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Mylooking-glasswasnear。OneglanceatitsatisfiedmethatnowomaninhersensescouldprefertheEnglishmantoMe。Irecoveredmyself-respect。IhastenedtotheEnglishman’sbedside。
ThemomentIappearedhepointedeagerlytowardmyroom。Heoverwhelmedmewithatorrentofwordsinhisownlanguage。Imadeout，fromhisgesturesandhislooks，thathehad，insomeincomprehensiblemanner，discoveredthepresenceofmyguest；and，strangerstill，thathewasscaredbytheideaofapersoninmyroom。IendeavoredtocomposehimonthesystemwhichIhavealreadymentioned——thatistosay，IsworeathiminMYlanguage。
Theresultnotprovingsatisfactory，IownIshookmyfistinhisface，andleftthebedchamber。
Returningtomyfairfriend，Ifoundherwalkingbackwardandforwardinastateofexcitementwonderfultobehold。Shehadnotwaitedformetofillherglass——shehadbegunthegenerousMoselleinmyabsence。Iprevailedonherwithdifficultytoplaceherselfatthetable。Nothingwouldinducehertoeat。“Myappetiteisgone，“shesaid。“Givemewine。“
ThegenerousMoselledeservesitsname——delicateonthepalate，withprodigious“body。“Thestrengthofthisfinewineproducednostupefyingeffectonmyremarkableguest。Itappearedtostrengthenandexhilarateher——nothingmore。Shealwaysspokeinthesamelowtone，andalways，turntheconversationasImight，broughtitbackwiththesamedexteritytothesubjectoftheEnglishmaninthenextroom。Inanyotherwomanthispersistencywouldhaveoffendedme。Mylovelyguestwasirresistible；I
answeredherquestionswiththedocilityofachild。Shepossessedalltheamusingeccentricityofhernation。WhenItoldheroftheaccidentwhichconfinedtheEnglishmantohisbed，shesprangtoherfeet。Anextraordinarysmileirradiatedhercountenance。Shesaid，“ShowmethehorsewhobroketheEnglishman’sleg！Imustseethathorse！“Itookhertothestables。Shekissedthehorse——
onmywordofhonor，shekissedthehorse！Thatstruckme。I
said。“YouDOknowtheman；andhehaswrongedyouinsomeway。“
No！shewouldnotadmitit，eventhen。“Ikissallbeautifulanimals，“shesaid。“Haven’tIkissedYOU？“Withthatcharmingexplanationofherconduct，sheranbackupthestairs。Ionlyremainedbehindtolockthestabledooragain。WhenIrejoinedher，Imadeastartlingdiscovery。IcaughthercomingoutoftheEnglishman’sroom。
“Iwasjustgoingdownstairsagaintocallyou，“shesaid。“Themaninthereisgettingnoisyoncemore。“
ThemadEnglishman’svoiceassailedourearsonceagain。
“Rigobert！Rigobert！“
HewasafrightfulobjecttolookatwhenIsawhimthistime。Hiseyeswerestaringwildly；theperspirationwaspouringoverhisface。Inapanicofterrorheclaspedhishands；hepointeduptoheaven。Byeverysignandgesturethatamancanmake，heentreatedmenottoleavehimagain。Ireallycouldnothelpsmiling。TheideaofmystayingwithHIM，andleavingmyfairfriendbyherselfinthenextroom！
Iturnedtothedoor。Whenthemadwretchsawmeleavinghimheburstoutintoascreechofdespair——soshrillthatIfeareditmightawakenthesleepingservants。
Mypresenceofmindinemergenciesisproverbialamongthosewhoknowme。Itoreopenthecupboardinwhichhekepthislinen——
seizedahandfulofhishandkerchief’s——gaggedhimwithoneofthem，andsecuredhishandswiththeothers。Therewasnownodangerofhisalarmingtheservants。Aftertyingthelastknot，I
lookedup。
ThedoorbetweentheEnglishman’sroomandminewasopen。Myfairfriendwasstandingonthethreshold——watchingHIMashelayhelplessonthebed；watchingMEasItiedthelastknot。
“Whatareyoudoingthere？“Iasked。“Whydidyouopenthedoor？“
Shesteppeduptome，andwhisperedheranswerinmyear，withhereyesallthetimeuponthemanonthebed:
“Iheardhimscream。“
“Well？“
“Ithoughtyouhadkilledhim。“
Idrewbackfromherinhorror。Thesusp
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