She could not refuse the protection he offered in a person of her own sex; and now, flushing with the thought of where they were together alone, feminine modesty shrivelled at the idea of entreating a man to bear her off, though feminine desperation urged to it.

She felt herself very bare of clothing, and she named a lady, a Madame Emerly, living near the hotel.

Her heart sank like a stone.

'It is for you!' cried Alvan, keenly sensible of his loss and his generosity in temporarily resigning her--for a subsequent triumph.

'But my wife shall not be snatched by a thief in the night.