l the same though, this cough won't do me the
service of making me croak. It'll go off the same way it came."

A short silence ensued. The good-for-nothing Clemence, who led riots
in low dancing establishments, and shrieked like a screech-owl at work,
always saddened everyone with her thoughts of death. Gervaise knew her
well, and so merely said:

"You're never very gay the morning after a night of high living."

The truth was that Gervaise did not like this talk about women fighting.
Because of the flogging at the wash-house it annoyed her whenever anyone
spoke before her and Virginie of kicks with wooden shoes and of slaps
in the face. It so happened, too, that Virginie was looking at her and
smiling.

"By the way," she said quietly, "yesterday I saw some hair-pulling. They
almost tore each other to pieces."

"Who were they?" Madame Putois inquired.

"The midwife and her maid, you know, a little blonde. What a pest the
girl is! She was yelling at her employer that she had got rid of a child
for the fruit woman and that she was going to tell the police if she
wasn't paid to keep quiet. So the midwife slapped her right in the face
and then the little blonde jumped on her and started scratching her and
pulling her hair, really--by the roots. The sausage-man had to grab her
to put a stop to it."

The workwomen laughed. Then they all took a sip of coffee.

"Do you believe that she really got rid of a child?" Clemence asked.

"Oh, yes! The rumor was all round the neighborhood," Virginie answered.
"I didn't see it myself, you understand, but it's part of the job. All
midwives do it."

"Well!" exclaimed Madame Putois. "You have to be pretty stupid to put
yourself in their hands. No thanks, you could be maimed for life. But
there's a sure way to do it. Drink a glass of holy water every evening
and make the sign of the cross three times over your stomach with your
thumb. Then your troubles will be over."

Everyone thought mother Coupeau was asleep, but she shook her head in
protest. She knew another way and it was infallible. You had to eat a
hard-cooked egg every two hours, and put spinach leaves on your loins.
Squint-eyed Augustine set up a hen-cackling when she heard this. They
had forgotten about her. Gervaise lifted up the petticoat that was being
ironed and found her rolling on the floor with laughter. She jerked
her upright. What was she laughing about? Was it right for her to be
eavesdropping when older peo