"Yes, day after to-morrow."
"It will please him very much; good-bye."
"Good-bye, my dear fellow."
"Don't forget Clarville's address."
"I am not very likely to," thought Gerald. "The street where he lives must skirt the end of the garden of the house where I just saw that adorable girl."
So, while the captain rushed off towards a group of wooden shanties in the distance, Gerald strolled along, a prey to a sort of feverish agitation.
The sun was low in the horizon when he awoke from his reverie.
"I don't know what will come of all this," he said to himself, "but this time, and it is the only time, I feel that I'm gone, absolutely gone, this time!"
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE PRIVATE STAIRWAY.
In spite of the deep and novel impression made upon Gerald by his interview with Herminie, he had met Ernestine de Beaumesnil; for, in accordance with the plans of the Rochaiguës, the richest heiress in France had directly or indirectly made the acquaintance of the three aspirants for her hand.