Raoul and his companions regarded Nadine with looks in which gratitude and admiration were manifestly mingled. They had come to the Préfet's office in fear and trembling, and they would, of course, be well punished by the head of the school as it was, but the dismissal by the Préfet without any penalty was an altogether unlooked for peace of luck, which they owed in large measure to the very person who had most reason to find satisfaction in their being condignly punished.
Nor did Nadine's magnanimity go without reward. The whole affair served as the best kind of advertisement, and the demand on the part of those who had not been present at the first performance, to be given the opportunity to attend another, was so urgent that she wisely changed her plan of leaving the town that day.
"We shall not, of course, get anything like so splendid a collection as we did last night, because good Madame Pradère and the kind officers will not be there again; but we shall most probably get a good deal more than we usually do, and so it will be worth our while to stay over one more night."
Cæsar quite concurred in the wisdom of this proposal, and accordingly the preparations for a move were stopped, and in their place they began arrangements for the evening.
The sequel fully sustained the shrewdness of the young girl's forecast. The Tamby family, their youth, their brave independence, their wonderfully trained animals, the interest taken in them by the Mayor and his good wife, and the shabby trick which had been played upon them by some of the pupils at the academy, were the talk of the town, and long before the hour announced for the beginning of the performance the plank seats were bending beneath their load of humanity, while behind and around them the crowd was packed as close as possible.
The whole program of the preceding evening, with some additions, was given without a hitch. Nalla, Steady, and Vigilant played their several parts to perfection, and the spectators applauded contentedly.
When it came to the collection the response was not quite so generous as at the first performance. There was no Madame Pradère to lead off with a gold piece, and no officers to emulate her with silver coins.
But there were some "white pieces" nevertheless, and a great number of "brown pieces," so that altogether the Tambys felt well repaid for their evening's work.
The following morning Nadine, taking Lydia with her, went to pay her respects to Madame Pradère, and to thank her for her great kindness. On the way she met the good-natured gendarme, who let her into the secret of Madame Pradère's interest in them.
"You must know," said the genial old fellow, "that Madame Pradère has suffered a terrible affliction. She once had four children, two boys and two girls, just as there are in your family, and the youngest of them was, strange to say, named Lydia, and, sad to tell, she lost all four of them within two years!"