hough she had been let off the most abominable of
tortures. Her first thought was for Daguenet. Poor duck, why, she had
just written to tell him to wait till Thursday! Quick, quick, Mme Maloir
should write a second letter! But Zoe announced that Mme Maloir had
slipped away unnoticed, according to her wont. Whereupon Nana, after
talking of sending someone to him, began to hesitate. She was very
tired. A long night's sleep--oh, it would be so jolly! The thought of
such a treat overcame her at last. For once in a way she could allow
herself that!

"I shall go to bed when I come back from the theater," she murmured
greedily, "and you won't wake me before noon."

Then raising her voice:

"Now then, gee up! Shove the others downstairs!"

Zoe did not move. She would never have dreamed of giving her mistress
overt advice, only now she made shift to give Madame the benefit of her
experience when Madame seemed to be running her hot head against a wall.

"Monsieur Steiner as well?" she queried curtly.

"Why, certainly!" replied Nana. "Before all the rest."

The maid still waited, in order to give her mistress time for
reflection. Would not Madame be proud to get such a rich gentleman away
from her rival Rose Mignon--a man, moreover, who was known in all the
theaters?

"Now make haste, my dear," rejoined Nana, who perfectly understood the
situation, "and tell him he pesters me."

But suddenly there was a reversion of feeling. Tomorrow she might want
him. Whereupon she laughed, winked once or twice and with a naughty
little gesture cried out:

"After all's said and done, if I want him the best way even now is to
kick him out of doors."

Zoe seemed much impressed. Struck with a sudden admiration, she gazed
at her mistress and then went and chucked Steiner out of doors without
further deliberation.

Meanwhile Nana waited patiently for a second or two in order to give her
time to sweep the place out, as she phrased it. No one would ever have
expected such a siege! She craned her head into the drawing room and
found it empty. The dining room was empty too. But as she continued
her visitation in a calmer frame of mind, feeling certain that nobody
remained behind, she opened the door of a closet and came suddenly upon
a very young man. He was sitting on the top of a trunk, holding a huge
bouquet on his knees and looking exceedingly quiet and extremely well
behaved.

"Goodness gracious me!" she cried. "There's one of 'em i