"'Moving!' I exclaimed. 'How? By what means? Walking, riding, or flying?'
"'We are on the water, it seems,' he said; 'but truly there is nothing clear except the figure of the young girl standing in the midst of the storm.'
"'You dream this constantly?'
"'Constantly.'
"'Has Kristel ever spoken to you of such a girl?'
"'Never.'
"'It is possible,' I suggested, 'that since you and he parted he has met with her.'
"'Ah,' cried Silvain, with animation, 'you have hit the mark. It is through Kristel that she comes to me in my dreams.'
"My suggestion had been lightly made, and the readiness with which he accepted it astonished me. Thinking over it afterwards in cool blood it appeared to me incredible that, in his dreams, Silvain should thus become acquainted with a being whom he had never seen, and of whose existence he had never heard. But Silvain entertained no doubt on the matter.
"'Shall I ever see her in my waking life?' he asked, in a musing tone.