river expects.

"Then I appeared to discover, to my surprise, that I had not the change;
so I cried out to the old woman in the porter's lodge, 'Give this man
five francs for me, will you?' 'Five francs!' echoed the ogress with
astonishment: '_Monsieur, je n'ai pas le sou!_'

"I might have known it; of course she wouldn't have a sou for a poor
devil like me; but the reply fell upon my heart like a death sentence.

"I then proposed to call at the driver's stand and pay him in a day or
two, if he would trust me. He smiled and shook his head.

"'Very well,' said I, stepping back into the coach, 'drive to number
five, Cite Odiot.' I had an acquaintance there, of whom I thought I
might possibly borrow. The coachman drove away cheerfully, seeming to be
perfectly well satisfied with the state of things: he was master of the
situation,--he was having employment, his pay was going on, and he could
hold me in pledge for the money. We reached the Cite Odiot: I ran in at
number five, and up stairs to my friend's room. It was locked; he was
away from home.

"I had but one other acquaintance in Paris on whom I could venture to
call for a loan of a few francs; and he lived far away, across the
Seine, in the Rue Racine. There seemed to be no alternative; so away we
posted, carrying my ever-increasing debt, dragging at each remove a
lengthening chain. We reached the Rue Racine; I found my friend; I wrung
his hand. 'For Heaven's sake,' said I, 'help me to get rid of this Old
Man of the Sea,--this elephant won in a raffle!'

"I explained. He laughed. 'What a funny adventure!' says he. 'And how
curious that at this time, of all others, I haven't ten sous in the
world! But I'll tell you what I can do,' says he.

"'For mercy's sake, what?'

"'I can get you out of the building by a private passage, take you
through into the Rue de la Harpe, and let you escape. Your coachman will
remain waiting for you at the door until you have traversed half Paris.
That will be a capital point to the joke,--a splendid _finale_ for your
little comedy!'

"I confess to you that, perplexed and desperate as I was, I felt for an
instant tempted to accept this infamous suggestion. Not that I would
willingly have wronged the coachman; but since there was no hope of
doing him justice, why not do the best thing for myself? If I could not
save my honor, I might at least save my person. And I own that the
picture of him which presented itself to my mind, waiti