A rakish-looking footman opened the glass doors of the house, looked out and called ‘Poulet! Poulet!’ to the hound, but it paid no attention, so the footman sauntered to the stable and then to the coach-house, in search of a groom. As he passed the kennel, he kept at some distance from the chained dog, but addressed it in a conciliatory tone--‘Eh bien! Pigeon, mon ami! Soyez tranquil, cher Pigeon.’ But the Pigeon paid no more attention to this advice than did the Chicken to his calls. Not being able to find the groom, the footman leisurely visited the garden, and called, not too loudly, ‘Gustave!’ Gustave, the gardener, having at last turned up, a little conversation ensued between him and Adolphe, the footman, which ended in both appearing in the court, and making towards the hound from opposite quarters, Adolphe keeping unduly in the rear. Having approached the dog--which by this time had worked itself into a mad rage, apparently quite ungovernable--within such distance as Gustave, on one side, and Adolphe on the other, respectively thought consistent with prudence, ‘Come on, my brave fellow, excellent dog, worthy hound, trustiest of chickens!’ called Adolphe, ‘come, don’t be a naughty child. Come, be docile once more, and all shall be forgotten.’ ‘Come this way, you rascal!’ roared Gustave authoritatively, ‘come and let me chain you up, or, sapristi! I’ll dash your brains out, I’ll tear the liver out of you, I’ll poke your red eyes out, I’ll cut off your bloodthirsty tongue. Sacré! I give you three minutes by the clock, and, ventre gris! if you don’t obey me, I’ll be the death of you. Come, you insolent, audacious ruffian. Come this moment!’ But the dog paid not the slightest attention to the entreaties of Adolphe and the threats of Gustave. Lindet folded his arms, and looked on the men contemptuously. They were both afraid of the hound, but pretended that they were not. ‘You must give him rein,’ said Adolphe; ‘he will exhaust himself, and the poulet will be an angel once more.’ ‘Not for a moment,’ roared Gustave; ‘suffer that demon an inch of liberty; never! He shall be chained to a block of stone,--he shall not move a paw, he shall not open his mouth, he shall not wink an eye. He shall have no meat for a thousand days, till the devil in him is expelled!’ ‘I will fetch the dear fellow a sponge-cake. I know he loves sweets, do you not, my Poulet? And above all sweets, sponge-cake; yes, in one moment! Be gentle till my return.’ ‘I will get my double-weighted whip, with lead in it, and fifty thousand knots in the lash, and nails in each knot, and the nails rusty, and crooked, and spiked. Ah! ha! they will make the devil jump; they will make the devil bleed! Sapristi! I will cut and chop and mangle his accursed hide.’ ‘Bah!’ said a creaky voice.