sous to any servant who comes in search of a cab for his master; and
this was the custom here. But the keeper of the office, who felt sure
that Chupin was not a servant, hesitated; and this made the young fellow
angry. "Make haste," he cried, imperiously. "If you don't, I shall run
to the nearest stand."

The woman at once threw him five sous, which he pocketed with a
satisfied grin. They were his--rightfully his--since he had taken the
trouble to gain them. He then hastily returned to the office to inform
his employer that the cab was waiting at the door, and found himself
face to face with a sight which made him open his eyes to their widest
extent.

M. Fortunat had profited by his clerk's absence, not to disguise
himself--that would be saying too much--but to make some changes in his
appearance. He had arrayed himself in a long overcoat, shiny with grease
and wear, and falling below his knees; in place of his elegant satin
cravat he had knotted a gaudy silk neckerchief about his throat; his
boots were worn, and out of shape; and his hat would have been treated
with contempt even by a dealer in old clothes. Of the prosperous
Fortunat, so favorably known round about the Place de la Bourse, naught
remained save his face and his hands. Another Fortunat had taken his
place, more than needy in aspect--wretched, famished, gaunt with hunger,
ready for any desperate deed. And, yet, he seemed at ease in this garb;
it yielded to his every movement, as if he had worn it for a long time.
The butterfly had become a chrysalis again. Chupin's admiring smile must
have repaid him for his trouble. Since the young clerk evinced approval,
M. Fortunat felt sure that Vantrasson would take him for what he wished
to appear--a poor devil of an agent, who was acting on some other
person's behalf. "Let us start at once," said he.

But just as he was leaving the ante-room, he remembered an order of
great importance which he wished to give. He called Madame Dodelin, and
without paying the slightest heed to her astonishment at seeing him thus
attired: "If the Marquis de Valorsay comes, in my absence," said
he--"and he WILL come--ask him to wait for me. I shall return
before midnight. Don't take him into my office--he can wait in the
drawing-room."

This last order was certainly unnecessary, since M. Fortunat had closed
and double-locked his office door and placed the key carefully in his
own pocket. But perhaps he had forgotten this circumst