"I'm going, M. Paul, I'm going," obeyed Bonneton, and he hurried across the few yards of pavement that separated them from the cathedral.
Meantime, the step on the stairs came nearer. It was a light, quick step, and, looking up, Coquenil saw Alice hurrying toward him, tense with some eager purpose.
"Oh, M. Matthieu!" exclaimed the girl in apparent surprise. Then going close to him she said in a low tone that quivered with emotion: "I came after you, I must speak to you, I—I know who you are."
He looked at her sharply.
"You are M. Coquenil," she whispered.
"You saw it?" he asked uneasily.
She shook her head. "I knew it."
"Ah!" with relief. "Does he know?"
The girl's hands closed convulsively while the pupils of her eyes widened and then grew small. "I'm afraid so," she murmured, and then added these singular words: "He knows everything."
M. Paul laid a soothing hand on her arm and said kindly: "Are you afraid of him?"