When he heard the bell of his apartment he jumped from the little green rep-covered couch where he was dozing and, slightly limping and holding his back with one hand, he opened the door. A smile lit his face the moment he recognized M. Raindal. "I am very glad to see you!" exclaimed Cyprien, after the two brothers had kissed as usual. "Come this way.... I had so many things to read to you...." "And how are you?" asked M. Raindal, as he followed him. "How do you feel now? Are you coming to dine to-night?" "Why, yes, indeed; I shall certainly come." And, entering the room in which he used to receive, Cyprien affectionately laid his hand on his brother's shoulder and said, "Now, sit down and listen to this." Hastily he began a search among the newspapers which littered his couch. They were unfolded, crumpled or piled up so that only odd letters from their large titles could be seen. All those scattered newspapers were a sick man's debauch, a fond indulgence--a luxury, a treat he offered himself when he was kept at home by rheumatism. Otherwise he only read the papers at the café or at the brasserie, and in small doses--perhaps two or three aggressive sheets, which gave a delightful sensation of warmth to his brain after lunch, as the small glass of cognac he usually took burned his throat. When at last he had sorted them and found the three which he sought he flourished them with a rattling noise. "Here is something!" he said. "Rich and delightful!... Enough to amuse me and to make you swell with pride.... First of all, of course, what amuses me...." He read the first article in victorious tones. In discreet but pitiless terms the writer announced as imminent the arrest of a senator, an ex-minister and deputy, well-known for his intrigues, his accommodating complacency towards the banking interests and his clerical tendencies; and the government was congratulated for that forthcoming show of energy. "You see," Uncle Cyprien said, when he had finished reading, "I don't know who it is.... I thought about it for hours.... I couldn't find the name ... and yet, I must admit the news caused me to pass a very pleasant day.... It is high time that all those scoundrels were swept out.... One more in jail! I score one!..." He smiled at his own merriment and added, with his two hands on his knees: "Well, what do you think about it? It is getting serious! All these rotten gatherings are bursting open!"