"At all events, you are not the man to teach them to me, my little gentleman!"
A drop of blood which fell on his hand changed the current of his thoughts:
"Hold on!" said he; "am I bleeding?"
"That will amount to nothing; circulation is reëstablished, and your broken ear...."
He quickly carried his hand to his ear and said:
"It's certainly so. But Devil take me if I recollect this accident!"
"I'll make you a little dressing, and in a couple of days there will be no trace of it left!"
"Don't give yourself the trouble, my dear Hippocrates; a pinch of powder is a sovereign cure!"
M. Nibor set to work to dress the ear in a little less military fashion. During his operations, Leon reëntered.
"Ah! ah!" said he to the Doctor, "you are repairing the harm I did."