He waited a moment to swallow something in his throat that seemed to be choking him, and then, trying in vain to steady his voice, he added: "You know that I have an aversion for women; and for that matter, I think they return it with interest.

But, at all events, I am not foolish enough to expose myself to their rebuffs.

Rest assured, I shall not follow at your heels!" Claudet shook his head incredulously.
"You doubt it," continued de Buxieres; "well, I will prove it to you.
You can not declare your wishes because Reine is rich and you are poor?
I will take charge of the whole matter." "I--I do not understand you," faltered Claudet, bewildered at the strange turn the conversation was taking.
"You will understand-soon," asserted Julien, with a gesture of both decision and resignation.
The truth was, he had made one of those resolutions which seem illogical and foolish at first sight, but are natural to minds at once timid and exalted.

The suffering caused by Claudet's revelations had become so acute that he was alarmed.

He recognized with dismay the disastrous effects of this hopeless love, and determined to employ a heroic remedy to arrest its further ravages.