It was he, the companion of her youth, so changed that she had not recognized him; worn by hard work, perhaps by anxieties, bronzed--and with his face hidden by a black beard which gave him a manly and energetic appearance.

It was certainly he, with a thin red ribbon at his button-hole, which he had not when he went away, and which showed the importance of the works he had executed and of great perils he had faced.

Pierre, trembling and motionless, was silent; the sound of his voice choked with emotion had frightened him.

He had expected a cold reception, but this scared look, which resembled terror, was beyond all he had pictured.

Serge wondered and watched.
Jeanne broke the icy silence.