cellar accompanied by Anatole Kahn in person: 'I
repeat/ persisted Anatole Kahn, cthat I am most
proud to make your acquaintance. Monsieur Benedit,
to know so distinguished a confrere.5
Jouse stared at him and the stranger fell silent;
whereupon Marie hastened to select her rug which
Jouse, still without speaking, paid for.
Then Anfos unexpectedly lost his head. Perhaps
he was subconsciously feeling the tension, or perhaps
it was merely that the noise and the crowd and the
somewhat rash promise of a cuckoo-clock had thrown
him into a state of excitement; be that as it may,
he proceeded to cuckoo. And so exact were the notes
he produced, so wonderfully clever his imitation, that
people turned round incredulously.
'Yes, yes, in a minute — hush, my dear,3 implored
Marie.
He caught hold of her hand like the child that
he was — like the great bearded child that he was,
le pauvre bougre: 'But you promised!' And now he
was tugging at her hand.
'This way, if you please,3 remarked Kahn quite
gravely.
There were only two cuckoo-clocks it appeared,
the one very big, the other very little. The price
of the larger was much too high; Jouse muttered that
it was out of the question. The price of the smaller
he could well afford, and this he decided to give his
apprentice. So the clock was taken down from the
wall and placed by Kahn in the arms of the half-wit.
'Beu DieuP murmured Anfos softly.
Then le tout petit Loup felt that his turn had
come: 'And where is my gramophone?* he demanded
loudly. 'Why may I not have my gramophone? Am I
not of more importance than he is?3 And he pinched
Anfos so that the clock nearly fell.
'Do not hint me . . . Ah, do not hurt me;3 implored
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