“And you don’t even give me a kiss, you poor boy, you!”
“Indeed, yes, dear mother, and a good many more than one!”
And I threw myself on my mother’s neck, stifling her with my caresses as I clasped her in my arms.
“And when shall I see you again?”
“Oh, do not be uneasy if he does not return before to-morrow evening.”
“How, to-morrow evening! and you spoke of starting at dawn!”
“At dawn for the wolf; but if we miss him, the lad must have a shot or two at the wild ducks on the marshes of Vallue.”
“I see! you are going to drown him for me!”
“By the name of all that’s good, Madame, if I was not speaking to the General’s widow—I should say——”
“What Mocquet? What would you say?”