At the very moment I was thinking of all these things, what might be the peril, the suffering, the desperate extremity of Jacqueline! Where was she, and how circumstanced in the power of a brutal galley-slave? Might we not be riding in the wrong direction, and thus, perhaps, abandoning her to the very fate from which we sought to save her? The stars that looked so brightly down on us looked also down on her; but where was she? Every thought and fear was maddening! When contrasted with my own keen anxiety, the _sang-froid_ of the French officer piqued and annoyed me. It was well for me, however, that he was ignorant of the relation that existed between his cousin and me, as, apart from any fancy he might himself have had for her, in the extreme ideas of difference of rank, religion, and so forth, cherished by the French _noblesse_, he would have thought no more of quietly pistolling me, on the score of presumption, than of shooting a weasel. Thus my ill-concealed emotions he put down in his own mind as the result of humanity and gratitude. "_Mon ami_, I rather like you," said he, as we rode on together; "I can see that you are courageous, and that is better than to be merely brave." "Merely brave--what do you mean, chevalier?" "We French make a distinction in this matter. A soldier may be very brave, and yet on some occasions may not have courage to manifest his bravery." "I confess that this paradox is too subtle for me, especially at such a time. But tell me, chevalier, was this wretch of whom we are in pursuit ever in the French service?" "I regret to say that he was, until discharged with a _cartouche jaune_ as an incorrigible rogue." He referred to the discharge printed on yellow paper and given to those men of the French army who were dismissed under sentence of degradation. For a few miles we diverged into every cross path, but always returned to the main road; and we questioned closely the few persons, chiefly charcoal-burners, whom in that sequestered region we met abroad at such an hour, but questioned them in vain. Thus the short night of August was soon spent. The clear stars still shone brightly in the blue sky; but already there were indications of the dawn that was at hand, for a warm flush was stealing over the east when we found ourselves at Fougères, a little town situated on the river Nanson, having some leather manufactories and a strong old castle wherein the lords of that _Seigneurie_ resided. There we turned our horses without prosecuting our inquiries, as it was by no means likely that those of whom we were in search would be found in a busy town. So the night had passed away--a night without tidings of Jacqueline! Broader and deeper grew the light of morning, and clouds of sombre grey or purple that overhung the mountains and seemed to roll along their distant ridges, became lighted up and edged with saffron and gold.