ege, and I believe they will
hold out now. They have courage enough, as has been shown over and over
again at the barricades, but they will be useless for fighting because
they will submit to no discipline. Still, as I said, they can starve,
and it will be a long time indeed before the suffering will become
intense enough to drive them to surrender. I fear that you have
altogether underrated the gravity of the situation, and that you will
have very severe privations to go through before the siege is over."

"I suppose I can stand it as well as others," she laughed, "but I think
you are altogether wrong. However, if it should come it will be very
interesting."

"Very," he said, shortly, "but I doubt if you will see it quite in the
same light when it comes to eating rats."

"I should not eat them," she said, decidedly.

"Well, when it comes to that or nothing, I own that I myself shall eat
rats if I can get them. I have heard that the country rat, the fellow
that lives in ricks, is by no means bad eating, but I own to having a
doubt as to the Paris rat."

"It is disgusting to think of such a thing," she said, indignantly, "the
idea is altogether ridiculous."

"I do not know whether you consider that betting is among the things
that woman has as much right to do as man; but if you do, I am ready to
wager it will come to rats before Paris surrenders."

"I never made a bet in my life," she said, "but I will wager five francs
with you that there will be nothing of the sort. I do not say that rats
may not be eaten in the poor quarters. I do not know what they eat
there. I hear they eat horse-flesh, and for anything I know they may eat
rats; but I will wager that rats will never be openly sold as an article
of food before Paris surrenders."

"It is a bet," he said, "and I will book it at once," and he gravely
took out a pocket-book and made an entry. "And now," he said, as he
replaced the book in his pocket, "how do you pass your time?"

"I spend some hours every day at the Bibliotheque. Then I take a walk in
this quarter and all round the Boulevards. One can walk just as freely
there as one could in Germany, but I find that I cannot venture off them
into the poorer quarters; the people stare, and it is not pleasant."

"I certainly should not recommend you to make experiments that way. In
the great thoroughfares a lady walking by herself passes unnoticed,
especially if she looks English or American. They are coming t