Page:The Story of Manon Lescaut and of the Chevalier des Grieux.pdf/222

226 disconcerted her. She attempted to reply, but could only falter out "buts" and "ifs," until, pitying her confusion, I interrupted her to say firmly that I expected her to leave the house with me at once.

"I shall do so willingly," she replied. "But you do not approve of my project, then?"

"What more can you ask," I exclaimed in response, "than that I should approve of all that you have done so far?"

"But surely you cannot object to our taking the money, at all events? It is my own; he gave it to me."

I advised her to relinquish everything, and to think only of making good our flight; for, though I had been with her barely half an hour, I was in terror lest G M might return at any moment. She begged so earnestly, however, for my consent to our not leaving empty-handed, that I thought it only fair to yield a little to her wishes, when she had yielded so much to mine.

While we were occupied in the preparations for our departure, I heard some one knocking at the street-door. I fully believed it to be G M, and, in my desperation at this thought, I told Manon that if he made his appearance it would be to meet his death. Nor had I, indeed, as yet regained sufficient calmness to have been