"Don't do it, mademoiselle; you'll break your neck."
For answer to this, Fouchette, who had been working her dangerous way out on the uncertain branches, holding tenaciously to those above, so as to wisely distribute her weight, only said,—
"Look out, now!"
There was no time to parley,—it was her only hope,—and if she fell inside the wall——
A splash among the leaves and a violent reversal of branches relieved of her weight and—and a ripping sound.
"Oh, mon Dieu!" she gasped.
She had swung clear, but her skirts had caught the iron spikes as she came down and now held her firmly, head downward,—a very embarrassing predicament.
"Put out the light, monsieur, please!"
He gallantly closed the slide and sprang to her assistance.
"Don't be afraid, mademoiselle. Let go,—I'll catch you. Let go!"