"What's that; what's that?" said the Major. "He's trying to rob us," explained Beck, much excited. "Says it's ten francs. It can't possibly be more than five, and it _ought_ to be two francs fifty." The Major immediately became purple with indignation. "But, God bless my soul!" he exclaimed, "the rascal understands English as well as any one of us. What's the use of wasting your French on him?" He swung round upon his stool, and fixed an eye, which was celebrated in the 32d Regular Infantry, upon l'L Majuscule. That worthy surveyed with unfeigned astonishment this very angry, red-faced foreigner, who looked as if he was about to devour him, body and bones. He had not the most remote conception of the effect which his flaxen wig, and his ridiculous wings, and his short pleated tunic, and his pink tights, and his huge feet in their gilded sandals, produced upon the Major; and his attempt at extortion was strictly in line with the traditions of the place. Certainly, it was all very puzzling. "You ape!" said the Major furiously, finding his breath. "You pinky-panky little scoundrel! _You_ an angel? Why you're not even shaved! You get two francs fifty, that's what you get, and not a red cent of porbwure either, you Christmas-tree image!" The exact phrasing of these remarks was somewhat lost upon Maxime, but the general trend of the Major's meaning was quite unmistakable. Nevertheless, when one had been valet de chambre to Captain the Honorable Michael Douglas, one was not routed by a few emphatic words. So Maxime shrugged his shoulders apologetically, and reiterated his "Tain francs." "Damn it, sir, _no_!" thundered the Major. "And don't pretend you can't understand me. I'm a short-tempered man, sir, and--and"-- He pounded with his fist upon the table, seeking a fitting expression of his rage, until the little liqueur glasses danced like kernels of popping corn. But young Appleby leaned toward him and laid a hand on his arm. He was big and square-shouldered, was Appleby, and, only the year before, he had performed prodigies with the hammer and the shot in the Intercollegiate Games; but his eyes were very blue and gentle, and he spoke with extreme mildness. "Don't let us have any trouble here, sir," he said. "It isn't as if we were alone. We have the girls with us, you know. Leave the beggar two francs fifty, and we'll go on to the next place." Now the Major, with all his fiery temper, was an ardent lover of discipline, and he recognized reason in Appleby's words. So, after an instant, he deposited the amount upon the table, rose to his full height, with his eye still riveted on Maxime, and then, followed by the others, stalked majestically toward the door.