the boy.

Simon was silent, he did not know. The children roared, tremendously
excited; and these sons of toil, most nearly related to animals,
experienced that cruel craving which animates the fowls of a farm-yard
to destroy one among themselves as soon as it is wounded. Simon suddenly
espied a little neighbor, the son of a widow, whom he had always seen, as
he himself was to be seen, quite alone with his mother.

"And no more have you," he said, "no more have you a papa."

"Yes," replied the other, "I have one."

"Where is he?" rejoined Simon.

"He is dead," declared the brat with superb dignity, "he is in the
cemetery, is my papa."

A murmur of approval rose amidst the scapegraces, as if this fact of
possessing a papa dead in a cemetery had caused their comrade to grow big
enough to crush the other one who had no papa at all. And these rogues,
whose fathers were for the most part evil-doers, drunkards, thieves and
ill-treaters of their wives, hustled each other as they pressed closer
and closer, as though they, the legitimate ones, would stifle in their
pressure one who was beyond the law.

He who chanced to be next Simon suddenly put his tongue out at him with
a waggish air and shouted at him:

"No papa! No papa!"

Simon seized him by the hair with both hands and set to work to demolish
his legs with kicks, while he bit his cheek ferociously. A tremendous
struggle ensued between the two combatants, and Simon found himself
beaten, torn, bruised, rolled on the ground in the middle of the ring of
applauding vagabonds. As he arose mechanically brushing his little blouse
all covered with dust with his hand, some one shouted at him:

"Go and tell your Papa."

He then felt a great sinking in his heart. They were stronger than he
was, they had beaten him and he had no answer to give them, for he knew
well that it was true that he had no Papa. Full of pride he attempted
for some moments to struggle against the tears which were suffocating
him. He had a choking fit, and then without cries he commenced to weep
with great sobs which shook him incessantly. Then a ferocious joy broke
out among his enemies, and, naturally, just as with savages in their
fearful festivals, they took each other by the hand and set about dancing
in a circle about him as they repeated as a refrain:

"No Papa! No Papa!"

But Simon quite suddenly ceased sobbing. Frenzy overtook him. There were
stones under his feet, he picked them up and