"She's--she's very well, monsieur; that is to say, I presume she's very well; but since I returned from England--why,--why, of course I've had other things to think about. And--Great heaven! it just occurs to me--I've three letters to write to London--to noblemen who are expecting to hear from me--thoughtless creature that I am! I cannot stay with you any longer, Monsieur Dalville; my business calls me away--and business before everything." With that, La Thomassinière abruptly left the salon, without saluting Auguste, whom he left there alone. "The stupid ass!" said Dalville, as he took his hat; "does he suppose that I didn't notice the change in his manner as soon as he knew that I was a ruined man? And Athalie! I thought that she had more feeling! But what can one expect from a woman to whom dress and pleasure are everything? And such is this 'society,' where everyone seeks to shine, whose suffrage is eagerly sought, and in which we pass a great part of our lives! Are all these people worth the trouble of wasting a regret on them, I wonder?" And Dalville left La Thomassinière's house, vowing that he would never go there again. XVII THE FIFTH FLOOR "Lieutenant," said Bertrand to Dalville, one morning, "we have forgotten something in our reformation, but the approach of rent-day reminds me of it: it's the matter of lodgings. You must agree, lieutenant, that a fifteen-hundred franc suite is rather too heavy for our budget, in which the expense account is always lengthening, while the receipt account is a blank page." "You are right, Bertrand, we must give notice." "When I mentioned the subject to Schtrack yesterday, he told me that there's an Englishman who will take the apartments at any time if we want to leave them; it seems to me, lieutenant, that it would be the wisest plan to move right away." "Do what you choose, Bertrand." "Especially as there's a small bachelor's apartment on the fifth floor, that might suit us: two rooms and a large dressing-room. It's vacant, and if it won't be unpleasant for you to stay in this house----" "Why should it? Have I any reason to blush because of my changed fortune? I am the dupe of villains, but I have made no dupes. We will go up four flights. Hire the bachelor's apartment." "Very good, lieutenant. We will be all settled there to-morrow. No wagons to pay for moving--that's another saving." Bertrand was well pleased to stay in the house with his friend Schtrack; and the next morning, as soon as Dalville had gone out, he and the concierge carried the furniture from the first floor to the fifth. But as two small rooms would not contain the furniture that filled six large ones, he left in the old apartment all that he considered superfluous, and the new tenant purchased it, the proceeds serving to restock Bertrand's cash-box at an opportune moment.