I shall be passing
again, or I will send one of my colleagues to see you."
It was Madame Vantrasson's turn to tremble now. She feared, if
she allowed this supposed clerk to go without signing the
agreement, that the person who came in his stead might not prove
so accommodating; and even if he called again himself, he might
not be so kindly disposed. "Wait just a moment longer, monsieur,"
she pleaded; "my husband will soon be back, and the last omnibus
doesn't leave the Rue de Levis until midnight."
"I wouldn't refuse, but this part of the suburbs is so lonely."
"Vantrasson will see you on your way." And, resolved to detain him
at any cost, she poured out a fresh glass of liquor for him, and
said: "Where were we? Oh, yes! I was about to tell you
Mademoiselle Hermine's story."
Concealing his delight with an assumed air of resignation, M.
Fortunat reseated himself, to the intense disgust of Chupin, who
was thoroughly tired of waiting outside in the cold.
"I must tell you," began Madame Vantrasson, "that when this
happened--at least twenty-five years ago--the De Chalusse family
lived in the Rue Saint-Dominique. They occupied a superb mansion,
with extensive grounds, full of splendid trees like those in the
Tuileries gardens. Mademoiselle Hermine, who was then about
eighteen or nineteen years old, was, according to all accounts,
the prettiest young creature ever seen. Her skin was as white as
milk, she had a profusion of golden hair, and her eyes were as
blue as forget-me-nots.
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