A sound of cracking wood was once more heard; a large piece of the trellis-work must have fallen to the ground, for Nise burst out: 'Oh! dear me, dear me, Nanet, I can't! Louise broke it with her feet, and now it's all down.' 'Never mind--it doesn't matter! Give me your hands, Nise, and I'll pull you up.' 'No, no, I can't! I'm too little; can't you see, Nanet?' 'But I tell you I'll pull you. Stretch out your arms--there! Now I'll stoop and you must stand on tip-toes. There we are! You see very well that I can pull you up.' Evincing great dexterity, he had raised Nise with his strong young arms and seated her on the wall in front of him. She looked even more tumbled than usual, with her fair curly pate, her pink and ever-smiling mouth, and her pretty blue eyes. She and her friend Nanet formed a pair, both of them with locks of the same soft golden hue, curling and waving hither and thither. For a moment they remained astride the wall, face to face and delighted at finding themselves so high up. 'Ah! all the same you're strong, Nanet, to have pulled me up as you did,' said the girl. 'But then you've grown quite tall, Nise. I'm fourteen now; how old are you?' 'I'm eleven, Nanet. But, I say, isn't this like being on a horse, a very tall horse, made of stone?' 'Yes, but I say, Nise, shall I stand upright?' 'Yes, upright, Nanet! I'll do the same!' But again a stir was heard down the garden, this time in the direction of the kitchen, and the two children, full of anxiety, caught hold of each other, and fell to the ground together, locked in a close embrace. They might have killed themselves, but they laughed gaily, unhurt and delighted with their tumble. Paul and Antoinette, Lucien and Louise on their side, were already running wildly among the bushes and fallen rocks which helped to form many a delightful nook at the feet of the Bleuse Mountains. Thinking it too late to intervene, Luc went off very softly. As the children had not seen him, they would not know that he had closed his eyes to their escapade. After all, was it not best that they should yield to the glow of youth within them, and meet and play in spite of all the prohibitions? They were like the very florescence of life, which well knew for what future harvests it thus flowered in them. And they brought with them, perchance, the reconciliation of classes, the morrow full of justice and peace which was awaited. That which their fathers could not accomplish would be accomplished by them, and yet more completely by their children, thanks to the evolution which was ever spreading. And thus Luc, as he quietly walked away, refraining from alarming them, laughed to himself as he heard them laughing, heedless of the difficulties that they would encounter when they might wish to climb over the wall again. That glimpse of the kindly future had inspired the young man with a hope, a courage to continue fighting, and a determination to achieve victory such as he had never known before.