"Ask him! ask him!" cried Raoul.
"Honoré!" called Sylvestre, rising up. Two or three persons passed the call around the corner of the veranda.
Honoré came with a chain of six girls on either arm. By the time he arrived, there was a Babel of discussion.
"Raoul says you have ordered all your books and accounts to be written in English," said Sylvestre.
"Well?"
"It is not true, is it?"
"Yes."
The entire veranda of ladies raised one long-drawn, deprecatory "Ah!" except Honoré's mother. She turned upon him a look of silent but intense and indignant disappointment.
"Honoré!" cried Sylvestre, desirous of repairing his defeat, "Honoré!"
But Honoré was receiving the clamorous abuse of the two half dozens of girls.