And then they'll let the doors slam behind
them for the express purpose of disturbing everybody. Fools, go!"
As if they had heard the command, they rose suddenly, and an
instant after they entered the Varietes. They entered, but Chupin
remained on the pavement, scratching his head furiously, in
accordance with his habit whenever he wished to develop his powers
of imagination. He was trying to think how he might procure
admission to the theatre without paying for it. For several years
he had seen every play put upon the stage in Paris, without
spending a sou, and he felt that it would be actually degrading to
purchase a ticket at the office now. "Pay to see a farce!" he
thought. "Not I. I must know some one here--I'll wait for the
entr'acte."
The wisdom of this course became apparent when among those who
left the theatre at the close of the first act he recognized an
old acquaintance, who was now working on the claque,* and who at
once procured him a ticket of admission for nothing. "Well, it is
a good thing to have friends everywhere," he muttered, as he took
the seat assigned him.
* The body of hired applauders who are employed at most Parisian
theatres to stimulate the enthusiasm of the audience.--[Trans.]
It was a very good place they had given him--a seat in the second
gallery commanding an excellent view of the house. The first
glance around told him that his "customers," as he styled them,
were in a box exactly opposite.
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