Alix remembered this, she was content to be
only Alix Leroux, who, though possessed
neither of châteaux nor forests, and forced to
work hard and attend weekly markets, had
no ancestral doom hanging over her, but
could look forward to a bright future, as the
beloved mistress of a certain stonecutter's
comfortable home; of which stonecutter's
existence Monsieur Reboul was quite
unconscious.

Her thoughts of François, her young
warm-hearted lover, and of the two strong
arms ready at a word from her to do unheard-of
miracles, dimpled her cheeks with smiles,
and entirely banished the uncomfortable
cogitations which had preceded them; taking
up her basket, she arose; and, looking around
her, began to consider which path she ought
to follow, to find the most direct road to
Maillot.

She was still undecided, when a whole
herd of deer dashed down the north alley
towards her, and broke forcibly through the
thick covert beyond, as if driven forward by
intense fear. She was startled by the sudden
apparition, for a moment's consideration
convinced her that what had terrified them
might terrify her also, and that the part of
the forest from which they had been driven
was that which she must cross to reach
Maillot. Timid as a deer herself, at this
thought she strained her eyes in the direction
whence they had come, but could see
nothing. She listened; all was still again, not
a leaf stirred,— and yet, was it fancy, or was it
her sense of hearing excited by fear to a painful
degree of acuteness, that made her imagine
that she heard, at an immense distance, a
muffled sound of wheels and of the tramp of
horses' feet? She wrung her hands in terror;
for, satisfied that no earthly carriage could
force its way through the tangled forest paths,
she could only suppose that something
super-natural and terrible was about to blast her
sight; still, as if fascinated, she gazed in the
direction of the gradually increasing sounds.
Not a wink of her eyes distracted her sight
as she peered through the intervening
branches. Presently, a huge body, preceded
by something which caught and reflected the
straggling rays of sunshine that penetrated
between the trees, was seen crushing through
the brushwood. Nearer and nearer it came
with a curiously undulating movement, and
accompanied by the same strange, dull,
inexplicable sound, until, as it paused at a few
hundred paces from her place of concealment, she
perceived to her intense relief that the object
of her terror was nothing more than an
earthly vehicle of wood and iron, in the form
of one of the unwieldy coaches of the day,
drawn by a team of strong Flanders horses;
and that the strange muffled sound which
had accompanied it, arose solely from the
elasticity of the turf over which it rolled
having deadened the noise of the wheels
and the horses' hoofs. The relief from
supernatural terrors, however, rendered Alix
only the more exposed to earthly fears;
and, when a second glance at the carriage
showed her that the glistening objects
which had caught her eye at a distance were
the polished barrels of mousquetons, or heavy
carbines, carried by two men who occupied
the driving seat, she slipped from her hiding-place
behind the large oak tree, and carefully
ensconced herself among the thick bushes
that overshadowed the rocks.

Scarcely had she done this, before one of
the armed men got down from the box, and
walked round the circular glade, scanning it
with a curious and penetrating glance. For
a moment, he paused before the old oak, as if
attracted by some flowers Alix had dropped;
but, another quick searching look seeming to
satisfy him, he returned to the carriage and
stood by the door, as if in conference with
some one inside.

"Thank Heaven!" thought Alix, "he
sees that the carriage cannot pass further in
this direction; I shall not, therefore, be kept
here long;" and her curiosity as to what was
next to be done, gaining predominance over
her fears, she again peered eagerly between
the branches. A gentleman got out of the
carriage, and examined the little glade as
carefully as his servant had done.

"What a handsome man!" thought Alix.
"What a grand dress he has; all silk and
velvet!" She fixed an admiring glance on
the tall, noble-looking figure that stood for
a moment, silent and still, in the centre of the
amphitheatre.

"It will do, Pierre," he said at length, as
he turned on his steps;"begin your work."

Pierre bowed, and, without speaking, pointed
to a little plot of ground, of peculiarly bright
green, with a dark ring round it—a fairy-ring,
in short, so named in all countries—
which lay almost directly opposite to Alix's
hiding-place.

"Yes," was the brief answer. "Call Joseph
to help; we are at least an hour too
late."

The strong rigidity of the speaker's
countenance caused Alix to tremble, although she
did not know why, unless it were in her
dread of falling into his hands as a spy of
his secret actions, whatever they might be;
for he was evidently not a man to be trifled
with.

Pierre went back to the carriage, from
which the other man had already descended,
and together they took, from the hind boot, a
couple of pickaxes and spades, with which they
speedily began to cut away the turf of the
green-ring, for a space of some six or eight
feet in length, and as many in breadth.

She could distinctly see Pierre's face, and
perceived that it was not one she had ever
seen before. That of Joseph was concealed
from her, as he worked with his back towards
her; but there was something about his dress
and appearance which seemed familiar to