CHAPTER XV.
WHEN Marie Bastien and her guide left the farmhouse they found that the fog had lifted, and that the moon was shining brightly.
A profound silence reigned.
Jean François strode on for a moment or two in silence, then, moderating his pace, he turned and said:
"Pardon, me, madame, I am going too fast, perhaps."
"Too fast? Oh, no, my friend, you cannot go too fast. Go on, go on, I can keep up with you."
Then, after they had walked a few minutes longer in silence, Marie asked:
"When you saw my son, did he seem excited or agitated?" And as the farmer turned to reply, Madame Bastien exclaimed:
"Don't lose a minute, talk as we walk."
"I can hardly say, madame. I saw him come out of the forest, run across the road, and enter a thicket which he had probably selected as a hiding-place."