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"Let General de Prerolles be the lover of Madame de Lisieux or of Madame de Nointel; let him sit every day at their tables if there be only a husband whose hand he may clasp in greeting, no one will call this hospitable liaison a crime!
He pillaged the farms, stopped railway trains, boldly demanding ransom from captives from the municipal governments of large towns. He was continually, active, and always inaccessible. Warned by his scouts that the followers of this villain menaced the town of Pazcuaro, Captain de Prerolles prepared himself eagerly to meet them.
But, as often happens in such circumstances, his opponent, Henri de Prerolles, persisted in his vain battle against ill-luck, until at three o'clock in the morning, controlling his shaken nerves and throwing down his cards, without any apparent anger, he said: "Will you tell me, gentlemen, how much I owe you?"
"You know that you have not, since, as I look at you and listen to you, I know not which I admire more-your beauty or the treasures of your heart!" "Then come!" "Whither?" "To Prerolles, where all is ready to receive you." "Well, since this is a tale from the Arabian Nights, let us follow it to the end! I will go!" said Henri.
But, with an exceptional woman, like Mademoiselle de Vermont, brought up in view of wide horizons, in the midst of plains cleared by bold pioneers, among whom the most valorous governed the others, a man like General de Prerolles realized her ideal all the more, because both their natures presented the same striking characteristics: carelessness of danger, and frankness carried to its extremest limit.
The third road, constructed between the two lines which met at Creil, passing, the one by way of Chantilly, the other, by Pontoise, was not in existence in 1871, when, after the war, Jeanne and Henri de Prerolles went to visit the spot, already unrecognizable, where they had passed their childhood.
Henri de Prerolles, resuming his sang-froid, drew the hand of Mademoiselle de Vermont through his arm, and escorted her to her place among the other ladies. "Bravo, General!" said Madame de Lisieux. "You have won your decoration, I see," she added, indicating the rosebud which adorned his buttonhole. "What shall we call this new order, ladies?" asked Madame de Nointel of the circle.
Henri de Prerolles had entered his sister's carriage, in company with Madame Desvanneaux and Madame Thomery, and during the drive home, these two gentle dames for the daughter was worthy of the mother did not fail to sneer at the fair stranger, dilating particularly upon the impropriety of the challenging salute she had given to the General, with whom she was unacquainted.
Talent being the guaranty of good companionship, this salon became much frequented, and General de Prerolles had become one of its most assiduous visitors. The first act had begun.
"Where the deuce does Christian charity come in, in all this gossip?" said Henri de Prerolles to himself, who had just entered the box and overheard the last remarks. "Will you grant me your hospitality until the beginning of the next act, gentlemen?" he said aloud. "My sister's box is full of guests and transient visitors; she can not admit even me!"
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