"So I perceive," said he, laughing. "You would send me to the devil with pleasure. Come, enough of this nonsense! I have no time to waste. I must talk to Geneviève."
"You're going to talk to her?"
"Well, is that a crime?"
"And what have you to tell her?"
"A secret . . . a very grave secret . . . and a very touching one. . . ."
The old lady took fright:
"And one that will cause her sorrow, perhaps? Oh, I fear everything, I fear everything, where she's concerned! . . ."
"She is coming," he said.
"No, not yet."
"Yes, yes, I hear her. . . . Wipe your eyes and be sensible."
"Listen," said she, eagerly, "listen. I don't know what you are going to say, what secret you mean to reveal to this child whom you don't know. But I, who do know her, tell you this: Geneviève has a very plucky, ve
