sending the money by post, and also enabling her
to obtain fresh news of her child. Thus, each time a payment became
due, if La Couteau's journey happened to be delayed a single day, Madame
Menoux grew terribly frightened, and hastened off to Celeste to make
inquiries of her. And, moreover, she was glad to have an opportunity of
conversing with this girl, who came from the very part where her little
Pierre was being reared.

"You will excuse, me, won't you, mademoiselle, for calling so early,"
said she, "but you told me that your lady never required you before nine
o'clock. And I've come, you know, because I've had no news from over
yonder, and it occurred to me that you perhaps might have received a
letter."

Blonde, short and thin, Madame Menoux, who was the daughter of a poor
clerk, had a slender pale face, and a pleasant, but somewhat sad,
expression. From her own slightness of build probably sprang her
passionate admiration for her big, handsome husband, who could have
crushed her between his fingers. If she was slight, however, she was
endowed with unconquerable tenacity and courage, and she would have
killed herself with hard work to provide him with the coffee and cognac
which he liked to sip after each repast.

"Ah! it's hard," she continued, "to have had to send our Pierre so far
away. As it is, I don't see my husband all day, and now I've a child
whom I never see at all. But the misfortune is that one has to live, and
how could I have kept the little fellow in that tiny shop of mine, where
from morning till night I never have a moment to spare! Yet, I can't
help crying at the thought that I wasn't able to keep and nurse him.
When my husband comes home from the museum every evening, we do nothing
but talk about him, like a pair of fools. And so, according to you,
mademoiselle, that place Rougemont is very healthy, and there are never
any nasty illnesses about there?"

But at this moment she was interrupted by the arrival of another early
visitor, whose advent she hailed with a cry of delight.

"Oh! how happy I am to see you, Madame Couteau! What a good idea it was
of mine to call here!"

Amid exclamations of joyous surprise, the nurse-agent explained that she
had arrived by the night train with a batch of nurses, and had started
on her round of visits as soon as she had deposited them in the Rue
Roquepine.

"After bidding Celeste good-day in passing," said she, "I intended to
call on you, my dear lady