“I’m going off home!”
Said M. Bergeret:
“Then go quietly, my child.”
Again and again she shouted:
“I’m off! Madame wants to turn me into a regular beast of burden.”
Then, lowering her shovel, she added in lower tones:
“Besides, things are always happening here that I would rather not see.”
Without attempting to unravel the mystery of these words, M. Bergeret merely remarked that he would not delay her, and that she could go.
“Well, then, give me my wages.”
“Leave the room,” answered M. Bergeret. “Don’t you see that I have something to do besides settling with you? Go and wait elsewhere.”