ng to attract their
attention. They told him what had happened, and he was all the more
vexed at it, as he, a married man, and father of a family, only went
there on Saturdays, _securitatis causa_, as he said, alluding to a
measure of sanitary policy, which his friend Doctor Borde had advised
him to observe. That was his regular evening, and now he should be
deprived of it for the whole week.

The three men went as far as the quay together, and on the way they met
young Monsieur Philippe, the banker's son, who frequented the place
regularly, and Monsieur Pinipesse, the collector, and they all returned
to the _Rue aux Juifs_ together, to make a last attempt. But the
exasperated sailors were besieging the house, throwing stones at the
shutters, and shouting, and the five first floor customers went away as
quickly as possible, and walked aimlessly about the streets.

Presently they met Monsieur Dupuis, the insurance agent, and then
Monsieur Vasse, the Judge of the Tribunal of Commerce, and they took a
long walk, going to the pier first of all, where they sat down in a row
on the granite parapet, and watched the rising tide, and when the
promenaders had sat there for some time, Monsieur Tournevau said:

"This is not very amusing!"

"Decidedly not," Monsieur Pinipesse replied, and they started off to
walk again.

After going through the street on the top of the hill, they returned
over the wooden bridge which crosses the Retenue, passed close to the
railway, and came out again onto the market place, when suddenly a
quarrel arose between Monsieur Pinipesse, the collector, and Monsieur
Tournevau, about an edible fungus which one of them declared he had
found in the neighborhood.

As they were out of temper already from annoyance, they would very
probably have come to blows, if the others had not interfered. Monsieur
Pinipesse went off furious, and soon another altercation arose between
the ex-major, Monsieur Poulin, and Monsieur Dupuis, the insurance agent,
on the subject of the tax collector's salary, and the profits which he
might make. Insulting remarks were freely passing between them, when a
torrent of formidable cries were heard, and the body of sailors, who
were tired of waiting so long outside a closed house, came into the
square. They were walking arm-in-arm, two and two, and formed a long
procession, and were shouting furiously. The landsmen went and hid
themselves under a gateway, and the yelling crew disappe