At sea, on the following day, the first of April. Bound for Saint Nazaire. A full spread of canvas; a strong breeze from the north-west: the weather bad; the lighthouses no longer visible. We came into dock in the small hours, with a damaged bow and a broken foretopmast. The 2nd is pay day. Drunken men stumble in the hold in the dark and there are broken heads. A little liberty of two days, quite unexpected. On the road with Yves for Trémeulé in Toulven. This _Sèvre_ is a good boat which never takes us away for long. At ten o'clock at night, in the moonlight, we knock at the door of the old Keremenens and of Marie, who were not expecting us. They wake up little Pierre in our honour, and sit him on our knees. Surprised in his first sleep he smiles and says how do you do to us very low, but afterwards does not make much ado about our visit. His eyes close in spite of himself and he cannot hold up his head. And Yves, disturbed at this, seeing him hanging his head, and looking at us in sidelong fashion, his hair in his eyes: "You know, it seems to me that he has . . . that he has . . . a sly look." And he looks at me anxious to know what I think of it, conceiving already a grave misgiving about the future. Nobody in the world but my dear old Yves would have felt concern on such ludicrous grounds. I shake little Pierre, who thereupon becomes wide awake and bursts out laughing, his fine big eyes well opened between their long lashes. Yves is reassured and finds that in fact he does not look at all sly. When his mother strips him, he looks like a classic baby, like the Greek statues of Cupid. CHAPTER LXX Toulven, 30_th April._ The cottage of the old Keremenens, as darkness is falling on an evening of April. Our little party has just returned from a walk: Yves, Marie, Anne, little Corentine "golden locks," and "little black man" Pierre. _Four_ candles are burning in the cottage (_three_ would be unlucky). On an old table of massive oak, polished by the years, there are paper, pens and sand. Benches have been placed round. Very solemn things are about to happen. We put down our harvest of herbs and flowers, which shed a perfume of April in the old cottage, and take our places. Presently two dear old women enter with an important air: they say good evening with a curtsey, which makes their large starched collarettes stand upright, and sit down in a corner. Then Pierre Kerbras, who is engaged to Anne. At last everybody is placed and we are all complete. It is the great evening for the settlement of the family arrangements, when the old Keremenens are going to fulfil the promise they have made to their children. The two of them rise and open an old chest on which the carvings represent Sacred Hearts alternating with cocks; they remove papers, clothing, and from the bottom, take a little sack which seems heavy. Then they go to their bed, lift up the mattress and search beneath: a second sack!