“Did you not hear what Chupin said to me?” he replied, slowly. “The Duc de Sairmeuse is at Montaignac; he will soon be here; and we are dwelling in the chateau of his fathers, and his domain has become ours!” The vexed question regarding the national lands, which agitated France for thirty years, Marie understood, for she had heard it discussed a thousand times. “Ah, well, dear father,” said she, “what does that matter, even if we do hold the property? You have bought it and paid for it, have you not? So it is rightfully and lawfully ours.” M. Lacheneur hesitated a moment before replying. But his secret suffocated him. He was in one of those crises in which a man, however strong he may be, totters and seeks some support, however fragile. “You would be right, my daughter,” he murmured, with drooping head, “if the money that I gave in exchange for Sairmeuse had really belonged to me.” At this strange avowal the young girl turned pale and recoiled a step. “What?” she faltered; “this gold was not yours, my father? To whom did it belong? From whence did it come?” The unhappy man had gone too far to retract. “I will tell you all, my daughter,” he replied, “and you shall judge. You shall decide. When the Sairmeuse family fled from France, I had only my hands to depend upon, and as it was almost impossible to obtain work, I wondered if starvation were not near at hand. “Such was my condition when someone came after me one evening to tell me that Mademoiselle Armande de Sairmeuse, my godmother, was dying, and wished to speak with me. I ran to the chateau. “The messenger had told the truth. Mademoiselle Armande was sick unto death. I felt this on seeing her upon her bed, whiter than wax. “Ah! if I were to live a hundred years, never should I forget her face as it looked at that moment. It was expressive of a strength of will and an energy that would hold death at bay until the task upon which she had determined was performed. “When I entered the room I saw a look of relief appear upon her countenance. “‘How long you were in coming!’ she murmured faintly. “I was about to make some excuse, when she motioned me to pause, and ordered the women who surrounded her to leave the room. “As soon as we were alone: “‘You are an honest boy,’, said she, ‘and I am about to give you a proof of my confidence. People believe me to be poor, but they are mistaken. While my relatives were gayly ruining themselves, I was saving the five hundred louis which the duke, my brother, gave me each year.’ “She motioned me to come nearer, and to kneel beside her bed. “I obeyed, and Mademoiselle Armande leaned toward me, almost glued her lips to my ear, and added: “‘I possess eighty thousand francs.’ “I felt a sudden giddiness, but my godmother did not notice it.