ore he had
time to turn, before he could regain his balance, a brutal blow from
behind half stunned him, and a vigorous thrust precipitated his body
into the Seine.

V

MOTHER TOULOUCHE AND CRANAJOUR

"Come along, Cranajour! Let's have a sight of what they've given you for
the frock coat and the whole outfit!"

The person thus challenged rummaged in the pockets of his old,
much-patched and filthy garments, and after interminable fumblings and
huntings, finished by extracting a certain number of silver pieces,
which he counted over with the greatest care, finally he replied:

"Seventeen francs, Mother Toulouche."

Mother Toulouche showed her impatience:

"It's details I want! How much for the coat? How much for the whole
suit? I've got to know, I tell you! I've got to write it all down, and
I've got to see how much I've to hand over to each of the owners of the
duds!... Try to remember, Cranajour!"

The individual who answered to this odd appellation reflected. After a
silence, shrugging his shoulders, he replied:

"I don't know. I can't make myself remember--not anyhow!... And it's a
long time since I sold the goods!"

Mother Toulouche shrugged in turn:

"A long time!" she grumbled. "What a wretched job! Why, it's only two
hours since--barely that!... It's true," she went on, with a pitying
look at the shabby, down-at-heel fellow, who had spread out his
seventeen francs on the table, "it's true that you're known not to have
two ha'p'orths of memory, and that at the end of an hour you have
forgotten what you've done!"

"That's right enough," answered Cranajour.

"Let's have done with it, then," cried Mother Toulouche.

She held out a repulsive-looking specimen of old clothes:

"Be off with you! Go and pawn this academician's cast-off! When the
comrades catch a sight of this bit of stuff to the fore, they'll
understand they can come without danger!... No cops about the store on
the lookout, are there?"

Mother Toulouche took the precaution to advance to the threshold of her
store, cast a rapid glance around--not a suspicious person, nor a sign
of one to be seen:

"A good thing," muttered she, "but I was sure of it! Those police spies
are going to give us some peace for a bit!... Likely the whole lot of
them are on this Dollon business! Isn't it so, Cranajour?"

As she retreated into her store again Mother Toulouche knocked against
that individual, who had not budged: he had hung over his ar