"Ah! When I found you gone from the house I thought I would die. Celestine told me that a man had come to take you away! Still I waited.... He will come, he will come.... But you did not come back. The next morning I ran to Lirat! Oh, if you only knew how he received me! ... how he treated me! And I asked everybody: 'Do you know where Jean is?' And no one could answer me. Oh, you naughty boy! To leave me like that ... without a word! Don't you love me any more? Then, you understand, I wanted to forget myself. I was suffering too much." Her words had a sharp, curt ring in them: "As for Lirat, you may rest assured, my dear, I'll get even with him. You'll see! It'll be a farce! What a mean person your friend Lirat is! But you'll see." One thing tormented me: how many days or weeks would Juliette stay with me? She had brought six trunks with her; hence she intended to remain at Ploch for a month at least,--perhaps longer. Together with the great anticipated joy of possessing her without fear or obstacle, there mingled a keen uneasiness. I had no money, and I knew Juliette too well not to realize that she would not resign herself to a life like mine, and I foresaw expenditures which I was not in a position to make. What was to be done? Not having enough courage to ask her directly, I answered: "We have plenty of time to think of it, my dear. In about three months from now when we shall go back to Paris. "Three months! Why no, my poor little thing, I leave in a week. I am so sorry." "Stay here, my little Juliette, I implore you, stay here altogether. Stay longer! A fortnight!" "It is impossible, really. Oh, don't be sad, my dear! Don't cry! If you cry I won't tell you something very nice." She became more affectionate, nestled and resumed: "Listen, my dear. I have only one thought, and that is to live with you! We shall leave Paris, we shall move into a small house, hidden so well, you see, that no one will know that we are living. All we need is an income of twenty thousand francs." "Where do you expect me to get that much now?" I exclaimed discouraged. "Now, listen to me," continued Juliette. "We need only twenty thousand francs. Well, I have figured it all out! In six months we shall have it." Juliette looked at me with a mysterious air and repeated: "We shall have it!" "Please don't talk like that, my dear. You don't know how you hurt me." Juliette raised her voice, the wrinkle on her forehead grew rigid. "Then you want me always to belong to others?" "Oh! keep still, Juliette! Keep still! Never talk to me like that, never!" "You are so funny! Come now, be nice and embrace me!"