but his heart thumped in his chest when he heard christine's door turn slowly on its hinges.where could she be going, at this hour, when every one was fast asleep at perros? softly opening the door, he saw christine's white form, in the moonlight, slipping along the passage.
she went down the stairs and he leaned over the baluster above her.
suddenly he heard two voices in rapid conversation.he caught one sentence: "don't lose the key."it was the landlady's voice.the door facing the sea was opened and locked again.then all was still.
raoul ran back to his room and threw back the window.
christine's white form stood on the deserted quay.
the first floor of the setting sun was at no great height and a tree growing against the wall held out its branches to raoul's impatient arms and enabled him to climb down unknown to the landlady.
her amazement, therefore, was all the greater when, the next morning, the young man was brought back to her half frozen, more dead than alive, and when she learned that he had been found stretched at full length on the steps of the high altar of the little church.
she ran at once to tell christine, who hurried down and, with the help of the landlady, did her best to revive him.
he soon opened his eyes and was not long in recovering when he saw his friend's charming face leaning over him.
a few weeks later, when the tragedy at the opera compelled the intervention of the public prosecutor, m.mifroid, the commissary of police, examined the vicomte de chagny touching the events of the night at perros.i quote the questions and answers as given in the official report pp.150 et seq.:
q."did mlle.daae not see you come down from your room by the curious road which you ed?"r."no, monsieur, no, although, when walking behind her, i took no pains to deaden the sound of my footsteps.in fact, i was anxious that she should turn round and see me.i realized that i had no excuse for following her and that this way of spying on her was unworthy of me.but she seemed not to hear me and acted exactly as though i were not there.she quietly left the quay and then suddenly walked quickly up the road.the church-clock had struck a quarter to twelve and i thought that this must have made her hurry, for she began almost to run and continued hastening until she came to the church."q."was the gate open?"