"Oh, how heavy!" she cried. This brought up Dard and
Jacintha, in time to see Rose pour ten shining gold pieces out of the
purse into her pink-white palm, while her face flushed and her eyes
glittered with excitement. Jacintha gave a scream of joy; "Our luck is
turned," she cried, superstitiously. Meanwhile, Josephine had found a
slip of paper close to the purse. She opened it with nimble fingers;
it contained one line in a hand like that of a copying clerk: FROM A
FRIEND: IN PART PAYMENT OF A GREAT DEBT.
Keen, piquant curiosity now took the place of surprise. Who could it
be? The baroness's suspicion fell at once on Dr. Aubertin. But Rose
maintained he had not ten gold pieces in the world. The baroness
appealed to Josephine. She only blushed in an extraordinary way, and
said nothing. They puzzled, and puzzled, and were as much in the dark as
ever, when lo! one of the suspected parties delivered himself into
the hands of justice with ludicrous simplicity. It happened to be Dr.
Aubertin's hour of out-a-door study; and he came mooning along, buried
in a book, and walked slowly into the group--started, made a slight
apology, and was mooning off, lost in his book again.
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