"Two hundred."
"Two hundred and fifty."
"Three hundred," several adventurers shouted, almost simultaneously, as they drew nearer to the platform.
Belle Tête was pale with rage, for he feared lest she might escape him.
The adventurer had persuaded himself, rightly or wrongly, that he wanted a wife to manage his household; now he had seen Louise, Louise pleased him, she was for sale, and he resolved to buy her.
"Four hundred crowns!" he said with an air of defiance.
"Four hundred crowns," the company's agent repeated in his monotonous voice.
There was a silence.
Four hundred crowns is a large sum; Belle Tête triumphed.
"Five hundred!" a sharp shrill voice suddenly shouted.