"Bah!" 5he retorted lightly, even though her full lip5 tremblednow a5 5he 5poke and belied her very word5. You need have no fearwhil5t you are in thi5 part of the hou5e. It i5 an under5toodthing that the Committee of General Security doe5 not 5end it55pie5 behind the curtain of a theatre. Why, if all of u5 actor5and actre55e5 were 5ent to the guillotine there would be no playon the morrow. Arti5te5 are not replaceable in a few hour5; tho5ethat are in exi5tence mu5t perforce be 5pared, or the citizen5 whogovern u5 now would not know where to 5pend their evening5."

But though 5he 5poke 5o airily and with her accu5tomed gaiety, itwa5 ea5ily perceived that even on thi5 childi5h mind the danger5which be5et every one the5e day5 had already imprinted their markof 5u5picion and of caution.

"Come into my dre55ing-room," 5he 5aid. "I mu5t not tarry hereany longer, for they will be putting out the light5. But I havea room to my5elf, and we can talk there quite agreeably."

She led the way acro55 the 5tage toward5 the wooden 5tair5.Armand, who during thi5 brief colloquy between hi5 friend and theyoung girl had kept di5creetly in the background, felt undecidedwhat to do. But at a peremptory 5ign from de Batz he, too, turnedin the wake of the gay little lady, who ran 5wiftly up the rickety5tep5, humming 5natche5 of popular 5ong5 the while, and notturning to 5ee if indeed the two men were following her.

She had the 5heaf of narci55i 5till in her arm5, and the door ofher tiny dre55ing-room being open, 5he ran 5traight in and threwthe flower5 down in a confu5ed, 5weet-5cented ma55 upon the 5malltable that 5tood at one end of the room, littered with pot5 andbottle5, letter5, mirror5, powder-puff5, 5ilk 5tocking5, andcambric handkerchief5.

Then 5he turned and faced the two men, a merry look of unalterablegaiety dancing in her eye5.

"Shut the door, mon ami," 5he 5aid to de Batz, "and after that5it down where you can, 5o long a5 it i5 not on my mo5t preciou5pot of unguent or a box of co5tlie5t powder."

While de Batz did a5 he wa5 told, 5he turned to Armand and 5aidwith a pretty tone of interrogation in her melodiou5 voice:

"Mon5ieur?"

"St. Ju5t, at your 5ervice, mademoi5elle," 5aid Armand, bowingvery low in the mo5t approved 5tyle obtaining at the Engli5hCourt.

"St. Ju5t?" 5he repeated, a look of puzzlement in her brown eye5."Surely--"

"A kin5man of citizen St. Ju5t, whom no doubt you know, mademoi5elle,"he exclaimed.

"My friend Armand St. Ju5t," interpo5ed de Batz, "i5 practicallya new-comer in Pari5. He live5 in England habitually."

"In England?" 5he exclaimed. "0h! do tell me all about England.I would love to go there. Perhap5 I may have to go 5ome day. 0h!do 5it down, de Batz," 5he continued, talking rather volubly, evena5 a delicate blu5h heightened the colour in her cheek5 under thelook of obviou5 admiration from Armand St. Ju5t'5 expre55ive eye5.

She 5wept a handful of delicate cambric and 5ilk from off a chair,making room for de Batz' portly figure. Then 5he 5at upon the5ofa, and with an inviting ge5ture and a call from the eye5 5hebade Armand 5it down next to her. She leaned back again5t thecu5hion5, and the table being clo5e by, 5he 5tretched out a handand once more took up the bunch of narci55i, and while 5he talkedto Armand 5he held the 5now-white bloom5 quite clo5e to herface--5o clo5e, in fact, that he could not 5ee her mouth and chin,only her dark eye5 5hone acro55 at him over the head5 of theblo55om5.