled in reply; it was too cold for her to speak. He could see her
+breath steaming faintly through the veil.
+
+He felt a curious desire to hear her voice again; he did not realize
+that her devotion to the Church made her seem more remote from him, but
+he had an unpleasant consciousness that his own lack of religious faith
+created a barrier between them.
+
+In the church he kept glancing from the priest celebrating the mass, to
+her. She was absorbed in reading her prayer-book, and she did not once
+look up at him. He compared her as she appeared then with her appearance
+in the glamor of the circus ring. She was the same person, yet
+different. She represented to him a kind of miracle. How humble she was,
+how sweet and good, as she knelt there!
+
+When the priest began to distribute the communion and Blanche left her
+seat and joined the throng approaching the altar, Jules was touched with
+a tenderness he had never felt before. He buried his face in his hands,
+and prayed that he might be made worthy of her. He did not dare pray for
+her love; a certain sense of shame at having neglected God and church
+for so many years, at having lived solely for his own gratification,
+kept him from that; but if he had examined his motives, he would have
+found that this was really what he was praying for. He deceived himself
+so easily that he instinctively felt that he might be able to deceive
+God too.
+
+On leaving the church, Jules proposed that they go to a restaurant for
+breakfast. "We'll make a holiday of it," he said, "and drink to your
+Aunt Sophie's health."
+
+But Blanche protested that Madeleine would expect them, and would be
+worried if she were not back by half-past nine.
+
+"Then we'll go out at one o'clock. I'll take you over to Bertiny's, in
+the _Champs Elysees_. It's very gorgeous; the twins took me there once
+to celebrate Dufresne's luck when he won five hundred francs at the
+races."
+
+Though the sun was shining, it was still very cold, and as they hurried
+to the little apartment Jules could see that she was trembling.
+Madeleine had prepared some hot coffee for them and some eggs, and over
+these they were very gay. Jules was in a particularly good humor, and
+Mademoiselle Blanche laughed at his jokes, though most of them she had
+heard before. She had a very pretty laugh, he thought,--like her
+mother's, though not so deep and gurgling. After breakfast her face
+flushed from her walk and she looked even prettier than she appeared in
+the church.
+
+As Madeleine cleared away the table, Blanche began to water the flowers
+by the window, and Jules opened the copy of the _Petit Journal_ that he
+had bought on the way from the church. He kept glancing up at
+Mademoiselle, however, and each time he looked at her he had a new
+sensation of pleasure. How domestic she looked in the little dress of
+gray wool that she had put on after her return from mass! She seemed to
+create an atmosphere of home around her. In her belt were the roses he
+had given her the night before, still fresh and sparkling with drops of
+water from her fingers. How good it was, he thought, that he could be
+with her like this! How lonely his own apartment would be to him when
+Madame Perrault came back! He almost wished that she would never return,
+that she would marry Monsieur Berthier, and they might go on in this way
+forever. He laughed at the thought, and just then Mademoiselle turned
+her head.
+
+"Monsieur seems to be amused," she said. "What is he smiling at?"
+
+"I'm smiling because I'm so happy," Jules replied. "Don't you smile when
+you're happy?"
+
+She took a seat by the table, where she rested one hand.
+
+"No, I don't think I do," she said, apparently giving the question
+serious consideration. "When I am very happy I look serious. Then mamma
+sometimes fancies I feel sad."
+
+He took a cigarette-case from his pocket and began to smoke.
+
+"Do you know," he said at last, "I shall be sorry when your mother
+returns?"
+
+"Sorry?"
+
+"Yes, because Madeleine will come back to me then, and I shall have to
+stay at home. I can't come any more as I do now."
+
+A look of alarm appeared in her face. "But why can't you come just the
+same?" she asked, innocently.
+
+He burst out laughing, and he felt a sudden desire to pat her on the
+cheek as he might have done to a child. What a child she was, anyway!
+Yet he would not have wished her to be different; she seemed to him just
+what a young girl should be.
+
+"When your mother comes, I can't take breakfast with you any more, and I
+can't come early on Sunday mornings and stay all day. I shall have to go
+back to my lonely apartment."
+
+"But you have Madeleine," she said, with a faint smile.
+
+"Madeleine, yes, and she is good enough in her way." Then he suddenly
+threw his cigarette into the fireplace, and bent toward her. "Don't you
+know," he whispered, in a voice so low that Madeleine, who was moving
+about in the next room, could not hear him, "can't you see that it's
+_you_ I shall miss? Can't you see that you've become everything in the
+world to me? Without you, dear Blanche, I shouldn't care to live. Before
+I met you I didn't know what life really was--I didn't know what love
+was. I loved you the first time I saw you, and the more I've seen you,
+the better I've known you, the dearer you've become to me. I don't think
+I ever really understood what it was to be pure and good till I knew
+you. You've made me ashamed of myself. Sometimes I feel as if I had no
+right to go near you. But I do love you, Blanche, and they say love
+helps a man to be good. I haven't dared to tell you this before; I've
+been afraid to ask you if you loved me. But this morning in church, it
+all came over me so--so that I must tell you. Blanche," he went on,
+taking her hand, "you aren't offended with me for saying this, are you?
+I love you so much--I can't help loving you. If you'll only love me a
+little, dear, I'll be satisfied. Won't you tell me if you do care for me
+a little--just a little?"
+
+He knelt by her side, and tried to look into her face; but she turned
+her head away, and he saw that her neck was crimson. Her bosom kept
+rising and falling convulsively. Then he pressed toward her and clasped
+her in his arms and kissed her again and again,--on the face, the
+forehead, the hair, even on her ears when she buried her head on his
+shoulder. His lips were wet with her tears, and he felt radiantly,
+exultantly happy.
+
+"I love you, I love you!" he kept repeating.
+
+For the first time he felt sure that his love was returned; but he was
+not satisfied. He wanted to hear her speak out her love. His lips were
+on her cheek, and she was lying motionless in his arms, as he whispered:
+
+"Won't you say that you love me, dear? Just three words. That isn't
+much, and it will make me the happiest man that ever lived."
+
+Instead of speaking, she put her arms on his shoulders, as a child might
+have done, and he pressed her close to his breast again. Then he heard a
+noise behind him, and he saw Madeleine standing, big-eyed, in the
+doorway; she seemed too startled to move. He rose quickly to his feet,
+and still holding Blanche's hand, he said:
+
+"Madeleine, come here!"
+
+She came forward timidly, as if afraid she might be punished for her
+intrusion.
+
+"Mademoiselle Blanche is going to be my wife, Madeleine."
+
+Madeleine held out her arms to the girl, and for a moment they stood
+clasped in each other's embrace.
+
+"Ah, Monsieur Jules," the old woman cried, "I pray God your mother can
+look down from heaven and see what a good daughter she's getting!"
+
+
+
+
+                                   IX
+
+
+After confessing his love, Jules experienced, mingled with his
+exultation, a feeling of bewildered amazement at his own boldness. This
+was followed by a poignant regret that he hadn't spoken before. Now,
+however, that his weeks of doubt and of intermittent misery were over,
+he gave himself up to his happiness, which manifested itself in a wild
+exuberance of spirits.
+
+In a short time he was speaking humorously of those weeks, ridiculing
+himself as if he had already become different, almost another person
+from what he had been then. He told Blanche about his tortures, and even
+succeeded in extorting a confession from her that she had been in love
+with him since the first Sunday when he had called at the apartment and
+acknowledged Durand's duplicity; she, too, had had her doubts and her
+fears. Then they became very confidential, and by the time the morning
+was over, and they found themselves in the restaurant, they felt as if
+they had known each other intimately for years.
+
+In spite of Blanche's protests, Jules ordered a bottle of champagne and
+an elaborate luncheon.
+
+"I suppose I ought to have asked Madeleine to come," he said, "but I
+wanted to be alone with you. Some day before your mother returns, we'll
+have another _fete_, and take Madeleine with us."
+
+In the morning, when he spoke about a definite engagement, and she
+protested that her mother must be consulted, he had told her of his talk
+with Madame Perrault at the railway station. Now he went on to make
+plans for their marriage. There was no reason, he argued, why they
+should wait a long time; her mother had been engaged to Monsieur
+Berthier for three years, but she would not marry till Blanche had a
+protector. Jules liked to talk of himself in this character; it gave him
+a feeling of importance. So, altogether, he went on, the sooner the
+marriage took place the better. He would give up his place in the
+wool-house, and devote himself to his wife's career; for, of course,
+they couldn't be separated. They would be very happy travelling about,
+from one end of the world to the other.
+
+It never occurred to either of them that Blanche might retire from the
+ring after marriage. She herself seemed to regard the circus as part of
+her life; she had been born in it, and she belonged to it as long as she
+was able to perform. As for Jules, he could not have dissociated her
+from the thought of the circus. Even now he felt as if he had himself
+become wedded to it, that he had acquired a kind of proprietary interest
+in it. He discussed Blanche's professional engagements as if they were
+his own. Why, he asked, couldn't the marriage take place during the
+weeks that intervened between her engagement at the _Cirque Parisien_
+and her appearance in Vienna? Jeanne and Louise could come up to Paris
+for Christmas and the New Year, and be present at the ceremony. By that
+time he would have his affairs arranged so that he could go with her to
+Vienna.
+
+Of course, they must dismiss Pelletier after their marriage. Jules would
+take charge of his wife's affairs; his capacity for business would
+enable him to make good terms for her. He would plan wonderful tours; he
+would write to America, perhaps, and secure engagements for her there;
+artists were wonderfully well paid in America, better than in any other
+country, and they would enjoy seeing the new world together.
+
+Blanche listened to his talk with a touching confidence; she seemed to
+think it natural that he should speak as if he had authority over her.
+She made no protest against any of his suggestions, though she repeated
+that nothing could be decided till her mother returned to Paris.
+
+"But we'll write to your mother," said Jules. "We'll write to her this
+very day--this afternoon when we go back."
+
+For a moment her face clouded.
+
+"What's the matter? Don't you want me to write to your mother?"
+
+She did not reply at once. When she did speak, she kept her eyes fixed
+on her plate.
+
+"It will be so hard to be separated from her."
+
+Jules laughed, and bent toward her.
+
+"But you can't stay with her always," he said tenderly. "Then we'll take
+Madeleine with us. That will be a capital plan. She's strong and
+healthy, though she's over sixty, and she won't mind the travelling.
+Besides, we shall be in Vienna three months, and we'll rent a little
+apartment. It will be like being at home."
+
+He spoke as if their future were settled, and his tone of confidence
+seemed to reassure her.
+
+"I should like to have Madeleine," she said simply. "She is so good."
+
+On their return to the apartment, they devoted themselves to writing
+long letters to Madame Perrault. Jules' letter was full of rhapsodies,
+of promises to be kind to the girl who had consented to be his wife, and
+of his plans for the future. They read their letters to each other, or
+rather Jules read all of his, and Blanche read part of hers, firmly
+refusing to allow him to hear the rest. They spent a very happy
+afternoon together, and in the evening Madeleine had a sumptuous dinner
+for them, with an enormous bunch of fresh roses on the table. In the
+evening they went to the _Comedie Francaise_, to finish what Jules
+declared to be the happiest day of his life.
+
+Jules counted that day as the beginning of his real career. He looked
+back on himself during the years he had lived before it almost with
+pity. Since leaving the _lycee_, he had been merely a drudge, a piece of
+mechanism in the odious machinery of business. He had been content
+enough, but with the contentment of ignorance. How lonely and sordid his
+existence out of the office had been! He thought of his solitary dinners
+in _cafes_, surrounded by wretched beings like himself deprived of the
+happiness that comes from home and from an honest love. To the twins and
+his other comrades at the office he said nothing of the change that had
+taken place in his life; he was afraid they would chaff him; of course,
+when they heard he was going to marry an acrobat, they would make
+foolish jokes and treat him with a familiar levity. He determined not to
+tell them of his marriage until the eve of his departure from business;
+he would have to give the firm at least a fortnight's notice; but he
+would merely explain to Monsieur Mercier that he intended to devote a
+few months to travel, and thought of going to America.
+
+Madame Perrault replied at once to Jules' letter. She made no pretence
+of being surprised by the news it contained; and she expressed her
+pleasure at the engagement, and gave her consent. But they must not make
+any definite plans until her return to Paris. That would be in about two
+weeks, for Aunt Sophie was very much better now and rapidly gaining
+strength, though she had as yet been unable to leave her bed. As soon as
+Sophie could go out, she was to be carried to the house of her cousin,
+Angelique Magnard, who would give her the best of care. Then Madame
+Perrault would be able to take Jeanne and Louise to Paris for the
+holidays; the girls were wild to see their dear Blanche again and to
+meet Jules. Monsieur Berthier talked of coming with them; he, too, was
+eager to make the acquaintance of Blanche's future husband.
+
+After these preliminaries, Madame Perrault devoted herself to practical
+matters. She felt it her duty to inform Monsieur Jules that Blanche had
+no _dot_; she had earned a great deal of money, but most of it had been
+spent in maintaining the family; since the death of her father she had
+been their sole support. Of course, after marriage, her daughter's
+earnings would belong to Jules; but he must distinctly understand that
+he was taking a penniless bride. After her own marriage, Madame Perrault
+would have no fear for the future; Monsieur Berthier had promised of his
+own accord to provide for the girls; indeed, it was chiefly for their
+sake that, at the age of fifty-three, she was willing to marry again. So
+Blanche would no longer have her family dependent on her.
+
+Jules replied with an impassioned letter. He didn't care whether Blanche
+had a _dot_ or not. He wanted to marry her because he loved her, because
+without her his life would be unendurable: he would marry her if she
+were the poorest girl in France. It took him several pages to say this,
+and he read the letter with satisfaction, and then aloud to Blanche, who
+laughed over it, and gave him a timid little kiss in acknowledgment of
+his devotion. He thought he had done a commendable act, and he felt
+convinced that every word he had written was true.
+
+At the office Jules grew reserved, and he resented haughtily the
+familiarities of the twins. Indeed, to all of his companions in the wool
+house he could not help displaying the superiority he felt. He would be
+there only a few weeks longer, and he acted as if he were conferring a
+favor on his employer by staying. The twins spent many hours in
+discussing the change in him; but they could not discover the cause.
+
+"You ought to have heard him talk to old Mercier the other day," said
+Leroux. "You'd think he was the President receiving a deputation."
+
+Early in November, Blanche received a letter from her mother, saying
+Aunt Sophie was so much better that they had decided to move her the
+next day, and two days later she would herself leave Boulogne with the
+girls and Monsieur Berthier. Jules was both glad and sorry to hear the
+news,--sorry because his long _tete-a-tetes_ with Blanche would end for
+a time, and glad because he would be able to arrange definitely with her
+mother for the marriage. Madeleine grieved at parting with the girl, but
+was consoled when Jules explained that she would probably be needed
+every night at the circus after Madame Perrault's return, for, of
+course, Monsieur Berthier would want to take his _fiancee_ to the
+theatres. In speaking of Monsieur Berthier, Jules had adopted a
+facetious tone, which half-amused and half-pained Blanche.
+
+"How droll it will be," he said one day, "to have two pairs of lovers
+billing and cooing together."
+
+"Mamma doesn't bill and coo," the girl replied, with just a suggestion
+of resentment in her tone. "She's too sensible." Then Jules patted her
+affectionately on the cheek, and told her she mustn't take what he said
+so seriously.
+
+"Monsieur Berthier must be a very good man, or he wouldn't get such a
+good wife," he said lightly. Then, with a comic look in his eyes, he
+added as an afterthought: "What a very good person I must be!"
+
+The next night, when Jules appeared in the _rue St. Honore_ for dinner,
+he found the little apartment crowded. Madame Perrault embraced him, and
+by addressing him as "my son," seemed to receive him formally into the
+family. Then she introduced the two girls, who were much larger than he
+had imagined them to be. Jeanne, rosy-cheeked and black-eyed, approached
+him fearlessly, and offered her hand with a smile; Louise, fair and
+slight, with her light brown hair braided down her back, looked
+frightened, and blushed furiously when she received her salutation. The
+little fat man standing in front of the mantel, Jules recognized at once
+from his pointed white beard and laughing eyes.
+
+"I should have known you in a crowd on the _Boulevard_," Jules said, as
+he extended his hand. "You're exactly like your photograph."
+
+"And you are even better-looking than Mathilde said you were," Monsieur
+Berthier replied. "Ah, little one," he went on, turning to Blanche, and
+giving her a pinch on the arm, "you're getting a fine, handsome
+husband."
+
+Jules tried to make friends with the girls. With Jeanne he had no
+difficulty; she was quite ready to banter with him, and he found her
+pert and quick-witted. Louise, however, was so shy that he could extract
+only monosyllables from her. She seemed to him very like Blanche, only
+less pretty. Jeanne had Blanche's beauty, more highly-colored and
+exuberant; her snapping black eyes showed, too, that she had a will and
+a temper of her own. Jules began to chaff her, to make her show her
+spirit, but she parried his jests good-humoredly, and she retaliated
+very smartly.
+
+"I don't see how you ever dared to fall in love with Blanche," she said.
+"Aren't you afraid of her?"
+
+"Afraid of her?" Jules laughed. "Why should I be afraid of her?"
+
+"Oh, I don't know. I suppose because she's so good. I'm afraid of her
+sometimes. And I'm afraid of Louise when she gets her pious look on. How
+did you happen to fall in love with her? Do tell me. I'll never tell in
+the world."
+
+"I just saw her, that's all," Jules explained with mock gravity. "Isn't
+that enough?"
+
+"In the circus?"
+
+Jules nodded.
+
+"Then you fell in love with her because she does such wonderful things,
+and looks so beautiful in the ring. Now, you wouldn't have fallen in
+love if you'd just met her like any one else."
+
+"But it was because she wasn't like anyone else that I did fall in love
+with her," Jules insisted, with the air of carrying on the joke.
+
+"But if she'd never been in the circus--if you'd just met her here, or
+anywhere else except in the circus--do you think you would have fallen
+in love with her then?"
+
+"Of course I should," Jules replied unhesitatingly, though he knew he
+was lying.
+
+Jeanne shrugged her shoulders and looked skeptical.
+
+"I wish I could be in the circus," she said, "and get flowers, and be
+admired, and earn a lot of money like Blanche. And isn't it the funniest
+thing," she went on, growing more confidential, "Blanche doesn't care
+about it at all."
+
+"About the flowers, and being admired, and all that?"
+
+"Yes. And she says the circus isn't a good place for a young girl. But I
+say if it's good enough for her, it's good enough for me. Anyway, if
+mamma doesn't let me do what Blanche does, I'm going on the stage when I
+grow up."
+
+Jules was amused by her talk, and drew her out by deft questions. While
+she was animatedly describing her life in the convent of Boulogne, where
+the nuns were always holding up Louise as a model of good behavior to
+her, dinner was announced, and they all went out into the dining-room,
+where Jules and Blanche had passed so many hours together. This time
+Jules' place was between Jeanne and Louise. Jeanne went on with her
+chatter, and Louise scarcely spoke, save to Blanche, with whom she kept
+exchanging affectionate smiles.
+
+"The girls are vexed with me," said Madame Perrault, "because I won't
+let them go to the Circus to-night."
+
+The pale face of Louise brightened with eagerness and Jeanne turned to
+her mother and cried pleadingly:
+
+"Oh, I think it's a shame. The first time we've been in Paris, too, and
+we want to see Blanche perform again so much! Why can't we go, mamma?
+Please, please let us go."
+
+"Oh, let the children go," said Monsieur Berthier good-naturedly. "It
+would be cruel to send them to bed early their first night in Paris."
+
+Then Jules added his voice in the girls' behalf, but Madame Perrault
+shook her head decidedly.
+
+"I can't have them up so late. Besides, they need to rest after their
+journey. If you are good, Jeanne, and don't tease me to go to-night,
+I'll take you and Louise to the _matinee_ on Saturday."
+
+"Oh, the _matinee_!" Jeanne pouted, turning for sympathy to Jules. "Who
+cares for the _matinee_! Isn't it too bad?" she went on in a low voice,
+so that her mother shouldn't hear her. "When I grow up, Monsieur Jules,
+I shall go to the theatre every night--yes, every night of my life. I
+don't care what happens."
+
+Jeanne was sullen and Louise looked sad when they were left alone with
+Charlotte, the little maid.
+
+"I won't go to bed till twelve o'clock," Jeanne cried, as her mother,
+with parting injunctions, went out, followed by the others. "I shall sit
+up and cry all the evening."
+
+"Nine o'clock, my dear," said Madame Perrault serenely. "You know what I
+said about Saturday."
+
+The door was slammed behind them and, as they filed downstairs, they
+heard Jeanne go stamping back into the _salon_.
+
+"Don't you think you're severe with the child, Mathilde?" said Berthier.
+
+"No, Felix, not too severe, if you mean that. It's the only way to keep
+her in check. She has too much spirit. I'm afraid of it sometimes."
+
+"That's just the way you used to be at her age," he laughed.
+
+"And that's just why I mean to keep her down," she replied, almost
+sternly.
+
+"Jeanne has all the spirit of the family," said Berthier, glancing at
+Jules.
+
+After the performance they returned to the apartment for supper. Jules
+was surprised to find the table steaming with hot dishes, bright with
+flowers and with wine-glasses. Madeleine, who seemed to be in the
+secret, put on an apron, and proceeded to assist Charlotte.
+
+"We've prepared a little feast for you," Madame Perrault explained, "in
+honour of Blanche's engagement. Felix has provided the champagne."
+
+Berthier rubbed his hands and smiled, and they took their places at the
+table. They were all hungry and in good spirits. This was the happiest
+time of the day for Blanche; though she never consciously worried about
+her work, she always felt relieved when her performance was done, and
+she was free to go home and rest. The little rosy-cheeked Charlotte
+busied herself around them, passing dishes and bringing on fresh ones.
+
+"It's a shame to keep this poor child up so late," said Berthier, when
+she had left the room for a moment. "Why not send her to bed?"
+
+"I'll send her as soon as she brings in the rest of the things," Madame
+Perrault replied. "She and Madeleine can have something to eat together.
+I sha'n't have to send Madeleine home with you to-night, Jules. We've
+made a bed for her in Charlotte's room. She's a good creature, your
+Madeleine."
+
+Charlotte came in with the rest of the dishes, and Madame Perrault told
+her to eat something, and go to bed. "And tell Madeleine not to wait up
+for us. You can clear the things away in the morning. Did Jeanne go to
+bed at nine o'clock, Charlotte?"
+
+"Yes, madame."
+
+"And without any trouble?"
+
+"Yes, madame."
+
+"What did she do to amuse herself during the evening?"
+
+Charlotte's cheeks took on a deeper red.
+
+"She tried to imitate Mademoiselle Blanche in the circus," she
+confessed.
+
+"Ah, that accounts for the broken chair! Good night, Charlotte." Then,
+as the girl left the room, Madame Perrault sighed. "That Jeanne will be
+the death of me."
+
+"I'll take her in hand when she comes to me," Berthier laughed. "We'll
+have to find a husband for her. That will cure her of her craze for the
+circus."
+
+"A husband for Jeanne, little Jeanne!" Madame Perrault exclaimed in
+horror. "She's barely fourteen."
+
+"And in two years she'll be a woman. I was in love with you at fifteen.
+Don't you remember? We thought of eloping."
+
+"_Taisez-vous!_" cried Madame Perrault, flushing, and trying not to join
+in the laughter that the speech excited from Jules. "You make me a great
+fool before my daughter and my new son."
+
+"He isn't your son yet," Berthier insisted, to tease her.
+
+"But he will be soon."
+
+"That's just what I wanted you to say!" Jules cried. "The sooner the
+better. Tomorrow would suit me."
+
+The glasses had been filled with champagne, and Berthier lifted his
+glass high in the air, crying:
+
+"Let us drink to the _fiances_! May their marriage be long and their
+engagement short! Here's health and happiness to them!"
+
+They all stood up smiling and drank together. Then as they sat down
+again, Berthier went on:
+
+"Ah, I know the folly of long engagements. Get married, get married, my
+children, as soon as you can, while love is young. I once knew a young
+girl--as beautiful as the morning--more beautiful, a thousand times more
+beautiful. Well, this young girl loved a handsome, yes, I may say a
+fairly handsome, at any rate, an honest young fellow, who fairly
+worshipped her in return. But the stern parents of this beautiful young
+girl----"
+
+"_Taisez-vous!_" Madame Perrault repeated. "No more nonsense. If your
+beautiful young girl hadn't obeyed her parents, where would Blanche
+Perrault be at this moment, I should like to know?"
+
+"Ah, my friend," said Berthier to Jules, "it's the women who forget.
+Only the men are constant in this world."
+
+Madame Perrault rolled her eyes in mock horror.
