So the performance proved a disappointment, and the takings were very meager indeed. The Mamezan folk, it is true, were mostly poor, and had little money to spare, yet all the same it was with heavy hearts that they bade good-bye to the kind curé and once more took the road.
They were not far beyond the boundaries of the village, for poor old Steady made slow progress with the heavy van, when a man caught hold of his bridle, and made him stop, which indeed he was only too glad to do.
"My children, you go no farther in that direction. I have come for you."
Nadine, Cæsar, and Abel instead of being alarmed at this startling action, joined in an exclamation of surprise and joy, for it was not a highway robber that had thus halted them, but an old acquaintance whom they were delighted to recognize—no other than the kind old constable of Morainville, who had so befriended them at that place.
What could he be doing there—nearly a hundred miles away from home?
Divining their astonishment at his appearance the constable made haste to speak.
"You are surprised to see me, no doubt. For eight days have I been following you stage by stage of your journey. I have good news for you."
"Lydia!" at once cried the three children together. She was their first thought. No matter what their trials might be they seemed as nothing to them in comparison with the loss of Lydia.
But the constable shook his head.
"No—not Lydia yet," he answered in a lower tone. "We shall find her soon, never fear. But I have come to take you back with me."