He began to fear he had sprained it badly, and wondered how he could get back to Vivey.

Should he have to wait on this lonely road until some woodcutter passed, who would take him home?
Montagnard, his faithful companion, had seated himself in front of him, and contemplated him with moist, troubled eyes, at the same time emitting short, sharp whines, which seemed to say: "What is the matter ?" and, "How are we going to get out of this ?" Suddenly he heard footsteps approaching.

He perceived a flutter of white skirts behind the copse, and just at the moment he was blessing the lucky chance that had sent some one in that direction, his eyes were gladdened with a sight of the fair visage of Reine.
She was accompanied by a little girl of the village, carrying a basket full of primroses and freshly gathered ground ivy.

Reine was quite familiar with all the medicinal herbs of the country, and gathered them in their season, in order to administer them as required to the people of the farm.

When she was within a few feet of Julien, she recognized him, and her brow clouded over; but almost immediately she noticed his altered features and that one of his feet was shoeless, and divined that something unusual had happened.