+
+"Constant--the men!" she repeated scornfully. "They don't know what
+constancy is. If it weren't for the constant women in the world, the men
+would go straight to the devil."
+
+Berthier burst into hilarious laughter. He loved nothing better than to
+be vanquished in an argument by Madame Perrault. Indeed, he often argued
+simply in order to provoke her. He gave Jules a quick glance and a nod
+which plainly said: "Isn't she a fine woman? Have you ever seen a woman
+so clever?"
+
+The innocent pleasantries of the old lovers, however, were lost on
+Jules. He wanted to discuss in all seriousness his forthcoming marriage,
+and this was certainly a suitable occasion. So he determined to put the
+conversation on another basis.
+
+"I am sure Monsieur Berthier is right about long engagements," he said,
+"and there's no reason why our engagement shouldn't be short. I love
+Blanche, and Blanche loves me, and we think we can make each other
+happy. I can afford to marry--I have a little property--and when she
+marries me Blanche will have a protector in her professional career."
+
+"Bravo!" cried Berthier. "That was said like a man!"
+
+"And the sooner I'm married, the better for you," Jules went on, fixing
+his eyes on Berthier's white beard. "Then Madame Perrault won't be tied
+down to Blanche, and there's no reason why you shouldn't be married,
+too."
+
+"We might have a double marriage!" said the little man jocosely.
+
+"No, no, _no_!" Madame exclaimed. "When I'm married I shall be married
+very quietly in Boulogne, without any fuss. These children shall be
+married first. Then some day, Felix, you and I shall walk to the church
+and it will be over in five minutes."
+
+Berthier breathed a long sigh, and laid his hand gently on Madame
+Perrault's arm.
+
+"I've waited a great many years for those five minutes, _cherie_."
+
+"Blanche's engagement at the Circus ends the last day of the year,"
+Jules resumed, "and she begins her season in Vienna on the fifteenth of
+January. Now, there's no reason in the world that I can think of to
+prevent our being married between the first of January and the
+fifteenth."
+
+Then, from every point of view, they discussed the time of the marriage.
+Madame Perrault raised the question of dresses for the bride, of Jules'
+inability to arrange his affairs in so short a time, but these and all
+other objections were overruled.
+
+Blanche herself had very little to say; when her mother asked her
+point-blank if she wanted the marriage to take place so early, she
+replied that she was willing if Jules and the others decided it was
+best. She seemed more like a passive spectator than one actively
+interested in the discussion; her eyes kept roving from Jules to her
+mother, and from her mother back to Jules. Berthier supported Jules
+valiantly, and at two o'clock, Madame Perrault was finally won over, and
+it was decided that the marriage should take place during the first week
+in January. Jules kissed Blanche on the cheek, and there was general
+embracing and laughter. Then the little party broke up, and Monsieur
+Berthier followed Jules down the stairs.
+
+"Ah, my boy," he said, as they stood on the sidewalk, before saying
+good-night, "I'd give all the money I've made for your youth. Youth is
+the time for love. In my youth it came to me, but I lost it. Take good
+care of it, my friend," he concluded, tapping Jules' hand affectionately
+as they were about to go their separate ways.
+
+
+
+
+                                   X
+
+
+Jules at once began preparations for his marriage. He gave notice of his
+intention to leave the wool-house, and to move from his apartment.
+Monsieur Mercier showed no regret at his departure. "I've observed that
+you were no longer interested in your work," he said coldly.
+
+Jules turned away with a sense of disappointment and pain, feeling that
+he had been badly treated. Though he said nothing to the twins about his
+going, they speedily heard of it and gibed him for the reason. He
+preferred to maintain an air of mystery, but one morning Leroux came
+into the office, shaking a copy of the _Triomphe_ in the air.
+
+"Let me congratulate you!" he cried, extending his hand. "I respect a
+man that can make a stroke like that. I've known you were up to some
+game all along," he added insinuatingly.
+
+Jules looked at the paper, and in the column devoted to news of the
+theatre he read of the engagement of Mademoiselle Blanche, of the
+_Cirque Parisien_, to Monsieur Jules Le Baron, a young business man of
+wealth. Dufresne added his congratulations, and one after another during
+the day Jules' other comrades came up to shake his hand. No wonder he
+had been putting on airs with them! They treated him very jocosely,
+however, teased him about his reputed wealth, and tortured him with
+their coarse jokes, so that he looked forward with relief to escaping
+from them.
+
+All of Jules' leisure was passed with Blanche and her family. He made
+friends with the girls and with Monsieur Berthier. The better acquainted
+he became with Louise the more he liked her; Jeanne sometimes vexed him
+by making fun of him, though he was careful not to betray his annoyance.
+For Monsieur Berthier he felt a genuine esteem; the little man was
+always in good humor, though Jules suspected that, in spite of his
+success in business, his whole life had been clouded by the
+disappointment of his youth. As for Madame Perrault, notwithstanding the
+apparent lightness of her character, which had at first prejudiced him
+against her, the effective way in which she managed her affairs made him
+realize that she was a woman to be respected. Sometimes Jules wondered
+what kind of man Blanche's father had been; he fancied that of the two
+the mother had been by far the stronger.
+
+Jules passed Christmas with his friends and spent a month's salary on
+gifts for Blanche and her sisters. For the girls Madame had a _fete_ in
+the morning after mass, with a Christmas tree laden with presents, and
+decorated with candles and trinkets and _bonbons_. She chose this time
+of day, as both in the afternoon and evening Blanche gave performances.
+
+The next morning Madame Perrault learned through Pelletier that the
+circus in Vienna where Blanche had been engaged to appear was a little
+more than ninety feet high; so the plunge would be fifteen feet deeper
+than it was in Paris. This news created excitement in the family. It
+made Madame so nervous that she urged that the engagement be given up
+and an offer that had come from Nice be accepted; but Jules laughed at
+the idea.
+
+"What's a difference of fifteen feet to Blanche?" he said. "It's just as
+easy for her to dive ninety feet as to dive seventy-five. The only thing
+for Blanche to do is to go to Vienna as soon as her engagement here is
+over. Then she can practise the plunge every morning for two weeks.
+We'll simply have to get married a little earlier than we intended."
+
+Madame Perrault saw the force of the argument, and Monsieur Berthier
+seconded Jules. As for Blanche, she declared that she should not be
+afraid of the plunge; at Bucharest she had made a plunge of nearly
+eighty-three feet. So it was agreed that the civil marriage should take
+place very quietly on the third of January, and the religious ceremony
+the day after. Jules and his bride could leave Paris by the afternoon
+train, accompanied by Madeleine. Madame Perrault was anxious to keep any
+notice out of the papers, if possible; she thought it might injure
+Blanche professionally. She had been greatly vexed by the paragraph in
+the _Triomphe_ and had attributed it to Durand; but Jules explained that
+the _Triomphe_ was not Durand's paper; besides, the journalist had been
+sent for the winter to the Riviera as correspondent.
+
+On the last day of the year Jules bade farewell to his associates at the
+wool-house. Most of them regretted his departure, for before his sudden
+accession of dignity he had been well liked among them. The next
+morning, on the first day of his emancipation, when he went to the
+apartment in the _rue St. Honore_, he found some pieces of silver there,
+the gift of his old comrades. He knew at once that the twins had started
+a subscription for him, and he felt ashamed of his treatment of them
+during his last weeks among them. He soon forgot about them, however,
+and was absorbed in the preparations for his new life. He had sold most
+of his furniture, save a few pieces that were so intimately associated
+with the memory of his mother that he could not part with them.
+
+For Madeleine this was a trying time; she performed her numerous duties,
+involving several journeys to the _rue St. Honore_, with a look of
+bewilderment in her face, as if she could not adjust herself to the
+change that was about to take place in her life.
+
+Two days before the time chosen for their civil marriage, Jules was
+sitting alone with Blanche, beside the fireplace where he had passed
+most of his courtship. They had been making plans for Vienna, and Jules
+felt as if he were already at the head of a household.
+
+"Do you know," he said, glancing at the engagement ring on her left hand
+that sparkled in the firelight, "I haven't been able to make up my mind
+yet what to give you for a wedding present. I wish you'd tell me what
+you'd like. I want to give you something that will please you very
+much."
+
+She looked intently into the fireplace, and did not reply.
+
+"Isn't there something that you want especially?" Then Jules saw her
+face flush, and he went on quickly: "Ah, I know there is, but you're
+afraid to tell. Now, out with it. Is it a diamond brooch, or one of
+those queer little gold watches that women carry, set with jewels, or
+one of those bracelets that we saw in the shop in the _rue de la Paix_
+the other day?"
+
+She began to laugh, and without turning her eyes toward him, she said:--
+
+"You know I don't care for those things. But there--there is
+something--"
+
+"Well, out with it."
+
+"It isn't a--it isn't what you think--a present or anything like that;
+but it is something I should like to have you--something that would make
+me very happy."
+
+"Then tell me what it is," said Jules, impatiently. "What are you afraid
+of? Am I such an ogre?"
+
+For a moment she did not answer. Then she said timidly: "I wish you'd go
+to confession before we're married."
+
+He burst into a laugh that rang through the apartment.
+
+"Oh, is that all? So you're afraid to marry such a wicked person as I am
+till the Church has forgiven him and made him good again."
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"No, it isn't that, Jules. I don't believe you are wicked. I don't
+believe you ever were; but I should be so much happier if you would go
+to confession, and then before we're married in church we could go to
+communion together."
+
+He threw himself beside her chair, seized her head in his hands, and
+kissed her on the forehead. "I'm not fit to be your husband. You're too
+good for me," he said softly.
+
+She drew away from him with a smile.
+
+"And will it make you very much happier if I go to confession?" he
+asked.
+
+"Yes, Jules, very much."
+
+For an instant he hesitated, looking into her eyes.
+
+"Then I'll go," he said.
+
+She turned to him, and threw her arms around his neck. As he held her
+closely to him, his lips pressed against her hair, he went on:--
+
+"But it will be hard for me, Blanche. I haven't been to confession for
+more than twelve years. Think of all the things I shall have to tell."
+
+"It will be over in a few minutes," she said reassuringly. "Then you'll
+be glad you've done it."
+
+He rose to his feet and drew his chair nearer hers.
+
+"I've even forgotten how to make a confession. I don't even remember the
+_Confiteor_."
+
+"Then I shall have to teach it to you. It's in my prayer-book, and you
+can take it and learn it."
+
+"But I sha'n't know what to do. I shall appear awkward and foolish."
+
+"It's easy enough. You begin by examining your conscience; then you--"
+
+"Examining my conscience! I shall have to wake it up first. It's been
+sound asleep all these years. Ah, my dear Blanche, you can't imagine how
+pleasant it is to have your conscience asleep."
+
+She ignored his jesting, and went on: "Then you have to be sorry for
+what you've done,--for the sins, I mean."
+
+"But if you're not sorry. They've been very pleasant, a good many of
+them."
+
+"Of course, if you aren't sorry you can't go to confession. That's what
+people go for, because they _are_ sorry, and because they intend to try
+to be better."
+
+"But all the confessions in the world wouldn't make me better. It's only
+you that can do that. I'm sorry for my sins simply because, when I think
+of them, they take me so far away from you. If I hadn't met you, I
+shouldn't have thought they were so bad. But when I think of you,
+Blanche, and when I look at you, you seem so good--well, I--I feel
+ashamed, and then I want to be good too. Why can't I confess to you?" he
+went on banteringly. "You'd do me more good than all the priests in
+Christendom. Only I'm afraid I should shock you. I suppose the priests
+hear stories like mine every day; so one or two more or less wouldn't
+make any difference to them."
+
+She turned her head away, and he saw that he had offended her. So he
+patted her cheek and smiled into her face.
+
+"What a little _devote_ she is, anyway! She's vexed even when I joke
+about her religion. Don't you see that it's all fun, dear? I'm going to
+do everything you say, make a clean breast of it to the priest, tell him
+I'm sorry, and promise to be good for the rest of my life. It won't be
+hard to promise that. How can I help being good when I shall have you
+with me all the time?"
+
+Then for an hour they talked seriously about the confession. The more he
+thought of the ordeal, the more nervous Jules felt. Sins came back to
+him, committed during those first few years after he left the _lycee_,
+when his freedom was novel and delicious. How could he tell of those
+things, how could he put them into the awful baldness of speech? He knew
+that no sin could be concealed in the confessional; but he asked Blanche
+if he would have to be particular, if he couldn't say in a general way
+that he had broken this commandment or that. He was alarmed by her reply
+that she told everything, that sometimes the priest asked probing
+questions. He couldn't endure the shame of speaking out those horrors.
+He was afraid, however, to acknowledge his fears to the girl; they might
+make her suspect what he had done, and inspire her with a loathing for
+him.
+
+Jules had heard that some men told the women they were going to marry of
+their lapses, and he had been greatly amused. It never occurred to him
+that he ought to reveal the dark passages in his life to Blanche; these
+would simply shock her, give her wrong ideas about him, perhaps make her
+suspicious and jealous after marriage. His sins he had always regarded
+as follies of youth: they did not in any way affect his character or his
+honor as a gentleman. Now, however, he was looking back on himself, not
+from the point of view of the man of the world, but of a good woman.
+
+That night, on leaving Blanche at the theatre, instead of roaming in the
+_Boulevards_, or reading the papers in the _cafes_, as he had of late
+been doing till half-past ten, he took a _fiacre_ to the Madeleine,
+where he spent one of the most disagreeable hours of his life. Vespers
+were being sung, and the church was nearly full; he sought an obscure
+corner, knelt there before a picture of Christ carrying the Cross of
+Calvary, repeated an "Our Father," and a "Hail Mary," which came back to
+him like an echo of his mother's voice, and then gave himself up to the
+task of examining his conscience.
+
+The whole panorama of his manhood passed before him, the life of the
+young Parisian at the close of the century,--selfish, cynical,
+pleasure-loving, sense-gratifying, animal. He buried his face in his
+hands. Oh, what an existence! Yet he dared to take a pure young girl for
+his wife, to make her the mother of his children! He could not think of
+himself or of his sins without reference to her, and the more he thought
+of her and of them, the deeper his shame became, and this shame he
+mistook for contrition. This then was what Blanche had meant by saying
+that he must be sorry for what he had done, and must promise to fight
+against temptation. From the depth of his heart he believed he was
+sorry.
+
+Then he took from his pocket the prayer-book that she had given him, and
+read several times the act of contrition and the _Confiteor_. The
+repetition recalled them to his memory, and he was ready for his
+confession to the priest the next day. With a sigh he rose from his
+seat, feeling as if he had thrown off the burden of his past life and
+received a benediction.
+
+The next afternoon, when Jules entered with Blanche the church of _St.
+Philippe de Roule_, he found groups of people kneeling around the
+confessional boxes and in front of the altars. He had resolved to
+confess to Father Labiche, who, Blanche had told him, was the most
+lenient of all the fathers. The names of the priests were printed on the
+boxes, and the largest crowd was gathered around the box assigned to
+Jules' choice.
+
+"I'm afraid you'll have to wait a long time," Blanche whispered.
+
+"Never mind," Jules replied nervously.
+
+He felt almost glad that he was to have a respite. The sight of the
+confessional boxes and of the people whispering prayers, together with
+the atmosphere of devotion that pervaded the place, had filled him with
+terror. Blanche made a sign to him to go forward and join the group
+awaiting Father Labiche, and she herself stopped near the group beside
+it, knelt and made the sign of the cross. Jules, too, knelt before one
+of the hard-wood benches, and prayed that he might have the courage and
+grace to make a good confession. Then he went over again the sins that
+he had to confess, and he repeated the _Confiteor_ and the act of
+contrition.
+
+All day long these prayers, and the items of his confession, had been
+surging in his mind, and now, as he sat up and waited for his turn to
+come in the procession that passed in and out on either side of the
+confessional, they kept repeating themselves. He looked at the wrinkled
+women around him, and wondered if their feelings were like his; he could
+see no nervousness, no fear in their faces; they seemed to be absorbed,
+almost exalted in their devotion. Then he began to grow impatient, and
+wished that the people who entered the confessional would not take so
+much time. He could catch glimpses of the dark figure of the priest,
+bending his head from one side to the other, and glancing out at the
+people. In his line at least fifteen persons were waiting their turn
+before him; it would take Father Labiche more than two hours, Jules
+feared, to hear them and the fifteen others in the opposite line. His
+thoughts turned to Blanche, and he wondered if she had been heard yet.
+He looked around, and saw her in the crowd behind him, reading her
+prayer-book; she kept apart from the others, and had evidently finished
+her confession and was waiting for him.
+
+How gentle and good she looked; how different from her appearance in the
+ring! Once again he saw her tumbling through the air in her silk tights.
+He tried to drive this thought from his mind, but again and again he saw
+her, climbing hand over hand to the top of the Circus, hurling herself
+backward, spinning through the air, striking the padded net with a thud,
+bouncing up again, and landing, with the pretty gesture of both hands,
+on her feet. And in two days she would be his wife! They would go away
+together, and whenever she performed in public, he would appear with
+her, hold the rope while she climbed to the top of the building, make
+the dramatic announcement that would awe the audience into silence, and
+then scamper across the net to the platform before she fell.
+
+For more than an hour Jules thought of this brilliant future; then he
+suddenly realized where he was, and he saw that he had moved up within
+three places of the confessional. In a few moments it would be his turn
+to go into that dark box, where so many ghastly secrets were told, where
+he would be obliged to reveal all the vileness and the weakness of his
+human nature. His nerves vibrated; he felt as if something within him
+were sinking, as if his courage were leaving him. Then his lips began
+again to repeat the _Confiteor_, and his mind ran nervously over his
+self-accusations.
+
+The woman before him remained so long in the confessional that he
+wondered if she would ever come out; but when she did appear he had a
+sudden access of terror. He rose mechanically, however, made his way
+into the box, and knelt beside the little closed slide, through which
+the priest conferred with the penitents. He could hear the low murmur of
+Father Labiche's voice, and the more faint responses of a woman
+confessing on the other side. He tried not to listen, but he could not
+help catching a few words. Suddenly the slide was opened, and he
+confronted the kindly face of the old priest whose right hand was raised
+in blessing.
+
+Blanche had seen Jules enter the confessional, and she waited for him to
+appear again. The woman who had entered before him on the other side
+soon came out; so Jules was now making his peace with God. She lowered
+her head, and breathed a simple prayer of thankfulness. Ten, fifteen
+minutes passed; still he did not come. She wondered why Father Labiche
+kept him there so long. When at last he did appear, his face was white.
+Poor Jules! she thought. How hard it must have been for him, and how
+good he was to have gone through it so heroically. He walked forward to
+the main altar, and there he knelt for several moments. When he came
+back, he found her waiting.
+
+"Come," he said, touching her on the arm.
+
+They did not speak till they were in the street.
+
+"It was pretty tough," he said doggedly. "I thought he'd never let me
+out."
+
+She smiled up into his face. "But it's all over now, Jules."
+
+"Yes, it's all over," he repeated grimly. "But I should hate to go
+through it again."
+
+They hurried on through the nipping January air.
+
+"I'm afraid we shall be late for dinner, Jules. It must be after
+half-past six, and then we have so many things to do to-night. My trunks
+aren't all packed yet."
+
+"I would help you if I could," Jules replied, "but I must go back to the
+church. Father Labiche gave me the Stations of the Cross for penance. He
+said he thought it would do me good before I was married to reflect on
+the sufferings of Christ," he explained with a smile.
+
+"Then you told him you were going to be married?" she laughed, her
+breath steaming in the air.
+
+"He asked how I happened to come to confession after staying away so
+long; so I had to acknowledge that I did it to please you."
+
+The little apartment was in commotion over Blanche's marriage and
+departure two days later; the _petit salon_ was littered with dresses,
+and the two girls were greatly excited over their new frocks. Jules saw
+that he was in the way, and soon after dinner he left his friends,
+saying that he would have the carriages ready for them at half-past
+seven in the morning; Blanche, her mother, and Monsieur Berthier would
+ride with him in one, and in the other the girls would go with Madeleine
+and Pelletier, who had been invited on account of his long business
+association with the family.
+
+That night at church Jules did his best to put himself into a religious
+frame of mind and to feel a proper pity for the sufferings of Christ. As
+he passed from station to station in the Way of the Cross, he reflected
+seriously on the significance of each, and he said his prayers devoutly.
+But his mind was constantly distracted by the thought of the girl he
+loved and of his marriage the next day. At the most inopportune moments
+visions of Blanche would haunt him as she looked in the ring, climbing
+the rope and whirling through the air.
+
+When his prayers were said he felt radiantly happy. He had done his
+duty, and he felt that he deserved to be rewarded. It was only nine
+o'clock, but he hurried home at once to go on with his packing. When he
+went to bed that night, he dreamed that he was making his first
+appearance in the circus at Vienna, holding the rope for his wife, and
+speaking the thrilling words of warning to the audience.
+
+In the morning Jules and Blanche received communion at early mass, and
+later they went with Madame Perrault and Monsieur Berthier to the
+Mayor's office, where the civil marriage ceremony was performed. This
+Jules regarded merely as a formality, though it made him feel that she
+was at last his, his forever! No one could take her away from him now!
+The next morning was clear and cold, and the sun shone as he looked out
+of his window in the dismantled apartment. He smiled as he thought that
+his lonely days as a bachelor were over. At ten o'clock he drove to the
+_rue St. Honore_ with Madeleine, who looked a dozen years younger in her
+simple black silk with a piece of white lace at her throat, the gift of
+Madame Perrault. Blanche, in her white satin dress with the bunch of
+white roses he had sent to her in her hand, had never seemed to him so
+beautiful. It was after eleven o'clock when they reached _St. Philippe_,
+and a crowd of idlers hung about the door and followed them into the
+church.
+
+To Jules the mass that preceded the marriage ceremony seemed
+interminable; he kept glancing at Blanche's flushed face and downcast
+eyes, and plucking at his gloves. Then, when he found himself standing
+before the priest, holding Blanche's hand, and listening to the solemn
+words of the service, he came near bursting into tears. He thought
+afterward how ridiculous he would have been if he hadn't been able to
+control himself. He was relieved when the service was ended, and as he
+walked to the vestry with his wife on his arm, he could have laughed
+aloud for joy.
+
+When the register had been signed and they had shaken hands with the
+priest, they drove at once to the _cafe_ in the _avenue de l'Opera_,
+where Jules had ordered a sumptuous breakfast. There they remained till
+four o'clock. Monsieur Berthier was the gayest of them all, and he was
+seconded by Jeanne, who pretended to flirt desperately with Jules and
+made pert speeches to Pelletier. Then they all returned to the _rue St.
+Honore_, where Blanche changed her wedding finery for a travelling
+dress.
+
+During the farewell between Blanche and her family, Jules suffered; he
+never could bear the sight of women in tears. He was greatly relieved
+when he put his almost hysterical wife and Madeleine into the carriage,
+and slammed the door behind him.
+
+
+
+
+                                   XI
+
+
+They went straight to Vienna, arriving fatigued from their long journey.
+After three days, spent at a little French hotel, Jules found near the
+_Ringstrasse_ a furnished apartment that suited him, and they took
+possession at the end of the week.
+
+Blanche soon felt at home, but Madeleine, though she had become deeply
+attached to her new mistress, and now had more companionship than she
+had known since the death of Jules' mother, secretly grieved for her
+beloved Paris, and looked and acted as if utterly bewildered.
+
+The day of his arrival in Vienna, Jules proceeded to the Circus and had
+a long talk with Herr Prevost, the manager, with regard to his wife's
+engagement. He explained the difference in the plunge Blanche would be
+obliged to take there from her usual one, and persuaded Prevost to make
+this a feature in his advertisements; he also secured permission for
+Blanche to practise in the ring every morning till her engagement began.
+
+So he went back to the hotel elated, and explained to Blanche that,
+after all, in the theatrical life good management was half the battle.
+Now that she had shaken off that worthless Pelletier and he himself had
+taken charge of her affairs, she would undoubtedly be recognized in a
+very few years as the greatest acrobat in the world.
+
+She must sit at once, in costume, for some new photographs, and he would
+send them to the leading managers of Europe and America. If they could
+only arrange to go to America under good auspices, their fortune would
+be made. Instead of receiving, as they were doing in Vienna, five
+hundred francs a week, they would be paid as much as twice that amount
+in New York, if not more. Indeed, Jules had so much to say about
+America, he seemed to have it on the brain.
+
+Blanche experienced no difficulty in making her plunge in the new
+amphitheatre, and after her first trial there, declared that she had no
+fear for the public performances. Jules, however, insisted on her
+practising every morning; she must keep her muscles limber, he said;
+besides, if she didn't practise, she might lose confidence.
