He called for aid, but all was silent and dark. He knew that he was sinking, and that the end was near. Suddenly a voice shouted:
"Courage! we are coming." And two men appeared swimming vigorously.
"I have one, Bobichel!"
"And I have another, Monsieur Fanfar."
With their burthens our old friends reached the shore.
"God grant that it is not too late!" said Fanfar, kneeling by the side of the two inanimate forms. "What had we best do?"
"Take them up on our shoulders, sir, and carry them along. Fortunately, the house is not far off."
And Bobichel threw Sanselme over his shoulder as easily as if he had been a bag of meal, while Fanfar took the woman. They stopped at a small house not far from the Quai; every blind was closed; Fanfar uttered a peculiar cry.
"Is that you?" asked a woman's voice.
"Myself," answered Fanfar.