第550章

The orphans, still under the impression of the terrible danger from which Gabriel had rescued them without their knowing it, were both excessively pale; yet their eyes were expressive of firm resolution.They had determined not only to perform what they considered an imperative duty, but to prove themselves worthy of their valiant father; they were acting too for their mother's sake, since they had been told that, dying in Siberia without receiving the sacrament, her eternal felicity might depend on the proofs they gave of Christian devotion.Need we add that the Princess de Saint-Dizier, following the advice of Rodin, had, in a second interview, skillfully brought about without the knowledge of Dagobert, taken advantage of the excitable qualities of these poor, confiding, simple, and generous souls, by a fatal exaggeration of the most noble and courageous sentiments.The orphans having asked Sister Martha if Madame Augustine du Tremblay had been brought to this asylum within the last three days, that person had answered, that she really did not know, but, if they would go through the women's wards, it would be easy for them to ascertain.For the abominable hypocrite, who, in conjunction with Rodin, had sent these two children to encounter a mortal peril, had told an impudent falsehood when she affirmed that their governess had been removed to this hospital.During their exile, and their toilsome journey with Dagobert, the sisters had been exposed to many hard trials.But never had they witnessed so sad a spectacle as that which now offered itself to their view.

The long row of beds, on which so many poor creatures writhed in agony, some uttering deep groans, some only a dull rattle in the throat, some raving in the delirium of fever, or calling on those from whom they were about to part forever--these frightful sights and sounds, which are too much even for brave men, would inevitably, (such was the execrable design of Rodin and his accomplices) make a fatal impression on these young girls, urged by the most generous motives to undertake this perilous visit.And then--sad memory! which awoke, in all its deep and poignant bitterness, by the side of the first beds they came to--it was of this very malady, the Cholera, that their mother had died a painful death.

Fancy the twins entering this vast room, of so fearful an aspect, and, already much shaken by the terror which Morok had inspired, pursuing their search in the midst of these unfortunate creatures, whose dying pangs reminded them every instant of the dying agony of their mother!

For a moment, at sight of the funeral hall, Rose and Blanche had felt their resolution fail them.A black presentiment made them regret their heroic imprudence; and, moreover, since several minutes they had begun to feel an icy shudder, and painful shootings across the temples; but, attributing these symptoms to the fright occasioned by Morok, their good and valiant natures soon stifled all these fears.They exchanged glances of affection, their courage revived, and both of them--Rose on one side of the partition, and Blanche on the other--proceeded with their painful task.Gabriel, carried to the doctors' private room, had soon recovered his senses.Thanks to his courage and presence of mind, his wound, cauterized in time, could have no dangerous consequences.As soon as it was dressed he insisted on returning to the women's ward, where he had be offering pious consolations to a dying person at the moment they had come to inform him of the frightful danger caused by the escape of Morok.

A few minutes before the missionary entered the room, Rose and Blanche arrived almost together at the term of their mournful search, one from the left, the other from the right-hand row of beds, separated by the partition which divided the hall into compartments.The sisters had not yet seen each other.Their steps tottered as they advanced, and they were forced, from time to time, to lean against the beds as they passed along.Their strength was--rapidly failing them.Giddy with fear and pain, they appeared to act almost mechanically.Alas! the orphans had been seized almost at the same moment with the terrible symptoms of cholera.In consequence of that species of physiological phenomenon, of which we have already spoken--a phenomenon by no means rare in twins, which had already been displayed on one or two occasions of their sickness--their organizations seemed liable to the same sensations, the same simultaneous accidents, like two flowers on one stem, which bloom and fade together.The sight of so much suffering, and so many deaths, had accelerated the development of this dreadful disease.Already, on their agitated and altered countenances, they bore the mortal tokens of the contagion, as they came forth, each on her own side, from the two subdivisions of the room in which they had vainly sought their governess.

Until now separated by the partition, Rose and Blanche had not yet seen each other; but, when at length their eyes met, there ensued a heart-

rending scene.