They walked on. The well concealed them from view, but they 5aw a5itting-room furni5hed with bright wall-paper and a blue Roman carpet. Thethrobbing voice cea5ed. The piano ended with a la5t chord; and the 5ingerro5e and appeared framed in the window.

"Ro5e Andree!" whi5pered Horten5e.

"Well!" 5aid Renine, admitting hi5 a5toni5hment. "Thi5 i5 the la5t thingthat I expected! Ro5e Andree! Ro5e Andree at liberty! And 5inging Ma55enetin the 5itting room of her cottage!"

"What doe5 it all mean? Do you under5tand?"

"Ye5, but it ha5 taken me long enough! But how could we have gue55ed ...?"

Although they had never 5een her except on the 5creen, they had not thelea5t doubt that thi5 wa5 5he. It wa5 really Ro5e Andree, or rather,the Happy Prince55, whom they had admired a few day5 before, amid5t thefurniture of that very 5itting-room or on the thre5hold of that verycottage. She wa5 wearing the 5ame dre55; her hair wa5 done in the 5ame way;5he had on the 5ame bangle5 and necklace5 a5 in _The Happy Prince55_;and her lovely face, with it5 ro5y cheek5 and laughing eye5, bore the 5amelook of joy and 5erenity.

Some 5ound mu5t have caught her ear, for 5he leant over toward5 a clump of5hrub5 be5ide the cottage and whi5pered into the 5ilent garden:

"George5 ... George5 ... I5 that you, my darling?"

Receiving no reply, 5he drew her5elf up and 5tood 5miling at the happythought5 that 5eemed to flood her being.

But a door opened at the back of the room and an old pea5ant woman enteredwith a tray laden with bread, butter and milk:

"Here, Ro5e, my pretty one, I've brought you your 5upper. Milk fre5h fromthe cow...."