Clear, soft, and steady, glowed the light from the window. The stone shafts showed black against it. Murmuring words of passionate love as I gazed upon the signal, I grasped my strong box under my arm, and with rapid strides approached the Château de la Carque. No sign of light or life, no human voice, no tread of foot, no bark of dog, indicated a chance of interruption. A blind was down; and as I came close to the tall window, I found that half-a-dozen steps led up to it, and that a large lattice, answering for a door, lay open. A shadow from within fell upon the blind; it was drawn aside, and as I ascended the steps, a soft voice murmured--"Richard, dearest Richard, come, oh! come! how I have longed for this moment?" Never did she look so beautiful. My love rose to passionate enthusiasm. I only wished there were some real danger in the adventure worthy of such a creature. When the first tumultuous greeting was over, she made me sit beside her on a sofa. There we talked for a minute or two. She told me that the Count had gone, and was by that time more than a mile on his way, with the funeral, to Père la Chaise. Here were her diamonds. She exhibited, hastily, an open casket containing a profusion of the largest brilliants. "What is this?" she asked. "A box containing money to the amount of thirty thousand pounds," I answered. "What! all that money?" she exclaimed. "Every _sou_." "Was it not unnecessary to bring so much, seeing all these," she said, touching her diamonds. "It would have been kind of you, to allow me to provide for both for a time, at least. It would have made me happier even than I am." "Dearest, generous angel!" Such was my extravagant declamation. "You forget that it may be necessary, for a long time, to observe silence as to where we are, and impossible to communicate safely with any one." "You have then here this great sum--are you certain; have you counted it?" "Yes, certainly; I received it to-day," I answered, perhaps showing a little surprise in my face, "I counted it, of course, on drawing it from my bankers." "It makes me feel a little nervous, travelling with so much money; but these jewels make as great a danger; _that_ can add but little to it. Place them side by side; you shall take off your great coat when we are ready to go, and with it manage to conceal these boxes. I should not like the drivers to suspect that we were conveying such a treasure. I must ask you now to close the curtains of that window, and bar the shutters." I had hardly done this when a knock was heard at the room-door. "I know who this is," she said, in a whisper to me. I saw that she was not alarmed. She went softly to the door, and a whispered conversation for a minute followed. "My trusty maid, who is coming with us. She says we cannot safely go sooner than ten minutes. She is bringing some coffee to the next room." She opened the door and looked in.