"Come, my child," said David to Frederick, "have courage. You see we have not a moment to lose."
"I am ready, M. David."
"Fortunately our clothes are dry, thanks to this hot furnace. Lean on me, my child."
As they left the house, Frederick said to the brickmaker:
"Pardon me, sir, for not being able to thank you better for your kind attention, but I will return."
"May Heaven bless you, my young gentleman, and grant that you may not find a mass of rubbish when you return to this place, instead of this house."
David, without Frederick's knowledge, gave two gold pieces to the brickmaker, as he said, in a low voice:
"That is for the cart."
A few minutes elapsed, and the son of Madame Bastien left the brick-kiln with David in the rustic conveyance filled with a thick layer of straw, and covered over with a cloth, for the rain continued to fall in torrents.
The cart driver, wrapped in a wagoner's coat, and seated on one of the shafts, urged the gait of the horse, that trotted slowly and heavily.