"Take them with you, a coach waits at the door, which you will have to
pay for, with the other expenses. We can call on the owner of the
stones; if he is not at home you can place them in the registry at
Clichy; they will be as safe there as in the bank. Come, make haste;
we will slip away before your wife or children are aware of it."

"Grant me only till to-morrow, that I may bury my child!" entreated
Morel, with a supplicating voice, half stifled with the sobs he
endeavored to restrain.

"No! we have already lost more than an hour waiting here."

"This burying still worries you, then?" added Malicorne.

"Oh! yes, it makes me sad," said Morel, with bitterness; "you so much
fear to grieve people. Well, then, a last farewell!"

"There, again! confound you, make haste!" said Malicorne, with brutal
impatience.

"How long have you had the order to arrest me?"

"The judgment was signed four months since; but it was only yesterday
that our officer received instructions from the lawyer to put it in
execution."

"Yesterday only. Why was it delayed so long?"

"How can I tell? Come, pack up."