"Ah, behold, behold, _mon ami_," he said, "what joy is here. I came to get some pretty trifles for my daughters, Rose and Clotilde; but I will present them first to thee, _mon ami_. I have heard wonderful stories of this _établissement_. We are anxious to see _the little wonder_, as she is called. Ah, we see her not! Clotilde, make thy curtsey to M. le Comte St. Juste; Rose, do thou likewise."
"But--but----" said the astonished and amazed old Comte. "But--but----" mimicked the father of Rose and Clotilde. "I am the Marquis Odile. Thy cousin and thy friend, _mon ami_."
"I am bewildered," said the poor old Comte. "All day Rose and Clotilde have been with me. They brought me here; I thought them _charmantes_; but I see them not. What does all this mean?"
The trembling, terrified ladies who kept the _Cabinet de Beauté_ knew only too well what it all meant. The real Marquis and the real Marquises had appeared in the flesh. As fast as their trembling legs could carry them, they reached the door. They got into the automobile and drove to the _Cabinet de Beauté_.
"We have had a terrible escape," murmured M'selle Blanc. "Never, never will I undertake such work again," said M'selle Close.
Tremblingly they got off their hats and appeared in their usual dress.
The Marquis brought the Comte back to his château in his own automobile. The young Marquises Rose and Clotilde made him lie down, and petted him and talked to him as though they were his daughters.
When _la pauvre_ grand'mère entered, an hour or so later, she found her beloved one calm and easy in his mind. It was only after M. le Marquis and his beautiful young daughters had gone that he told her of his very great adventure.
"It was the biggest of all my life," he said. "Two ladies, _très belles_ and _très jeunes_, appeared and introduced themselves as _mes cousines_, _les_ Marquises Rose _et_ Clotilde. Ah, but they were _charmantes_. Then behold, they spoke to me of a wonder, a _très petite_ wonder in the _établissement_ of Madame Marcelle. They asked me to go with them to see her, and I went."
"Ah, but thou naughty one; thou adorable naughty one," said la Comtesse.
"But behold, listen," continued the old man. "I enjoyed myself; they were so gay, so young, so brilliant in the cheeks, so dainty in the chapeaux. Then I arrived. They took me in their own car; but I could not see that _petite_ wonder, who seems to rule the _établissement_; and suddenly, behold, the real Marquis Odile appeared with his beautiful daughters, Rose and Clotilde. Ah, but it was an adventure; it was wonderful. Thinkest thou, Madame beloved, that the others were--were spirits? I looked to right, I looked to left, and nowhere could I see them after the Marquis appeared. Thinkest thou they were spirits, Madame la Comtesse?"