Deeply affected by this reproach, the Vicomte bowed his head in silence.

“Here is my place,” said the Baron, stopping before the trunk of an old oak, “and there is the elm where you are to station yourself.”

Gerfaut stopped, and said, in a trembling voice: 

“Monsieur, one of us will not leave these woods alive.  In the presence of death, one tells the truth.  I hope for your peace of mind, and my own, that you will believe my last words.  I swear to you, upon my honor and by all that is sacred, that Madame de Bergenheim is innocent.”

He bowed, and withdrew from Christian without waiting for a response.

Bergenheim and Gerfaut were out of sight of the others, and stood at their posts with eyes fastened upon each other.  The ditch was wide enough to prevent the branches of the trees from troubling them; at the distance of sixty feet, which separated them, each could see his adversary standing motionless, framed by the green foliage.  Suddenly, barking was heard in the distance, partially drowned by the firing of a gun.  A few seconds later, two feeble reports were heard, followed by an imprecation from Monsieur de Camier, whose caps flashed in the pan.  The Baron, who had just leaned forward that he might see better through the thicket, raised his hand to warn Octave to hold himself in readiness.  He then placed himself in position.  An extreme indecision marked Gerfaut’s attitude.  After raising his gun, he dropped it to the ground with a despondent gesture, as if his resolution to fire had suddenly abandoned him; the pallor of death could not be more terrible than that which overspread his features.  The howling of the dogs and shouts of the hunters increased.  Suddenly another sound was heard.  Low, deep growls, followed by the crackling of branches, came from the woods opposite our adversaries.  The whole thicket seemed to tremble as if agitated by a storm.

“Take care!” exclaimed Bergenheim, in a firm voice.

At the same moment an enormous head appeared, and the report of a gun was heard.  When Gerfaut looked through the smoke caused by his gun, at the farther end of the ditch, nothing was to be seen but the foliage.

The boar, after crossing the clearing, vanished like a flash, leaving behind him a trail of broken branches—­and Bergenheim lay behind the trunk of the old oak, upon which large drops of blood had already fallen.

CHAPTER XXVI

BERGENHEIM’S REVENGE

On the same morning the drawing-room of the Bergenheim castle was the theatre of a quiet home scene very much like the one we described at the beginning of this story.  Mademoiselle de Corandeuil was seated in her armchair reading the periodicals which had just arrived; Aline was practising upon the piano, and her sister-in-law was seated before one of the windows embroidering.  By the calm attitude of these three ladies, and the interest they seemed to