"Yes—you old dear—you shan't go hungry even if we have to for a little while. You're our good faithful breadwinner, aren't you?" and she patted the thick soft trunk with her pretty hand.
Cæsar grumbled a little, but did as he was bid. Nadine's rule was as firm as it was gentle, and, however the others might at times object, she rarely failed to have her own way in the end.
So the elephant and the horse were soon enjoying a hearty meal of succulent hay to which they did full justice.
A little later the whole party arrived at the market-place where they found a place made ready for them by the orders of Colonel Laurier, who had not forgotten his promise.
Here Nadine found the gendarme who had been so civil to her in the morning.
"Young girl," said he courteously, "I am to show you the place where you can give your performance, and also to give you Madame Pradère's instructions. So first of all tell me how you are accustomed to set up your outfit."
"Oh, that is a very simple affair," responded Nadine with an apologetic smile. "We have, you see, our stage," and she pointed to a few planks and trestles which were hung at the sides and underneath the van. "But we have to hire some planks to serve as seats, and these we arrange in a sort of half-circle leaving plenty of room in the center for Nalla to go through his performance."
"So, so!" said the gendarme, shaking his head sagely; "that would be well enough for other occasions, but this time you will not hire any planks. There will have to be better arrangements made, for you are going to be honored with a very brilliant audience," and he pursed up his mouth in a most impressive way, "for whom mere planks would never do at all, and so for the front rows there must be chairs, and very good chairs too!"
"But, sir!" cried Nadine, appalled at the idea of the expense involved in providing such accommodation, "we can't do that! We have no money to pay for chairs!"