The next afternoon, their school being over, Jan
hurried round to the Benedit's house, only to find
Ghristophe working in the shop, which added to that
feeling of uneasiness and trouble.
'Cannot you come out?5 he asked anxiously. 'The
Cure does not want me and so I thought that we might
go up to the old citadel — in this heat we are certain
to see many lizards!5 And this he said knowing that
Christophe was bent upon trying to tame the elusive
creatures.
Christophe glanced at his father: cMay I?5 he en-
quired, and his voice was so unmistakably eager that
Jouse nodded his curly head:
'Mais oui, be off, my indolent son!5 For he could
not bring himself to refuse in view of the splendid
summer weather.
So the cousins proceeded to dash along the street
before le tout petit Loup could join them, Mireio
following as best she might, her ears back, her tail
down and her pink tongue lolling. Presently the three
of them turned under an archway that had been
bequeathed to Saint Loup by the Romans, and that
guarded a precipitous path up the hill that led to
the ancient, crumbling fortress. And beyond on the
hill-side the air was so quiet that the heat lay revealed
by a thin but clear shimmer, and the ground was so
impregnated with the heat that it burnt through the
soles of the boys5 canvas shoes, while the sun all but
blistered the skin on their shoulders.
'Rampau de Dieu, what a sun!5 Jan-grumbled.
But Ghristophe, being in excellent spirits, found
- nothing to grumble at in the sunshine — his cousin's
good fortune had not kept him awake, indeed he had
thought very little about it except to feel pleased that
something had happened which everyone said was to
Jan's advantage. So now he whistled as they climbed
the steep path, and he urged Jan to hurry:
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