in
the soundness of her sleep; when she woke darkness was coming on.

Her first care was to give a glance at her patient; his sleep was
restless, and he was dreaming aloud.

"Diamonds," he said; "those diamonds? At my death, but not before."

"Gracious!" thought Madame Cardinal, "that was the one thing
lacking,--diamonds! that he should have diamonds!"

Then, as Toupillier seemed to be in the grasp of a violent nightmare,
she leaned over him so as not to lose a word of his speech, hoping to
gather from it some important revelation. At this moment a slight rap
given to the door, from which the careful nurse had removed the key,
announced the arrival of Cerizet.

"Well?" he said, on entering.

"He has taken the drug. He's been sound asleep these two hours; just
now, in dreaming, he was talking of diamonds."

"Well," said Cerizet, "it wouldn't be surprising if we found some. These
paupers when they set out to be rich, like to pile up everything."

"Ah ca!" cried the Cardinal, suddenly, "what made you go and tell
Mere Perrache that you were my man of business, and that you weren't
a doctor? I thought we agreed this morning that you were coming as a
doctor?"

Cerizet did not choose to admit that the usurpation of that title had
seemed to him dangerous; he feared to discourage his accomplice.

"I saw that the woman was going to propose a consultation," he replied,
"and I got out of it that way."

"Goodness!" exclaimed Madame Cardinal, "they say fine minds come
together; that was my dodge, too. Calling you my man of business seemed
to give that old pilferer a few ideas. Did they see you come in, those
porters?"

"I thought, as I went by," replied Cerizet, "that the woman was asleep
in her chair."

"And well she might be," said the Cardinal, significantly.

"What, really?" said Cerizet.

"Parbleu!" replied the fishwife; "what's enough for one is enough for
two; the rest of the stuff went that way."

"As for the husband, he was there," said Cerizet; "for he gave me a
gracious sign of recognition, which I could have done without."

"Wait till it is quite dark, and we'll play him a comedy that shall fool
him finely."

Accordingly, ten minutes later, the fishwife, with a vim that delighted
the usurer, organized for the innocent porter the comedy of a _monsieur_
who would not, out of politeness, let her accompany him to the door; she
herself with equal politeness insisting. Appearing to conduct the sham
physi