“I do not know, sir.  Here, I suppose!”

“How do you mean here?  What do you call amusing oneself, yourself?”

“I do not know, sir, drinking good beer or good wine.”

“Ah, go away, dummy, how about the girls?”

“The girls, ah! ah!”

“Yes, the girls, where can one find any here?”

“Girls?”

“Why, yes, girls!”

The boy approached and lowering his voice, said:  “You want to know where they live?”

“Why, yes, the devil!”

“You take the second street to the left and then the first to the right.  It is number fifteen.”

“Thank you, old man.  There is something for you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

And Varajou went out of the cafe, repeating, “Second to the left, first to the right, number 15.”  But at the end of a few seconds he thought, “second to the left yes.  But on leaving the cafe must I walk to the right or the left?  Bah, it cannot be helped, we shall see.”

And he walked on, turned down the second street to the left, then the first to the right and looked for number 15.  It was a nice looking house, and one could see behind the closed blinds that the windows were lighted up on the first floor.  The hall door was left partly open, and a lamp was burning in the vestibule.  The non-commissioned officer thought to himself: 

“This looks all right.”

He went in and, as no one appeared, he called out: 

“Hallo there, hallo!”

A little maid appeared and looked astonished at seeing a soldier.  He said: 

“Good-morning, my child.  Are the ladies upstairs?”

“Yes, sir.”

“In the parlor?”

“Yes, sir.”

“May I go up?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The door opposite the stairs?”

“Yes, sir.”

He ascended the stairs, opened a door and saw sitting in a room well lighted up by two lamps, a chandelier, and two candelabras with candles in them, four ladies in evening dress, apparently expecting some one.

Three of them, the younger ones, remained seated, with rather a formal air, on some crimson velvet chairs; while the fourth, who was about forty-five, was arranging some flowers in a vase.  She was very stout, and wore a green silk dress with low neck and short sleeves, allowing her red neck, covered with powder, to escape as a huge flower might from its corolla.

The officer saluted them, saying: 

“Good-day, ladies.”

The older woman turned round, appeared surprised, but bowed.

“Good-morning, sir.”

He sat down.  But seeing that they did not welcome him eagerly, he thought that possibly only commissioned officers were admitted to the house, and this made him uneasy.  But he said: 

“Bah, if one comes in, we can soon tell.”

He then remarked: 

“Are you all well?”

The large lady, no doubt the mistress of the house, replied: