Fanfaro, who only thought that the horse had run away with the marquis, cried in vain to the rider, and so he had to foot the distance, muttering as he went:
"If the poor fellow only doesn't get hurt; he is still feeble, and the horse needs a competent rider."
CHAPTER IX
THE GRATITUDE OF A NOBLEMAN
Fanfaro was hardly a hundred feet away from Sainte-Ame, when Girdel opened his eyes and looked about him.
"What, my little Caillette is weeping!" he muttered, half-laughing. "Child, you probably thought I was dead?"
"Oh, God be praised and thanked!" cried Caillette, springing up and falling upon her father's neck.
Bobichel almost sprung to the ceiling, and Schwan, between laughing and crying, exclaimed: