"Oh, a gentleman made me a present of 'em, down the street--say, they've got hides like linseed plasters, hain't they?" "Where are you taking them, Gavroche?" "To my lodging--the Elephant." "The Elephant!" "Yes--the El-e-phant. Any complaints?" "You don't mean Napoleon's monument?" "I mean Napoleon's monument--You see when Napoleon left for Elba, he put me in charge of the Elephant. Forward, march, there, brats! Good evenin', Montparnasse." On arriving at the Elephant, Gavroche climbed up and then invited his friends to come up. "Hey, there, brat senior--see that ladder? Well, put your foot on--Now ye ain't agoin' ter be afraid are ye? Here, give me your hands--Now--up--There, you stand still now, till I git yer little brother up--Here, brat junior. Oh, can't you reach that ladder? Well, step on the Elephant's corn then--That's the way--Now--up--There! Now, gentlemen, you're on the inside of the Elephant. Don't ye feel something like Jonah? But stop yer talkin' now fer we're goin' straight ter bed. This way to yer sleepin' apartments--Here, brat junior, we'll wrap you up in this blanket." "O, thank you, sir. It's so nice and warm." "Well, that's what the monkeys thought. Here, senior, you take this mattress. Ye see, I stole these from the Jardin de Plants. But I told the animals over there that they were fer the Elephant and they said that was all right. Are ye in bed? Now I am goin' ter suppress de candelabra. [Blows out candle.] Whew! listen to it rain. How the rain do be runnin' down the legs of this here house. That's first class thunder too. Whew! that's no slouch uv a streak uv lightnin' nuther. Here, calm down there, gentlemen, or ye'll topple over this edifice. Time ter sleep now, good-night. Shut yer peepers!" "Oh, sir?" "Hey?" "What's that noise?" "Why--it's--rats." "Oh, sir." "Hey?" "What is rats?" "Oh--rats--is--mice." "Sir?" "Hey?" "Why don't you get a cat?" "Oh--I--I did have--a cat and--and the rats eat 'er up." "Boo-hoo. Will they eat us up too?" "Ah--no--they won't eat you. You ain't got enough meat on you. Besides I got 'em all screened off with a wire. They can't get at ye. See here--Ef yer goin' ter be afraid, take hold er my hand an' I'll lay down long side o' yer and go ter sleep--Now I fergot ter tell you gentlemen that when ye wake up--I'll be gone, fer business calls me early, but ye're to make this yer home jes' as long as yer wants ter and come here jes' whenever yer wants ter. Now fer the last time--good-night!" FOOTNOTE: [69] A dramatization from "Les Miserables," by Lucy Dean Jenkins. THE HAZING OF VALIANT ANONYMOUS She was a small girl, but her sense of the ridiculous was tremendous. All summer long she sat on the sand and was nice to two boys, a sub-freshman and a sophomore. The sub-freshman's name was Valiant; he had a complexion that women envied, he was small and dainty and smelled sweet. The other, whose name was Buckley, was bigger and much more self-assertive.