Augustine carried the sleeping Pauline upstairs; and Quenu, who liked to
fasten up the kitchen himself, gave Auguste and Leon leave to go to
bed, saying that he would fetch the black-pudding himself. The younger
apprentice stole off with a very red face, having managed to secrete
under his shirt nearly a yard of the pudding, which must have almost
scalded him. Then the Quenus and Florent remained alone, in silence.
Lisa stood nibbling a little piece of the hot pudding, keeping her
pretty lips well apart all the while, for fear of burning them, and
gradually the black compound vanished in her rosy mouth.

"Well," said she, "La Normande was foolish in behaving so rudely; the
black-pudding's excellent to-day."

However, there was a knock at the passage door, and Gavard, who stayed
at Monsieur Lebigre's every evening until midnight, came in. He had
called for a definite answer about the fish inspectorship.

"You must understand," he said, "that Monsieur Verlaque cannot wait any
longer; he is too ill. So Florent must make up his mind. I have promised
to give a positive answer early to-morrow."

"Well, Florent accepts," Lisa quietly remarked, taking another nibble at
some black-pudding.

Florent, who had remained in his chair, overcome by a strange feeling of
prostration, vainly endeavoured to rise and protest.

"No, no, say nothing," continued Lisa; "the matter is quite settled. You
have suffered quite enough already, my dear Florent. What you have just