As they passed down the corridors they could scarcely hear each other speak for the noise of the machinery. Rosalie pushed open the door of one of the workshops and took Perrine into a long room. There was a deafening roar from the thousand tiny machines, yet above the noise they could hear a man calling out: "Ah, there you are, you loafer!" "Who's a loafer, pray?" retorted Rosalie. "That ain't me, just understand that, Father Ninepins." "What have you been doin'?" "Skinny told me to bring my friend to you to work on the trucks." The one whom she had addressed in this amiable manner was an old man with a wooden leg. He had lost his leg in the factory twelve years previous, hence his nickname, "Ninepins." He now had charge of a number of girls whom he treated rudely, shouting and swearing at them. The working of these machines needed as much attention of the eye as deftness of hand in lifting up the full spools and replacing them with empty ones, and fastening the broken thread. He was convinced that if he did not shout and swear at them incessantly, emphasizing each curse with a stout bang of his wooden leg on the floor, he would see his machines stop, which to him was intolerable. But as he was a good man at heart, no one paid much attention to him, and besides, the greater part of his cursing was lost in the noise of the machinery. "Yes, and with it all, your machine has stopped," cried Rosalie triumphantly, shaking her fist at him. "Go on with you," he shouted back; "that ain't my fault." "What's your name?" he added, addressing Perrine. This request, which she ought to have foreseen, for only the night before Rosalie had asked the same question, made her start. As she did not wish to give her real name, she stood hesitating. Old Ninepins thought that she had not heard, and banging his wooden leg on the floor again, he cried: "I asked you what your name was, didn't I? Eh?" She had time to collect herself and to recall the one that she had already given to Rosalie. "Aurelie," she said. "Aurelie what?" he demanded. "That is all ... just Aurelie," she replied. "All right, Aurelie; come on with me," he said. He took her to a small truck stationed in a far corner and explained what she had to do, the same as Rosalie had. "Do you understand?" he shouted several times. She nodded. And really what she had to do was so simple that she would indeed have been stupid if she had been unable to do it. She gave all her attention to the task, but every now and again old Ninepins called after her: "Now, don't play on the way." But this was more to warn than to scold her. She had no thought of playing, but as she pushed her truck with a good regular speed, while not stopping, she was able to see what was going on on the way. One push started the truck, and all she had to do was to see that there were no obstacles in its way.