s at!"

And snatching the envelope, she threw it full in his face. As became a
prudent Hebrew, he picked it up slowly and painfully and then looked at
the young woman with a dull expression of face. Muffat and he exchanged
a despairing glance, while she put her arms akimbo in order to shout
more loudly than before.

"Come now, will you soon have done insulting me? I'm glad you've come,
too, dear boy, because now you see the clearance'll be quite complete.
Now then, gee up! Out you go!"

Then as they did not hurry in the least, for they were paralyzed:

"D'you mean to say I'm acting like a fool, eh? It's likely enough! But
you've bored me too much! And, hang it all, I've had enough of swelldom!
If I die of what I'm doing--well, it's my fancy!"

They sought to calm her; they begged her to listen to reason.

"Now then, once, twice, thrice! Won't you go? Very well! Look there!
I've got company."

And with a brisk movement she flung wide the bedroom door. Whereupon in
the middle of the tumbled bed the two men caught sight of Fontan. He had
not expected to be shown off in this situation; nevertheless, he took
things very easily, for he was used to sudden surprises on the stage.
Indeed, after the first shock he even hit upon a grimace calculated
to tide him honorably over his difficulty; he "turned rabbit," as he
phrased it, and stuck out his lips and wrinkled up his nose, so as
completely to transform the lower half of his face. His base, satyrlike
head seemed to exude incontinence. It was this man Fontan then whom Nana
had been to fetch at the Varieties every day for a week past, for
she was smitten with that fierce sort of passion which the grimacing
ugliness of a low comedian is wont to inspire in the genus courtesan.

"There!" she said, pointing him out with tragic gesture.

Muffat, who hitherto had pocketed everything, rebelled at this affront.

"Bitch!" he stammered.

But Nana, who was once more in the bedroom, came back in order to have
the last word.

"How am I a bitch? What about your wife?"

And she was off and, slamming the door with a bang, she noisily pushed
to the bolt. Left alone, the two men gazed at one another in silence.
Zoe had just come into the room, but she did not drive them out. Nay,
she spoke to them in the most sensible manner. As became a woman with a
head on her shoulders, she decided that Madame's conduct was rather too
much of a good thing. But she defended her, nonetheless: this