"And yet you feel bored!" continued the young man with ludicrous vivacity. "But it's downright suicide! What is it you want? whatever is it you are dreaming of?" She shrugged her shoulders, by way of saying she did not know. Though she held her head down, Maxime saw such a serious, such a gloomy look on her face, that he left off speaking. He watched the line of vehicles which, on reaching the end of the lake, spread out, and filled the vast carrefour. The carriages, no longer being so closely packed together, turned round with a superb grace; whilst the accelerated trot of the horses resounded loudly on the hard ground. On going the round to rejoin the line, the carriage oscillated in a way which filled Maxime with a vague voluptuousness. Then, yielding to a desire to overwhelm Renée, he resumed: "Ah! you deserve to never ride in anything better than a cab! It would serve you right! Why, just look at this crowd returning to Paris, this crowd ready to fall down and worship you. You are hailed as a queen, and your dear friend Monsieur de Mussy can scarcely restrain himself from blowing kisses to you." [Illustration: DE MUSSY MEETING RENÉE AND MAXIME DRIVING IN THE BOIS.] And indeed, a rider was at that moment bowing to Renée. Maxime had been speaking in a hypocritically mocking way. But Renée scarcely turned round, and contented herself by shrugging her shoulders. This time, the young man made a despairing gesture. "Really," said he, "is it as bad as all that? But, good heavens! you have everything, what more do you want?" Renée raised her head. Her eyes had a warm bright look, the ardent desire of unsatiated curiosity. "I want something else," replied she in a low voice. "But you have everything," resumed Maxime laughing, "something else is no answer. What is the something else you want?" "Ah! what!" repeated she.