"Sophie!" repeated Maurice, in much surprise.
"Oh, my God! yes," replied Dixmer, greatly affected; "Geneviève most unfortunately saw the cart pass yesterday conveying the unhappy girl to the scaffold. Since then she has had five or six attacks of hysterics, and keeps on continually calling upon Sophie."
"But the most astonishing thing of all is, that in her she recognized the girl who sold the carnations, which you already know about," said Morand.
"Certainly, I know about them," said Maurice, "since in consequence of them I very narrowly escaped having my head cut off."
"Ah! we have heard all that, dear Maurice, and, believe me, we have not been slightly alarmed; but Morand was at the sitting, and saw you fully acquitted and liberated."
"Silence!" said Maurice; "she again speaks."
"Oh, those empty, unintelligible words!" exclaimed Dixmer.
"Maurice," murmured Geneviève; "they are going to kill Maurice. Rescue him, Chevalier,—rescue him!" A profound silence followed these words.
"Maison-Rouge," again murmured Geneviève; "Maison-Rouge!"
Maurice felt a slight suspicion, but he could make out nothing clearly, and was too much affected by the suffering of Geneviève to attend much to her words.