And, as Monsieur went up-stairs to dress, Madame turned her fury upon us.
"And you? What are you doing, standing there like so many bundles, and looking at me? It is all the same to you, I suppose, whether your masters are plundered or not? And you too heard nothing? What luck! It is charming to have such servants. You think of nothing but eating and drinking, pack of brutes that you are!"
Then, addressing Joseph directly, she asked:
"Why didn't the dogs bark? Say, why not?"
This question seemed to embarrass Joseph for a fraction of a second, but he quickly recovered himself.
"I don't know, Madame," said he, in a most natural tone. "It is true that the dogs didn't bark. That is curious, indeed!"
"Did you let them loose last night?"
"Certainly I let them loose, as I do every night. That is curious! Yes, indeed! that is curious! It must be that the robbers knew the house ... and the dogs."
"Well, Joseph, how is it that you, so devoted and punctual as a rule, did not hear anything?"
"It is true that I heard nothing. That is another singular thing. For I do not sleep soundly. If a cat crosses the garden, I hear it. It is not natural, all the same. And those confounded dogs especially! Indeed, indeed!"