"Nobody knows what may happen, madame." "I know that you won't happen to reach my room, monsieur." As she said this, Madame Destival closed her window with a bang, and led Madame de la Thomassinière from her room, saying: "Let's go down, my dear, let's go down, I beg you, for they'll turn everything topsy-turvy with their drilling." They went out on the terrace, where Monsieur Destival still held his ladder, which Bertrand tried in vain to take away from him. The business agent was determined to raise it somewhere. "Mon Dieu! monsieur, if you absolutely must lay siege to something," said Madame Destival, "let it be a tree in the garden, and not my bedroom." Bertrand grasped at this idea, and Athalie suggested to them that they should attack the tree in which Monsieur Monin's cap had lodged. They went toward the swing and found the ex-druggist there, with his short, fat arms around the tree, trying to climb it, but unable to raise himself more than three inches from the ground. At sight of the ladder, Monin uttered a cry of delight, and outdid himself in thanks when Monsieur Destival ascended it at the double-quick, having no suspicion that the manoeuvre had any other purpose than the recovery of his cap. But alas! Monsieur Destival thought it best to capture the trophy with his bayonet, and the point of his weapon pierced the top, which was of thin straw. Bertrand shouted "Bravo!" Monin made a wry face, the ladies laughed, and Auguste arrived in time to witness the tableau. Auguste bestowed a sweet smile on Madame de la Thomassinière and a rather cold bow on Madame Destival. I do not know whether you can guess the cause, but the ladies had no difficulty. "Are you just from the village, monsieur?" said the petite-maîtresse, showing her pretty teeth. "Yes, madame, I have had a most instructive walk; I have acquired some new knowledge, and I hope to make good use of it." "Dinner is on the table," said a thin, yellow little man, with a napkin on his arm. It was Baptiste, the one male servant, who acted as scrubber, cook, footman, errand-boy and butler all at once, pending the time when Monsieur Destival should establish his household on a more extensive scale. So that poor Baptiste was worked to death, and told Julie every day that he did not propose to remain in a place where they made him do the work of a horse. "Say that dinner is served, Baptiste. That fellow will never be trained!--Come, mesdames, to the table! Ouf! I have well earned it. I have drilled terribly hard to-day.--Here, Monin, here's your cap. Did you see how I picked it up?" "You made a hole in it," said Monin, gazing at the crown with a piteous expression. "Bah! in the heat of the action; charge, bayonets! one, two! eh, Bertrand?--But the ladies have gone already. Let's go now and attack the dinner; I expect to make a tremendous breach in it. Go to Julie, Bertrand; she'll look after you."