"Yes."
"Bring them close to me."
Esther stooped and kissed the brow upon which the dews of death had begun to gather.
"We shall meet again, father," she whispered.
"Perhaps," faltered Lebeau.
"Did you wish to sleep?" inquired Levet, when the young people had left the room.
"No, but I could not die before them. There is no use in saddening their young lives."
The surgeon did not attempt to deny the danger.
"You are a brave man, comrade," he said; "and since you are able to look death in the eye, do you not wish to make some preparation? There is a Catholic priest here in the house. Although Dr. Johnson is no friend to the papists, he has given this man the protection and shelter of his roof. If you desire to see him I—"
But Lebeau made a negative sign, while by some singular reaction the sceptic and philosopher again took possession of his expiring body.