"No, no! deuce take it! Passedix, not _six!_ You cut me down four points!" "That makes no difference! Well, monsieur le chevalier, I came away from the house because I felt as if I needed the fresh air--and then, to see a little of Paris, which I don't know at all." "In that case, my friend Cédrille--will you allow me to call you my friend? When two people have met on the field of battle, it seems to me that that brings them together at once. Brave men understand each other at a glance." "You are very polite! It's a great honor to me, Chevalier Passe--Passe----" "Dix.--Well, to return to our subject, if you will permit me, dear friend, I will be your pilot, your guide, this evening. But I shall not be able to show you what Paris contains in the way of beautiful and interesting churches, palaces, squares, and promenades, for the reason that it is dark, and, none of those lovely things being lighted, you would see nothing and your steps would be wasted." "Then you can't take me anywhere to-night? The deuce! that's a pity, for I feel just in the mood to enjoy myself. I don't want to go home to bed already, for I am not in the least sleepy." Passedix, who had had nothing to eat during the day except the two eggs he had swallowed so rapidly before his landlady's eyes, passed his hand across his forehead and, after pretending to reflect a moment, cried: "Yes, yes, cadédis! we will enjoy ourselves this evening. If we go along Rue Saint-Honoré, we shall find, just before we reach the Couvent des Capucines, a certain wine shop, the resort of lusty blades, good fellows like you and me; the curfew has not rung yet, so it will still be open; and even if the doors were closed, the habitués always have a way of gaining admission. Moreover, the keeper of the Loup de Mer--that is the name of the place--is an old soldier, an ex-trooper, who has friends in the watch--and they allow him to keep his guests later; indeed, I know some who pass the whole night there. Forward, my good friend, and let us betake ourselves to the Loup de Mer!" "All right; I will go I don't care where to-night, provided that we have some sport." "But I tell you that this wine shop is frequented by all the jovial blades and lovers of the sex in Paris. And then, it has a famous name for omelets _au lard_; they are excellent there. I once ate a dozen at a sitting; it was a wager, and I won it in a trice." "Ah! they make omelets _au lard_, do they?" muttered the Béarnais peasant, shaking his head; "what a pity that I ain't hungry! But I ate so much at the house that I couldn't eat a mouthful, on my word! I would much rather see something besides omelets." "If you are not hungry, you must be thirsty; good fellows are always thirsty." "Oh! as for drinking, why, I'll drink some more, although I have had a good deal now."