That is the way with suspicious people. They suspect everybody, save him who robs them, of course. For I was more and more convinced that Joseph had been the soul of this affair. For a long time I had watched him, not from any hostile feeling, as you may know, but from curiosity; and I was certain that this faithful and devoted servant, this unique pearl, was foraging in the house for all he was worth. He stole oats, coal, eggs, all sorts of little things that could be sold without giving any trace of their origin. And his friend, the sacristan, did not come to the harness-room in the evening for nothing, and simply to discuss the benefits of anti-Semitism. Being a circumspect, patient, prudent, methodical man, Joseph was not unaware that petty larcenies, committed daily, foot up largely at the end of the year, and I am persuaded that in this way he tripled and quadrupled his wages,--a thing never to be disdained. I know very well that there is a difference between these little thefts and such an audacious pillage as that of the night of December 24. That proves that he liked also to work on the grand scale. How do I know that Joseph was not then a member of a gang? Ah! how I should have liked to know all that, and how I should like to know it still. After the evening when he gave me the kiss that to me was equivalent to a confession of the crime, when his confidence went out to me in a moment of passion, Joseph steadily denied. In vain did I turn him this way and that, set traps for him, and wheedle him with soft words and caresses; he would not contradict himself. And he entered into the madness of Madame's hopes. He too concocted schemes, and tried to imagine the robbery in all its details; and he beat the dogs that did not bark, and he threatened with his fist the unknown thieves, the chimerical thieves, as if he saw them running at the horizon. I did not know what to think about this impenetrable man. One day I believed him guilty; another day I believed him innocent. And it was horribly provoking. We met again in the harness-room in the evening, as before. "Well, Joseph?" "Ah! it is you, Célestine!" "Why don't you speak to me any more? You seem to shun me." "Shun you? I? Oh! heavens!" "Yes, since that famous morning." "Don't talk of that, Célestine; you have too bad ideas." And he sadly wagged his head. "Come, Joseph, you know that I do that for fun. Would I love you, if you had committed such a crime? My little Joseph...." "Yes, yes. You are trying to wheedle me. It is not well." "And when are we to start? I cannot live here any longer." "Not directly. We must wait awhile." "But why?" "Because ... that cannot be done at once." A little piqued, I said in a tone of slight anger: "It is not nice of you. You evidently are in no hurry for me." "I?" cried Joseph, with ardent grimaces. "Why, I am crazy over you." "Well, then, let us start." But he was obstinate, refusing to explain further.