"Those gentlemen sitting there?" "Yes. They are beginning to be heard of. One of them got a second-class medal last year." And having told all that he knew about the embryo artists, he asked: "What will you take to-day, Monsieur Mariolle?" "You may send me out a vermouth, as usual." The proprietor went away, and soon Elisabeth appeared, bringing the salver, the glass, the _carafe_, and the bottle. Whereupon one of the painters called to her: "Well! little one, are we angry still?" She did not answer and when she approached Mariolle he saw that her eyes were red. "You have been crying," he said. "Yes, a little," she simply replied. "What was the matter?" "Those two gentlemen there behaved rudely to me." "What did they do to you?" "They took me for a bad character." "Did you complain to the proprietor?" She gave a sorrowful shrug of the shoulders, "Oh! Monsieur--the proprietor. I know what he is now--the proprietor!" Mariolle was touched, and a little angry; he said to her: "Tell me what it was all about." She told him of the brutal conduct of the two painters immediately upon their arrival the night before, and then began to cry again, asking what she was to do, alone in the country and without friends or relatives, money or protection. Mariolle suddenly said to her: "Will you enter my service? You shall be well treated in my house, and when I return to Paris you will be free to do what you please." She looked him in the face with questioning eyes, and then quickly replied: "I will, Monsieur. "How much are you earning here?" "Sixty francs a month," she added, rather uneasily, "and I have my share of the _pourboires_ besides; that makes it about seventy." "I will pay you a hundred." She repeated in astonishment: "A hundred francs a month?" "Yes. Is that enough?" "I should think that it was enough!" "All that you will have to do will be to wait on me, take care of my clothes and linen, and attend to my room." "It is a bargain, Monsieur." "When will you come?" "To-morrow, if you wish. After what has happened here I will go to the mayor and will leave whether they are willing or not." Mariolle took two louis from his pocket and handed them to her. "There's the money to bind our bargain." A look of joy flashed across her face and she said in a tone of decision: "I will be at your house before midday to-morrow, Monsieur." CHAPTER XII. CONSOLATION