Nadine and Cæsar got very nervous, but they did not dare to begin before the arrival of Madame Pradère.
At this juncture their good friend the gendarme came to their relief.
"Stupid that I am!" he exclaimed. "Haven't I forgotten to tell you that Madame, the Mayoress, will not be here until half-past eight, in time to hear you sing. You can therefore give the first part of your performance."
This information removed all their difficulties. The regulation three knocks were given and the curtain rose.
Cæsar, clothed in a long red gown, and wearing a hat shaped like a sugar-loaf after the usual manner of magicians, was revealed standing beside a table covered with a Turkish table-cloth, on which were arranged the glasses and double-bottomed boxes which are indispensable to sleight-of-hand performers.
Cæsar's tricks went off very well indeed, and, encouraged by the size and hearty interest of the spectators, he quite eclipsed himself.
There were several hundred gathered, and among them a number of children who were especially eager to see the different acts in which Nalla, Steady, and Vigilant appeared.
The soldiers, too, who often behave like a lot of children, grew impatient, and began to shout for the animals. They even attempted to imitate them, one grunting like the elephant, another neighing like the horse, and the third barking like the dog.
But the animals were tethered out of sight behind the van, and did not make their appearance.
When the clamor became too insistent Cæsar came to the front of the stage, and held up his hand to ask for silence: