"True," mused Doctor Louis; "even in obscure lives may be found such elements."
"You have told me little," I said, "of Eric and Emilius. Do they reside permanently in the lighthouse in which their mother died?"
"They have a house in the village by the sea," replied Doctor Louis, "and they are in a certain sense fishermen on a large scale. The place has possessed for them a fascination, and it seemed as if they would never be able to tear themselves away from it. But their intimate association with it will soon be at an end."
"In what way?"
"They have sold their house and boats, and are coming to reside in Nerac for a time."
I started and turned aside, for I did not wish Doctor Louis to see the cloud upon my face.
"Only for a time?" I inquired.
"It depends upon circumstances," said Doctor Louis. "If they are happy and contented in the present and in their prospects in the future, they will remain. Otherwise, they will seek a larger sphere."
"Is this their idea?"
"Not theirs alone. I am partly responsible. We have talked of it often, and I have urged them not to waste their lives in a village so small and primitive as that in which they were born."