"Well!" he said to himself, "if it isn't a horse without its rider!--some fine gentleman has got himself landed already." As he drew nearer, he saw that the horse had a lady's saddle, and he uttered a cry as he perceived Bijou lying on her back on the grass to the right of the path. One of her arms was stretched out crosswise, and the other was down at her side, her eyes were closed, and her lips parted.
Bernès sprang to the ground, fastened his horse up, and then taking Denyse in his arms, tried to prop her up against a tree. When, however, the girl's head fell languidly on his shoulder, he drew her to him, and, bending over her, kissed her soft curly hair over and over again.
"Bijou, dear Bijou!" he murmured, in spite of himself; "listen to me, will you? answer me--speak to me--I am so wretched seeing you like this."
At the end of two or three minutes Denyse gave a very gentle sigh, and opened her eyes slowly.
At the sight of Bernès her grave face lighted up with a smile.
"Ah!" she murmured, "wasn't it stupid, that fall?"
"I don't know. I fancy my horse put his foot in a hole."
"Not the least bit in the world!" And then she added pensively: "It's very nice of you to trouble about me, and all the more so as you do not like me, I know."
Hubert de Bernès turned as red as a tomato.
"Well, but," he began, in an anxious voice, "tell me at least whatever makes you imagine such a thing?"
"Oh, everything and nothing; it would take too long to explain. Well, this morning, for instance, when I asked you to go with us to the theatre, you looked quite annoyed, and you refused; oh, yes--out and out. Well, why did you refuse?"
"There you see, you cannot find a word to say, not even the most common-place excuse."
Shaking her head so that her hair came down and fell over the young man's shoulder and against his face, she went on talking, laughing all the time, and still leaning against him for support.
"I don't mind, though, at all, for whether you want to or not now, you will have to come with us to the theatre; you cannot refuse."
"Oh, there is no but about it. I will have that now for the payment of our bet."
"Well, did we not make a bet? I, that there would be an accident, because there always are accidents, you know; and you, that there would not be one at all."