wardrobe and my watch and chain besides.” De Meneval paused—the fellow knew when to stop. Monsieur Bouchard, swelling with rage, paused too—and then, taking out his cheque book, angrily wrote a cheque for a thousand francs, which he handed Captain de[59] Meneval in exchange for a sheaf of bills produced by the captain. [59] “Before paying another franc, I shall go out to the Pigeon House and investigate the whole business,” said Monsieur Bouchard, savagely. “Ta, ta!” called out the graceless dog of a captain, picking up his hat. “Remember, you are on your good behavior. One single indiscretion at the Pigeon House and I’ll telegraph the whole story to Mademoiselle Bouchard, and then——” Papa Bouchard simply sat and swelled the more with rage at the unabashed front of this captain of artillery—but he was galvanized into motion by a light tap on the door and a musical voice calling: “Are you in, Papa Bouchard?” Although all the fulminations of Monsieur Bouchard had failed to affect[60] Captain de Meneval, the sound of that voice flurried him considerably. For it was Léontine’s, and de Meneval had no particular desire for an interview with her under Papa Bouchard’s basilisk eye. He turned quite pale, did this robust captain, and muttered: [60] “I don’t want to be caught here.” Papa Bouchard smiled in a superior manner—he rather liked the notion of de Meneval being caught there—and called out to Léontine: “Come in.” M. Bouchard’s hat, cape-greatcoat and umbrella lay on a chair where he had placed them on coming in. Without so much as saying, “By your leave,” de Meneval slung the greatcoat round him, clapped Papa Bouchard’s hat on his head, seized the umbrella in such a way as to hide his face, and with his own hat under his arm opened the door to the lobby and darted past Léontine, nearly knocking her down. [61]Léontine, wearing an evening gown, a long and beautiful white mantle, and a chiffon scarf over her head, entered, somewhat discomposed by her encounter. [61]
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