"Come, messieurs, to the séance," shouted Jolicoeur, as he buckled on his sabre. "I wish to see Mademoiselle Sophie of ours, who has gone to Constantinople."
"And I Mogador," said Captain Baudeuf, "the delicious little dancer at the Mabille."
"And I Rose Pompon!" exclaimed the hussar, tying the cords of his silver dolman. "Rose, the heroine of a thousand flirtations."
"Mogador, the empress of ten thousand hearts," added the captain.
"Hearts such as thine, mon camarade," said the hussar, laughing.
"And Fleur d'Amour," added another heedless fellow, "the Queen of the Tourlurous!"[*]
[*] Camp phrase for the French linesmen.
"Ah, mon capitaine," said Jules. "Peste! what a roué it is. He has made as many conquests as our good friend Don Juan, in the delightful opera which bears his name."
"Beware!" said the other, with a mock frown; "I'm an ace of diamonds man with the pistol, Jules."
"Bah! Your pistol will never be levelled at me. Have a cigarette?"