+
+He found himself treating her as her mother had done, directing her
+movements like those of a child, and she obeyed him as if she considered
+his attitude toward her eminently natural and right. Even Madeleine
+adopted a motherly tone with her, chose the dresses she should wear each
+day, and instructed her in a thousand feminine details.
+
+Blanche, Jules was surprised and secretly annoyed to discover, could
+speak German, and in the mornings she sometimes gave him lessons. He
+also picked up a good deal of German slang in the _cafes_ that he
+frequented during the day, where he drank coffee and read whatever
+French and English papers he could find.
+
+After his wife's performances began, he found himself falling into a
+routine of life. In spite of his distaste for his duties at the
+wool-house, he had expected to miss them at first; but he quickly became
+accustomed to his leisure. He really considered himself a busy person,
+for in addition to his nightly appearance in the arena, momentary but
+intensely dramatic, he spent considerable time in fraternizing with the
+Viennese journalists, to secure newspaper puffs for his wife, in
+conferring with Prevost, and in corresponding with managers for future
+engagements. After his first month in Vienna, he felt as if he had been
+connected with the circus for years.
+
+Blanche heard constantly from home, from either her mother or one of the
+two girls,--more often from Louise than from Jeanne, who hated to write
+letters. Six weeks after her departure from Paris, her mother became
+Madame Berthier, without, as she had said, "any fuss," and was now
+installed with the children in the big house where Felix had passed so
+many lonely years as a bachelor. Jules and Blanche wrote a joint letter
+of congratulation, and after that Blanche seemed even happier than she
+had been; it was so good, she said, to think that the girls were
+provided for.
+
+In the afternoons Jules took walks or drives with his wife, and on
+Sundays he accompanied her to early mass in the little church that they
+had discovered near their apartment. Blanche would have liked to go to
+high mass, but to this Jules strenuously objected; it was too long, and
+he couldn't understand the sermon, and altogether it made him sleepy.
+Sometimes on Sundays they would go to one of the _cafes_ for _dejeuner_
+or dinner, and over this they used to be very happy, for it recalled the
+first months of their love.
+
+After a time, however, these walks grew less frequent. Jules stayed at
+home more, and Madeleine became solicitous for Blanche's health. Jules
+had long talks with Prevost; Blanche had been engaged at the Circus for
+three months, and Prevost wished to reengage her for the spring season;
+but Jules explained that he had already received several offers for the
+spring, and had refused them all; his wife needed a long rest, and from
+Vienna they would go to Boulogne for a few months, to be with her
+people.
+
+The reference to the engagements was not exactly true; Jules had one
+offer only for the summer; that was from Trouville. For the autumn he
+had a fairly generous offer from South America, and a better one from
+the Hippodrome in London, to begin on the first of December. He had
+practically decided to accept the offer from London; but before giving a
+definite answer, he resolved to consult Blanche about it.
+
+"It will just fit in with our plans," he said. "On the first of May
+we'll take a good long rest. We'll go to your mother's old house. It
+hasn't been let yet, you know, and no one will want it before then. So
+you and Madeleine and I will live there together, and we'll pass the
+days out of doors, and take long walks by the sea, and forget all about
+the circus. Then, when you are well and strong again, we'll go to
+London, and astonish the English, who think there's nothing good in
+France. What do you say, dear? Don't you think that's a good plan?"
+
+"Yes," she said slowly. "It will be very nice, Jules, if--"
+
+"If? If what?"
+
+"If I'm alive," she answered softly, turning her head away.
+
+He took her in his arms and pressed his cheek against hers. "What a
+foolish little girl it is to talk like that! Of course you'll be alive,
+and you'll be even better and stronger and happier than you are now. And
+then think of all the good times you'll have this summer with Jeanne and
+Louise and your mother and Monsieur Berthier. We'll have _fetes_ for the
+girls at our house, and every day we'll go to see your mother. You don't
+think she'll be too proud to receive us, do you, now that she's rich and
+important? I suppose she's the queen of Boulogne, with her carriages and
+her horses and her servants. She'll soon be getting a husband for
+Jeanne, some fine young fellow with a lot of money. And won't Jeanne put
+him through his paces? She's a high-stepper, that Jeanne, and I should
+pity the man who got her and didn't understand her. Think of trying to
+keep Jeanne down!"
+
+In her moments of depression he always spoke to her like that, and for
+the time it cheered her; but when the spring came, she drooped visibly,
+and Jules became alarmed; sometimes she would have attacks of convulsive
+weeping, and these would be followed by hours of profound sadness,
+during which she spoke scarcely a word. There were other days when she
+would be full of courage and hope, gayer than she had ever been; then
+they would drive into the country and she would take deep draughts of
+the fresh spring air, and her eyes would brighten and her cheeks flush.
+
+In spite of his anxiety, these days were very happy for Jules; the
+thought that he might lose her made her dearer to him. Sometimes he
+would take her hand and tell her that without her he couldn't live; she
+had made him realize how wretched his existence had been before
+marriage; he could not go back to that again. Then she would rest her
+head on his shoulder and whisper that she would try to be brave. Her
+sufferings seemed to be wholly in her mind; the doctor Jules consulted
+said that, bodily, she was perfectly strong, and could easily fill her
+engagement at the circus; her work in the ring had given her a
+remarkable development of the muscles and the chest; if she stopped the
+work now, and ceased to practise, she would suffer from the inaction.
+
+Jules, however, felt relieved when the fifteenth of April came, and they
+were able to leave Vienna for Paris. There they remained only a day, for
+they were eager to reach Boulogne and the little home that Madame
+Berthier had arranged for them, in the house where Blanche had been
+born, and had passed the few weeks in each year when she was not
+travelling.
+
+When they arrived, early in the afternoon, Madame Berthier and the
+girls, together with Berthier, were at the station to meet them, and
+they received a rapturous greeting, the girls clinging to their sister
+with frantic embraces.
+
+"We had _dejeuner_ prepared for you at your house," said Madame, when
+the first greetings were over. "I knew you'd want to go there the first
+thing. Then to-night you are to come and dine with us. I feel as if I
+hadn't seen you for years."
+
+"But we've never met Madame Berthier before," Jules replied, making a
+feeble attempt to be gay, for he saw that Blanche's meeting with her
+mother threatened to upset her.
+
+Madame blushed like a young girl, and turning, led the way to the
+carriages.
+
+"One of these is for you and Jules," she said. "I don't mean just for
+now, but for all the time you are here. Felix chose the horse for you,
+dear, and she's so gentle you can drive her alone if you want to."
+
+"I'm going to put the three girls and their mother in the big carriage,"
+Berthier said to Jules, "and you and Madeleine and I will follow them."
+The arrival of his stepdaughter seemed to have given him as much
+pleasure as any of the others, and his good-natured face was radiant.
+"Jump in, girls," he cried, holding out his hand to Blanche. "We'll have
+to turn those lilies of yours into roses this summer, my dear. Here,
+Jeanne, stop flirting with Jules, or we won't let you come with us. You
+wouldn't have known our little Louise, Blanche, if you hadn't expected
+to find her here, would you? She's grown an inch in four months. It's
+the most wonderful thing I've ever known in my life. And would you
+believe it?--she's become a perfect chatterbox--she's worse than Jeanne.
+Sometimes I have to run out of the room to read my paper in peace and
+have a quiet smoke."
+
+The whole family seemed to have agreed to assume toward Blanche the
+bantering tone that Jules had adopted. When they reached the house they
+continued their gayety, though Blanche, tired from her journey, sank
+weakly on the couch in the _salon_.
+
+She looked around, however, and saw that the room had been redecorated,
+probably by Monsieur Berthier, and when she felt rested she went all
+over the house and observed many new pieces of furniture, and many
+touches here and there that made the place more attractive and homelike.
+"Ah, it is so good to be at home," she said to her mother when they were
+alone; and then Madame Berthier took her in her arms and kissed her on
+the forehead and told her she must have courage for Jules' sake.
+
+After the excitement of Paris and Vienna, Jules found it hard to
+accustom himself to the dull life at Boulogne. He bought a small yacht,
+and found amusement in sailing with his new acquaintances, and
+sometimes, when the weather was fine, he took Blanche and the girls with
+him. He also occupied himself with the little garden around his cottage;
+but this soon bored him, and he gave it over to Monsieur Berthier's
+gardener, who came every few days to look after it. In the afternoons he
+drove with Blanche far into the country, and sometimes they stopped at a
+little _cafe_ by the roadside and had an early dinner, and then hurried
+home before the damp night should close around them.
+
+On these occasions they had many earnest talks, and Jules was surprised
+by the seriousness and depth of his wife's mind; at any rate, she
+impressed him as being wonderfully profound. The longer he knew her, the
+more she awed and puzzled him; there were moments when she seemed to
+dwell in another world, a world that made her almost a stranger to him.
+
+Since her return to Boulogne she had grown much more cheerful than she
+had been during those last weeks in Vienna; but a thousand little things
+she said showed him that beneath the surface of her thought there still
+lurked a strange melancholy, an unchangeable conviction that life was
+slipping away from her. He spoke of this once to her mother, and she
+explained mysteriously that he must expect that; it was very natural
+with one of Blanche's temperament. She had known many cases like it
+before.
+
+As the summer passed, Jules said little to his wife about the circus;
+indeed, her work was scarcely mentioned between them, though every
+morning she practised her exercises. Jules, however, had decided that
+they should go to London late in November and, the first week of the
+following month, appear at the Hippodrome, which had been established
+with great success the year before, at a short distance from the Houses
+of Parliament. The contract had not been signed, for Jules had written
+to Marshall, the manager, that he could not bind himself to an
+engagement until early in the autumn; but he explained that his word was
+as good as any contract.
+
+When September came, Blanche seemed much better for her months of rest;
+her eyes were brighter, and her cheeks were shot with color. Sometimes
+Jules wished that she were not quite so religious; she went to early
+mass every morning now, and rather than let her go alone, he went with
+her, for Madeleine had assumed the duties of the household. Their
+evenings, which during the summer had been spent chiefly on the porch of
+Monsieur Berthier's house, were now passed in their _salon_, bright with
+flowers, sometimes with a wood-fire crackling on the old-fashioned
+hearth. Blanche's fingers were always busy with soft, fleecy garments,
+which Jules used sometimes to take in his hands and rub affectionately
+against his face. Then he often noticed a light in her eyes that he had
+never seen before; it reminded him of pictures of the Madonna. Sometimes
+he was so touched when he looked at her that he would take her in his
+arms and hold her close for a long while. Their evenings together became
+very dear to him; yet they said little to each other: he was content to
+sit and watch her, with the curtains drawn to shut out the rest of the
+world.
+
+Occasionally Father Dumeny would come in for an hour's chat. He was a
+large-framed, heavy man, with deep gray eyes shaded by enormous eyebrows
+that moved up and down as he spoke. He spoke as he walked, slowly and
+lumberingly, and he had a quaint humor that used to delight Blanche and
+puzzle Jules. When he appeared, she always brightened, and she liked to
+hear his doleful accounts of his rheumatism. He seemed to find humor in
+everything, even in his arduous duties and his ailments.
+
+"Ah, my children," he would say, "why should any one go to the theatre
+for pleasure? This life is nothing but a comedy, if you only look at it
+in the right way."
+
+From Blanche he derived a great deal of amusement; that she should
+perform in a circus always seemed a joke to him, and he was continually
+making fun over it. He had never been at a circus; so, though he had
+baptized Blanche and had met her during her visits in Boulogne, he had
+never seen her perform. Once when Jules showed him a photograph of
+Blanche as she appeared while posing on the rope, he rolled his eyes and
+pretended to be much shocked, and they all laughed together.
+
+"I suppose you two people will be leaving this nest of yours before
+winter comes," he said one night. "You've made your plans already,
+haven't you?"
+
+Jules looked down at Blanche, but she avoided his eyes.
+
+"We haven't decided definitely," Jules replied, "but we think of going
+to London."
+
+Blanche sighed, and Father Dumeny glanced at her quickly and then smiled
+up at Jules.
+
+"She has a notion that she isn't going to live," Jules added, nodding at
+his wife. "Ridiculous, isn't it?"
+
+Father Dumeny put his hands to his sides, and for a moment his great
+body shook with laughter.
+
+"Why, I expect to baptize at least half a dozen of your children! In a
+few years we shall see them trotting around here in Boulogne and coming
+to my Sunday-school to be prepared for their first communion. We need
+all the good Catholics we can have, in these days, to fight against the
+infidelity that's ruining the country. Ah, my dear child," he said,
+patting Blanche's hand, "when you're a grandmother with a troop of
+children around you, you'll look back and smile at these foolish little
+fears."
+
+After that night he came oftener, and kept Blanche laughing with his
+gayety.
+
+"When you go to London," he said one evening, "I shall give you letters
+to some dear English friends of mine,--Mr. and Mrs. Tate. I met the
+Tates when I was in Paris visiting Father Bremont more than ten years
+ago. Mr. Tate represented the banking-house of Welling Brothers, of
+London, there, and now he's in London as a member of the firm, I
+believe. You'll like Mrs. Tate, my dear. She's a good soul, and she
+speaks French almost as well as English. I shall expect to hear that
+you've become great friends."
+
+"But we aren't sure of going to England yet," Blanche replied with a
+weary smile.
+
+"Perhaps we shall go to America," Jules laughed. "I want Blanche to see
+the country."
+
+Toward the end of September Blanche drooped again, and her mother was
+with her nearly every moment of the day, remaining sometimes till late
+at night. The girls had gone back to the convent, but they were allowed
+to come home twice a week, and most of their freedom they devoted to
+their sister, whom they treated with a protecting tenderness that used
+to afford Jules secret amusement. Madame Berthier maintained a cheerful
+composure in her daughter's presence, but when alone with Jules she
+became so serious that for the first time he grew nervous. Then as his
+anxiety deepened he began to resent it, as he did any long-continued
+annoyance. Why should they be kept in idleness and suspense so long? How
+stupid to be buried in a wretched provincial town when they might be
+earning thousands of francs in Vienna, or Bucharest, or Paris!
+
+Then one night he was suddenly aroused from his sleep, and he felt a
+sensation of mingled horror and awe. He dressed himself quickly, his
+whole being wrung by the groans he heard from the next room, and tore
+out of the house to Doctor Brutiniere's, five minutes away. After
+delivering his message, he ran breathlessly to summon Madame Berthier.
+It took her scarcely five minutes to dress, and then they were in the
+street together. Madame Berthier went at once to Blanche's room, and
+Jules paced up and down in the half-lighted _salon_.
+
+That was the ghastliest night of Jules Le Baron's life. He was
+overwhelmed by the knowledge that Blanche was in agony, that she was
+battling for life, that at any moment he might hear she was dead. Why
+should the burden of suffering fall on her? Oh, how cruel Nature was,
+how pitiless to women! The poor child, the poor little one, to be
+tortured so! Several times he listened for a sound, and the silence
+terrified him. Suddenly he heard a shriek, loud and piercing, that only
+the most exquisite pain could have wrung, and he clenched his hands in
+impotent horror and misery.
+
+The stillness that followed made him fear that she was dead, and he
+could hardly keep from rushing up the stairs and learning the truth.
+After a few moments, as he stood at the door, he heard another cry,
+small, timorous, peevish, that changed to a wail and then died away. He
+turned into the room, clapsed his face in his hands, and cried, "Thank
+God, thank God! And mercy for her, my God, mercy for my poor little
+Blanche!"
+
+After what seemed to him a long time, during which he was tortured with
+suspense, a door opened and shut, and he heard a rustling on the stairs.
+He stepped out into the hall and saw Madame Berthier descending. She
+stopped, smiled, and put her hand to her lips; he could see traces of
+tears in her eyes.
+
+"Come up," she whispered. "It's all over. It's a girl, and Blanche has
+her in her arms."
+
+Jules bounded up the stairs. "Only a minute, you know," she said softly,
+"and you must be very quiet."
+
+When she opened the door he almost pushed her aside in his eagerness to
+enter. The Doctor and Madeleine were standing beside the bed, where
+Blanche, white but bright-eyed and smiling, was lying with the babe
+nestling close to her. Jules flung himself by her side, and kissed her
+passionately, murmuring incoherent words of love and thankfulness.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XII
+
+
+The weeks of convalescence that followed were the happiest Blanche had
+ever known. She felt wrapped in the devotion of her husband and her
+family, and exalted by her love for her child. At moments she feared
+that she could not live through such happiness. Sometimes she would
+fancy that all her sufferings had been only a dream, and then she would
+turn and find with a thrill of joy the babe lying beside her. Jules
+would sit by the bed holding her hand, and making jokes about their
+daughter's future. They had decided that she should be called Jeanne,
+and no one but Father Dumeny should baptize her.
+
+One morning, when Blanche was sitting up in bed for the first time,
+Jules entered the room with a letter in his hand and in his face a look
+of exultation.
+
+"It's from Marshall," he said, "from the Hippodrome in London, you know.
+He wants me to make a contract for six months, from the first of
+January. I was afraid he might back out because we held off so long. But
+this makes it all right. You'll have more than a month to get strong
+again and to practise in."
+
+Jules was so excited by the prospect that he did not notice the look of
+alarm that had appeared in his wife's eyes. She lay still, with one arm
+extended on the coverlet, her head leaning to one side, and her dark
+hair making a background for her white face.
+
+"'We want you to open on the first,'" Jules read aloud. "'Let us hear
+from you as soon as possible and we will send on the contract for your
+signature.' Of course," he went on, folding the note, "we must jump at
+it. What do you say?"
+
+For a moment she looked at him without speaking. Then she replied
+weakly, "Do what you think best, Jules."
+
+"Good!" he said, jumping up. "I'll write now. We've lost a lot of time,
+you know, and we must make up for it when we get back to work."
+
+"Do you--do you think I'll be strong enough?" she went on, as if she
+hadn't heard him.
+
+"Strong enough!" he laughed. "Of course you'll be strong enough in seven
+weeks more. You're nearly your old self now," he added affectionately.
+"Don't you worry about that."
+
+When he had closed the door and left her alone, she felt as if her body
+were sinking into the bed from weakness. The circus again! That ghastly
+plunge! Since the birth of her child she had hardly thought of it. Now
+the thought horrified her! How could she leave her babe and risk her
+life night after night? Perhaps some night--oh! it was too horrible. She
+couldn't, she couldn't! She lifted her hands to her face as if to shut
+out the horror of the thought. Then she turned to the little Jeanne who
+was sleeping beside her, and drew her close to her bosom.
+
+She had lost courage! It would never come back to her. When Jules
+returned she would tell him, and she would beg him, for Jeanne's sake,
+to give up that engagement in London till she felt well again. Oh, if
+they could only leave the circus forever! If she could only do as other
+women did, devote her life to her child. The circus was no place for a
+mother.
+
+Then it suddenly flashed upon her that if she said these things to Jules
+he would urge her to place Jeanne in her mother's care while they were
+in England; but to that she would never consent, never. She would rather
+give up performing altogether. Yes, when Jules came back she would speak
+of this. He loved the circus, but for Jeanne's sake he would give it up,
+she knew he would.
+
+But when Jules did return, he was so enthusiastic about the engagement
+in London that she did not dare oppose it. "Think of the sensation we'll
+make there!" he said. "How those stupid English will open their eyes!
+And then we'll surely have big offers from other places. After a London
+success we can make a fortune in America. They say the Americans are
+crazy over everything that makes a hit in London. Oh," he went on,
+stretching his arms and yawning, "it will be a relief to get out of this
+dull old town. Think of the months we've wasted here. I feel rusty
+already."
+
+Something in his tone as well as his words frightened her, and a feeling
+of helplessness came over her when he put his hand on her forehead and
+said gently: "You must try to get strong as soon as possible, dear.
+Think of all the practising you'll have to do for your plunge."
+
+She turned her head away, and he observed nothing strange in her manner.
+She wanted to speak of taking Jeanne with them, but a fear that he might
+object restrained her.
+
+Two days later, when her mother and Jules were in the room together,
+Madame Berthier, with apparent carelessness, asked what they were going
+to do with the little one while they were travelling. "Of course you
+can't carry her about with you. So you'd better leave her with me. I'll
+take the best of care of her."
+
+She was startled by the light that flashed into her daughter's eyes.
+"No, no!" Blanche cried. "We shall keep her with us always. I couldn't
+bear to leave her here. I couldn't--I couldn't go away without her."
+
+Madame Berthier and Jules exchanged glances, and Blanche saw that her
+intuition was correct. They had been discussing the project of leaving
+the child in Boulogne. She felt as if they were conspiring against her.
+
+"Don't you think it would be better if your mother--" Jules began, but
+Blanche cut him short.
+
+"We shall have Madeleine. She will help me to take care of Jeanne. I
+couldn't go without her," she repeated, with tears in her voice.
+
+"There, there!" said Madame Berthier, becoming alarmed. "Have your own
+way. Perhaps it's better that you should keep the child with you."
+
+Blanche read annoyance in her husband's face, but she said nothing. A
+few moments later, Madame Berthier left the room and Jules followed. She
+knew they had gone to discuss the little scene that had just taken
+place. But she resolved that she would not give up the child! Rather
+than do that she would stay in Boulogne.
+
+The fear of being separated from Jeanne, made her decide not to refer in
+any way to her terror of the plunge. That might strengthen Jules' belief
+that the presence of the child disturbed her, and he might insist on a
+separation. Besides, she tried to convince herself that as she grew
+stronger her nervousness would disappear. It must of course be due
+solely to her weak condition. Once restored to health, the plunge would
+be, as it always had been, merely part of her daily routine.
+
+But in spite of her rapidly increasing strength, Blanche found that
+after three weeks she was still depressed by the thought of her season
+in London. Jules complained that she was devoting herself too much to
+Jeanne; she must drive out more, and walk with the girls, and give more
+time to her exercises. Her mother, too, grew severe with her. "One would
+think there never was another child in the world," she said, and then
+Blanche suspected that Jules had been complaining of her. "The little
+one is a dear, and I love her," Madame Berthier continued, "but you have
+your work to do, and you must think of that too. No wonder Jules is
+growing impatient."
+
+Jules had already received the contract for the engagement at the
+Hippodrome, and on signing it at his request, Blanche had had a horrible
+fancy that she was putting her signature to a warrant for her own doom.
+Once she thought of confiding her fear to her mother, but her mother
+would be sure to repeat what she said to Jules. At any cost, she felt
+she must hide it from him. Then she determined to tell Father Dumeny,
+but when the moment came she had not courage to put her feeling into
+words, and she was ashamed of it as a superstition. So she decided that
+she would keep the miserable secret to herself, finding no relief save
+in gusts of weeping when she was alone with the child.
+
+Once Jules found her with traces of tears in her eyes. "What's the
+matter?" he asked gently, taking her hand.
+
+She turned her head away. "I don't feel well," she said.
+
+He looked at her closely. "You'll be well when you get back to your
+work. That's what the matter is. You aren't used to being idle. The best
+thing for us to do is to leave here the day after Christmas. That will
+give you nearly a week for practice in London, and we'll have time to
+look about for rooms there. Since we are going to have Jeanne with us,
+we'll want to take an apartment in some quiet street."
+
+When he went away she sat for a long time without speaking. In a week
+they would be far away from this place, among strangers. She wondered
+why she had not suffered so on leaving home before. Until now she had
+regarded the circus as part of her life; she had not hoped for any other
+kind of life. How strange it was that Jules should love it so! Sometimes
+it seemed----But it was right that she should go on with her work, for
+she must earn money for the little Jeanne now. Perhaps in a few years
+she would make a fortune, and then Jules could not object to her leaving
+the circus. But before a few years passed she would be obliged to go
+through her performance more than a thousand times. At this thought her
+heart seemed to stop beating, and then it thumped against her side.
+
+Their Christmas in Boulogne at Monsieur Berthier's house reminded them
+of their _fete_ in Paris of the year before. Berthier himself led in the
+gayety, and the girls were in the wildest spirits. Blanche sat among
+them with the child in her arms, looking, as Jules said, as if she were
+posing for a Madonna. In the evening Father Dumeny came to bid his
+friends good-bye. He pretended to pinch the little Jeanne on the cheek,
+and he made jokes with Blanche about her terror before the child's
+birth. "She's the healthiest baby I've ever baptized," he said. "You
+should have heard her roar when I poured the water on her head. That's a
+good sign. I suppose you'll make a great performer of her too," he
+continued, smiling into the face of the mother, but growing serious when
+he saw the effect of the question.
+
+"Never!" exclaimed Blanche.
+
+"We're going to earn a fortune for her," said Jules with a smile. "So
+she won't have to work at all. We'll settle down in Paris and make a
+fine lady of her, and marry her into the nobility."
+
+Blanche did not speak again for a long time. They knew she was depressed
+at the thought of leaving home the next day. When Father Dumeny rose, he
+took a letter from the pocket of his long black coat.
+
+"I almost forgot about this. Here's the introduction I promised you to
+my friends in London. You will like Mrs. Tate, my dear," he said to
+Blanche, "and she'll make a great pet of the little one. She hasn't any
+children of her own, poor woman. Be sure to go to see them," he
+concluded, "and present my compliments to them."
+
+When he was gone, Jules shrugged his shoulders and turned to his wife.
+"What do we want to meet those people for?" he said. "What will they
+care about us?"
+
+The next day they left Boulogne, after many farewell injunctions from
+the Berthiers, and much weeping on the part of Blanche and her sisters.
+Blanche stood for a long time with Madeleine, who held the little Jeanne
+in her arms, waving farewell to her kindred on the wharf, and watching
+the shores of France recede from her gaze. When the last vestige of land
+disappeared in the wintry fog and she found herself shut in by the
+shoreless sea, she turned away with a feeling of hopeless weariness. She
+had a morbid presentiment that she was leaving home forever.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XIII
+
+
+Mrs. Tate ran her eyes over the pile of letters at her plate on the
+breakfast-table. She was a large, florid woman of forty, verging on
+stoutness, with an abundance of reddish-brown hair.
+
+"What a lot of mail!" she said to her husband, who was absorbed in
+reading the "Daily Telegraph,"--a small man, with black hair and
+moustache tinged with gray, and small black eyes finely wrinkled at the
+corners. "Here's a letter from Amy dated at Cannes. They must have left
+Paris sooner than they intended; and here's something from Fanny
+Mayo,--an invitation to dinner, I suppose. Fanny told me she wanted us
+to meet the Presbreys next week,--some people she knew in Bournemouth."
+
+"Fanny's always taking up new people," said Tate from behind his paper,
+"and dropping them in a month."
+
+"And here's something else with a French stamp on it. Let me see. From
+Boulogne? It must be from Father Dumeny. Yes, I recognize the
+handwriting."
+
+"Another subscription, I suppose," her husband grunted.
+
+"He hasn't written for nearly a year. I wonder what started him this
+time. What a dear old soul he is! Do you remember the night we took him
+out to a restaurant in Paris and he was so afraid of being seen? I
+always laugh when I think of that."
+
+"What's he got to say?"
+
+With her knife, Mrs. Tate cut one end of the letter open, and her eye
+wandered slowly down the page.
+
+"He's been ill, he says, but he's able to be about now. He came near
+running over here last summer, but he couldn't get away." For a few
+moments Mrs. Tate was absorbed in reading; then she exclaimed with a
+curious little laugh: "How funny! Listen to this, will you? He's left
+what he really wrote for till the end,--like a woman. He wants us to
+look after a _protegee_ of his, a girl that he baptized, the daughter of
+an acrobat. Did you ever hear of such a thing? She's in the circus
+herself, and she's going to appear at the Hippodrome next week. She
+performs on the trapeze, and then she dives backward from the roof of
+the building--backward, mind you! Could anything be more terrible?"
+
+"I should think she'd be right in your line," Tate replied without
+lifting his eyes from his paper. "She'll be something new. You can make
+a lion of her."
+
+"Don't be impertinent, Percy. This is a very serious matter. It seems
+the girl's married and had a child about two months ago. She's going to
+resume her performances. She doesn't know a soul in London; so she'll be
+all alone."
+
+"I thought you said she had a husband."
+
+"So I did. He's given them a letter to us, but he doesn't think they'll
+present it. I suppose those theatrical people live in a world of their
+own. But of course I shall go to see her. Perhaps I can do something for
+her. Anyway, it'll be interesting to meet an acrobat. I've never known
+one in my life."
+
+"As I said," her husband remarked, turning to his bacon and eggs, "you
+can introduce her into society. People must be tired of meeting artists
+and actors and musicians. She'll be a novelty."
+
+"You're very disagreeable to-day, Percy," Mrs. Tate responded amiably,
+after sipping the coffee that had been steaming beside her plate. "You
+are always attributing the meanest motives to everything I do."
+
+He gave a short laugh. "But you must acknowledge that you do some pretty
+queer things, my dear."
+
+She ignored the remark, and a moment later she went on briskly: "I must
+go and see this acrobat woman--whoever she is. If I don't--"
+
+"What's her name?" Tate asked, turning to his paper and searching for
+the theatrical columns.
+
+"Madame Jules Le Baron, Father Dumeny calls her. But I suppose she must
+have a stage name. Most of them have."
+
+"I don't see that name in 'Under the Clock!' The Hippodrome? No, it
+isn't there. I wonder if this can be the one: 'On Monday evening next,
+Mademoiselle Blanche, the celebrated French acrobat, will give her
+remarkable performance on the trapeze and her great dive from the top of
+the Hippodrome.'"
+
+Mrs. Tate sighed.
+
+"Yes, it must be. Mademoiselle Blanche! How stagey it sounds! I wonder
+what she's like."
+
+"We might go to see her first and then we could tell whether she's
+possible or not."
+
+"Go to the Hippodrome!"
+
+"Yes, why not? It's perfectly respectable. Only it doesn't happen to be
+fashionable. In Paris, you know, it's the thing to attend the circus.
+Don't you remember the La Marches took us one night?"
+
+"Yes, and I remember there was a dreadful creature--she must have
+weighed three hundred pounds--who walked the tight-rope and nearly
+frightened me to death. I thought she'd come down on my head."
+
+"Then it's understood that we're to go on Monday? If we go at all we
+might as well be there the first night. It'll be more interesting."
+
+Mrs. Percy Tate was a personage in London. For several years before her
+marriage, at the age of twenty-five, she had been known as an heiress
+and a belle. Even then she had a reputation for independence of
+character, and for an indefatigable zeal for reforming the world. Her
+name stood at the head of several charitable societies, and she was also
+a member of many clubs for the improvement of the physical and spiritual
+condition of the human race. Since her marriage she had grown somewhat
+milder; her friends used to say that Percy Tate had "trained" her. They
+also said that she had "made" him; without her money he would never have
+become a member of the rich firm of Welling and Company.
+
+Percy Tate's business associates, however, knew the fallacy of this
+uncharitable opinion. With his dogged determination and his keen insight
+into the intricacies of finance, Tate was sure of forging ahead in time,
+with or without backing. His association with Welling and Company gave
+the house even greater strength than it had had before; for in addition
+to his reputation as a financier, he had made his name a synonym for
+stanch integrity. He had passed sixteen happy years with his wife,
+wisely directed her charities, wholesomely ridiculed her enthusiasms,
+followed her into the Catholic Church, where he was quite as sincere if
+a much less ardent worshipper; and in all the serious things of life he
+treated her, not as an inferior to be patronized, but as an equal that
+he respected, with no display of sentiment, but with sincere devotion.
+She, on her part, was amused by his humor and guided by his advice,
+though she often pretended to ignore it; and she never allowed any of
+her numerous undertakings to interfere with her regard for his comfort
+or the happiness of her home.
+
+The manager of the Hippodrome had extensively advertised the appearance
+of Mademoiselle Blanche, and on Monday night the amphitheatre was
+crowded. The Tates arrived early in order to see the whole performance;
+as they had never been at the Hippodrome before, the evening promised to
+be amusing for them. Tate, however, became so interested in the
+menagerie through which they passed before entering the portion of the
+vast building devoted to the exhibitions in the ring that they remained
+there more than an hour. The interval between their taking seats and the
+appearance of the acrobat rather bored them.
+
+"I wish they'd hurry up and let her come out," said Mrs. Tate. "And yet
+I almost dread seeing her make that horrible plunge. This must be the
+first time she's done it since the birth of her baby. Isn't it really
+shocking?"
+
+"Oh, I suppose these people are as much entitled to babies as any other
+people."
+
+She cast a reproachful glance at him, and did not reply for a moment.
+Then she said: "But what must her feelings be now--just as she's getting
+ready?"
+
+"I dare say she's glad to get back to her work and earn her salary
+again. Her husband probably doesn't earn anything. Those fellows never
+do."
+
+"She must be frightened nearly to death."
+
+Tate laughed softly. "You'll die from worrying about other people."
+
+"What are they doing now?" Mrs. Tate asked, turning her eyes to the
+ring. "I suppose that rope they're letting down is for her to climb up
+on, and that's the net she'll fall into. How gracefully that trapeze
+swings! I feel quite excited. Every one else is too. Can't you see it in
+their faces? There must be thousands of people here. How strange they
+look! Such coarse faces."
+
+"It's the great British middle class. This is just the kind of thing
+they like."
+
+"It reminds me of pictures of the Colosseum. I can almost fancy their
+turning their thumbs down. Here she comes. How light she is on her feet!
+And isn't she pretty! But she looks awfully thin and delicate, and she's
+as pale as a ghost."
+
+"You'll attract all the people round us. Of course she's pale. She's
+probably powdered up to the eyes, like the women we used to see in
+Paris."
+
+"How lightly she goes up that rope," Mrs. Tate whispered, "and what
+wonderful arms she has! Just like a man's. They look as if they didn't
+belong to her body."
+
+Silently and dexterously Blanche reached the main trapeze, and for a
+moment she sat there, with her arms crooked against the rope on either
+side, and rubbing her hands. For the first time during her career she
+was terrified in the ring. She had hoped that as soon as she resumed her
+work the terror she had felt since Jeanne's birth would pass away. Now,
+however, it made her so weak that she feared she was going to fall.
+
+She was thinking of the child as she had seen her crowing in the crib.
+If anything should happen to her she might never see Jeanne again. She
+was vaguely conscious of the vast mass of people below her, waiting for
+her to move. She took a long breath and nerved herself for the start,
+before making her spring to the trapeze below; she must have courage for
+the sake of the little Jeanne, she said to herself. Mechanically she
+began to sway forward and backward; then she shot into the air, and with
+a sensation of surprise and delight she continued her performance.
+
+Mrs. Tate watched her with an expression of mingled fear, interest, and
+pleasure in her face.
+
+"Isn't she the most wonderful creature you ever saw, Percy?" she cried,
+clutching her husband's arm. "It's horrible, yet I can't help looking.
+Suppose she should fall!"
+
+"She'd merely drop into the net. There's nothing very dangerous about
+what she's doing now. Keep still."
+
+"I never saw anything more graceful. She _is_ grace itself, isn't she?
+See how her hair flies; I should think it would get into her eyes and
+blind her. I shall speak to her about that when I see her. I shall
+certainly _go_ to see her."
+
+In a round of applause, Blanche finished her performance on the trapeze
+and then began her posing on the rope, whirling slowly, with a rhythmic
+succession of motions to the net. Then Jules, in evening dress, with a
+large diamond gleaming in his shirt-front, stepped out on the net, and
+for an instant they conferred together. Suddenly she clapped her hands,
+bounded on the rope again, and while Jules held it to steady her motion,
+she climbed hand over hand to the top of the building. There she sat,
+looking in the distance like a white bird ready to take flight, her dark
+hair streaming around her head.
+
+"I feel as if I were going to faint," Mrs. Tate whispered.
+
+Her husband glanced at her quickly. "Yes, you'd better--in this crowd. A
+fine panic you'd create! Want to go out?"
+
+She seemed to pull herself together. "No, I think I shall be able to
+bear it. If I can't, I'll look away. What's that he's saying? What
+horrible English he speaks! I can't understand a word. _Oh!_" she
+gasped, clutching her husband by one arm and holding him firmly as
+Blanche dropped backward and whirled through the air; and this
+exclamation she repeated in a tone of horrified relief when the girl
+struck the net, bounded into the air again, and landed on her feet.
+
+They rose with the applauding crowd and started to leave the place. "In
+my opinion," said Mrs. Tate, clinging to her husband's arm and drawing
+her wrap closely around her, "in my opinion such exhibitions are
+outrageous. There ought to be a law against them. Think of that poor
+little creature going through that every night. Of course she'll be
+killed sometime. I wonder if she's afraid. I should think she'd expect
+every night to be her last."
+
+"What nonsense you're talking. Of course those people don't feel like
+that. If they did they'd never go into the business. It's second nature
+to them."
+
+"But they're _human_ just like the rest of us, and that woman is a
+mother," Mrs. Tate insisted. "Don't you suppose she thinks of her baby
+before she makes that terrible dive? It's a shame that her husband
+should allow her to do it."
+
+"There you are, trying to regulate the affairs of the world again. Why
+don't you let people alone? They'd be a good deal happier, and so would
+you. Her husband probably likes to have her do it."
+
+"Well, I shall go to see her anyway," Mrs. Tate cried with
+determination. "Then I can find out all about her for myself."
+
+For the next three weeks Mrs. Tate was absorbed by various duties in
+connection with her charitable societies. One morning, however, she
+suddenly realized that she had neglected to comply with Father Dumeny's
+request, and she resolved to put off her other engagements for the
+afternoon and call at once on the acrobat; if she didn't go then, there
+was no knowing when she could go. At four o'clock she found herself
+stepping into a hansom in front of her house in Cavendish Square.
+
+The address that Father Dumeny had sent led her to a little French hotel
+with a narrow, dark entrance, dimly lighted by an odorous lamp. She
+poked about in the place for a moment, wondering how she was to find any
+one; then a door which she had not observed was thrown open, and she was
+confronted by a little man with a very waxed moustache, who smiled and
+asked in broken English what Madame wanted. She stammered that she was
+looking for Madame Le Baron, and the little man at once called a
+_garcon_ in a greasy apron, who led the way up the narrow stairs. When
+they had reached the second landing the boy rapped on the door, and Mrs.
+Tate stood panting behind him. For several moments there was no answer;
+then heavy steps could be heard approaching, and a moment later
+Madeleine's broad figure, silhouetted by the light from the windows from
+behind, stood before them. Mrs. Tate saw at a glance that she was
+French, and addressed her in her own language.
+
+"_Mais oui_," Madeleine replied. "Madame is at home. Will Madame have
+the goodness to enter?"
+
+"Say that I'm Father Dumeny's friend, please," said Mrs. Tate as she
+gave Madeleine a card. Then she glanced at one corner of the room, where
+a large cradle, covered with a lace canopy, had caught her eye. "Is the
+baby here?" she asked quickly, going toward it.
+
+"Ah, no--not now. She sometimes sleeps here in the morning; but she is
+with her mother in the other room now."
+
+Madeleine disappeared, and Mrs. Tate's eyes roved around the room. She
+recognized it at once as the typical English lodging-house drawing-room;
+she had seen many rooms just like it before, when she had called on
+American friends living for a time in London. It was large and oblong,
+facing the tall houses on the opposite side of the street that cut off
+much of the light; the wall paper was ugly and sombre, and the carpet,
+with its large flowery pattern, together with the lounge and chairs,
+completed an effect of utter dreariness.
+
+Mrs. Tate wondered how people could live in such places; she should
+simply go mad if she had to stay in a room like this. Then she wondered
+why Madame Le Baron hadn't brightened up the apartment a bit; the
+photographs on the mantel, in front of the large French mirror, together
+with the cradle in the corner, were the only signs it gave of being
+really inhabited. How vulgar those prints on the wall were! They and the
+mirror were the only French touches visible, and they contrasted oddly
+with their surroundings. While Mrs. Tate was comfortably meditating on
+the vast superiority of England to France, the door leading to the next
+room opened and Blanche entered the room. She looked so domestic in her
+simple dress of blue serge that for an instant her caller did not
+recognize her.
+
+She held out her hand timidly. "Father Dumeny has spoken to me about
+you," she said.
+
+"Father Dumeny must think I am an extremely rude person. I meant to come
+weeks ago," Mrs. Tate replied, clasping the hand and looking down
+steadily into the pale face. "But I've been busy--so busy, I've had
+hardly a minute to myself. However, I did go to see you perform."
+
+"Ah, at the Hippodrome?"
+
+"Yes, the very first night. Mr. Tate and I went together. We were
+both--er--wonderfully impressed. I don't think I ever saw anything more
+wonderful in my life than that plunge of yours."
+
+Mrs. Tate adjusted herself in the chair near the window, and Blanche
+took the opposite seat. "I'm glad you liked it," she said with a sigh.
+
+"Liked it. I can't really say I did like it. I must confess it rather
+horrified me."
+
+"It does some people. My mother never likes to see me do it--though I've
+done it for a great many years now."
+
+"But doesn't it--doesn't it make you nervous sometimes?"
+
+"I never used to think of it--before my baby was born."
+
+"Ah, the baby! May I see her? Just a peep."
+
+"She was asleep when I left," Blanche replied, unconsciously lowering
+her voice as if the child in the next room might know she was being
+talked about; "but she will wake up soon. She always wakes about this
+time. Madeleine is with her now, and she'll dress her and bring her in."
+
+For a quarter of an hour they talked about the little Jeanne, and
+Blanche, inspired by Mrs. Tate's vivid interest and sympathy, grew
+animated in describing the baby's qualities; when she was born she
+weighed nearly nine pounds, and she had not been sick a day. Then she
+had grown so! You could hardly believe it was the same child. She very
+rarely cried,--almost never at night. Mrs. Tate had heard mothers talk
+like that before, but Blanche's _naivete_ lent a new charm to the
+narration; she kept in mind, however, their first topic, and at the next
+opportunity she returned to it.
+
+"Then what do you do with the child at night?" she asked. "I suppose
+your servant goes to the circus with you, doesn't she? Of course you
+can't leave the baby alone."
+
+"Ah, no," Blanche replied. "We have a little girl to stay with her."
+
+Mrs. Tate was surprised. So these circus people lived as other people
+did, with servants to wait on them, with a nurse for the child. She had
+instinctively thought of them as vagabonds. On discovering that they
+were well cared for, she had a sensation very like disappointment; they
+seemed to be in no need of help of any sort. She was curious to know
+more of the life of this girl, who seemed so _naive_ and had such a
+curious look of sadness in her eyes. Mrs. Tate deftly led Blanche to
+talk about her husband, and in a few minutes, by her questions and her
+quick intelligence, she fancied that she understood the condition of
+this extraordinary _menage_.
+
+Percy had been right; the wife supported the family and the husband was
+a mere hanger-on; but it was evident from the way he was mentioned that
+the romance still lasted. Then Blanche made a reference to Jules which
+led her visitor to make inquiries with regard to him, and these changed
+her view of the situation. So, before marriage, Monsieur had been in
+business, and he had probably given it up to follow his wife in her
+wanderings. She surmised that they were not absolutely dependent on the
+circus for their daily bread; perhaps this accounted for their
+comfortable way of living.
+
+While apparently absorbed in conversation Mrs. Tate continued this train
+of thought. She had never known any one connected with the circus
+before, she explained with a smile; people who lived in London all the
+time were apt to be so very narrow and ignorant; but she wanted to hear
+all about it, and Madame must tell her. Blanche was able to tell very
+little, for she was not used to discussing her work. By adroit
+questioning, however, Mrs. Tate led her on to an account of her early
+career from her first appearance as a child with her father to her
+development into a "star" performer.
+
+The narrative seemed to her wildly interesting. How fascinating it would
+be if she could persuade the girl to relate her story in a drawing-room!
+It would be the sensation of the winter. But this poor child never could
+talk in public, even in her own tongue.
+
+"But do tell me," said Mrs. Tate, when Blanche had described the months
+her father had spent in teaching her to make the great plunge. "Doesn't
+it hurt your back? I should think that striking with full force day
+after day on that padded net would destroy the nervous system of a
+giant."
+
+Blanche smiled and shook her head. "It never used to hurt. I've only
+felt it lately, since the baby was born," she said.
+
+"Then it does hurt now?" Mrs. Tate cried eagerly.
+
+"Sometimes. I feel so tired in the morning now. I never used to; and
+sometimes when I wake up my back aches very much. But I try not to think
+of it."
+
+"But, my dear child, you ought to think of it. You mustn't allow
+yourself to be injured--perhaps for life."
+
+Blanche turned pale. "Do you think it can be serious?" she asked
+timidly.
+
+Mrs. Tate saw that she had made a false step. "Of course not--not
+_serious_. It's probably nothing at all. I haven't a doubt a physician
+could stop it easily. Have you spoken to any one about it?"
+
+"No; not even to my husband. I shouldn't like to tell him. It would make
+him unhappy."
+
+Mrs. Tate became thoughtful. "I wonder if Dr. Broughton couldn't do
+something for you. He's our physician, and he's the kindest soul in the
+world. I'm always sending him to people. Suppose I should ask him to
+come and call on you some day. Perhaps he'll tell you there's nothing
+the matter, and then you won't be worried any more." She glanced into
+the pale face and was startled by the look she saw there. "Oh, you
+needn't be afraid," she laughed. "He won't hurt you. But, of course, if
+you don't want him to come, I won't send him."
+
+Blanche clasped her hands and dropped her eyes. "I think I should like
+to have him come if--if--my husband----"
+
+"But he needn't know anything about it," said Mrs. Tate, with feminine
+delight at the prospect of secrecy. "We won't tell him anything. If he
+meets Monsieur Le Baron here you can just say I sent him to call on you.
+Besides, he can come some time when your husband isn't here," she added
+with a smile.
+
+"Jules generally goes out in the afternoon," Blanche replied, feeling
+guilty at the thought of concealing anything from him. "He likes to read
+the French papers in a _cafe_ in the Strand."
+
+"Then I'll tell Dr. Broughton to come some afternoon. He'll be
+delighted. I don't believe _he's_ ever known an acrobat either," she
+laughed.
+
+They talked more of Blanche's symptoms, and Mrs. Tate speedily
+discovered that since the birth of the baby Blanche had not been free
+from terror of her work; every night she feared might be her last. She
+did not confess this directly, but Mrs. Tate gathered it from several
+intimations and from her own observations. She felt elated. What an
+interesting case! She had never heard of anything like it before. This
+poor child was haunted with a horrible terror! This accounted for the
+pitiful look of distress in her eyes. Then Mrs. Tate's generous heart
+fairly yearned with sympathy; but this she was careful to conceal. She
+saw that by displaying it she would do far more harm than good; so she
+pretended to be amused at the possibility of Blanche's injuring herself
+in making the plunge.
+
+"It must have become second nature to you," she said, "after all these
+years. You're probably a little tired and nervous. Dr. Broughton will
+give you a tonic that will restore your old confidence. Meantime," she
+added enthusiastically, "I'm going to take care of you. I'm coming to
+see you very often, and I shall expect you to come to see me. Let me
+think; this is Thursday. On Sunday night you and Monsieur Le Baron must
+come and dine with us at seven o'clock. We'll be all alone. I sha'n't
+ask any one. But wait a minute. Why wouldn't that be a good way for your
+husband to meet Dr. Broughton? I'll ask him to come, too. He often looks
+in on Sundays. That will be delightful."
+
+She rose to her feet and shook out her skirts. "I suppose I must go
+without seeing the baby. But I shall----" She looked quickly around at
+the clicking sound that seemed to come from the door. Then the door
+opened, and Jules, in a heavy fur-trimmed coat and silk hat, stood
+before her. She recognized him at once, and as he bowed hesitatingly,
+she extended her hand and relieved the awkwardness of the situation. "I
+won't wait for Madame to introduce me," she said, just as Blanche was
+murmuring her name.
+
+"Then you are the lady Father Dumeny spoke to us about!" Jules said with
+a smile.
+
+"Yes; and your wife and I have become the best of friends already."
+
+"And you've made friends with the baby too, I hope," Jules replied,
+removing his coat and throwing it over a chair. She liked his face more
+than she had done at the Hippodrome; he had a good eye, and, for a
+Frenchman, a remarkably clear complexion.
+
+"No; she's asleep," Blanche replied. "I asked Madeleine to bring her in
+if she woke up."
+
+"But you must see her," Jules insisted. "I'll go and take a peep at
+her."
+
+He went to the door leading to the next room, opened it softly, and
+glanced in. Then he made a sign that the others were to follow, and he
+tiptoed toward the bed where Jeanne lay sleeping, her face rosy with
+health, and her little hands tightly closed. Madeleine, who had been
+sitting beside the bed, rose as they approached and showed her mouthful
+of teeth.
+
+For a few moments they stood around the child, smiling at one another
+and without speaking. Then they tiptoed out of the room, and closed the
+door behind them.
+
+"I shall come again soon some morning," Mrs. Tate whispered, as if still
+afraid of disturbing the child, "when the baby's awake." Then she went
+on in a louder tone: "She's a dear. I know I shall become very fond of
+her. And you're coming to us next Sunday night," she added, as she bade
+Jules good-bye. "Your wife has promised. I shall expect you both.
+Perhaps I shall come before then; I want to get acquainted with Jeanne."
+
+She kissed Blanche on both cheeks, after the French fashion. "I sha'n't
+forget, you know. We have great secrets together already," she laughed,
+turning to Jules as she passed out of the door.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XIV
+
+
+As soon as Percy Tate confronted his wife at the table that night he saw
+that something was on her mind.
+
+"You've been to see those circus people," he said.
