"_Pardi!_ he says like this: 'Tell me, my good man; your comrade who used to stand yonder, young Paul, is never in his place now; what has become of him? is he sick?'--I wasn't fool enough to tell him the truth, you understand, so I says: 'No, monsieur; he hasn't been coming here for some time, and I think he's given up the business. But I am here, monsieur, to do any errands you want done; tell me what you want, and I'll go.'--'I was anxious to see your comrade and talk to him,' says he; 'I take an interest in him; where does he live? can you give me his address?'--'Wait a minute,' says I; 'he lives in a street I don't know the name of, but I think it's No. 2 or No. 4--an even number, anyway.'--At that, my man went off as if he was mad, and I says to myself: 'Sold again!'" "But if he really has business with Paul--why not send him to him?" "Not much! Catch me sending customers to others, when we're short of 'em ourselves! that would be too soft. And, besides, did he ever tell us his address, the fox? do we know where he lives?" "No; but since that unfortunate fall, which I was responsible for, you know that he has been living in Bastringuette's room and that she is taking care of him; you must know it--as it was you who told me." "Yes, to be sure he's with her. Instead of having him taken to the hospital, where he'd have been taken care of for nothing, she took him to her own room; she's his nurse, his _sœur de pot_. Gad! a woman must love a man, to spend all her money in drugs and medicines for him! But it seems she does love him--with fire and blood!" Sans-Cravate gnawed his nails, but said nothing. After a few minutes, he asked, in a low tone: "How about his wound? isn't it getting better? Won't he soon be well?" "Oh! I don't know! that is to say, yes--the wound on the head's better; it's all healed; but it seems that the arm will take longer; he broke something or other when he fell, and that can't be put right in a minute." "What surprises me," said Sans-Cravate, after a pause, "is that the little dressmaker hasn't come once to ask us about him." "_Pardi!_ she's probably done the same as he has--some other love affair; and the proof is that she don't come to her work as early as she used to; and she goes away much earlier. She has assignations to keep, no doubt. Bah! it's no use, I can't swallow this dry; it scrapes my throat; I must have a drink! Come on, Sans-Cravate, let's go to that other wine shop, on the right; you can say it's to be charged to you, and they'll trust you." "No; I don't propose to get trusted any more. When we haven't got any money, we must drink water." "Why, that's nonsense! on the contrary, when you haven't got any money, you get tight to forget your troubles. Come on; I'll treat, and owe you the money." "No, I won't go!"