"'The wind has gone down,' said she; 'the storm has passed away without doing any harm.'
"'Shall I open the apiary?' asked Young.
"'No, not yet; the bees would lose themselves in this mist. Besides, everything is drenched with rain; the brambles and mosses are full of water; the least puff of wind would drown many of them. We must wait a little while. I know what is the matter: they feel dull, they want to work; they are tormented at the idea of devouring their honey instead of making it. But I cannot afford to lose them. Many of the hives are weak—they would starve in winter. We will see what the weather is like to-morrow.'
"The two old people sat and listened without making any observations.
"About nine the blind girl proposed to go and visit her bees; Young and Catherine followed her, and I did the same, from a very natural feeling of curiosity.
"We passed through the kitchen by a door which opened on to a terrace. Above us was the roof of the apiary; it was of thatch, and from its ledge honeysuckle and wild grapes hung in magnificent festoons. The hives were arranged on three shelves.
"Raesel went from one to the other, patting them, and murmuring—
"'Have a little patience; there is too much mist this morning. Ah! the greedy ones, how they grumble!'
"And we could hear a vague humming inside the hive, which increased in intensity until she had passed.
"That awoke all my curiosity once more. I felt there was some strange mystery which I could not fathom, but what was my surprise, when, as I went into the sitting-room, I heard the blind girl say in a melancholy tone of voice—