But he did not go to bed again and with flushed cheeks and bright eyes noiselessly put on his clothes.

Then he sat on a chair and waited.

When the dinner bell rang he listened for Count Muffat, who was on his way to the dining room, and ten minutes later, when he was certain that no one would see him, he slipped from the window to the ground with the assistance of a rain pipe.

His bedroom was situated on the first floor and looked out upon the rear of the house.

He threw himself among some bushes and got out of the park and then galloped across the fields with empty stomach and heart beating with excitement.