“‘But we must go and see that they are safe,’ suggested Annie.

“‘Where is the baggage-room?’ I asked of a porter.

“‘This way, mademoiselle.’

“‘Madame!’ I ventured to correct in a weak voice.

“‘Vos clefs, s’il vous plait,’ said a polite official as we entered the door, and another laid hands on the satchels we carried, to examine them.

“We had entirely forgotten the octroi officers.  ’Oh my! this affair may keep us another half hour,’ thought I, ‘and I am so sleepy!’ I have often found (I confide this to you as an inviolable secret) that to be unreasonable is a woman’s strongest weakness:  it is a shield against which man’s sharpest logic is invariably turned aside.  The next thing to there not being a necessity, is not seeing a necessity, and this I prepared in the most innocent manner to do.

“‘Gracious me!’ I exclaimed—­or its French equivalent, which I suppose is ’Mon Dieu’—­’you don’t mean to detain us here opening those bags, and we so tired, and they packed so full that we could scarcely shut them; and if you do open them, we cannot get all the things into them again, and shall have no end of trouble!’ Then I looked as injured as if they had been thieves or highway-men.

“Had a man made this speech they would have mistrusted him, but as women have a reputation for shallowness, such talk is never thought suspicious in them.

“‘What do they contain?’ asked the officer, hesitating.

“’I don’t know what all:  we have been at the sea-side, and they are full of trash.  There are some shells and an old hat in mine, and—­and things.’

“He tried to conceal a smile, and looked toward the other, who nodded, and we saw the welcome ‘O’ put on in chalk, upon which the bags were given back to us.

“‘Now the trunks,’ said the first who had spoken, holding out his hand for the keys.

“’Oh, we are going to leave them here till to-morrow:  they are all right—­you can mark them too;’ and without further ceremony we moved toward the door.  One of the men stepped after us.  I thought it was to make us return, but it was only to ask if he should get us a carriage.

“We thanked him and replied that we were going to the hotel opposite, and did not need one:  he then turned to a person who seemed to be the porter of the establishment, and told him to carry our satchels for us.  Now we felt our journey was well at an end, for the windows of our welcome asylum were blazing not more than a hundred feet off.

“We crossed the street, rang at the ladies’ entrance and asked for rooms.  After a few moments the servant returned, and, much to our chagrin, said that there were none to be had, every corner was full.

“’Do let us see the clerk.  We must have a room:  you can surely find us one somewhere.’

“The man shook his head.

“‘Please go and try,’ we insisted:  ’we shall be satisfied with anything for the night.  Won’t you go and ask again?’