an explanation at a later hour.

Césarine was still watching him when she saw him disappear suddenly. It
was in crossing an unnailed plank thrown across a drain-cutting. This
must have turned or broken under his feet unexpectedly, for his fall was
complete. In the ditch which received him, darkness ruled but it seemed
to Césarine that more shadows than one were engaged in deadly strife,
standing deep in the mire. They wore the aspect of the demons dragging
down a soul in an infernal bog.

What increased the horror was the silence in which the tragedy was
enacted; probably the unfortunate Gratian had been seized by the throat
as soon as he dropped confused into the assassin's clutches.

Halfway between this scene and the dismayed looker on, another shadow
rose and appeared to take the direction to accost her instead of
hurrying to the victim's succor. This made him resemble an accomplice,
and, breaking the spell, Césarine hurried on without the power to force
a scream for help from her choking throat.

At that moment, while a strong fascination kept her head turned toward
the field, a long beam from the locomotive's head-light shot across it.
It fell for an instant on the solitary form and though its arm made an
upward movement to obscure its face, she believed that she recognized
her husband.

Clemenceau on her track! Clemenceau, in concord with the bravest who had
smothered her gallant in the mud! she had scorned him too much! He was
capable even of cowardly acts, of being revenged for this renewed
disgrace upon his ill-fated house!