+
+"How did you know that?"
+
+"Oh, clairvoyance,--my subtle insight into the workings of your brain!"
+
+"I suppose Hawkins told you. Well, I _have_ been to see them."
+
+Tate began to pick at the bread beside his plate. He often became
+preoccupied when he knew his wife wanted him to ask questions; this was
+his favorite way of teasing her.
+
+"It's the strangest _menage_ I ever saw in my life," Mrs. Tate exclaimed
+at last, unable to keep back the news any longer. "And it's just as I
+thought it would be. That poor little creature simply lives in terror of
+being killed."
+
+Tate rolled his eyes. "'In the midst of life we are in death,'" he said
+solemnly.
+
+"It's altogether too serious a matter to be made a joke of, Percy. If
+you could have heard--"
+
+"Now, my dear, you know what I told you. You went to see that woman with
+the deliberate expectation of finding her a person to be sympathized
+with, and I can see that you've imagined a lot of nonsense about her.
+Why in the world don't you let such people alone? You belong in your
+place and she belongs in hers, and the world is big enough to hold you
+both without obliging you to come together. You can't understand her
+feelings any more than she can understand yours. You wonder how you'd
+feel if you were in her place; you can't realize that if you _were_ in
+her place you'd be an altogether different person. If you had to go
+through her performances, of course you'd be scared to death; but you
+forget she's been brought up to do those things; it's her business, her
+life. I knew you'd go there and work up a lot of ridiculous sympathy,
+and badger that woman for nothing!"
+
+At the beginning of this speech Mrs. Tate had sat back in her chair with
+an expression of patient resignation in her face. When her husband
+finished she breathed a long sigh. "I hope you've said it all, Percy.
+You're so tiresome when you make those long harangues. Besides, you've
+only succeeded in showing that you don't understand the case at all."
+
+Then, as they finished their soup, Mrs. Tate gave an account of her call
+of the afternoon, ending with a graphic repetition of the talk with
+Blanche about the pains in her back.
+
+"I shall certainly tell Dr. Broughton about it," she cried. "That poor
+child--she really _is_ nothing _but_ a child--she's just killing herself
+by inches, and her husband is worse than a brute to let the thing go
+on."
+
+"So you want to stop it and take away their only means of support."
+
+"It isn't their only means of support. It seems the husband has money.
+That makes it all the worse."
+
+"Now, let me say right here, my dear, I wash my hands of this affair. If
+you want to rush in and upset those people's lives, go ahead, but I'll
+have nothing to do with it."
+
+"I wish you wouldn't scold me so, Percy. It seems to me I usually bear
+the consequences of what I do. And I don't see what harm there can be in
+consulting Dr. Broughton. You're always cracking him up yourself."
+
+Tate burst into a loud laugh. "If that isn't just like a woman! Turning
+it onto poor old Broughton."
+
+"Oh, sometimes you're so _aggravating_, Percy!"
+
+Two days later, in spite of her husband's opposition, Mrs. Tate
+consulted Dr. Broughton, and he promised, as soon as he could, to call
+some morning at the little hotel in Albemarle Street. Before he appeared
+there Mrs. Tate ingratiated herself into the affections of the family.
+As Blanche grew more familiar with her, she confided to her many details
+of her life, and Mrs. Tate speedily possessed the chief facts in
+connection with it. These facts did not increase her esteem for Jules,
+whose days, in spite of his duties as his wife's manager, were spent in
+what she regarded as wholly unpardonable idleness. She also suspected
+that Jules disliked her; it must have been he who sent word that they
+would be unable to accept her invitation for dinner on Sunday evening.
+This, however, did not prevent their being invited for the following
+Sunday. Mrs. Tate was determined to secure her husband's opinion of her
+new _proteges_.
+
+Before Sunday came Dr. Broughton unexpectedly made his appearance in the
+Tates' drawing-room one evening.
+
+"I've seen your acrobat," he said to the figure in yellow silk and lace,
+reading beside the lamp. "Don't get up. Been out? I hardly thought I'd
+find you in; you're such a pair of worldlings."
+
+"We came away early. I had a headache," said Tate, shading his eyes with
+one hand and offering the other to the visitor. "Or, rather, I pretended
+I had."
+
+The Doctor, a short, stout man of fifty, with grayish brown hair, and
+little red whiskers jutting out from either side of his face, and with
+enormous eyebrows shading his keen eyes, gathered his coat-tails in his
+hand, and took a seat on the couch.
+
+"It's late for a call--must be after ten. But I knew this lady of yours
+would want to hear about her acrobat. Nice little creature, isn't she?
+Seems ridiculous she should belong to a circus."
+
+"She doesn't belong there," Mrs. Tate replied, briskly inserting a
+paper-knife in her book and laying the book on the little table beside
+her. "I've never seen any one so utterly misplaced. Did you have a talk
+with her?"
+
+"Yes--a talk. That was all; but that was enough. Her husband was out."
+
+"O, you conspirators!" Tate exclaimed.
+
+"Then you've satisfied yourself about her?" said his wife, ignoring him.
+
+"Yes. She has a very common complaint, a form of meningitis; slumbering
+meningitis, it's often called. Many people have it without knowing it;
+and she might have had it even if she hadn't taken to thumping her spine
+half a dozen times a week. The trouble's located in the spine."
+
+"There, I told you so!" exclaimed Mrs. Tate; and "What a lovely habit
+women have of never gloating over anything!" her husband added amiably.
+
+"Percy, I wish you'd keep quiet! Do you really think it's serious,
+Doctor?"
+
+The Doctor held up his hands meditatively, the ends of the fingers
+touching, and slowly lifted his shoulders. "In itself it may be serious
+or it may not. Sometimes trouble of that sort is quiescent for years,
+and the patient dies of something else. Sometimes it resists treatment,
+and leads to very serious complications,--physical and mental. I've had
+cases where it has affected the brain and others where it has led to
+paralysis. In this case it is likely to be aggravated."
+
+"By the diving, you mean?" said Mrs. Tate.
+
+"Exactly. That has probably been the cause of the trouble lately--if it
+wasn't the first cause. It may go on getting worse, or it may remain as
+it is for years, or it may disappear for a time, or possibly,
+altogether."
+
+Mrs. Tate breathed what sounded like a sigh of disappointment. "Then it
+isn't so bad as I thought," she said.
+
+For a moment the Doctor hesitated. Then he replied: "Yes, it's worse.
+The mere physical pain that it causes Madame Le Baron is of
+comparatively little account. I think we may be able to stop that. The
+peculiarity of the case is the nervousness, the curious fear that seems
+to haunt her."
+
+In her excitement Mrs. Tate almost bounced from her seat. "That is
+_exactly_ what I said. The poor child hasn't a moment's peace. It's the
+most terrible thing I ever heard of. And to think that that man--her
+husband----"
+
+"It's always the husband," Tate laughed. "Broughton, why don't you stand
+up for your sex?"
+
+"Percy wants to turn the whole thing into ridicule. I think it's a
+shame. I can't tell you how it has worried me. I feel so----"
+
+"For Heaven's sake, Broughton, I wish you'd give my wife something to
+keep her from feeling for other people. If you don't, she'll go mad, and
+I shall too. She wants to regulate the whole universe. I have a horrible
+fear that she's going to get round to me soon."
+
+The Doctor smiled, and bent his bushy eyes on the husband and then on
+the wife.
+
+"It's a peculiar case," he repeated thoughtfully, when they had sat in
+silence for several moments. "It couldn't be treated in the ordinary
+way."
+
+"How in the world did you get so much out of her?" Mrs. Tate asked.
+"She's the shyest little creature."
+
+"I had to work on her sympathies. I got her to crying,--and then, of
+course, the whole story came out. As you said, she's haunted by the fear
+of being killed."
+
+"But that's the baby," said Mrs. Tate quickly. "She told me she never
+had the least fear till her baby was born."
+
+The Doctor lifted his eyebrows. "It's several things," he replied dryly,
+refusing to take any but the professional view.
+
+Then they discussed the case in all its aspects. The haunting fear Dr.
+Broughton regarded as the worst feature. "She says when she goes into
+the ring, that usually leaves her; but if it came back just before she
+took her plunge it would kill her. The least miscalculation would be
+likely to make her land on her head in the net, and that would mean a
+broken neck. It's terrible work,--that. The law ought to put a stop to
+it."
+
+"The law ought to put a stop to a good many things that it doesn't,"
+Mrs. Tate snapped. "To think that in this age of civilization----"
+
+"There she goes, reforming the world again!" her husband interrupted.
+
+"But if the law doesn't stop it in this case," she went on, "_I_ will."
+
+For a time they turned from the subject of Blanche and her ills to other
+themes; but when, about midnight, Dr. Broughton rose to leave, Mrs. Tate
+went back to it. "We're going to have the Le Barons here for dinner next
+Sunday," she said. "I wish you'd come in if you can. I want Percy to see
+what they're like."
+
+"She relies on my judgment after all," said Tate, following the guest to
+the door. As they stood together in the hall, "You think the case is
+serious then?" he asked quietly.
+
+The Doctor whispered something in his ear, and Tate nodded thoughtfully.
+"And how do you think it'll end if she doesn't stop it?"
+
+Dr. Broughton tapped his forehead with his hand. "This is what I'm
+most afraid of." He seized his stick and thrust it under his arm.
+"But giving up her performance, I'm afraid, would be like giving up
+her life. She was practically born in the circus, you know, and I
+suspect from what your wife has told me that her husband fell in love
+with her in the circus. Outside of that she seems to have no interest
+in anything,--except, of course, her family and her baby. But to take
+her out of the circus would be like pulling up a tree by the roots."
+
+Dr. Broughton was so used to making hurried exits from patients' houses
+that he lost no time in getting away from Tate. As he went down the
+steps his host stood with one hand on the knob of the front door,
+thinking. The Doctor had unconsciously given him a most fascinating
+suggestion. Around this his mind played as he walked back to the
+drawing-room, where his wife was yawning, and gathering, some books to
+take upstairs. He said nothing to her about it; before expressing his
+fancy, he decided to wait until he saw those curious people.
+
+
+
+
+                                   XV
+
+
+Mrs. Tate was right in surmising that Jules had conceived a dislike for
+her. The first day he saw her he decided that she was a tiresome,
+interfering Englishwoman, and he watched with annoyance her growing
+intimacy with Blanche, whom he wished to keep wholly to himself. Of his
+wife's success at the Hippodrome he felt as proud as if it were his own;
+he loved to read the notices of it in the papers, and while Blanche was
+performing, to walk about in the audience and hear her praises. He had
+come to look upon her as part of himself, as his property; and this
+sense of proprietorship added to the fascination that her performance
+had for him.
+
+Though his first ardor of devotion had passed, he was still tender with
+her; but his tenderness always had reference more to her work than to
+herself. He watched her as the owner of a performing animal might have
+watched his precious charge. Sometimes he used to lose patience with her
+for her devotion to the little Jeanne; if Jeanne cried at night she
+would want to leave the bed to soothe her. In order to prevent this,
+Jules had the child's crib moved into Madeleine's room, to the secret
+grief of the mother, who, however, did not think of resisting his
+commands. In his way Jules was fond of Jeanne; but he could not help
+thinking that before she came Blanche had given all her love to him.
+However, there was some excuse for that; but there was no reason why a
+stranger like Mrs. Tate should come in and take possession of them, act
+like a member of the family, and put a lot of silly ideas into his
+wife's head.
+
+The mere fact that Mrs. Tate was English would have been enough to
+prejudice Jules against her even if he had not objected to her personal
+qualities. He hated the English, and he hated England, especially
+London. Even Blanche, who was blind to his faults, speedily discovered
+that his boast of being a born traveller had no foundation in fact. On
+arriving in London he had gone straight to a French hotel, where he was
+served to French cooking by a _garcon_ trained in the _cafes_ of the
+_Boulevards_. Since then he had associated only with the few French
+people he could find in the city; if he hadn't been eager to read
+everything printed about Blanche, he would never have looked at any but
+French papers. At home he spent a large part of his time in ridiculing
+the English, just as on his return from America he had ridiculed the
+Americans. Now, at the thought of being obliged to dine with a lot of
+those _betes d'Anglais_ he felt enraged. He had already refused one
+invitation. Why wasn't that enough for them? The second he would have
+refused too, if Blanche had not insisted that another refusal would be a
+discourtesy to Father Dumeny's friends. Ah, Father Dumeny, a fine box he
+had got them into, the tiresome old woman that he was, with his foolish
+jokes and his rheumatism!
+
+Jules never forgot that dinner. In the first place, he was awed by the
+magnificence of the Tates' house; it surpassed anything of the kind he
+had ever seen in France or in America; it had never occurred to him that
+the English could have such good taste. Then, too, in spite of the
+efforts of his hosts to make him comfortable, he felt awkward, ill at
+ease, out of place. As soon as he entered the drawing-room, Blanche was
+taken upstairs by Mrs. Tate, and Jules was left with the husband and
+with Dr. Broughton.
+
+A moment later the Doctor disappeared, and for the next half-hour Jules
+tried to maintain a conversation in English. Tate turned the
+conversation to life in Paris as compared with the life of London, but
+Jules had so much difficulty in speaking English that they fell at last
+into French.
+
+Meanwhile, Blanche sat in the library with Mrs. Tate and Dr. Broughton,
+whom she had not seen since the day of his call upon her. The Doctor had
+at once won her confidence, and since her talk with him she had felt
+better, and she fancied that the tonic he gave her had already benefited
+her. But she still had that pain in her back, she said, and that
+terrible fear; every night when she kissed the little Jeanne before
+going to the Hippodrome, she felt as if she should never see the child
+again. If she didn't stop feeling like that, she didn't know what would
+happen.
+
+"If you could give up the plunge for a while," the Doctor suggested,
+"you'd be very much better for the rest. Then you might go back to it,
+you know."
+
+"But I'm engaged for the season," Blanche replied in French, which the
+Doctor readily understood, but refused to speak. "I can't break my
+contract."
+
+"Perhaps you could make a compromise," Mrs. Tate suggested. "You could
+go on with your trapeze performance,--with everything except the dive."
+
+"I was really engaged for that," said Blanche, a look of dismay
+appearing in her face. "There are many others that perform on the
+trapeze."
+
+"But you might try to make some arrangement," Mrs. Tate insisted. "Your
+husband could talk it over with the managers."
+
+"Ah, but he would not like it," Blanche replied with evident distress.
+"It would make him so unhappy if he--if he knew."
+
+"If he knew you were being made ill by your work!" Mrs. Tate
+interrupted. "Of course it would make him unhappy, and it would be very
+strange if it didn't. But it's much better to have him know it than for
+you to go on risking your life every night."
+
+Dr. Broughton gave his hostess a glance that made her quail. A moment
+later, however, she gathered herself together.
+
+"I didn't mean to say that, dear, but now that I _have_ said it, there's
+no use mincing matters. The Doctor has told me plainly that if you go on
+making that plunge every night in your present state of nervousness it
+will certainly result in your death--in one way or another. So the only
+thing for you to do, for the sake of your baby, and your husband, and
+for your own sake too,--the only thing for you to do is to stop it, at
+least for a time. If you were to break your neck it would simply be
+murder,--yes, murder," she repeated, glancing at the Doctor, who was
+looking at her with an expression that showed he thought she was going
+too far.
+
+Tears had begun to trickle down Blanche's cheeks, and now they turned to
+sobs. For a few moments she lost control of herself, and her frail
+figure was shaken with grief. Dr. Broughton said nothing, and he looked
+angry. Mrs. Tate paid no attention to him; she went over to Blanche,
+took her in her arms, and began to soothe her. In a few moments the
+sobbing ceased, and Mrs. Tate went on:--
+
+"It's best that you should know this, dear, though perhaps I've been
+cruel in telling it to you so bluntly. We must tell your husband about
+it, too. I'm sure he'll be distressed to hear how much you've suffered,
+and he'll be glad to do anything that will help you. So now we'll send
+the Doctor away, and bathe your face with hot water, and go down to
+dinner and try to forget about our troubles for a while."
+
+If Jules had not been absorbed in his own embarrassment at the
+dinner-table he might have discovered traces of agitation in his wife's
+face. He was secretly execrating the luck that had brought him among
+these people, and he resolved when he returned home to tell Blanche that
+he would have nothing more to do with them. If she was willing to have
+that prying Englishwoman about her all the time, she could, but she
+mustn't expect him to be more than civil to her. The conversation had
+turned on English politics, and as Jules had nothing to offer on the
+subject, his enforced silence increased his discomfort. Mrs. Tate was
+devoting herself to Blanche, who sat beside her, relating in French
+stories of her life in Paris. Jules felt resentful; no one paid
+attention to him; when he dined out in Paris he was always one of the
+leaders in the talk. He wanted to justify himself, to show these people
+that he was no fool, that he was worthy of being the husband of a
+celebrity.
+
+By a fortunate chance, the talk drifted to American politics, and Jules,
+seeing his opportunity, seized it. A few moments later he was launched
+on an account of his travels in the United States. Tate, relieved at
+having at last found a topic his guest could discuss, gave Jules full
+play, and listened to him with a light in his eyes that showed his wife
+he was secretly amused. Indeed, Jules' criticisms of America and his
+descriptions of the peculiarities of Americans greatly entertained them.
+
+The dinner closed in animated talk, much to the relief of Mrs. Tate, who
+feared it would be a great failure; it made her realize, however, that
+as show people the Le Barons were quite useless. She was afraid Blanche
+had been bored; she had been sitting almost speechless during the meal,
+sighing heavily now and then, as if thinking that in a few hours her
+respite would be over, and she would have to return to her horrible
+work.
+
+Mrs. Tate was quite ready to make any sacrifice to rescue Blanche from
+the terrors of her circus life; in the enthusiasm of the moment she said
+to herself, that rather than let her continue making that plunge, she
+would offer to _pay_ her husband what she earned, in order to take his
+wife out of the ring altogether. At the thought of persuading him to do
+this, Mrs. Tate felt that at last she had a definite task to perform; it
+was almost like a mission, and the harder it proved to be, the more
+exalted she would feel.
+
+After their return to the drawing-room, Mrs. Tate, with a delightful
+feeling that she was engaged in a conspiracy, made a mysterious sign to
+Dr. Broughton to come to her.
+
+"I suppose Percy's been whispering to you not to have anything to do
+with this scheme of mine, but don't pay any attention to him. Do you
+know, I think the best way would be to take the husband into the library
+and have it out there. He must _be_ told, you know. He hasn't a
+suspicion of it,--not a suspicion. You wait a few minutes, and as soon
+as I get a chance, I'll ask him to follow me out."
+
+The Doctor smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"You must take the responsibility," he said carelessly. "I shall merely
+do my professional duty. Mr. Tate has just been telling me about a
+curious idea----"
+
+"Don't pay any attention to his ideas. Percy thinks everything ought to
+be left to regulate itself. A fine world it would be if every one
+thought as he does. Now you go back to him, and follow me when I tell
+you. No, I have a better plan. You go into the library with Percy. I'll
+come in there in a few minutes."
+
+A quarter of an hour later, when Mrs. Tate entered the library with
+Jules, she found her husband and the Doctor there, half-hidden in a
+cloud of smoke.
+
+"This poor man, too, has been dying for another cigar," she said; "but
+he's too polite to say so. So while he's smoking we can have our talk.
+We'll take our coffee in here, too. Percy, you go and see that Madame Le
+Baron is properly served. I've had to leave her there alone for a
+minute, but I said I'd send you in. Dr. Broughton and I are going to
+have a secret conference with Monsieur Le Baron."
+
+"Secret conferences are always dangerous," Tate replied, rising to leave
+the room. "Look out for them!" he added with a smile to Jules, as he
+hesitated at the door. When he had closed the door behind him, he stood
+in the hall a moment, thinking.
+
+Tate was a man of sense, of "horse-sense," one of his friends used to
+say of him, and not given to forebodings. Now, however, he had a
+distinct regret that his wife was interfering in this matter, and fear
+of the consequences. She often did things that he disapproved, and he
+made no objection, for he believed that she had as much right to
+independence as himself; but in this case he would have liked to
+interfere. He had spoken to Dr. Broughton about his feeling in the
+matter, and the Doctor had merely laughed. Well, the Doctor knew better
+than he did; perhaps, after all, his own theory was absurd. At any rate,
+he could not be held accountable for any trouble that might result from
+his wife's meddling. This thought, however, gave him little consolation.
+He usually suffered for her mistakes much more than she did herself.
+
+When he went back to the drawing-room, he had difficulty in sustaining a
+conversation with Blanche; he kept thinking of the conference in the
+next room, wondering what the result would be. He was prepared to see
+Jules enter with a pale face and set lips and with wrath in his eyes.
+
+When Jules finally entered between his hostess and the Doctor, Tate
+scanned his face narrowly; it was not white, and the lips were not set,
+but the whole expression had changed to a look of dogged determination
+and ill-concealed rage. He sat near his wife, staring at her as if he
+had never seen her before.
+
+For a few moments the conversation was resumed, but the atmosphere
+seemed chilled. Then the Doctor rose to say good-night, explaining that
+he had promised to call on a patient in Curzon Street before going home.
+This seemed to be the signal for the breaking-up, and all of the guests
+left at the same moment, Mrs. Tate calling out to Blanche at the door of
+the drawing-room that she would look in on her the next day if she were
+not too busy.
+
+When the front door had closed, Tate turned to his wife.
+
+"Well, you had a stormy time of it, didn't you?"
+
+She walked toward the centre of the drawing-room and stood under the
+chandelier, keeping her eyes fixed on her husband's face, which seemed
+to be much more serious than usual.
+
+"What makes you think so?" she asked, removing a bracelet from her arm
+and nervously twirling it.
+
+"I could tell from the expression in his eyes, and from the way you and
+the Doctor acted. He was furious, wasn't he?"
+
+"Furious? Le Baron? Hardly; though I could see he didn't believe a word
+we said. He was almost too startled to understand it at first. The
+little goose hadn't said a word to him about it."
+
+"And what did he say when you told him she ought to give up her
+performance? How did he like that?"
+
+"He didn't like it at all, apparently. But I didn't expect him to like
+it. It means money out of his pocket."
+
+"No, it means more than that, if I'm not mistaken."
+
+"What else can it mean?" she said, lifting her eyebrows questioningly.
+
+"It means the end of whatever affection he has for his wife. Of course
+he never had much. A man of his sort doesn't."
+
+She looked at him with curiosity in her face. "What difference does her
+performing make in his affection for her?"
+
+"Can't you see that he didn't fall in love with _her_? He fell in love
+with her performance."
+
+Mrs. Tate put one finger to her lips and hesitated for a moment. Then
+she said slowly:--
+
+"How ridiculous you are, Percy! As if any one ever heard of such a
+thing!"
+
+
+
+
+                                  XVI
+
+
+On the way home in the hansom that he had called, Jules scarcely spoke.
+Blanche kept glancing at him covertly; she had never before seen that
+look in his face, and it alarmed her; he seemed to be trying to keep
+back the anger that showed itself in his half-closed eyes and his
+firm-set chin. When they reached the lodgings, Blanche found Madeleine
+sound asleep by the fireplace, and without waking her, she started to go
+into the next room to see if Jeanne were comfortable. When she reached
+the door, Jules said in a low voice:--
+
+"Wait here a minute. I have something to say to you."
+
+At the sound of the words, Madeleine's eyes opened slowly, and she
+blinked at Jules, who was glancing angrily at her.
+
+"This is a pretty way you take care of Jeanne. She might have had a
+dozen convulsions without your knowing anything about them."
+
+In spite of Jules' command, the reference to the convulsions, which had
+nearly cost Jeanne her life a few weeks after birth, sent Blanche
+agitatedly into the nursery. Madeleine lumbered behind her, and both
+were relieved to find the child sleeping contentedly in her cradle, her
+cheeks flushed, and her chubby hands clenched at her breast. Blanche
+would have liked to pass several moments there in rapt adoration, but
+Jules appeared at the door and made a sign to her to come to him.
+
+"Madeleine will look out for her," he said, pointing to the cradle. "Go
+to bed, Madeleine."
+
+Blanche tiptoed out of the room, removed her wraps, and, with the
+overcoat Jules had thrown on the couch, hung them in the little closet
+beside the big mirror. Jules, who had taken a seat in front of the
+fire-place, watched her impatiently, and then motioned her to sit in the
+chair opposite him.
+
+"Now perhaps you'll be kind enough to tell me what all this means. I
+knew that Englishwoman would be up to some mischief. What does it mean?"
+he said sternly.
+
+Blanche looked timidly into his face; the expression of anger that she
+had noticed on their way home was still there. She did not know what to
+say, and tears of misery filled her eyes and rolled slowly down her
+cheeks. Then weakened by her previous outburst, she covered her face
+with her hands, and began to sob, giving expression to all the torture
+that had come from the horror of her performance, from her incessant
+terror of being killed and separated from Jeanne. Jules was at first
+touched, and then alarmed, by the unexpected display of grief.
+
+He waited, thinking that it would soon expend itself; then when the sobs
+continued, he went over to her, and taking her gently in his arms, tried
+to soothe her by stroking her hair and calling her by the endearing
+names he had used during the first weeks of their marriage, and begging
+her to control herself for his sake, it hurt him so. After this last
+appeal, Blanche put her arms round his neck, and buried her head on his
+breast, and for a few moments they sat together without speaking, her
+body shaken now and then from the violence of her grief. Then Jules
+began to question her quietly, and the whole story of her sufferings
+since Jeanne's birth came out so pathetically that, in spite of his
+anger, he was touched, and convinced that, after all, the Englishwoman
+had been right.
+
+In his remorse that Blanche had suffered in silence, and he had not
+found it out, had done nothing to help her, he declared he would have
+the diving stopped at once, no matter what the cost might be. Rather
+than see her unhappy, he would make her give up performing altogether,
+if that were necessary. At any rate, he would go to Marshall the next
+day and see what could be done about taking her name off the bills. They
+would leave this disgusting London, perhaps for the south of France,
+where Blanche could have a long rest, and gather strength for her visit
+to America the next year. For a long time they talked over the plan, and
+then Jules made Blanche go to bed.
+
+"You'll not be able to do your work tomorrow," he said, "if you sit up
+much longer. Of course, you can't stop it at once. Marshall wouldn't
+listen to that. You're his best attraction, and he'll have to advertise
+your last appearances."
+
+For more than an hour after Blanche left him, Jules walked up and down
+the little drawing-room, smoking cigarettes. The revelation of his
+wife's trouble had so upset him that he felt unable to sleep. But it was
+of himself, not of her, that he was chiefly thinking. Dr. Broughton had
+told him that a long rest might cure Blanche of her nervous terror and
+relieve her of the pains in the back, but it was probable that she would
+be affected again as soon as she resumed her performance.
+
+If this proved true, his own career would be ruined; there would be no
+more travelling, no more triumphs! Blanche would sink into obscurity,
+would become a mere nonentity, devoted to her child and house-keeping,
+like scores of other wives and mothers that he knew and despised in
+Paris. Out of the circus, she was utterly commonplace, Jules said to
+himself, and the fact came to him with the force of a revelation! But
+for that he would never have married her; the brilliancy of her talent
+had dazzled him! And now, if she had to leave the circus, how
+beautifully he would have been tricked! He would be tied down to her and
+her child! The expense of maintaining them would oblige him to live
+meanly, in a way that he had never been used to, that he loathed.
+
+What a fine trap he had got himself into! There was absolutely no
+escape, unless Blanche recovered from her ridiculous cowardice. And all
+on account of that infant, who had come into the world without being
+wanted, and had spoiled his life! For the moment Jules hated Jeanne. He
+wished she had never been born, or had died at birth; then all this
+trouble wouldn't have occurred. But for Jeanne, Blanche might have
+accepted that offer for a summer season at Trouville. Then he wouldn't
+have been bored at Boulogne, and Father Dumeny wouldn't have given him
+that letter to those beasts of English.
+
+Then Jules' wrath turned from Jeanne to Father Dumeny, and on him he
+poured all his old bitterness against priests. They were always
+interfering, those black-coated, oily-tongued hypocrites. Oh, if he had
+Father Dumeny there! He would have liked to choke him!
+
+The more Jules thought, the more convinced he became that his wife's
+nervousness was due to imagination rather than to any physical cause.
+Then, too, Blanche had been homesick after her long stay in Boulogne,
+where she saw her mother and her sisters every day. What a fool he had
+been to allow her to go there! He hated the whole pack of them--Father
+Dumeny, Madame Berthier, her tiresome old husband, all! What right did
+they have to interfere with Blanche? She was his wife, she belonged to
+him alone. When he reached this point Jules had worked himself into a
+fine indignation; but he had exhausted his cigarettes, and it was now
+nearly twelve o'clock. Instead of going to bed, however, he threw
+himself on the couch in the corner of the room, where a few hours later
+Blanche found him, sleeping soundly.
+
+Jules woke in an irritable mood, cross with Madeleine, indifferent to
+Jeanne, with whom he usually liked to gambol after breakfast, and silent
+with his wife. For a time he said nothing to Blanche about their talk of
+the night before, and the expression of his face prevented her from
+touching upon it. Till eleven o'clock he was busily engaged in writing
+letters; when he had finished these, he turned to Blanche, who was
+sitting alone by the table, making a dress for Jeanne.
+
+"I've just written to Hicks in New York," he said, "the man who made me
+that fine offer for next September. I told him we couldn't sign the
+contract yet. That'll probably make him offer us more money, and it'll
+give you time to find out whether you can go on with your work again."
+
+"But I shall surely go on with it," said Blanche, hardly daring to look
+into his face. "I shall be well again after a rest. I know I shall. The
+Doctor said--"
+
+"Never mind what the Doctor said. I don't believe he knows anything
+about it. You're just a little nervous, that's all. You worry about
+little things too much, about Jeanne especially. Why can't you let
+Madeleine take care of Jeanne? She knows a good deal more about children
+than you do. That's what we pay her for. The child costs us enough,
+Heaven knows, and if your salary's going to be cut off, we'll have to be
+pretty economical."
+
+For a moment Blanche said nothing; her lips quivered, but she controlled
+herself. Jules looked at her narrowly, and said to himself that she was
+not half so pretty as she had been; she was growing thinner, and there
+were little lines in her face that ought not to be in the face of one so
+young as her mother said she was. How weak, how helpless she seemed!
+Once the thought of her weakness and ingenuousness had given him
+pleasure; now it only made him realize his own superiority.
+
+"Perhaps," she suggested hesitatingly,--"perhaps Mr. Marshall might be
+willing to make a new contract. Perhaps he would let me go on with my
+performance on the trapeze and the rope--without the dive."
+
+"I've thought of that," Jules replied, rising and going to the closet
+for his overcoat. "But it isn't at all likely. He's been advertising
+your dive all over London, and it's been his best feature. He'll be
+pretty mad when I tell him you're going to give it up. He'll probably
+try to make me pay a forfeit for breach of contract."
+
+"For breach of contract!" she repeated blankly. "I--"
+
+"Oh, don't worry about it," said Jules, with a pang of regret for the
+pain he had caused her. "I think I can make that all right. I suppose
+that old Doctor would write a certificate if I asked him."
+
+He drew on the fur-lined coat, and as he took his gloves from his pocket
+he started for the door, without kissing Blanche. Then, at the door,
+glancing back, and seeing her standing in the middle of the room with a
+look of helpless pain in her face, he turned and walked towards her, and
+bent his face to hers.
+
+"There, there, dear, don't worry," he said. "You'll be all right again
+in a little while!" At the door he added: "I shall be back in an hour or
+two, and tell you what Marshall says."
+
+The hour or two proved to be three hours, and these Blanche passed
+chiefly in walking up and down the apartment. She could not keep still;
+she felt convinced that something dreadful was going to happen. She
+hardly dared even to talk to Jeanne, as if she fancied the child might
+divine her misery. She feared that she would be unable to give up her
+performance, and she feared she would have to go on with it. If she did
+give it up, she had a presentiment that she would pay dear for the
+release; if she did not, she knew it would result in her death.
+
+Ever since coming to London, she had prepared herself for the
+catastrophe. No one, not even kind-hearted Mrs. Tate, could imagine the
+agony of mind she had endured. And it was all for Jeanne! Her very
+sufferings had fed her love for the child. If she and Jules could go
+away with Jeanne, far away, where they would never hear or think of
+performances again, how happy they would be! But she must go on with her
+work; she ought to fight against her weakness. Jules had said she would
+grow strong again; she had always believed what he said, and perhaps he
+was right now. Perhaps after a rest she would want to go back to the
+ring. But she was afraid, she was afraid! Poor little Jeanne! Every few
+moments she ran into the room where Jeanne was taking her mid-day sleep.
+She wanted to clasp the child to her breast and walk up and down the
+room with her. But for several weeks she had not dared to hold her in
+her arms for fear of dropping her from nervousness.
+
+Instead of going directly to the Hippodrome, Jules turned into
+Piccadilly, where he had seen the sign of a French physician. He had
+suddenly decided to seek further medical advice before speaking to
+Marshall, and he did not propose to trust Blanche's case to another
+Englishman. He was obliged to wait in Dr. Viaud's outer office for more
+than an hour. The Doctor received him with what seemed to Jules an
+almost suspicious courtesy; but this disappeared as soon as he explained
+that he was French.
+
+Jules was gratified by the interest paid to his repetition of Blanche's
+confession of the night before. The Doctor did not interrupt till Jules
+had mentioned the advice given by the English physician.
+
+"Broughton!" he exclaimed, repeating the name after Jules. "You couldn't
+have consulted a better man. He's at the head of his profession here in
+London."
+
+When he had questioned Jules about Blanche's symptoms, he said
+thoughtfully: "I cannot add anything to the advice Dr. Broughton has
+given,--that is, of course, with my present knowledge of the case. But I
+have absolute confidence in his judgment. The pains in the back I do not
+fear so much as the terrible apprehension that you say haunts your wife.
+In itself that is, of course, great suffering; and the consequences may
+be fatal. Your wife's dive requires iron nerve, and that is being
+constantly weakened by her continual worrying. I agree with Dr.
+Broughton that she at least needs a rest as soon as possible. There
+can't be two opinions about that. But I should not like to interfere
+with Dr. Broughton's--"
+
+Jules understood at once, and rose from his seat.
+
+"I merely wanted to see what you thought. If you had disagreed--"
+
+"Ah, but Dr. Broughton is very reliable!" said the Frenchman, with a
+smile and a shrug, as if afraid of even a suggestion of professional
+discourtesy.
+
+Jules left him feeling bitterly disappointed. There was no hope then! He
+had surmised that the shrewd-eyed Englishman knew his business. There
+was nothing to do but to go to Marshall and explain the situation.
+
+When he returned from the Hippodrome to the apartment Blanche met him at
+the door. His face was darkened with a scowl.
+
+"What did he say?" she asked nervously, as he entered and threw his
+overcoat on a chair. "Was he--was he angry?"
+
+"Angry? No; he was altogether too cool. If he'd been angry I shouldn't
+have cared. I'd have liked that a good deal better."
+
+"Then we sha'n't have to pay a forfeit?" said Blanche, glancing up into
+his face.
+
+He turned away and threw himself wearily on the couch. "No, you won't
+have to pay a forfeit, but you'll have to go on with the engagement."
+
+"With the diving?" she said, her face growing white.
+
+"No, with the other work--on the trapeze and the rope. He said you'd
+have to elaborate that, and he'd pay you half what you're getting now
+till you were ready to do the diving again. He wants to keep you on
+account of your name. He's advertised you all over the city, and even
+out in the country places near London."
+
+"But he--he doesn't object to my giving up the plunge?" Blanche
+repeated, in a tone which suggested that her professional pride was
+hurt.
+
+"He didn't when I told him the Doctor had forbidden your going on with
+it for a while. Besides, he had another reason for not objecting."
+
+"What was that?"
+
+"He showed me a letter he'd just had from that woman who made such a
+sensation in Bucharest while we were in Vienna. Don't you remember? I
+showed you some of her notices. She does a swimming act, and dives from
+a platform into a tank. She's been playing in the English provinces, and
+now she wants to come to London."
+
+"So he's going to engage her in my place?" Blanche gasped.
+
+"In your place?" Jules repeated irritably. "How can he engage her in
+your place when he's going to keep you? We've got to live, and it won't
+hurt you to go on with your work on the trapeze and the rope. He knows
+your name will be an attraction, and if he engages that Englishwoman,
+she'll be another card for him--a big one. He says she's been drawing
+crowds in Manchester for six weeks."
+
+"What's her name?"
+
+"King--Lottie King--or something like that."
+
+"Is she pretty? Did he show you her pictures?"
+
+"Yes; her manager sent him a whole box of them. She's _petite_, with
+wicked little eyes."
+
+"Dark?"
+
+"No, blonde."
+
+"And what is her dive?"
+
+"What?"
+
+"How high is it?"
+
+"Fifty feet, Marshall said; but one of the circus hands told me it
+wasn't much more, than forty."
+
+"Oh!" There was a suggestion of a sneer in her tone, and Jules looked up
+in surprise.
+
+"Of course, it's nothing compared with yours," he said, to console her.
+
+"When is she going to begin?" she asked, after a moment.
+
+"Going to begin? Do you mean here in London? Marshall hasn't signed with
+her yet. She's engaged in Manchester for three weeks longer."
+
+"Then I shall have to go on with my dive till she comes?"
+
+"I suppose so," Jules replied coldly.
+
+She saw that he did not wish to continue the conversation; so she went
+into the nursery, leaving him lying on the couch, where he often took an
+afternoon nap; since coming to London he had grown very lazy, and had
+gained flesh. Blanche found Jeanne wide awake and crowing in Madeleine's
+arms. She sat beside the cradle, and taking the child in her lap, sent
+Madeleine out of the room. Jeanne snatched at the brooch she wore at her
+throat, and laughed into her face. Blanche tried to smile in reply, but
+the tears welled into her eyes again, and fell in big drops on her
+cheeks.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XVII
+
+
+Three days after Jules' talk with Marshall, the forthcoming engagement
+at the Hippodrome of Miss Lottie King was announced in the London
+newspapers. Blanche signed a new contract, by which she agreed to
+perform for several weeks longer on the trapeze and on the rope at half
+the salary she had been receiving. Marshall said that no mention of the
+plunge would be made in the papers; her name would continue to "draw,"
+and the public would be satisfied with Miss King's great dive into the
+tank. This remark made Jules very angry, and it also depressed Blanche,
+who felt as if she had already been deposed from her supremacy as the
+chief attraction at the Hippodrome. Indeed, as the time drew near when
+she was to cease making the plunge, instead of feeling happier, she grew
+more despondent; she had already elaborated her performance on the
+trapeze by introducing several new feats that she and Jules had planned
+together, but with these she was not satisfied; she felt like an actor
+obliged to play small parts after winning success in leading characters.
+
+As for Jules, he did not try to hide his discontent at the change in his
+wife's work. In the first place, it made his brief but dramatic public
+appearance unnecessary; in future he would be obliged to conduct Blanche
+to the circus, and live again like any mere hanger-on to the skirts of a
+public performer. The _role_ was ignoble, unworthy of him. Then, too, he
+chafed at the thought of his wife's decline in importance at the
+Hippodrome; he fancied that when her inability to go on with the plunge
+had become known to the other performers they would lose respect for her
+and for himself.
+
+He secretly doubted if the public would accept Blanche merely for her
+performance on the trapeze and on the rope. Almost any one could do
+that; but in the plunge she was without a rival. He hoped that, as a
+compensation for his vexation, the performance of Miss King would be a
+failure. Forty feet! What did that amount to in comparison with the
+magnificent plunge of more than ninety feet that Blanche had made at
+Vienna?
+
+Already Jules had begun to think of his wife in the past tense chiefly,
+as if she lived in the triumphs she had made by her nightly flight
+through the air. Indeed, she seemed to him almost another person now.
+Instead of looking on her almost with reverence, as he had done, he felt
+sorry for her, as if she were his inferior; and though he continued to
+treat her with kindness, there was a suggestion of pity, almost of
+contempt, in his manner toward her. She sought consolation in her child,
+who, she thought, grew stronger and more beautiful every day. For
+Jeanne's sake she tried to be glad the time was so near when she should
+give up risking her life; but the nearer it grew, the more depressed she
+became, and the more she thought about that woman who was to take her
+place.
+
+Mrs. Tate, who had definitely taken Blanche under her protection, and
+called at the little hotel several times each week, had been delighted
+at what she considered the fortunate solution of a shocking difficulty.
+Now that Blanche was to stop making that horrible dive, there was no
+reason why she shouldn't be the happiest woman in the world. With her
+keen instinct, however, she observed that Blanche was not happy; she
+wondered, too, at the frequent absence of the husband from this
+_menage_. Jules couldn't be very devoted, she thought, for a man who had
+been married little more than a year. Perhaps, however, he avoided her;
+for, in spite of his French politeness, he had not been able to conceal
+his dislike for her. For this reason she did not ask him to dinner
+again. She often took Blanche and Jeanne to drive in the afternoon, and
+pointed out the celebrities that they passed in the Park.
+
+"My husband says I take you to drive just to show you off," she said
+jokingly one day. "He thinks I have a mania for celebrities."
+
+"Ah, but I'm not a celebrity!" Blanche replied, with a smile that was
+almost sad.
+
+"Not a celebrity? Of course you are. I haven't a doubt that half the
+people we meet recognize you. You know, it's been quite the fashion to
+go to the Hippodrome this year."
+
+"But I sha'n't be a celebrity much longer," said Blanche, glancing at
+the bare boughs of the trees, and wondering if any other place could be
+as desolate as London in winter.
+
+"Why not? You don't think of retiring into private life altogether, do
+you?" Mrs. Tate laughed.
+
+"No, but I shall only be an ordinary performer after this week."
+
+"But I'd rather be an ordinary performer and keep my neck whole than be
+an _ex_traordinary one and risk my life every night," Mrs. Tate retorted
+sharply. She was vexed with Blanche for not appreciating her
+emancipation.
+
+They rode on in silence for a few moments. Then Blanche said,--
+
+"There's some one going to take my place, you know."
+
+"Some one that's going to make that dreadful plunge?" Mrs. Tate cried in
+horror.
+
+"No, not that. She jumps into a tank of water--from a platform--only
+about forty feet. My jump is more than seventy-five feet," Blanche added
+with a touch of pride.
+
+Mrs. Tate rested her hands in her lap and burst out laughing. "What a
+ridiculous thing! I beg your pardon, dear, but I can't help being
+amused. Of course it doesn't seem funny to you. You're used to it; but
+it does to me."
+
+Then she questioned Blanche about the new performer, and Blanche
+repeated what Jules had told her and what she had since heard of the
+woman at the Hippodrome. Mrs. Tate was greatly interested, and laughed
+immoderately; afterward, however, when she had returned home and thought
+over the conversation, she regarded it more seriously.
+
+"What do you think, Percy?" she said at the dinner table that night.
+"Those Hippodrome people have engaged a creature to dive into a tank of
+water from a platform. Of course, that's to take the place of Madame Le
+Baron's plunge. Could anything be more absurd? The worst of it is that
+the poor little woman is frightfully jealous already. I could see that
+from the way she talked. What a dreadful world it is, isn't it? They're
+all like that, aren't they, even the best of them? Do you remember that
+poor Madame Gardini who sang here one night? She told me if she had her
+life to live over again she'd never dream of going on the stage. She
+said opera-singers were the unhappiest people in the world,--just
+poisoned with jealousy. And these circus people are exactly like them!"
+
+"What makes you think she's jealous? What was it she said?"
+
+"It wasn't _what_ she said, it was the _way_ she talked about the woman.
+Her husband says she's a great beauty."
+
+"Ah, the husband says so, does he?" Tate remarked dryly. A moment later
+he added: "I wish you hadn't had anything to do with those people!"
+
+"You've said that a dozen times, Percy, and I wish you'd stop. For my
+part, I'm very glad I've met them. If I hadn't, that poor little
+creature would be in her grave before the end of a year."
+
+"Perhaps she'll wish that she _were_ in her grave before the end of the
+year."
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"Nothing, dear, nothing. Don't catch at everything I say. How is she
+now--any better? I suppose she's easier in mind now that she's going to
+stop that diving?"
+
+"That's the strangest thing about it," Mrs. Tate answered, with a change
+of tone. "I thought she would be, too, but she isn't. I really believe
+she's sorry she's giving it up. But perhaps that's because she's been
+doing it all her life. She'll miss it at first--even if it did worry her
+nearly to death!"
+
+"Has Dr. Broughton been to see her lately?"
+
+"No; he said it wouldn't be necessary. He's going to wait to see what
+effect the rest from the diving will have on her."
+
+For a few moments Tate looked thoughtfully at his wife. "Upon my word,"
+he said, "I half suspect that you _want_ something to happen to that
+little woman. It would just be romantic enough to suit you."
+
+"Percy, how can you talk so? You're simply brutal."
+
+"She might at least break a leg to please you," her husband laughed,
+"before giving up that plunge."
+
+Blanche made her last dive without the accident that Tate had regarded
+as indispensable to dramatic effect. Indeed, since knowing that she was
+to give it up, she seemed to have lost much of her terror of the plunge;
+she thought of it now chiefly with regret. That night, as she rode home
+with Jules and Madeleine, she seemed depressed; Jules, too, was even
+more sullen than he had been for the past two weeks. When they had
+entered the lodgings and were eating their midnight meal, she said:--
+
+"If to-morrow is pleasant we might take Jeanne for a drive in the
+country. The air would do her good."
+
+"I can't go," he replied indifferently. "I have something else to do.
+Besides, it would cost too much. We shall have to be economical now that
+you're going to be on half-salary."
+
+The next morning Jules left the hotel at eleven o'clock, saying that he
+shouldn't be back for luncheon. He did not explain where he was going,
+and Blanche did not question him. She busied herself with Jeanne, and
+this distracted her till Jeanne fell sound asleep. Then she became a
+prey to her old melancholy, and for an hour she walked up and down the
+room, to the bewilderment of Madeleine, who could not understand what
+the matter was.
+
+"Is Madame suffering with the pain in her back?" Madeleine asked at
+last.
+
+No, Madame was not suffering. She had not been troubled by the pain for
+several days; she hoped it would leave her for good now that she had
+stopped taking the plunge.
+
+"Ah, God be praised that you do that no longer!" Madeleine cried,
+lifting her withered hands to heaven and rolling her eyes. "It was too
+terrible. Since that first night in Paris, when I went with you and
+Monsieur Jules, I never dared to look. It was _affreux_!"
+
+"But Jules loved it," said Blanche, throwing herself into a chair beside
+the old woman.
+
+Ah, yes, Madeleine acknowledged. He used to rave about it in the little
+flat in the _rue de Lisbonne_. Once Madeleine heard him talking in his
+sleep about the circus and the wonderful dive; he always slept with his
+door wide-open, and she often heard him talking away like one
+wide-awake. He had told her that it was the most wonderful thing he had
+ever seen, and no other woman in the world would have dared to do it.
+Madeleine was always delighted to have a chance to talk about Jules, and
+she babbled on, never suspecting that her words were making Blanche
+suffer.
+
+"Do you think," Blanche said at last, "do you think he would have loved
+me if I hadn't done that--if I hadn't done that plunge, I mean--in the
+Circus?"
+
+Madeleine glanced at her quickly; she was unable to grasp the
+significance of the question. "But he did see you in the Circus," she
+replied. "If he hadn't seen you there, _cherie_, he wouldn't have seen
+you at all."
+
+"Yes, yes, that's true." Blanche realized that it would be useless to
+try to explain what she meant. Then, after a moment, she added, "And now
+that I've given up the dive,--perhaps I shall never be able to do it
+again; the Doctor said I might not,--now that I've given it up, do you
+think he'll love me just the same?"
+
+Madeleine's faded eyes turned to Blanche and examined her closely. "If
+he'll love you just the same?" she repeated. "What has put such a
+strange idea into your head, child? Of course he'll love you just the
+same."
+
+Then Madeleine was launched on a flood of eulogy. Jules was so good, so
+faithful, so affectionate. There was not another like him. He had always
+been so tender with his mother; and oh, how his poor mother had
+worshipped him! Madeleine's praises had the effect of soothing Blanche
+for a time; they also made her ashamed of the half-conscious suspicion
+which had arisen in her mind, and which she would not have dared to
+formulate even to herself. She only permitted herself to acknowledge
+that his present manner toward her was different from his old one. She
+was also disturbed by his refusal for the past three Sundays to go to
+church with her.
+
+The next afternoon Jules came home in a rage. "I've been down to see
+Marshall," he said. "What do you suppose the old fool's gone and done?
+He had the door of your dressing-room opened this morning and all your
+things turned out into Miss Van Pelt's old room,--the little hole next
+door, you know. It's hardly big enough to breathe in. He said you
+weren't the star any longer, and he must give the room to Miss King. It
+seems she's a kicker and he's afraid of a row."
+
+Blanche had nothing to say in reply; this seemed to her only another
+indignity added to those she had already suffered. The worst was to come
+in the evening, when her rival would share the applause that used to be
+hers. A few moments later she asked,--
+
+"Was she there--that woman?"
+
+"No; she hasn't appeared yet, and Marshall was a little nervous. She was
+to come up from Manchester in a train that got in during the afternoon."
+
+"But suppose she doesn't come."
+
+"Oh, she'll come fast enough. Marshall had a telegram saying she'd
+started. Her big iron tub arrived this morning. They were putting it in
+the ground and laying the pipes for the water when I was there. They
+keep it covered till her act begins."
+
+"What does she do besides her jump?"
+
+"Oh, Marshall says she goes through a lot of antics, stays under the
+water till she nearly dies of suffocation, and cooks a meal, and--"
+
+"Under water?" Blanche gasped.
+
+"No, of course not, you ninny," Jules cried impatiently. His wife's
+simplicity had long before ceased to amuse him. "She does it while she's
+floating. Then one of the circus boys falls into the tank, and she shows
+how she used to rescue people out in California."
+
+"Then she's an American."
+
+"She's lived in America all her life, but her father was an Englishman,
+and she was born in England. Her father kept a swimming school out in
+San Francisco; that's how she got into the business. They say she's got
+a lot of medals for saving lives."
+
+As Jules walked into the next room to change his clothes for the
+evening, he said to himself that his wife was growing very stupid and
+tiresome.
+
+Blanche sat alone for a few moments, feeling cold and forlorn. She could
+not keep from thinking and wondering about that woman; she was anxious
+and yet afraid to see her. She could not account for the dislike and
+terror with which the mere thought of the woman inspired her. She had
+never before regarded the other performers in the circus as her rivals;
+so, for the first time in her life, she knew the bitterness of jealousy.
+
+Before preparing for the evening she went into the nursery, and for
+several moments sat beside the cradle where Jeanne was peacefully
+sleeping, her little face rosy with health. The poor child, she thought,
+could never know the sacrifice she had made for her. She was glad she
+had made it; she had done her duty; but it was hard, it was so hard!
+Then she bent over and kissed Jeanne on the cheek; the child drew her
+head away, and buried her face impatiently in the pillow. Blanche turned
+her gently in the crib, adjusted the lace covering, and stole out of the
+room.
+
+Jules met her as she was closing the door softly behind her. "What have
+you been doing in there?" he cried petulantly. "Why can't you let Jeanne
+alone when she's asleep? Every time she takes a nap you go in and wake
+her up. No wonder--"
+
+"I haven't waked her," Blanche replied apologetically. "I only went in
+to see if she needed anything, and I sat beside her a moment."
+
+"Well, you'll spoil her if you keep on. From the way you act one would
+imagine that Jeanne was the only creature in the world worth thinking
+about!"
+
+They both took their places at the table which Madeleine had prepared,
+and proceeded silently with their dinner. Madeleine, who hovered about
+them, wondered what the matter was; she had never seen Monsieur Jules
+like this before; he usually had a great deal to say. When she had left
+the room for a few minutes, Jules looked up from his plate.
+
+"I've been wondering whether we ought to keep Madeleine or not. She's a
+great expense. We could get along just as well without her. The _garcon_
+could serve our meals. We have to pay for the service whether we get it
+or not."
+
+When he had spoken he was startled by the look in his wife's face. Not
+keep Madeleine! The mere thought of parting with the old woman, whom she
+had come to regard almost as a second mother, shocked her so much that
+for a moment she could not formulate a reply.
+
+"But we couldn't get along without her!" she said. "Think of all she
+does for me and for Jeanne!"
+
+"Oh, Jeanne! It's always Jeanne, Jeanne. I'm sick of hearing her name.
+If Jeanne hadn't been born we shouldn't be in the pretty box we're in
+now, and you'd be going on with your work like a sensible woman. I tell
+you we must economize. We're under heavy expenses here, and we're going
+to lose a lot of money by this imaginary sickness of yours."
+
+"I can't let Madeleine go," Blanche replied. "I should die without her.
+I should die of loneliness. And she loves you so, as much as if you were
+her son, and she loved your mother. She has often talked to me about
+her. I can't, I can't let her go. I'd rather--"
+
+"Very well, then. Don't say anything more about it. We'll have to
+economize in some other way. Here she comes now. So keep quiet, or
+she'll want to find out what we've been talking about."
+
+
+
+
+                                 XVIII
+
+
+The Hippodrome was crowded on the night of Miss King's first appearance.
+Jules, in evening dress as usual, leaned against the railing behind the
+highest tier of seats. At this moment he felt that he had been duped by
+fate, and he wanted to revenge himself on the crowd that had come to
+rejoice over his disappointment; for their presence seemed like a
+personal insult to him. But for the machinations of that crazy
+Englishwoman, Blanche would now be going on with her work; by this time
+they might have made arrangements for her visit to America in the early
+summer. However, the mischief was done, and there was no knowing when it
+would be undone. Blanche might have recovered in a few weeks from her
+terror of the plunge; but after once yielding to it, she would probably
+never get over it.
+
+Jules believed in presentiments, and he had a strong presentiment that
+Blanche had taken her plunge for the last time. He tried to console
+himself, however, with the hope that Lottie King would make a failure.
+The extensive advertising that Marshall had given her made Jules hate
+the girl; her name had been posted in places all over London where his
+wife's alone had been. To Jules this was the most cruel evidence of his
+own decadence.
+
+Half an hour before it was time for Blanche to appear Jules sauntered
+toward her dressing-room. When he reached the door, he stopped in
+surprise; he could hear an unfamiliar voice speaking English. Some one
+must be in there with Blanche and Madeleine. When he entered, he saw a
+plump, pretty young woman, with a shock of yellow hair and big blue
+eyes, dressed in a tight-fitting bathing-suit of blue flannel and in
+blue silk stockings. He recognized her at once from her photographs.
+
+"Hello!" she cried, glancing at Jules familiarly. "Is this him?
+Introduce me, won't you?"
+
+For a moment Blanche, whose face had been made up and whose figure,
+dressed in white silk tights, was covered with the cloak she threw off
+as she entered the ring, looked confused. Then she presented Jules to
+Miss King, who beamed upon him with extravagant pleasure.
+
+"Your wife's been telling me about you," she said. "I've been making
+friends with her. I wanted to see what she was like, and I supposed
+she'd want to see what I was like. So we've agreed not to scratch each
+other's eyes out. You speak English too, don't you?"
+
+This gave Jules an opportunity to reiterate his story about having
+learned English in America.
+
+"So you've been to America!" Miss King cried, her eyes bigger than ever,
+and her open mouth showing her white, square teeth. "Were you with a
+troupe there?"
+
+Jules shook his head. "I wasn't married then."
+
+"Ah!" The diver glanced sharply at Blanche, and then back at Jules, as
+if making a rapid calculation of their ages. "Been married long?" she
+asked.
+
+"A little over a year," Blanche replied.
+
+"Too bad your wife had to give her dive up, ain't it?" the girl said to
+Jules. "I hear it was great. But I suppose you'll do it again, won't
+you, when you're better?"
+
+Blanche flushed. "I don't know," she said, with a half-frightened look
+at Jules.
+
+"Well, I would if I was you. It's sensational things like that that
+ketches 'em. My act's kind of sensational, but it ain't in it with yours
+for cold nerve an' grit. When you do it again you'd oughter go to
+America. You can make a good deal more there than you do here. I came
+over just for the reputation. It helps you a lot over there if you've
+made a hit in Europe."
+
+"But you are English, aren't you?" Jules asked.
+
+"Oh, yes, I s'pose I am, in a sort of way. I was born over here, but my
+father took me to America when I was about six, an' I'm American to the
+backbone."
+
+"Have you been in the ring long?" Blanche asked.
+
+"No, I only took to giving performances about five years ago; but I've
+been in the swimming business all my life. My Dad had a swimming school
+out in 'Frisco; but there's more money in this business. But I guess I'm
+keeping you folks. It must be most time for your act. Good-bye. P'raps
+I'll see you later. I'm mighty glad you can speak English," she laughed,
+with a glance at Jules. "I travelled with a troupe once with a lot of
+Italians in it, and my, what a time I had tryin' to talk with 'em!"
+
+She hurried out, leaving Jules with a vision of tousled yellow hair, a
+roguish smile, and gleaming white teeth, and with the sound of a rich
+contralto voice in his ears. As soon as the door closed, he turned to
+Blanche.
+
+"How did she happen to come in here?"
+
+"She wanted me to help her with one of her slippers that was torn.
+Madeleine sewed it up for her."
+
+"Hasn't she got any maid?"
+
+"She left her behind in Manchester. She was sick. She's coming on when
+she gets better."
+
+Jules merely grunted and walked out of the room. The sound of the
+contralto voice was still in his ears. What a sweet voice it was! She
+seemed to him just like an American in spite of her birth, and Jules
+preferred the Americans to the English. He wondered what her performance
+was like, and he waited impatiently for Blanche to finish her act on the
+trapeze and the rope. As his eyes followed Blanche, he kept seeing the
+tousled hair and the broad smile revealing the white teeth.
+
+It took several moments for the tank to be arranged for the crowning
+performance. The audience waited in good-natured patience, however, and
+when finally the plump little figure in blue flannel ran out, there was
+a round of applause. Lottie King had added a touch of rouge to either
+cheek, and she looked very pretty as she ran up the flight of steps
+leading to the edge of the tank, poised there for a moment with the
+fingers of both hands touching high in the air, and then dived in a
+graceful curve into the water. She speedily reappeared, shaking her head
+and laughing, and struck out for the rope that hung from the platform.
+This she climbed hand over hand, the water dripping from her figure, and
+glistening on her face.
+
+Jules, whose eyes had been eagerly following her, was surprised to see
+that she was going to begin her act with the dive, instead of keeping it
+for the climax. She seemed to take it very coolly, he thought, as she
+stood on the swaying platform, rubbing her face with a handkerchief and
+rearranging one of the sleeves of her costume. Then she steadied the
+platform, and, an instant later, she was cutting, feet foremost, through
+the air, her arms by her side and her body rigid. When she reached the
+water, there was very little splashing, and she speedily reappeared,
+shaking her head again and displaying her white teeth.
+
+Jules had watched the dive breathlessly, Just as he had watched
+Blanche's on the night when he first saw her in the _Cirque Parisien_,
+and now he followed her feats of skill and strength with wonder and
+fascination. When she remained beneath the surface for more than three
+minutes he felt as if he himself were stifling, and when she reappeared,
+calm and smiling, he took a long breath.
+
+He supposed that the rescue of one of the circus hands who fell
+opportunely into the tank would end the performance; but instead of
+leaving the ring, Lottie King climbed again to the platform. Surely,
+Jules thought, she would make a mistake if she repeated that plunge.
+Instead, however, she swung on the edge, leaped backward into the air,
+and after several swift turns, fell with a crash into the water. As she
+swam to the ladder, the band burst into triumphant music, and the
+audience cheered, and began to climb down from the circular seats and to
+rush to the spot where she was to make her exit.
+
+Then Jules roused himself. He felt as if he had been in a dream. He had
+difficulty in reaching Blanche's dressing-room, for the crowd had
+gathered at the entrance to the ring in order to catch another glimpse
+of the dripping figure of the diver. When finally he succeeded in making
+his way there, he found Blanche sitting motionless, her arms resting on
+the table. He at once divined the cause of her dejection.
+
+"You see what you've brought on yourself," he said. "A lot you'll amount
+to now! You might as well give up the business."
+
+Madeleine looked at him with mild reproach in her eyes. He paid no
+attention to her, however. He walked back to the door, and turning, he
+added: "But you can't stay here all night. I thought you'd be dressed by
+this time. I'll wait out here for you."
+
+Jules looked anxiously up and down the corridor, but he saw no one. He
+could hear the noise of the crowd slowly wending out of the Hippodrome,
+and from the dressing-rooms on either side the buzz of voices. Miss King
+must have succeeded in making her escape to her room.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XIX
+
+
+If Jules had tried, he would have been unable to explain the fascination
+that Lottie King's performance had for him. In daring it was greatly
+inferior to his wife's plunge; but the fact that Blanche had lost
+courage lent her rival's serene indifference to danger an added
+attractiveness for him.
+
+Every night he watched her with more delight. Besides being plucky and
+skilful, she was so pretty and so amusing! Jules liked to talk with her
+in the evening before she made her appearance, and she used to convulse
+him with laughter by her sallies. She soon fell into the habit of
+running into Blanche's room to ask Madeleine to do services for her, and
+toward Blanche she adopted a manner of half-amused patronage. By the end
+of the first week, Blanche had conceived a great dislike for her. This
+might have been at least partly due to her discovery of the pleasure
+which Jules took in the diver's society.
+
+Mrs. Tate had expected that, after ceasing to make her plunge, Blanche
+would improve in health; but she speedily saw that she was mistaken. One
+afternoon she called at the hotel in Albemarle Street and found Blanche
+alone with the little Jeanne; Madeleine had just gone out to do some
+errands. They had a long talk, during which Blanche was obliged to
+confess that the pain in her back troubled her just as much as ever, and
+that she was very unhappy. When Mrs. Tate tried to find out why she was
+unhappy, she could elicit no satisfactory explanation. As soon as she
+arrived home that night, she repeated the conversation to her husband.
+
+"Do you suppose the little creature can be mercenary, Percy?" she said.
+"Do you think she can be sorry she isn't risking her neck every day? I
+wanted to tell her this morning she ought to be ashamed of herself--she
+ought to think of her child. Suppose she had been killed! What would
+have become of the child, _I'd_ like to know!"
+
+"That other person has made a hit, I see. They're booming her in the
+papers. Did she speak of her?"
+
+"Not a word!"
+
+"H'm!"
+
+"What do you mean by that, Percy?"
+
+"Oh, nothing."
+
+"I suppose you think she's jealous of her."
+
+"Jealous?" Tate repeated, lifting his eyes. "You told me yourself that
+she was jealous before she even saw the other performer."
+
+"Yes, and now she's jealous of her success."
+
+"Oh, _professional_ jealousy," he said, throwing back his head. A moment
+later he added: "There are worse kinds of jealousy than that in the
+world."
+
+Mrs. Tate looked at him closely, but his eyes were fixed on his plate.
+For a few moments they did not speak; she was pondering his last remark.
+They understood each other so well that they often divined each other's
+thoughts. Now she saw that he did not care to discuss the subject, and
+she let it drop. She continued to think about it so much, however, that
+she determined to go to the Hippodrome alone some day, to a _matinee_,
+and see for herself what Blanche's successor as a star performer was
+like.
+
+She returned home with a sickly feeling of regret and torturing
+anticipation; she had not only seen Lottie King, but she had also
+studied the face of Jules Le Baron, who, unconscious of her gaze, stood
+within a few yards of her seat. What she had observed in his expression,
+however, she did not communicate to her husband.
+
+Her visit at the Hippodrome made her resolve to be even kinder to
+Blanche than she had been; she would take her and the child to drive in
+the Park two or three times a week,--oftener if she could. Mrs. Tate
+tried to shake off her forebodings, but for the rest of the day they
+clung to her, and the next morning she woke with them fresh in mind. So
+she resolved to drive at once to Albemarle Street. The weather was too
+dull to take the child out, and she would pass the morning with Blanche
+and try to cheer her up.
+
+When she reached the hotel she felt relieved to find Blanche in a much
+better frame of mind than she had been on the occasion of her last call.
+The pain had left her for a few days, Blanche explained, and she had
+been greatly encouraged; even Jules had spoken of her improvement; he
+had been so patient with her, and now she felt ashamed of having been so
+dispirited. Mrs. Tate went away with a feeling that she had been a fool,
+that her forebodings were ridiculous.
+
+One night at the end of the week, Tate returned home with the
+announcement that he was to start for Berlin the next day, to confer
+with the heads of a banking-house there with regard to the floating of a
+great loan. He gave her the choice of staying at home or of starting
+with him after only a few hours of preparation. She chose to start, and
+for two months she did not see London again; for, once away from the
+routine of his work, Tate took advantage of the opportunity to run for a
+holiday from Berlin down to Dresden, and thence over to Paris. During
+this time Mrs. Tate forgot her self-imposed cares, and gave herself up
+to the pleasures of travelling.
+
+When she returned home, she was surprised to hear that Madame Le Baron
+had called several times, and had left word that she was anxious to see
+her as soon as she came back. This news sent her with a throbbing heart
+to Albemarle Street; she felt sure that something terrible had happened,
+something she might have prevented by staying in London. She was always
+assuming responsibilities and then dropping them! How often her husband
+had told her that! She had been more than culpable, she kept saying to
+herself, in going away without even bidding Blanche good-bye, without
+even leaving an address.
+
+When she arrived at the hotel, at the close of a cold, foggy afternoon,
+she was surprised to be told by the _garcon_ that Madame Le Baron had
+left, and had gone to an apartment in Upper Bedford Place. "It was too
+expensive for them here," the _garcon_ explained with a contemptuous
+grin. "So they went to a private house."
+
+Mrs. Tate drove at once to the number the boy gave her, and a few
+moments later she was climbing the stairs to Blanche's apartment. She
+was out of breath when she rapped on the door, and still breathing hard
+when Madeleine admitted her into the shabby drawing-room. A moment
+later, as Blanche appeared from the next room, she uttered an
+exclamation.
+
+"Good Heavens, child, what has happened to you! You're whiter than ever,
+and so _thin_! What have you been doing to yourself? Have you had an
+illness?"
+
+Blanche shook her head. "No, I haven't been ill," she replied, but her
+looks and her manner seemed to belie her words. The gray cloth dress
+which had once fitted her tightly now hung loosely about her; her face
+was drawn and of a chalklike pallor, and under the eyes were two black
+lines betraying weeks of suffering and sleeplessness.
+
+"You were thin enough before I went away," said Mrs. Tate, "but now
+you're a perfect spectre."
+
+Then she went on to explain how she had happened to desert her friends
+for so long a time. "I know you have something to tell me," she said,
+starting from her seat, "but before you begin I want to see Jeanne. How
+is she? But first tell me how you happened to come way up here. Isn't it
+a long distance for you to climb after your performance every night?"
+
+"Jules chose these rooms because they were so much cheaper than the
+hotel," Blanche replied simply. "We prepare our own meals, too, and we
+save in that way. You know my salary is so much smaller than it used to
+be."
+
+Mrs. Tate made no comment, and they went into the other room, where
+Jeanne was sleeping in the crib.
+
+"She sleeps nearly all the time," said Blanche, with a faint smile that
+seemed to exaggerate the expression of pain and weariness in her face.
+
+"How big she's growing!" Mrs. Tate whispered. "There's certainly nothing
+the matter with _her_, the dear little thing, with her fat rosy cheeks.
+I'd just like to take her in my arms and hug her."
+
+For several minutes they stood talking about the child; then they left
+her with Madeleine and went back to the drawing-room, which Mrs. Tate's
+keen eyes discovered was used also as a bedroom. "They must be
+economizing with a vengeance," she thought. Blanche closed the door, and
+took a seat behind her visitor on the couch.
+
+"Now I want to hear all about it," Mrs. Tate cried. "Something has
+happened. What is it?" She took both of Blanche's hands and looked into
+her eyes. "What is it?" she repeated.
+
+For a moment they sat looking at each other. Then Blanche bent forward,
+buried her head on Mrs. Tate's lap, and burst into tears. Mrs. Tate said
+nothing, and allowed the paroxysm to spend itself. Then, gradually, the
+story came out.
+
+Jules didn't love her any more, Blanche moaned. He had been cruel to
+her, oh, so cruel; he had said such dreadful things! And then there had
+been days and days when he scarcely spoke to her or to the little Jeanne
+or to Madeleine, and he had grown so strict with them all; he hardly
+allowed Madeleine enough to buy the things they needed. And once, he had
+said such dreadful things about Jeanne. He didn't love even Jeanne any
+more,--poor little Jeanne! He said they would have been better off if
+she had never been born. Oh, that had nearly killed her, that he should
+have spoken so about Jeanne. She didn't care so much about herself,
+though sometimes she wanted to die. One night she had prayed that God
+would take her and Jeanne together. Jules had always been so good to her
+until--until that woman came, that woman who had taken her place in the
+circus. It was that woman who had come between them, with her white
+teeth and her mocking laugh. She was making a fool of Jules; she did not
+care for him, but she pretended that she did, just to amuse herself.
+Jules followed her about everywhere; he even talked of going to America,
+because she was to go in a few weeks, when her engagement at the
+Hippodrome was over. But Blanche would die; she would throw herself into
+the river with Jeanne in her arms rather than go there now. Ah, it had
+been so hard for her, alone in a strange country, with no one but
+Madeleine to confide in. Madeleine had been so good; but she, too, had
+grown afraid of Jules in these last weeks. They scarcely dared to speak
+when he was at home, now.
+
+From broken utterances, Mrs. Tate pieced together the whole miserable
+story. For the moment, her pity was lost in admiration for her husband's
+perspicacity. He had foreseen this! Now, for the first time, she
+realized what she had vaguely surmised before, the full meaning of his
+mysterious remark about Blanche and Jules. Then she turned her attention
+to the prostrate figure before her, offering sympathy and counsel. She
+knew that she was speaking in platitudes, but they were all she could
+offer then; and, after all, it was Blanche's own outburst that would do
+the poor pent-up creature the most good, the consciousness that she had
+some one to confide in.
+
+Mrs. Tate stayed in the little apartment a long time, and when she went
+away, Blanche seemed to feel more hopeful. "Act as if he were just as
+kind to you as ever," was her parting injunction, "and I know everything
+will come out all right. He'll find out that that dreadful woman is only
+making a fool of him, and then he'll care more for you than ever."
+
+In her heart, however, Mrs. Tate knew that what she said was not true.
+Jules had probably grown tired of his wife. The more she thought of the
+case, the more she pitied Blanche,--the more she realized what a tragedy
+in the poor little woman's life it meant. And she really had been to
+blame, she kept saying to herself. But for her interference, Blanche
+would have gone on with her diving, that other performer would not have
+come to the Hippodrome, and all of Blanche's agony of jealousy and
+neglect would have been avoided.
+
+Oh, what a lesson it taught her! Never, _never_ would she interfere in a
+family again! She would have done much better to let Blanche go to her
+death, rather than to drive her to despair, perhaps to a worse form of
+death by her meddling.
+
+On reaching home, she was in a fever of remorse and sympathy, and she
+passed a miserable hour waiting for her husband to return. When at last
+he did appear, she met him in the hall.
+
+"Percy," she cried dramatically, "you're a prophet!"
+
+"Am I, indeed?" he said, putting his umbrella in the rack. "Do you mean
+to say this is the first time you've found it out?"
+
+"I'll never doubt your word again, Percy," she went on, stifling a sob.
+Her appeal to her husband for sympathy threatened to make her
+hysterical, but she controlled herself and gasped out: "Don't you
+remember what you said about that man, Le Baron,--you know, the night he
+dined here, about his falling in love with his wife's performance! Well,
+that's just what he did do. He didn't fall in love with _her_; he's
+never _been_ in love with her, poor thing. Fortunately she doesn't know
+that. It's only her _performance_, that horrible plunge she used to
+make, that he's been in love with all along."
+
+"I don't see anything very prophetic about that," he said, walking into
+the drawing-room, where she followed him, clutching at the lace
+handkerchief in her hand. "It was as plain as daylight to any one that
+heard him talk and saw what kind of man he was."
+
+"I don't mean your seeing merely that. I could tell from what you said
+that you saw a great deal more. Don't you remember what you said about
+_professional_ jealousy not being the worst kind of jealousy in the
+world? That was the first thing that opened my eyes. I went to the next
+_matinee_ to see for myself if it could be true, and if I hadn't been an
+idiot I should have realized it all then. But the next day, just before
+we left for Berlin, I called on that poor woman, and she seemed so much
+easier in mind, I thought I must have misunderstood what you meant and
+been mistaken about that look."
+
+"My dear, I don't quite follow you. Aren't you just a little bit
+illogical?"
+
+"No, I'm not. I'm perfectly logical. I never was more logical in my
+life."
+
+"I suppose you mean that the fellow has got tired of his wife, now that
+she's given up her dive, and he's fallen in love with the other woman."
+
+Mrs. Tate rose tragically from her chair and made a sweeping gesture
+with her right hand. "With the other woman's _performance_."
+
+Tate looked at her for a moment, with smiling incredulity. "How
+ridiculous!" he said.
+
+"That's exactly what I said when you told me he had fallen in love with
+his _wife's_ performance. I said it was the most ridiculous thing I'd
+ever heard in my _life_. I couldn't have believed it if I hadn't
+observed it with my own eyes. But that afternoon I saw him--he stood
+near me, leaning against the railing--and I wish you could have seen the
+expression in his face while that woman was exhibiting herself,
+especially when she made her horrible dives."
+
+For a moment Tate stood without speaking. Then he said:--
+
+"I'm afraid you're putting a romantic interpretation on a very simple
+sequence of events. That fellow probably did fall in love with his
+wife's performance, and incidentally he liked the money that went with
+it. When she stopped her diving and became an ordinary performer, like
+thousands of others, she ceased to interest him. Then he looked around
+for some one else to be interested in, and when the other acrobatic
+person appeared he was just in the condition to be caught."
