Monsieur Bled at the Bazaar was wanting a boy to
run errands, carry parcels and deliver newspapers.
Not all boys, she explained, were so lucky as Jan, not
all boys could be patronized by a countess! Should she
tell Monsieur Bled that Christophe would call?
Tron de Dieune! she might tell Monsieur Bled what
she pleased; but meanwhile she could take herself off
to the devil or her Comtesse de Berac—Jouse did
not care which. Had she heard him? She could take
herself off to the devil!
Simon pere turned up looking worried and awk-
ward. He wished to find someone to unload sacks of
grain, and to do little odd jobs about the place * . ,
Christophe now ... he was strong, and a good-
tempered boy. . . . Surely Christophe would be just
the very fellow. The pay was not famous but still,
it might help. What about it ... considered as a
beginning?
What about it? Why nothing, nothing at all. And
Jouse proceeded to spit on the floor, then to rub the
sole of his shoe on the spittle.
Even Hermitte the baker sent his spouse to suggest
that Christophe might be taught the intricacies of
baking. It seemed that her brother, a pastry-cook of
Toulon, was very anxious to find an apprentice.
Christophe could live with her brother and his wife
who were prosperous, quiet, and kindly people. This
would be an advantage, for Jouse would know that
the boy was properly housed and fed; it would also
mean that he was looked after.
But J6us£ laughed loudly: 'Ah, yes, no doubt, and
get my son's services thrown in for nothing! No, I
thank you, Christophe has his own home; he has also
a trade which is not that of baking/
Madame Hermitte quite naturally felt aggrieved,
and in this frame of mind she returned to her husband.
Hermitte was furious when he was told of the way
315