The Devil's Pool

"what will they think at home when this little man doesn't appear? The

d yonder that you have taken him with yo

g! It didn't even occur to me that J

farm, too: he won't f

hat he did not notice at first that he had not dined; but as the rapid movement of the horse dug a pit in his st

knew that we shouldn't go far before mo

, too!" said

at the sign of the Break of Day. A fine sign, but a poo

she said, "I'll hold the mare whi

r your luncheon to my Pierre, and you haven't had anything to eat;

d! and I promise you that I haven'

efore we say good-day. I propose to set you the example, although I'm not very hungry; but I shall make out to eat, considering that I didn't dine v

rter of an hour the stout, limping hostess succeeded in serving them

o her to comfort her and give her courage also produced their effect; she made an effort to persuade herself that seven months would soon be passed, and to think how happy she would be to be at home once more, in her own village, since Père Maurice and Germain were agreed in promising to take her into their service. But as she was beginning to

house too. Look, that little gray speck, not far from t

e girl; and thereupon s

ish things to-day! Come, Marie, my girl, let's be off; the days are s

did not urge the mare, in order not to fatigue the girl and the child by a

a route which he was not in the habit of taking when he went to the fair. He went astray and lost a little more time before entering the woods; even then he did

e moonlight makes more vague and more deceptive. The great pools of water which abound in the clearings exhaled such dense vapor that w

on, and the water might be a little high. Seeing no steep hill, no meadow, no river, but the level moor, white as a sheet of snow, Germain drew rein, looked about for a house, waited for some one to pass, but saw nothing to give him any information. Thereupon he retraced his steps, and rode back into the woods. But the mist grew denser, the moon was altogether hidden, the roads were very bad, the ruts deep. Twice Grise nearly fell; laden as she was, she lost cour

n her head, and that is to go back to the house, and she was the one that made me go astray. If we want to go home, we have only to give her her head. But when we may be within two steps of the place where we are to spend the night, we should be mad to give up f

me the child; I can carry him very well, and keep him covered up with the cloak better than

re so exhausted by it that they stopped when they at last found a dry place under some great oaks. Little Marie was drenched, but she did not complain or seem disturbed. T

irths, and, kicking up her heels higher than her head some half-dozen times, by way of salutation, sta

these roads are, we can be sure that the meadow is under water. We don't know the other fords. So we must wait till the mist rises; it can't last more than an hour or two. When we can see, we will look for a house, the first one we c