“She pretended to go home, but instead of going downstairs when she left the Grabus’ she went upstairs and hid among the hay, to wait for her lover.  He soon joined her, and was beginning to say pretty things to her, when the door of the hay-loft opened and the schoolmaster appeared, and asked:  ‘What are you doing up there, Sigisbert?’ Feeling sure that he would be caught, the young schoolmaster lost his presence of mind and replied stupidly:  ’I came up here to rest a little amongst the bundles of hay, Monsieur Grabu.’

“The loft was very large and absolutely dark, and Sigisbert pushed the frightened girl to the further end and said:  ’Go over there and hide yourself.  I shall lose my position, so get away and hide yourself.’

“When the schoolmaster heard the whispering, he continued:  ’Why, you are not by yourself?’ ‘Yes, I am, Monsieur Grabu!’ ’But you are not, for you are talking.’  ‘I swear I am, Monsieur Grabu.’  ‘I will soon find out,’ the old man replied, and double locking the door, he went down to get a light.

“Then the young man, who was a coward such as one frequently meets, lost his head, and becoming furious all of a sudden, he repeated:  ’Hide yourself, so that he may not find you.  You will keep me from making a living for the rest of my life; you will ruin my whole career.  Do hide yourself!’ They could hear the key turning in the lock again, and Hortense ran to the window which looked out on the street, opened it quickly, and then said in a low and determined voice:  ’You will come and pick me up when he is gone,’ and she jumped out.

“Old Grabu found nobody, and went down again in great surprise, and a quarter of an hour later, Monsieur Sigisbert came to me and related his adventure.  The girl had remained at the foot of the wall unable to get up, as she had fallen from the second story, and I went with him to fetch her.  It was raining in torrents, and I brought the unfortunate girl home with me, for the right leg was broken in three places, and the bones had come trough the flesh.  She did not complain, and merely said, with admirable resignation:  ‘I am punished, well punished!’

“I sent for assistance and for the work-girl’s relatives and told them a, made-up story of a runaway carriage which had knocked her down and lamed her outside my door.  They believed me, and the gendarmes for a whole month tried in vain to find the author of this accident.

“That is all!  And I say that this woman was a heroine and belonged to the race of those who accomplish the grandest deeds of history.

“That was her only love affair, and she died a virgin.  She was a martyr, a noble soul, a sublimely devoted woman!  And if I did not absolutely admire her, I should not have told you this story, which I would never tell any one during her life; you understand why.”

The doctor ceased.  Mamma cried and papa said some words which I did not catch; then they left the room and I remained on my knees in the armchair and sobbed, whilst I heard a strange noise of heavy footsteps and something knocking against the side of the staircase.