"Welcome, a thousand times welcome!" he said, with trembling voice. "How long have I desired to see this moment, and how happy I am that it has come at last! You are saved, yon are restored to freedom, to life, and there is in store for you, I hope, a great and brilliant future!"
"Then I shall have to thank you for it, my cousin," said the boy, with his sweet, resonant voice. "You have released me from the dreadful prison, and I thank you for life. I am glad, too, that I see you at last, for I wanted so much to express my thanks, and every evening I have prayed to God to grant me the happiness of greeting my dear cousin, the Prince de Conde."
The joyous light had long since faded from the face of the prince, and a cloud was gathering on his brow, as, with a timid, searching look, he glanced around, as if he feared that some one besides himself might hear the words of the boy.
"Do not call me your cousin," he said, softly; and even his voice was changed, and became cold and husky.
The boy fixed his great blue eyes with an expression of astonishment on the gloomy countenance of the Prince de Conde.
"You are no longer glad to see me here? Is it disagreeable to you for me to call you my cousin?"
The prince made no answer at once, but walked up and down with great strides, and then stood still before the boy, who had calmly observed his impatient motions.
"Let us sit down," said the Prince de Conde—" let us sit down and talk."
He gave his hand to the boy, led him to the divan, and took his own place upon an easy-chair, directly opposite to the child.
"Let us talk," he repeated. "I should like to know, in the first place, whether you have a good memory, for I have been told that your head has suffered, and that you have no recollection of the past."