"You are then married, sir?" murmured the unknown.
"No, Madame; why do you think so?"
"Then," said she, laughing, "you had better have said I was your wife."
"Madame," said Maurice, "the name of wife is rather too sacred to be lightly bestowed. I have not the honor of your acquaintance."
The unknown in her turn felt an oppression of the heart, and remained silent and confused. At this moment they crossed the Bridge Marie. The young woman quickened her pace as they approached the end of their journey. They crossed the Bridge de la Tournelle.
"We are now, I believe, in your quarter," said Maurice, planting his foot on the Quai Saint Bernard.
"Yes, Citizen," replied the young woman; "but it is precisely here I most require your kind assistance."
"Really, Madame," said Maurice, "you forbid me to be indiscreet, yet do all in your power to excite my curiosity. This is not generous. Grant me your confidence. I have merited it, I think. Will you not do me the honor to tell me to whom I speak?"
"You speak, sir," said the unknown, smiling, "to a woman whom you have saved from the greatest danger she has ever encountered; to one who owes you a debt of everlasting gratitude."