M. Fortunat had made quick work with his clients
that morning, and was ready, dressed to go out. He took up his
hat and said only the one word, "Come." The place where the agent
conducted his clerk was the wine-shop in the Rue de Berry, where
he had made inquiries respecting Madame d'Argeles the evening
before; and on arriving there, he generously offered him a
breakfast. Before entering, however, he pointed out Madame
d'Argeles's pretty house on the opposite side of the street, and
said to him: "The woman whom you are to follow, and whose son you
are to discover, will emerge from that house "
At that moment, after a night passed in meditating upon his
mother's prophetic warnings, Chupin was again beset by the same
scruples which had so greatly disturbed him on the previous
evening. However, they soon vanished when he heard the wine-
vendor, in reply to M. Fortunat's skilful questions, begin to
relate all he knew concerning Madame Lia d'Argeles, and the
scandalous doings at her house. The seeker after lost heirs and
his clerk were served at a little table near the door; and while
they partook of the classical beef-steak and; potatoes--M.
Fortunat eating daintily, and Chupin bolting his food with the
appetite of a ship-wrecked mariner--they watched the house
opposite.
Madame d'Argeles received on Saturdays, and, as Chupin remarked,
"there was a regular procession of visitors."
Standing beside M.
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