p to Claudet, drew
him aside, and showed him a little figure in a case.

"Look here!" whispered he, "we shall have some fun; as I passed by the
Abbe Pernot's this morning, I stole one of his stuffed squirrels."

He stooped down, and with an air of great mystery poured into his ear
the rest of the communication, at the close of which his small black
eyes twinkled maliciously, and he passed the end of his tongue over his
frozen moustache.

"Come with me," continued he; "it will be a good joke on the collector."

He drew Claudet and Hutinet toward one of the trenches, where the fog
hid them from sight.

During this colloquy, Boucheseiche the collector, against whom they were
thus plotting, had seized upon Julien de Buxieres, and was putting
him through a course of hunting lore. Justin Boucheseiche was a man of
remarkable ugliness; big, bony, freckled, with red hair, hairy hands,
and a loud, rough voice.

He wore a perfectly new hunting costume, cap and gaiters of leather, a
havana-colored waistcoat, and had a complete assortment of pockets of
all sizes for the cartridges. He pretended to be a great authority on
all matters relating to the chase, although he was, in fact, the worst
shot in the whole canton; and when he had the good luck to meet with
a newcomer, he launched forth on the recital of his imaginary prowess,
without any pity for the hearer. So that, having once got hold of
Julien, he kept by his side when they sat down to breakfast.

All these country huntsmen were blessed with healthy appetites. They
ate heartily, and drank in the same fashion, especially the collector
Boucheseiche, who justified his name by pouring out numerous bumpers of
white wine. During the first quarter of an hour nothing could be heard
but the noise of jaws masticating, glasses and forks clinking; but when
the savory pastries, the cold game and the hams had disappeared, and
had been replaced by goblets of hot Burgundy and boiling coffee, then
tongues became loosened. Julien, to his infinite disgust, was forced
again to be present at a conversation similar to the one at the time of
the raising of the seals, the coarseness of which had so astonished and
shocked him. After the anecdotes of the chase were exhausted, the guests
began to relate their experiences among the fair sex, losing nothing of
the point from the effect of the numerous empty bottles around. All
the scandalous cases in the courts of justice, all the coarse jokes
and