morning early at the same hour.  “Ah! two o’clock, drinking is over,” and he started up as though some one had pulled him off the couch.  “What! two o’clock already?” He sat on the edge of the couch and then recollected everything, in an instant it all came back!  At first he thought he was going out of his mind, a strange chill pervaded his frame, but the cold arose from the fever which had seized upon him during his sleep.  He shivered until his teeth chattered, and all his limbs fairly shook.  He went to the door, opened it, and listened; all was silent in the house.  With astonishment he turned and looked round the room.  How could he have come home the night before, not bolted the door, and thrown himself on the couch just as he was, not only not undressed, but with his hat on?  There it lay in the middle of the floor where it had rolled.  “If anyone came in, what would he think?  That I am drunk, of course.”

He went to the window—­it was pretty light—­and looked himself all over from head to foot, to see if there were any stains on his clothes.  But he could not rely upon that sort of inspection; so, still shivering, he undressed and examined his clothes again, looking everywhere with the greatest care.  To make quite sure, he went over them three times.  He discovered nothing but a few drops of clotted blood on the ends of his trousers which were very much frayed.  He took a big clasp-knife and cut off the frayed edges.  Suddenly he remembered that the purse and the things he had abstracted from the old woman’s chest, were still in his pockets!  He had never thought of taking them out and hiding them! indeed, it had never crossed his mind that they were in his pockets while examining his clothes!  Was it possible?  In a second he emptied all out on to the table in a heap.  Then, turning his pockets inside out to make sure there was nothing left in them, he carried the things to a corner of the room.  Just there, the paper was hanging loose from the wall; he bent down and commenced to stuff all the things into a hole behind the paper.  “There, it’s all out of sight!” thought he gleefully, as he stood gazing stupidly at the spot where the paper bulged out more than ever.  Suddenly he began to shudder from terror.  “Good heavens!” murmured he in despair, “what is the matter with me?  Is that hidden?  Is that the way to hide anything?”

Indeed, he had not reckoned on such spoil, he had only thought of taking the old woman’s money; so he was not prepared with a hiding place for the jewels.  “I have no cause to rejoice now,” thought he.  “Is that the way to hide anything?  I must really be losing my senses!” He sunk on the couch again exhausted; another fit of intolerable shivering seized him, and he mechanically pulled his old student’s cloak over him for warmth, as he fell into a delirious sleep.  He lost all consciousness of himself.  Not more than five minutes had elapsed before he woke up in intense excitement, and bent over