Catharine did not leave me; she sat by me and said, pressing my arm:
"You will return?"
"Yes, yes," said I, in a low voice. "And you—you will always think of me; you will not love another?"
She answered, sobbing:
"No, no! I will never love any but you."
This lasted a quarter of an hour, when the door opened and Captain Vidal entered, his cloak rolled like a hunting-horn over his shoulder.
"Well," said he, "well; how goes our young man?"
"Here he is," answered Monsieur Goulden.
"Ah!" remarked the captain; "you are making yourself miserable. It is natural. I remember when I departed for the army. We have all a home."
Then, raising his voice, he said: