This was
the first time she had ever been present at a death-bed; the
stillness in the room, the stupor of despair that had seized on
Gabriel, so horrified her, that she was almost as helpless as the
two children by her side. It was not till the dawn looked in at
the cottage window--so coldly, so drearily, and yet so
re-assuringly--that she began to recover her self-possession at
all. Then she knew that her best resource would be to summon
assistance immediately from the nearest house. While she was
trying to persuade the two children to remain alone in the
cottage with Gabriel during her temporary absence, she was
startled by the sound of footsteps outside the door. It opened,
and a man appeared on the threshold, standing still there for a
moment in the dim, uncertain light.
She looked closer--looked intently at him. It was Francois
Sarzeau himself.
CHAPTER II.
The fisherman was dripping with wet; but his face, always pale
and inflexible, seemed to be but little altered in expression by
the perils through which he must have passed during the night.
Young Pierre lay almost insensible in his arms. In the
astonishment and fright of the first moment, Perrine screamed as
she recognized him.
"There, there, there!" he said, peevishly, advancing straight to
the hearth with his burden; "don't make a noise. You never
expected to see us alive again, I dare say.
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