"Ah! good, I see!" I replied; and I strode over the barrier in my turn, the reverse way; so that, contrary to the action of my place-seller, who had come without from within, I went from the outside within. I did not understand matters at all. After a second, there was a movement forward. They were just opening the offices. I was carried forward with the crowd, and ten minutes later, I found myself in front of the grating. "Well, monsieur, aren't you going to take your ticket?" asked my neighbour. "My ticket? What do you mean?" "Of course, your ticket!" answered someone just behind me. "If you aren't going to take your ticket, at least allow us to take ours." And a light thrust showed the desire of those behind me to have their turn. "But," I said, "surely I have bought my place ...?" "Your place ...?" "Yes, I gave twenty sous for it, as you saw.... Why, I gave twenty sous to that man who sold me his place!" "Oh, his place in the queue!" exclaimed my neighbours; "but his place in the queue is not his place inside the theatre." "He told me that, with his place, I could go where I liked." "Of course you can go where you like; take a stage-box. You can do what you like, and you can go where you like. But tickets for the stage-boxes are at the other office." "Forward! forward! hurry up!" exclaimed those near me. "Gentlemen, clear the gangway, if you please," cried a voice. "It is this gentleman, who will not take his ticket, and who prevents us from getting ours!" cried a chorus of my neighbours. "Come, come, make up your mind." The murmurs grew, and with them ringing in my ears, by degrees it dawned upon me what had been pretty clearly dinned into me--namely, that I had bought my place in the queue, and not my place in the theatre. So, as people were beginning to hustle me in a threatening fashion, I drew a six-francs piece from my pocket and asked for a pit ticket. They gave me four francs six sous, and a ticket which had been white. It was time! I was immediately carried away by a wave of the crowd. I presented my once white ticket to the check-taker: they gave me in exchange a ticket that had been red. I went down a corridor to the left; I found a door on my left with the word PARTERRE written over it, and I entered. And now I understood the truth of what the _habitué_ who had sold me his place for twenty sous had said. Although I had scarcely fifteen or twenty people in front of me in the queue, the pit was nearly full. A most compact nucleus had formed beneath the lights, and I realised then that those must be the best places. I immediately resolved to mix with this group, which did not look to me to be too closely packed, for a good place therein. I climbed over the benches, as I had seen several other people do, and balancing myself, on the tops of their curved backs, I hastened to reach the centre.