"No, no, my girl; it is not your fault. You live with rogues--you do as they do without knowing it. When you are with honest people, you will do as they do; and you soon shall be there--or deuce take me! Good-night!" "Good-night, brother;" and, embracing them both, Martial departed. "What is the matter, Francois? you look so sad!" said Amandine. "Brother has taken my handkerchief; and, besides, did you not hear?" "What?" "He wants to make us apprentices." "Are you not glad?" "Faith, no!" "You would rather remain here, and be beaten every day?" "I am beaten; but I don't have to work. I am all day in the boat, or fishing or playing, or serving the company, who sometimes give me something for drink, as the lame man did; it is much more amusing than to be shut up from morning till night in a shop, to work like a dog." "But did you not hear brother say, if we remained here any longer we would become bad?" "All the same to me, since other children call us already little thieves. Work is too tiresome." "But here they always beat us!" "They beat us because we listen more to Martial than to them." "He is so good to us." "He is good, he is good, I do not deny; so I love him well. They do not dare to harm us before him. He takes us out to walk, it is truer but that is all; he never gives us anything." "Brother, he has nothing; what he earns he gives to our mother for board." "Nicholas has something. I am sure that if we were to listen to him and mother, he would not treat us so; he would give us fine things, like to-day; he would no longer suspect us; we should have money, like Tortillard." "But we should have to steal, and that would cause brother Martial so much sorrow!" "Can't help that!" "Oh, Francois! Besides, if they caught us, we should go to prison." "In prison, or shut up all day in a shop, is the same thing. Besides, the lame man said they amused them--selves so much in prison." "But the sorrow we would cause to Martial--don't you think of that? It is on our account he came back here, and now remains; alone, he could easily get along: he could return and poach in the woods he likes so well." "Well! let him take us in the woods with him," said Francois: "that would be best of all; I would be with him I love so much, and I should not have to work at a trade I cannot bear." The conversation of Francois and Amandine was interrupted. Their door locked on the outside with a double turn. "We are shut up!" cried Francois. "Oh! what for, brother? What are they going to do with us?" "Perhaps it is Martial." "Listen, listen, his dog barks!" said Amandine. "It sounds to me as if they were hammering something," said Francois; "perhaps they are trying to break open Martial's door!" "Yes, yes, his dog barks all the time." "Listen, Francois! now it sounds like driving nails. Oh, dear, I am afraid. What could brother have done? now hear how his dog howls!" "Amandine, I hear nothing now," said Francois, approaching the door.