here,
ceaselessly, in a bedroom, in the loft, in the _cafe_, everywhere, and
about nothing.

The two women on the ground floor, Louise, who was nick-named _la
Cocotte_, and Flora, whom they called _Balanciore_, because she limped a
little, the former always dressed as Liberty, with a tri-colored sash,
and the other as a Spanish woman, with a string of copper coins which
jingled at every step she took, in her carrotty hair, looked like cooks
dressed up for the carnival. They were like all other women of the lower
orders, neither uglier nor better looking than they usually are.

They looked just like servants at an inn, and they were generally called
the two pumps.

A jealous peace, which was, however, very rarely disturbed, reigned
among these five women, thanks to _Madame's_ conciliatory wisdom, and to
her constant good humor, and the establishment, which was the only one
of the kind in the little town, was very much frequented. _Madame_ had
succeeded in giving it such a respectable appearance, she was so amiable
and obliging to everybody, her good heart was so well-known, that she
was treated with a certain amount of consideration. The regular
customers spent money on her, and were delighted when she was especially
friendly towards them, and when they met during the day, they would say:
"Until this evening, you know where," just like men say: "At the
_cafe_, after dinner." In a word, Madame Tellier's house was somewhere
to go to, and they very rarely missed their daily meetings there.

One evening, towards the end of May, the first arrival, Monsieur Poulin,
who was a timber merchant, and had been mayor, found the door shut. The
little lantern behind the grating was not alight; there was not a sound
in the house; everything seemed dead. He knocked, gently at first, but
then more loudly, but nobody answered the door. Then he went slowly up
the street, and when he got to the market place, he met Monsieur Duvert,
the gun maker, who was going to the same place, so they went back
together, but did not meet with any better success. But suddenly they
heard a loud noise close to them, and on going round the house, they saw
a number of English and French sailors, who were hammering at the closed
shutters of the _cafe_ with their fists.

The two tradesmen immediately made their escape, for fear of being
compromised, but a low _pst_ stopped them; it was Monsieur Tournevau,
the fish curer, who had recognized them, and was tryi