"If he waits until I get over the gout to fight with me," said Roncherolle to himself, "I fancy that our duel is indefinitely postponed. What a devil of a man!--Ah! that attack is passing away; that is lucky.--Poor Brevanne; he has hardly changed at all; and in the bottom of my heart I was secretly glad to see him, we used to be such good friends, and I should have been so happy to renew our friendship! He would not have turned his back on me, like all those others whom I obliged long ago, and who will have nothing to say to me now, because I lent them money and they don't want to repay it. But what is done is done. Oh! these women! they are the cause of all the follies that we commit." Beauvinet opened the hall door and put his head in, saying: "The gentleman who just went out said that monsieur had a bad attack and needed attention; so I came----" "Clear out and leave me in peace!" retorted Roncherolle, striking the floor angrily with his cane. The young man did not wait for that invitation to be repeated; he disappeared like a stage shadow-figure, and slammed the door behind his back. "But he will come again in a fortnight," reflected the invalid after a moment. "He is a man of his word, he won't fail to come; and if, as I must hope, I am in condition to walk, I shall have to meet him.--Fight with him! well, if he is obstinate about it, I will be equally obstinate.--Who is coming to disturb me now, ten thousand devils?" "Why, it's me," said Chicotin, entering the room; "I did your errand, bourgeois, and I did it well, I flatter myself; in the first place, I bought a superb bouquet; oh! it was A No. 1; it was worth four francs rather than three. I didn't buy it of Mamzelle Violette, just to make her mad; I don't mean to buy anything more of her. But you don't care anything about that.--I went to Rue Fontaine-Saint-Georges, and I found Madame la Baronne de Grangeville, not in the twenties, but at 19, but that don't make any difference. They let me in, and I found the lady sitting in a great machine. To cut it short, when I said to her: 'Madame, it is Monsieur de Roncherolle who sends you this bouquet, with all sorts of messages;' if you had seen what a jump that lady gave on her--her divan, just like a carp in the frying pan; then she said: 'Monsieur de Roncherolle! what, is he in Paris? Tell him to come and see me right away, as soon as possible; I shall expect him impatiently.'--I answered: 'Madame, certainly, to be sure--that's what he means to do; he will come as soon as he can stand on his pins'--oh, no! I didn't say pins, I said legs; and then I bowed and left, and she didn't give me anything." "Well, keep the rest of the money I gave you." "Thanks, bourgeois, thanks; and did your friend from Nogent come to see you?" "Yes, yes, he came, my friend. Do you know, Chicotin, that you're a wretched chatterbox, and that I ought to pull your ears for giving anyone my address without finding out whether I wanted you to?"