"You must go, Miss Julie," Emmanuel said.
"Go there?" she murmured.
"Yes. I'll accompany you."
"But didn't you read that I must be alone?"
"You will be alone," the young man replied. "I'll wait at the corner of Museum Street. If you're gone so long that I become worried, I'll come find you. And woe to anyone you have cause to complain about!"
"So, Emmanuel, you think I should obey this invitation?"
"Yes. Didn't the messenger say your father's safety depended on it?"
"But what danger threatens him?"
Emmanuel hesitated, but his desire to make Julie decide immediately compelled him to answer.
"Listen," he said. "Today is September 5th, correct?"
"Yes."
"Today at eleven o'clock, your father must pay nearly three hundred thousand francs, right?"
"Yes, we know that."
"Well, we don't have fifteen thousand francs in the house."
"What will happen then?"
"If your father doesn't find someone to help him before eleven o'clock today, he'll be forced to declare bankruptcy at noon."
