At last a young man appeared. He had lingered in the street to finish the cigar he had lighted as he left the cemetery. As he slipped discreetly into our ranks Mme. de Saint-Cast perceived him.
"Is that you, Arthur?" she said in a lugubrious voice.
"Yes, aunt," said the young man, advancing in front of the line.
"Well," continued the widow, in the same plaintive drawl, "is it over?"
"Yes, aunt," said Arthur, in curt, deliberate accents. He seemed to be a young man who was perfectly satisfied with himself.
There was a pause, after which Mme. de Saint-Cast drew from the depths of her expiring soul this new series of questions:
"Did it go off well?"
"Very well, aunt, very well."
"Were there many people?"
"The whole town, aunt, the whole town."