"Oh! yes——"
"What's the matter? Is there anything wrong?"
"Nothing, I assure you——"
"You can talk to me like a brother." He did not reply.
"I'm hungry! It won't bother you if I have something to eat here—sardines, a box of singe and some pinard—you'll have a portion?"
At the end of a few moments we were the best friends in the world. I knew his name, where he was from and what he had done in the campaign.
"Why were you crying a moment ago when I came up on you? You are not a man to be afraid in the Calonne Trench, because you are brave—I can read it in your eyes——"
"I'm going to tell you. I went back for my first vacation. I had not told my wife because I wanted to surprise her and the youngster——
"When I arrived at home, that night, the miserable——"
"Stop, mon petit, I understand. What did you do?"