natched a piece of cake out of my hand
and put it back into its place. I got enraged, banked the table, and
threatened to call the police. I wished to be lenient with her, I said.
Were I to take all that was lawfully mine, I would clear her whole
stand, because it was a big sum of money that I had given to her. But I
had no intention of taking so much, I wanted in reality only half the
value of the money, and I would, into the bargain, never come back to
trouble her again. Might God preserve me from it, seeing that that was
the sort of creature she was.... At length she shoved some cakes
towards me, four or five, at an exorbitant price, the highest possible
price she could think of, and bade me take them and begone. I wrangled
still with her, persisted that she had at least cheated me to the
extent of a shilling, besides robbing me with her exorbitant prices.
"Do you know there is a penalty for such rascally trickery," said I;
"God help you, you might get penal servitude for life, you old fool!"
She flung another cake to me, and, with almost gnashing teeth, begged
me to go.

And I left her.

Ha! a match for this dishonest cake-vendor was not to be found. The
whole time, whilst I walked to and fro in the market-place and ate my
cakes, I talked loudly about this creature and her shamelessness,
repeated to myself what we both had said to one another, and it seemed
to me that I had come out of this affair with flying colours, leaving
her nowhere. I ate my cakes in face of everybody and talked this over
to myself.

The cakes disappeared one by one; they seemed to go no way; no matter
how I ate I was still greedily hungry. Lord, to think they were of no
help! I was so ravenous that I was even about to devour the last little
cake that I had decided to spare, right from the beginning, to put it
aside, in fact, for the little chap down in Vognmandsgade--the little
lad who played with the paper streamers. I thought of him
continually--couldn't forget his face as he jumped and swore. He had
turned round towards the window when the man spat down on him, and he
had just looked up to see if I was laughing at him. God knows if I
should meet him now, even if I went down that way.

I exerted myself greatly to try and reach Vognmandsgade, passed quickly
by the spot where I had torn my drama into tatters, and where some
scraps of papers still lay about; avoided the policeman whom I had
amazed by my behaviour, and reached the steps up