I was mistaken, however.
"'O madame!' he continued, 'her mother died long ago--her father now--and she is in daily fear,--alone, deserted--' "'Is she in the Abbaye ?' asked I.
"'No! she is in hiding with the widow of her father's old concierge.

Any day they may search the house for aristocrats.

They are seeking them everywhere.

Then, not her life alone, but that of the old woman, her hostess, is sacrificed.

The old woman knows this, and trembles with fear.