Adèle brought her an enormous sheaf of flowers: roses, white lilac and camellias. A peasant had handed them to the servant without a word of explanation.
"But I know who sent them," said Adèle. "It can only be M. Beaufrelant. He has the finest hot-houses in the district; he is mad on flowers. Madame must have seen him in church: a tall, thin man, with whiskers."
Bouquetot, Adèle's husband, entered:
"An old woman has brought this letter for madame."
Gilberte opened the envelope. It contained a thousand-franc note and a few words written in a copper-plate hand on pink note-paper:
"A bank-note! It must be that moneybags of a M. le Hourteulx. Let me see the hand-writing. ... Yes, that's right; I was in service with him. ... Oh, my fine fellow, if you think that, because you possess hun-
