"Oh, but I——"
"Let go!"
"Sacré bleu! I can't, monsieur! I'm stuck like a fish on a gaff! My skirts——"
This startling intelligence, while it relieved his immediate anxiety, involved the young man in a painful quandary. He dared not call for help; he was likely to be arrested in any case; he could not go away and leave the girl dangling there. She was at least three feet beyond his extreme reach.
"Let's see," he said, hastily grabbing his lantern to make an examination.
"Oh, put out that light!" exclaimed the girl.
"But, mademoiselle, I can't see——"
"Mon Dieu! monsieur, I don't wish you to see! No! I should—put down the lantern!"
Having complied with this request, he stood under her in despair.
"Can't you tear the—the—what-you-may-call-it loose?"