"You, Madame!" The Marquise flushed slightly. "From the time you talked to me I wanted to do something, be something better. But, you know, it seemed no use; there was no need of me anywhere but in Paris. That is all over. I can go now, and I have some information worth taking to the Federal government. The South has commissioners here now. I have learned all they have accomplished, and the people they have interested, so if I had a little help--" "You shall have it!" declared the Marquise. "I have been dying of ennui. Your plan is a cure for me--better than a room full of courtiers! But if I give you letters it must be to my lawyers in New Orleans--clever, shrewd men--and I should have to trust you entirely, remember." "I shall not forget, Madame." "Very good; come tomorrow. What can you do about an establishment such as mine? Ladies maid? Housekeeper? Governess?" "Any of those; but only governess to very small children." "Come tomorrow. I shall have planned something by then. I have an engagement in a few minutes, and have no more time today. By the way, have you ever been in Georgia or South Carolina?" Kora hesitated, and then said: "Yes, Madame." "Have you any objection to going back there?" The octoroon looked at her in a startled, suspicious way. "I hesitate to reply to that, Madame, for reasons! I don't mind telling you, though, that there is one place in America where I might be claimed, if they knew me. I am not anxious to visit that place." "Naturally! Tomorrow at eleven I will see you, and you can tell me all about it. If I am to act as your protectress I must know all you can tell me--_all_! It is the only way. I like the mystery and intrigue of the whole affair. It promises new sensations. I will help you show that government that you are willing to help your people. Come tomorrow." A few days later the Marquise set her new amusement on foot by bidding adieu to a demure, dark eyed, handsome girl, who was garbed most sedately, and whose letters of introduction pronounced her--oh, sentiment or irony of women--Madame Louise Trouvelot, an attache of the Caron establishment, commissioned by the Marquise to inspect the dwellings on the Caron estate in New Orleans, and report as to whether any one of them would be suitable for a residence should the owner desire to visit the city. If none should prove so, Louise Trouvelot, who comprehended entirely the needs of the Marquise, was further commissioned to look up such a residence with a view to purchase, and communicate with the Marquise and with her American lawyers, who were to give assistance to Louise Trouvelot in several business matters, especially relating to her quest. CHAPTER XI. ON THE SALKAHATCHIE.