What
will they think at the house? What will they say?"
M. Fortunat had drawn his clerk a little on one side. "Victor,"
said he, quickly and earnestly, "I must go at once. Everything
has been paid for; but in case you need some money for a cab or
anything of the sort, here are ten francs. If there's any you
don't use, keep it for yourself. I leave this fool in your
charge, take care of him."
The sight of the ten-franc piece made Chupin's face brighten a
little. "Very well," he replied. "I understand the business. I
served my apprenticeship as a 'guardian angel' when my grandmother
kept the Poivriere."*
* See "Lecoq the Detective" by Emile Gaboriau
"Above all, don't let him return home in his present state."
"Have no fears, monsieur, I must talk business with him, and so I
shall have him all right in a jiffy." And as M. Fortunat made his
escape, Chupin beckoned to the waiter, and said:
"Fetch me some very strong coffee, a handful of salt, and a lemon.
There's nothing better for bringing a drunken man to his senses."
XV.
M. Fortunat left the restaurant, almost on the run, for he feared
that he might be pursued and overtaken by M. Casimir. But after
he had gone a couple of hundred paces, he paused, not so much to
take breath, as to collect his scattered wits; and though the
weather was cold, he seated himself on a bench to reflect.
Never in all his changeful life had he known such intense anxiety
and torturing suspense as he had just experienced in that little
room in the restaurant.
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