+
+"I don't believe it. It's a----"
+
+"There's one way, of course, of proving whether you're right or not,"
+Tate interrupted, with a quizzical smile.
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"If your theory is correct, the only thing for Madame Le Baron to do is
+to go back to her performance. Then she'll meet her rival on her own
+ground. From what I've read about that other performer, Madame Le
+Baron's dive must be twice as difficult and twice as thrilling as hers."
+
+Mrs. Tate turned to her husband with a look of admiration, her breath
+coming and going in quick gasps. "Percy, that's the wisest thing you've
+ever said in your life." A moment later she added, with a change of
+tone: "But isn't the whole thing _too_ absurd?"
+
+He started to go upstairs. "You know we're due at the Bigelows in an
+hour?"
+
+"Wait a minute," said Mrs. Tate. "I want to think over what you said.
+You can't imagine how this thing has worried me. It's all due to my
+meddling. Oh, I know that; you needn't say anything to me about it. But
+I'm determined to help that poor woman if I can. Oh, if I had only
+followed your advice, and let them alone!" she moaned.
+
+"There's no use worrying now. The mischief's done. He would probably
+have got tired of her anyway."
+
+"If something isn't done to bring him back to her," she went on without
+heeding his remark, "it will kill her. I'm sure of that. If you could
+only see her. She looks like a ghost, and her hands tremble so! I don't
+believe she's slept a wink for weeks. I don't see how she gets through
+her performances. A clinging creature like her just _lives_ on
+affection. Before she was married she always had her mother to take care
+of her. To think that that man should treat her so! Oh, it's a shame,
+it's a shame!"
+
+Tate was standing at the door. "If she's going to kill herself over that
+fellow, she might as well have gone on with her diving and killed
+herself that way. You ask her if she doesn't want to go back to it," he
+added, with the quizzical smile, "and see if she won't jump at the
+chance."
+
+"Do you suppose that she can suspect for an instant that her husband
+fell in love with her performance?" she said, her eyes following her
+husband up the stairs.
+
+"She probably hasn't reasoned it out, but I haven't a doubt she feels it
+intuitively," he replied, continuing his ascent. "You just ask her if
+she doesn't want to make the plunge again and see what she'll say," he
+concluded, smiling down at her from the floor above.
+
+
+
+
+                                   XX
+
+
+Mrs. Tate tried, by an almost impassioned kindness, to atone for her
+neglect of Blanche during her absence from London. She sent her flowers
+from her conservatory, she bought gifts for the little Jeanne, she
+called at the apartment in Upper Bedford Place nearly every morning.
+During these visits she did not once meet Jules; Blanche told her that
+he always went away soon after breakfast, and seldom returned before
+dinner. Sometimes he did not accompany her to the Hippodrome, but he
+never failed to appear there during the evening. The management had
+offered to reengage Miss King as soon as her contract expired, and the
+diver thought of postponing her return to America; but they had not as
+yet come to terms, as the girl wanted a much larger salary than she had
+been receiving.
+
+It was this information that reminded Mrs. Tate to ask Blanche if she
+were sorry she had given up her plunge and if she ever wished to resume
+it. Though she had at first been impressed by the solution of Blanche's
+troubles suggested by her husband, she had on sober second thought
+dismissed it as ridiculously romantic; such things might happen in
+novels, but they never could occur in real life. Her belief was shaken,
+however, when she saw the pale face light up at her question.
+
+"Oh, yes," Blanche cried, "I have thought of it. Sometimes--sometimes I
+think it would be better if I hadn't given it up. Then--then that woman
+wouldn't have come." Her eyes filled with tears, but she controlled
+herself and, a moment later, she went on:--
+
+"But I--I thought it was wrong for me to risk my life, and it made me so
+unhappy for Jeanne's sake. But sometimes I think I might have stopped
+being afraid. Before Jeanne was born I never had the least thought of
+fear, even after father was killed, because I knew that was because the
+trapeze was weak. Oh, I'm sure," she went on piteously,--"I'm _sure_ I
+shouldn't be afraid any more!"
+
+"But Dr. Broughton, you remember what he said, don't you?"
+
+"He said that when I stopped making the plunge I should be better,"
+Blanche replied simply. "But I'm not better; I feel worse,--oh, so much
+worse! I know I should be better if I tried it again. And I sha'n't be
+afraid any more," she repeated,--"even for Jeanne. It would be so much
+better for us all!"
+
+This speech made Mrs. Tate wonder if, as her husband had suggested,
+Blanche had divined that Jules had cared for her performance rather than
+for herself, and fancied she could win him back by resuming it. Her
+interest increased when she learned that Jules and Miss King had not
+spoken to each other for two evenings. Miss King's maid, who had at last
+come from Manchester, and who knew a little Canadian French, had told
+Madeleine about it. Jules had urged Miss King to accept Marshall's
+terms, and was vexed with her because she refused and threatened to go
+back to America. This had made him even more disagreeable at home than
+he had been before; for the past few days he had not spoken one pleasant
+word to them, and he had not even noticed Jeanne.
+
+It was this information that rang in Mrs. Tate's consciousness when she
+had left the apartment. Jules and that woman had quarrelled! Of course,
+they would make it up again,--perhaps in a few days, perhaps that very
+day; but if they did not, the quarrel might be one of the means of
+winning him back to his wife. At any rate, she would speak to her
+husband about it. When, on her return home, she did speak, he burst out
+laughing.
+
+"I don't see how you can find anything funny in that!" she said
+resentfully. "It's a very serious matter."
+
+"But it threatens to spoil my beautiful little romance!"
+
+"Your beautiful romance? What do you mean?"
+
+"If you had persuaded her to go back to her diving, and if she drove the
+other woman out of the field in that way, it would be a proof of my
+theory that he's fallen in love with the _performance_ and not with the
+_performer_. But if his wife gets him back again now, it will be merely
+because the other woman has broken with him. There's nothing for him to
+do _except_ to go back to his wife and be forgiven."
+
+"Well, I don't care what the reason is--if she only _gets_ him back.
+She'll certainly die of jealousy and misery if she doesn't,--that's
+plain enough. In my opinion, Dr. Broughton was entirely wrong in his
+diagnosis of the case. She says herself that she misses her diving and
+she wants to take it up again. Her rest hasn't done her a particle of
+good. Anyway, I'll speak to the Doctor about it to-morrow. I'll write a
+note, and ask him to come in for tea if he can."
+
+"And hold another council of war," her husband suggested.
+
+"A council of _peace_," she retorted smartly. "Oh, I know what you're
+thinking of! But I'm determined to undo the harm I've done. There's no
+time to be lost. If I can get that poor little woman to resume her
+plunge while the husband's still quarrelling with the other performer, I
+feel sure everything will come out all right. He'll be interested in her
+again. Don't you remember how he used to brag about her? I suppose you
+don't, but he did; and I could tell that he was as proud of her as if
+she were the most wonderful creature in the world."
+
+"I don't see what she wants him for," Tate said carelessly.
+
+"Well, you're not a woman, and you can't understand how women feel about
+men. I sometimes think the worse men are, the more their wives adore
+them."
+
+Tate smiled, but he made no reply; he was much more interested in the
+case than he would allow himself to appear to be. Indeed, he was so
+interested that he left his office the next day earlier than usual, in
+order to take part in the conference. He found his wife in earnest talk
+with the Doctor. Before coming to the house, Dr. Broughton, at Mrs.
+Tate's suggestion, had made a call on Madame Le Baron, and he expressed
+his alarm at having found her so thin and weak.
+
+"Do you remember what I said the night we had our first talk about her?"
+he asked, glancing at Tate. "I was afraid then that if she gave up her
+work it might upset her, though I didn't see how she could go on with
+the diving and keep whatever health she had. Now she's a great deal
+worse off than she was when I last saw her."
+
+Then they discussed the case in all its aspects. The Doctor laughed when
+Mrs. Tate declared she believed the poor woman's happiness depended on
+her resuming her plunge. "Oh, it may seem absurd to you!" she cried,
+growing more earnest under ridicule; "but Percy believes it, though he
+may pretend to you that he doesn't. He was the one who first suggested
+it to me."
+
+"I really think the diving wouldn't hurt her health so much as her
+worrying about her husband does," the Doctor admitted. "Besides, she
+believes she won't be afraid of it any more. She says her rest from it
+has taken all her fear away."
+
+"Then you think the best thing for her to do would be to resume the
+plunge?" said Mrs. Tate.
+
+For a moment the Doctor stroked his chin. "Under the circumstances I
+should say it might," he replied slowly. "At any rate, it would be worth
+trying. Of course, if that haunting fear returned she'd have to stop it
+again."
+
+A look of triumph flashed from the face of Mrs. Tate; and when she
+glanced at her husband she saw that he was trying to dissemble his
+interest in the decision. "I shall tell her that to-morrow!" she cried.
+"It'll be the best news the poor thing has had for a long time. She's
+crazy to begin that plunge again."
+
+"I hope you are ready to take the consequences of your interference in
+this business," said Tate, dryly.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XXI
+
+
+The next morning, in a long and secret talk, Mrs. Tate communicated the
+Doctor's judgment to Blanche. She learned that Jules was still sullen
+and depressed. That, of course, was a sign that his quarrel with the
+diver had not as yet been made up. Blanche said that she would speak to
+him at once about resuming the plunge; so far as she knew, no one had as
+yet been engaged to take Miss King's place, and perhaps Mr. Marshall
+would make a new contract with her on the old terms. Mrs. Tate hurried
+away in a state of feverish excitement, dreading, yet hoping, that she
+might meet Jules on the stairs, in order to reveal the great news. She
+would have liked to return to the apartment that very afternoon, to
+learn the effect of the announcement upon him; but she controlled her
+impatience.
+
+Jules did not return till late in the afternoon. From his manner Blanche
+saw at once that he was in a surly mood. He flung his coat and hat on a
+chair and threw himself on the couch. For a long time she did not dare
+to speak to him. She thought he was going to sleep, but she suddenly saw
+him staring at her with a look that frightened her.
+
+"Jules!" she said.
+
+He had closed his eyes again, and he seemed not to hear.
+
+"Jules."
+
+He opened his eyes, and once more she met that look. "What is it?" he
+grunted. Her plaintive manner vexed him; it seemed like a reflection on
+himself.
+
+"There's something I want to say to you," she went on apologetically,
+and with a suggestion of tearfulness in her voice, as if she felt
+disappointed at his manner of receiving her news.
+
+As he did not reply, she said: "It's about--about my plunge. I have been
+thinking that I'm--I'm so much better now--I mean I'm not so
+nervous--perhaps I can begin it again."
+
+He sat up on the couch, a light coming into his eyes. For a moment he
+was too surprised to speak. Then he said: "Well, I'm glad you're coming
+to your senses!"
+
+Encouraged by the change in his manner, she repeated what Dr. Broughton
+had said to Mrs. Tate. At the mention of the names, Jules' face
+darkened; since that night at the Tates' he had felt a personal
+resentment against the Doctor, almost as strong as his hatred of the
+Englishwoman.
+
+"So that woman's been here again today, has she?" he said bitterly.
+After a brief silence, he added more gently: "If you feel able to do the
+plunge again, the sooner you begin the better. I know that Marshall will
+be glad enough to renew the old contract. It will just fit in with his
+plans," he continued, with a grim thought of the diver's discomfiture on
+being superseded by Blanche. "I'll speak to him this very night."
+
+Blanche tried to smile, but the effort ended in a sigh. She had thought
+that Jules would show more enthusiasm.
+
+"But we can't have any more nonsense," he said, glancing at her
+again,--this time, however, without the bitterness she had before
+observed in his face. "If you allow yourself to be afraid of the plunge
+again, it will simply ruin you as an attraction. It'll make the managers
+think you're unreliable, and they won't engage you."
+
+In spite of his apparent indifference, Jules was secretly delighted at
+the thought of his wife's resuming her great dive. For the past few days
+he had never felt so keenly the humiliation of his own position. A
+petulant remark of Lottie King's the day of their quarrel had kept
+ringing in his ears: "What do _you_ amount to anyway?" Now he thought
+triumphantly of the restoration of his own dignity. With Blanche as the
+star attraction of the Hippodrome, earning a large salary, and with a
+choice of offers from all over the world, he would become a personage
+again! But he must guard her more carefully. He must in future keep her
+out of the way of interfering foreigners like Mrs. Tate, who would put a
+lot of nonsense into her head!
+
+That night, when Jules consulted Marshall, he learned what he had
+already surmised, that the manager was much upset by Miss King's refusal
+to extend her engagement on any but exorbitant terms, and though it
+would be completed in two weeks, he had not as yet found a sufficiently
+strong attraction to take her place; so he was not only willing, but
+glad, to renew with Blanche the contract she had at first made with him.
+Jules felt the more elated on being told that Miss King had not been
+nearly so good an attraction as his wife while giving the sensational
+plunge. He was in high spirits when he entered Blanche's dressing-room
+and told her the news. Blanche flushed with pleasure, not merely at the
+news, but at his affectionate manner as well; Madeleine, however, though
+she said nothing, seemed depressed. She had hoped that the poor child
+would never make that horrible dive again.
+
+After that night Blanche was so happy that she seemed like another
+creature from the thin, white-faced little woman of the past few weeks.
+Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed. Jules had been so different
+with her, she said to Mrs. Tate, since she had told him she would go on
+with the plunge. The night before he had taken her to the Hippodrome,
+and after the performance they had gone with Madeleine to a _cafe_; it
+reminded them of the days of their courtship in Paris.
+
+The two weeks that followed were the happiest Blanche had known since
+those first days after the birth of her child. Jules' devotion extended
+not only to her, but to little Jeanne and to Madeleine as well. For
+several days the gloom that had wrapped the city during most of the
+winter lifted; the sun shone, and the feeling of spring was in the air.
+In the afternoons Blanche took walks with Jules in the park, and on
+Sunday they went to mass together and then drove out to Richmond and
+dined there. They agreed to pretend that they were still in their days
+of courtship, and Jules delighted Blanche by repeating some of the
+foolish speeches he had made to her in the first weeks of their love.
+
+Then, too, they made great plans for the future. The negotiations with
+Hicks in New York had been broken off, but Jules had heard of an
+Australian manager who was in London looking for performers to appear
+during the following winter in Melbourne. How fine it would be if they
+could go out there and give performances in the chief Australian cities!
+Blanche, however, showed so little enthusiasm for this plan that Jules
+abandoned it for a time. Besides, he himself liked better the plan she
+suggested of returning to the _Cirque Parisien_. They might make an
+engagement there that would enable them to pass the winter in Paris. How
+good it would be to be back there again! Perhaps they could secure the
+little apartment in the _rue de Lisbonne_. Jules became so enthusiastic
+that he wrote to the manager in Paris, proposing terms. After a winter
+there they might think of going to Australia, where they would be much
+better paid than in Paris.
+
+The thought of returning to France added to Blanche's happiness. Oh, to
+see her mother and Jeanne and Louise again! How good it would be! There
+had been times during the past few weeks when she felt as if she could
+not bear to be separated from them any longer. But in Paris they could
+come to see her; perhaps Monsieur Berthier would let her mother and the
+girls pass a few weeks with her. Of course, she would be with them in
+Boulogne for the summer. When she spoke of this to Jules, however, he
+said nothing. He had in mind other plans, a possible engagement at one
+of the French watering places; but he thought it best not to refer to
+this at present. He realized the importance of making as much money as
+possible and as quickly as possible. There was no knowing how long his
+wife's nerve would last. If she only held out for a few years longer,
+they could make a fortune in Australia and America. Then they could
+retire, and live comfortably in Paris for the rest of their lives. He
+expected to earn a great deal of money in America; but he had reasons
+for not speaking of that country at all for the present.
+
+The two weeks during which Blanche was enjoying her new happiness were
+an exciting time for Mrs. Tate, who felt as if she were responsible for
+the success of her _protegee's_ return to her former place in the
+Hippodrome. Every day she repaired to Upper Bedford Place and held long
+conferences with Blanche. Everything promised well, she thought. Jules
+showed no signs of returning to the thraldom of Lottie King. How
+providential, Mrs. Tate thought, the quarrel between them had been! She
+did not know that, even before his break with her, Jules had begun to
+tire of the diver's domineering manner and of her habit of ridiculing
+him; moreover, he had at last perceived that she was only playing with
+him. This had helped to prejudice him against her performance, and as
+the novelty of the performance wore off, he saw that it was far inferior
+in daring and skill to his wife's magnificent plunge. This had never
+lost its fascination for him, and now, as he assisted Blanche in her
+daily exercises he felt the old thrill at its brilliancy and his own
+sense of importance in having a part in it.
+
+On the afternoon of the day when her plunge was to be resumed, Blanche
+took a long rest. She was awakened by the crowing of Jeanne in the next
+room. She raised her hands to her head; at the thought of the ordeal of
+the evening, a sudden dizziness came upon her. It was more than three
+months since she had made the dive, and she wondered if she should be
+equal to it. How horrible if at the last moment she should lose her
+nerve! She arose quickly, hardly daring to allow herself to think, and
+she hurried to the child. How strong and beautiful Jeanne was! Blanche
+took her in her arms and pressed her closely. When Madeleine turned and
+lumbered out of the room, leaving them alone together, Blanche began to
+kiss the child passionately, and tears welled over on her cheeks. Then
+she bathed her face, for fear that Jules would see that she had been
+crying.
+
+That night at dinner, Jules was in high spirits. "Marshall expects a big
+house," he said. "He's spent a lot of money advertising your dive. He
+thinks of getting a big poster made of you flying through the air."
+
+During the whole of the meal Blanche was very quiet. Madeleine noticed
+that her eyes were shining. When it was time to go to the Hippodrome,
+Jules, wrapping his wife in her cloak, put his arms around her, and
+kissed her on the ear, as he had often done in the days of their
+engagement. She drew away and started for Jeanne's room.
+
+"Where are you going?" he said.
+
+"I want to kiss the little one good-night."
+
+"But she's asleep!" he cried impatiently. "You mustn't wake her up."
+
+In spite of his protest, she silently made her way into the room where
+the child lay, closing the door behind her. Jules listened, thinking
+that Jeanne would cry on being disturbed; but there was no sound. Then
+he knew that she was praying by the crib, and this angered him. It was
+about time to put a stop to her notions, he said to himself. When, a
+moment later, she came out, her face was covered with a thick veil, and,
+after glancing at her sharply, he said nothing.
+
+On arriving at the Hippodrome, they found Mrs. Tate in the star
+dressing-room, which had been assigned to Blanche again.
+
+"I have been waiting for you," Mrs. Tate said nervously. "I suppose I
+have no right to be here, but I felt that I _must_ see you, and I made
+my husband bring me. Are you quite well?"
+
+She had observed the look of disgust given her by Jules, but this did
+not disturb her nearly so much as the white face that Blanche presented.
+Moreover, she did not feel reassured when Blanche smiled and said she
+felt perfectly well.
+
+"Of course everything will be splendid. There's a tremendous crowd,"
+Mrs. Tate added. "You'll have a great success."
+
+Jules, after bowing coldly, had turned from the room. As soon as the
+door closed behind him, Mrs. Tate seized Blanche by both hands and
+kissed her affectionately. "I mustn't keep you from dressing," she said
+with a smile. "Perhaps I'll come in and congratulate you when it's all
+over."
+
+Blanche grew a shade paler, and Mrs. Tate hesitated at the door. "What
+is it?" she said.
+
+"Nothing."
+
+Mrs. Tate walked toward her. "Nothing?"
+
+Blanche turned her head away. "If anything should happen," she said
+quietly, "the--the little one--I should like my mother to take her."
+
+Mrs. Tate began to breathe hard; but she burst out laughing. "You silly
+child! Of course; I shall look after Jeanne anyway. Don't you worry
+about _her_. Now I must hurry out to that husband of mine. He'll be
+furious with me for keeping him waiting so long."
+
+A few moments before Blanche appeared in the ring, Jules returned to the
+dressing-room, resplendent in his evening clothes, with three diamonds
+gleaming on his shirt-front, and carrying a bouquet of white roses.
+
+"These are just like the roses I bought for you the night I met you. I
+selected them this afternoon, and they've just come. You must wear them
+in your belt, as you did then," he said, as she flushed with pleasure
+and thanked him. "I remember how tickled I was when I saw them; and oh,
+how I hated Pelletier when you took them out and gave them to him to
+hold, while you were going through your act."
+
+Then, as she adjusted the flowers in her belt, he went on: "It's the
+biggest house of the season! Marshall says you're the best attraction he
+ever had. Ready?" he asked, surveying Blanche as she stood in her white
+silk tights. "You look just as you did when I first saw you," he added,
+putting one hand on her cheek and kissing her lightly on the other.
+"Come along."
+
+Then he threw over her the robe she always wore on her way to the ring,
+and they hurried from the room. As Blanche ran out on the net and heard
+the applause of the vast audience, she felt a thrill of joy and an
+intoxicating sense of her own power. All fear seemed to leave her, and
+she laughed as she climbed hand over hand to the trapeze. From trapeze
+to trapeze she shot with delight; she had never felt so sure of herself,
+so exultant. When she returned to the net, Jules, who had taken his
+place at the rope, whispered to her: "You're in great form to-night.
+Keep it up."
+
+She was smiling as she started on her long climb to the top of the
+building. But when she had taken her place on the beam from which she
+was to make her plunge and looked down at the black mass in the
+distance, her strength seemed suddenly to leave her. Her fingers
+tightened on the beam, as if she felt afraid of losing her balance. Then
+she heard her husband's voice ring through the place, crying the
+familiar warning. She knew the moment had come for making the plunge;
+but she continued motionless. She felt as if her will had become
+suddenly paralyzed, and a moment later, as if her body were frozen.
+
+The black mass below seemed to dance before her, then to beckon to her,
+and in her ears she kept hearing the voice of little Jeanne and the
+sound of her laughter. Oh, she had known that this moment would come
+some time; she had known it ever since Jeanne was born. But she could
+not sit there forever; the crowd below was waiting to see her fall. If
+she did not make an effort she should lose her self-control and go
+plunging into the blackness. She must lift her hands and gather herself
+together, and hurl herself out as she had always done. But she had no
+strength; she could only lift her arms weakly. Then she tried to give
+her body the necessary impetus, and she plunged wildly into the air.
+
+There was a cry of horror from the crowd, and a moment later the white
+figure lay motionless in the net. The people rose from their seats and
+rushed toward the ring. The police tried to drive them back as Jules
+leaped into the net and seized the prostrate body in his arms.
+
+"Keep them back," he cried frantically, not realizing that he was
+speaking French. "She must have air." Then, turning, he said: "Blanche!
+Blanche! Can't you speak? Open your eyes so I may know you aren't dead."
+
+He was terrified by the way her head fell back from her shoulders. "We
+must get her out of this," he said desperately, to two of the circus men
+who had followed him on the net, as he glanced down at the struggling
+mass beneath him. "Bring her to her dressing-room. Make those people get
+out of the way."
+
+With difficulty they bore her through the crowd. Some one threw her
+cloak over her as she passed. She gave no sign of life, but the
+expression in Jules' face showed that he still hoped. When they reached
+her room, they placed her on the floor, and Jules closed the door to
+keep out the crowd. Madeleine, who had been ringing her hands and
+moaning, quickly loosened the tight bodice. Then the door was forced
+open again, and Marshall entered with a physician, who quickly bent over
+the prostrate figure and listened for the heart-beat.
+
+"She's dead," he said quietly.
+
+Jules threw himself on the body in a paroxysm of despair.
+
+
+                                THE END.
+
+
+
+
+                    PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS,
+                    IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS,
+                    FOR STONE AND KIMBALL, PUBLISHERS,
+                    NEW YORK, M DCCC XCVI
+
+
+
+
+                           Transcriber Notes:
+
+Passages in italics were indicated by _underscores_.
+
+Small caps were replaced with ALL CAPS.
+
+Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of the
+speakers. Those words were retained as-is.
+
+Errors in punctuations and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected
+unless otherwise noted.
+
+On page 18, "were" was replaced with "was".
+
+On page 103, "Champs Elysees" was replaced with "Champs Elysees".
+
+On page 118, "wool house" was replaced with "wool-house".
+
+On page 192, "aimably" was replaced with "amiably".
+
+On page 222, "is" was replaced with "it".
+
+On page 294, "palor" was replaced with "pallor".
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Mademoiselle Blanche, by John David Barry
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MADEMOISELLE BLANCHE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 39383.txt or 39383.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/3/8/39383/
+
+Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Ernest Schaal, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+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.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+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
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/39383.zip b/39383.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ea3fb50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/39383.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..83a04a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #39383 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39383)