Tabaret." Then, louder, he added, "I am thoroughly
convinced; for M. Gerdy has just this moment left me."
"You have seen Noel!" cried the old fellow. On the instant all his proud
self-satisfaction disappeared. A cloud of anxiety spread itself like
a veil over his beaming countenance. "Noel here," he repeated. Then he
timidly added: "And does he know?"
"Nothing," replied M. Daburon. "I had no need of mentioning your name.
Besides, had I not promised absolute secrecy?"
"Ah, that's all right," cried old Tabaret. "And what do you think sir,
of Noel?"
"His is, I am sure, a noble, worthy heart," said the magistrate; "a
nature both strong and tender. The sentiments which I heard him express
here, and the genuineness of which it is impossible to doubt, manifested
an elevation of soul, unhappily, very rare. Seldom in my life have I met
with a man who so won my sympathy from the first. I can well understand
one's pride in being among his friends."
"Just what I said; he has precisely the same effect upon every one. I
love him as though he were my own child; and, whatever happens, he
will inherit almost the whole of my fortune: yes, I intend leaving him
everything.
Pages:
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306