and dusted, and, towards eight o'clock, prepared M. Lemonnier's
breakfast.

But she did not dare bring it to her master, knowing too well how she
would be received; she waited for him to ring. But he did not ring. Nine
o'clock, then ten o'clock went by.

Celeste, not knowing what to think, prepared her tray and started up with
it, her heart beating fast.

She stopped before the door and listened. Everything was still. She
knocked; no answer. Then, gathering up all her courage, she opened the
door and entered. With a wild shriek, she dropped the breakfast tray
which she had been holding in her hand.

In the middle of the room, M. Lemonnier was hanging by a rope from a ring
in the ceiling. His tongue was sticking out horribly. His right slipper
was lying on the ground, his left one still on his foot. An upturned
chair had rolled over to the bed.

Celeste, dazed, ran away shrieking. All the neighbors crowded together.
The physician declared that he had died at about midnight.

A letter addressed to M. Duretdur was found on the table of the suicide.
It contained these words:

"I leave and entrust the child to you!"