Chéri-Bibi gave signs of a certain degree of satisfaction.
"You show me at this moment," he said in his gruff voice, which quivered with an agitation that he strove to control, "you show me that there are still honest men in the world. Prosperity has not shriveled up your heart, my dear Dodger."
"I am the happiest man alive now that I see you again, Monsieur le Marquis."
"Hush!" growled Chéri-Bibi. "Never let that name pass your lips again. Forget the past, Dodger, as I try to forget it myself. Erase from your memory those adventures which had their day and from which present events separate us for ever. At this terrible hour other duties arise. I have come back to France to defend an innocent man, old chap!"
"Ah, there I recognize Monsieur le Marquis."
"Will you stop worrying me with your 'Monsieur le Marquis'? I would have you know that I call myself the Bleeder now."
"Good, Monsieur le——"
"Bleeder! They gave me that name at La Villette, where I work in the slaughter-houses. I am the man whose business it is to cut the throats of cattle. So they call me the Bleeder. There's an end of it. It's a name which suits me and I've stuck to it."
"Have you been there long, Monsieur le Bleeder?"
"Please call me Bleeder simply."