At ten o'clock the next morning we got rid of my dear friend Gustave de Berensac. Candor compels me to put the statement in that form; for the gravity which had fallen upon him the night before endured till the morning, and he did not flinch from administering something very like a lecture to his hostess. His last words were an invitation to me to get into the carriage and start with him. When I suavely declined, he told me that I should regret it. It comforts me to think that his prophecy, though more than once within an ace of the most ample fulfillment, yet in the end was set at naught by the events which followed. Gustave rolled down the hill, the duchess sighed relief. "Now," said she, "we can enjoy ourselves fora few hours, Mr. Aycon. And after that--solitude!" I was really very sorry for the duchess. Evidently society and gayety were necessary as food and air to her, and her churl of a husband denied them. My opportunity was short, but I laid myself out to make the most of it. I could give her nothing more than a pleasant memory, but I determined to do that. We spent the greater part of the day in a ramble through the woods that lined the slopes of the hill behind the house; and all through the hours the duchess chatted about herself, her life, her family--and then about the duke. If the hints she gave were to be trusted, her husband deserved little consideration at her hands, and, at the worst, the plea of reprisal might offer some excuse for her, if she had need of one. But she denied the need, and here I was inclined to credit her. For with me, as with Gustave de Berensac before the shadow of Lady Cynthia came between, she was, most distinctly, a "good comrade." Sentiment made no appearance in our conversation, and, as the day ruthlessly wore on, I regretted honestly that I must go in deference to a conventionality which seemed, in this case at least--Heaven forbid that I should indulge in general theories--to mask no reality. Yet she was delightful by virtue of the vitality in her; and the woods echoed again and again with our laughter. At four o'clock we returned sadly to the house, where the merry girls busied themselves in preparing a repast for me. The duchess insisted on sharing my meal. "I shall go supperless to bed to-night," said she; and we sat down glum as two children going back to school. Suddenly there was a commotion outside; the girls were talking to one another in rapid eager tones. The duchess raised her head, listening. Then she turned to me, asking: "Can you hear what they say?" "I can distinguish nothing except 'Quick, quick!'" As I spoke the door was thrown open, and two rushed in, the foremost saying: "Again, madame, again!" "Impossible!" exclaimed the duchess, starting up. "No, it is true. Jean was out, snaring a rabbit, and caught sight of the carriage." "What carriage? Whose carriage?" I asked.