of  brightness,  to  sunshine  on  his  face  and  shadow,  to  the
pattering  lumps  of  dull  ice  on  his  body  and  the  diamonds
into  which  the  sun  changed  them,  until  the  sun  was  low  in
the  west,  and  the  sky  was  glowing.  Then,  the  mender  of
roads  having  got  his  tools  together  and  all  things  ready  to
go  down  into  the  village,  roused  him.
"Good!"  said  the  sleeper,  rising  on  his  elbow.  "Two
leagues  beyond  the  summit  of  the  hill.'"'

"  About.''

"About.     Good!"

The  mender  of  roads  went  home,  with  the  dust  going  on
before  him  according  to  the  set  of  the  wind,  and  was  soon  at
the  fountain,  squeezing  himself  in  among  the  lean  kine  brought
there  to  drink,  and  appearing  even  to  whisper  to  them  in  his
Avhispering  to  aU  the  village.  When  the  viUage  had  taken  its
poor  supper,  it  did  not  creep  to  bed,  as  it  usually  did,  but
came  out  of  doors  again,  and  remained  there.  A  curious  con-
tagion of  whispering  was  upon  it,  and  also,  when  it  gathered
together  at  the  fountain  in  the  dark,  another  curious  con-
tagion of  looking  expectantly  at  the  sky  in  one  direction
only.  Monsieur  Gabelle,  chief  functionary  of  the  place,  became
uneasy;  went  out  on  his  house-top  alone,  and  looked  in  that
direction  too ;  glanced  down  from  behind  his  chimneys  at  the
darkening  faces  by  the  fountain  below,  and  sent  word  to  the
sacristan  who  kept  the  keys  of  the  church,  that  there  might
be  need  to  ring  the  tocsin  by-and-by.
