es. She is, of
course, an old, shriveled up woman, as I guessed, but she is a
specialist. This is interesting, upon my word! I never met with such a
one before!'

"Here, gentlemen, I must beg you to allow me to hide my face for a
moment. What I said was evidently not strictly correct, and I am rather
ashamed of it; my excuse must be that I was young, that _Patata's_ was a
celebrated place, of which I had heard wonderful things said, but the
entry to which was barred me, on account of my small means. Five
napoleons was the price! Fancy! I could not treat myself to it, and so I
accepted the good lady's offer. I do not say that it was not
disagreeable, but what was I to do? And then, the old woman was a
German, and so her five napoleons were a slight return for our five
milliards, which we paid them as our war indemnity.

"Well, _Patata's_ boarder was charming, the old woman was not too
troublesome, and your humble servant did his best to sustain the ancient
glory of Frenchmen.

"Let me drink my disgrace to the dregs! On the next day but one after, I
was waiting at the statue of Perseus. It was shameful, I confess, but I
enjoyed the partial restitution of the five milliards, and it is
surprising how a Frenchman loses his dignity, when he is traveling.

"The good lady made her appearance at the appointed time. It was quite
dark, and I followed her without a word, for, after all, I was not very
proud of the part I was playing. But if you only knew how fair that
little girl at _Patata's_ was! As I went along, I thought only of her,
and did not pay any attention to where we were going, and I was only
roused from my reverie by hearing the old woman say: 'Here we are. Try
and be as entertaining as you were the day before yesterday.'

"We were not outside _Patata's_ house, but in a narrow street running by
the side of a palace with high walls, and in front of us was a small
door, which the old woman opened gently.

"For a moment I felt inclined to draw back. Apparently the old hag was
also ardent on her own account! She had me in a trap! No doubt she
wanted in her turn to make use of my small talents! But, no! That was
impossible!

"'Go in! Go in!' she said. 'What are you afraid of? My mistress is so
pretty, so pretty, much prettier than the little girl of the other day.'
So it was really true, this story out of _The Arabian Nights_? Why not?
And after all, what was I risking? The good woman would certainly not
injure me