“And remember, you have got to keep Julie Campionet from marrying me. I don’t like the look in her eye—she shows she is bent on it—and stop Fifi from reminding me of that infernal white petticoat she gave me.”
Cartouche nodded, and Duvernet, resuming his air of benignant magnificence, stalked off, happy. At least six persons had seen him make this princely present. His heart was good, although his head was indifferent, and he was sincerely glad to be able to reward Cartouche for his faithfulness.
In a minute or two Cartouche came to himself, and tore along the street, as fast as his stiff leg would allow, to the cloak shop, where, in two seconds, he had paid the money for the beautiful cloak, and had it wrapped in a bundle under his arm. How happy was Cartouche then!
He still had his ten francs, and he determined to make a little Christmas feast for Fifi. So he bought a jar of cabbage-soup, and a little bag of onions, and some chocolate. Then he went into a wine shop for a bottle of wine.
The wine shop was a cheerful, dirty, agreeable place that he knew well. When he entered he found the shop full of men, standing around a table on which was a blindfolded boy with a hat full of slips of paper in his hand.
A shout greeted Cartouche’s arrival.
“You are just in time, Monsieur Cartouche,” cried the proprietor, a jolly red-faced man. “You make the last and twenty-fifth man necessary to join our lottery. I have bought a ticket in the Grand Imperial Lottery, which is to be drawn in a fortnight, and for every bottle of wine I sell, and a franc extra, I give my customers a chance in the lottery ticket, limiting it to twenty-five chances. Come now—I see good luck written all over you—hand me your franc.”
Cartouche handed out his franc, bought his bottle of wine, and joined the circle at the table. The little boy handed the hat around, and every man took a slip out and read thereon a number. Cartouche took his slip and read out:
“Number 1313!”
A roar of laughter greeted this, but when it subsided, the proprietor advanced, and handing Cartouche a blue lottery ticket, said gravely: