"Speak; what do you wish to know?"
"What did you find out about my mother?"
"That she was the victim of a conflagration. She was in a farmhouse which had been set fire to by Cossacks."
"And my father?"
"He died the death of a hero, fighting for his country."
"As far as my memory goes," said Fanfaro, pensively, "I was in a large, dark room. It must have been a subterranean chamber. My parents had intrusted my little sister to my care. I held her by the hand, but suddenly I lost her and could never find her again."
"I know, I know," said Girdel, sorrowfully.
"Since this evening," continued the young man, "I have been thinking of my poor little Louison. I have not been able to tell you yet that a respectable young girl, who earns her living by singing, was forcibly abducted from the Golden Calf this evening."
"Impossible! Monsieur Aube is a brave man," exclaimed Girdel, impatiently.
"Ah! Aube knows nothing of the matter. He is innocent. The villain who did it is a bad man, who has already crossed our path."