"O mon Dieu!" said Denise; "is it possible! But, it is true, you are alone--What has become of Bertrand?" "He has deserted me! He got tired of my follies, and he left the man who, in his prosperous days, treated him as a friend, not as a servant." "Bertrand deserted you--left you when you were unfortunate and a long way from home! Oh, no! no! that is impossible, monsieur! He loved and honored you! Bertrand is an old soldier, he has not forgotten all that he owes you; I will answer for his heart as surely as for my own." "Nevertheless, Denise, I have told you the truth. But let us go into the house; later I will tell you the story of my travels." "Oh! forgive me, monsieur; to think of my forgetting! Let's go in quickly; come and rest." Denise led Auguste into the house. Coco followed them, jumping and crying aloud for joy. "Here's my kind friend come back! Denise won't be sad any more!" The girl ran to wake her old servant, and turned everything topsy-turvy in her haste to set before the wayfarer the best that she had; and as she went to and fro by Auguste, she stopped constantly to look at him, as if to make sure that he was not a delusion, then exclaimed: "He is here! he has come back at last! he hadn't forgotten us!" And she wiped away a tear born of her emotion, which was instantly succeeded by a smile. Auguste was deeply moved by the pleasure that his arrival caused in the cottage. He did not tire of gazing at Denise, he noticed the change that had taken place in her language and manners and dress; and as he turned his eyes upon himself, he sighed and said: "The three years that have passed have wrought vast changes: instead of the milkmaid, a rather awkward village girl, I find in you a young woman full of charm. And I, whom you used to see so dandified and elegant--here am I arrayed like any poor devil who travels on foot without the means to pay for a lodging!" "What difference does that make? Are you Coco's benefactor any the less? or he who made love so ardently to the little milkmaid?" "You will agree, Denise, that in this costume I don't look very much like a benefactor or a seducer." "For my part, if you don't like me this way, I will very soon go back to the woolen waist and the little cap." "You will always be lovely. However, I have no right--I must not forget----" Auguste paused and Denise looked at him anxiously; but he seemed to make an effort to banish a painful memory and took his place at the table, saying: "Let us not think of anything but the pleasure it affords me to be here! Denise, Coco, come beside me; one evening of happiness will help me to forget several months of suffering." They sat down at the table. Auguste was the object of the most zealous attentions on the part of the occupants of the cottage; the presence of a sovereign would not have made them so happy as that of the poor wayfarer.