Eusebe thought proper not to say a word about this affair to her who had been the involuntary cause of the quarrel. In this matter his native delicacy served him admirably. Adéonne would have thrown herself upon her knees and implored him not to fight, or she would have turned him out-of-doors if he had refused.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
About three-quarters of an hour after the combatants had quitted the Bois du Vésinet, two gendarmes arrived in the Avenue de la Grotte. They looked about them for a moment, and their attitude betokened disappointment.
“We have arrived too late,” said one.
“I doubt it,” rejoined the other.
“Good gentlemen, charity, if you please; for the love of God and the Holy Virgin, a little charity, if you please,” murmured a dolorous voice.
“Brigadier, suppose we seek information of the beggar.”
“It is our duty to push our inquiries to the furthest limit.”