“'Good. And do you still love a good time and potatoes?'
“I was beginning to find him hopelessly vulgar. Nevertheless, I answered “'Yes.'
“'And pretty girls?'
“'Most assuredly.'
“He began to laugh good-humoredly.
“'Good, good! Do you remember our first escapade, in Bordeaux, after that dinner at Routie's? What a spree!'
“I did, indeed, remember that spree; and the recollection of it cheered me up. This called to mind other pranks. He would say:
“'Say, do you remember the time when we locked the proctor up in old man Latoque's cellar?'
“And he laughed and banged the table with his fist, and then he continued:
“'Yes-yes-yes-and do you remember the face of the geography teacher, M. Marin, the day we set off a firecracker in the globe, just as he was haranguing about the principal volcanoes of the earth?'