Goulard
I will speak to him about the postponement--

Mercadet
No; write to him; and in the meantime I will find some one who will
buy your stock.

Goulard (sitting down)
All my Basse-Indre? (He takes up a pen.)

Mercadet (aside)
Here you see the honest man, ever ready to rob his neighbor. (Aloud)
Very well, write--ordering a postponement of three months.

Goulard (writing)
Three months! There you have it.

Mercadet
The man I allude to, who buys in secret for fear of causing a rise,
wants to get three hundred shares; do you happen to have three
hundred?

Goulard
I have three hundred and fifty.

Mercadet
Fifty more! Never mind! He'll take them all. (Examining what Goulard
has written.) Have you mentioned the thousand crowns?

Goulard