Anne's face turned a shade paler; so appalling was the noise, she would fain have stopped her ears.

But her mother sat up.
"What is it ?" she asked eagerly.

"What is it ?" "Dear mother, do not fret! It must be----" "Go and see, child! Go to the window in the passage, and see!" Madame Royaume persisted.
Anne had no wish to go, no wish to see.

She pictured her lover in the _melee_ whence rose those appalling cries; and gladly would she have hidden her head in the bedclothes and poured out her heart in prayer for him.

But Madame persisted, and she yielded, went into the passage and opened the small window.