"All right! tell us that, and we will excuse you for being in an ill humor.—Colinet, my friend, are you in Paris for long?"
"Oh! no, Mamzelle Georgette; I can only stay one day; I must go back to-morrow afternoon."
The neighbor's face became amiable once more; he straightened himself up in his chair.
"What makes you in such a hurry, Colinet?"
"I have several places to stop at on my way back—to collect the price of cattle we've sold."
"Monsieur is a cattle raiser?" Mardeille inquired.
"Yes, monsieur; I deal in horned cattle mostly, because there's always a market for them."
"Yes, yes, it's an excellent business," said Monsieur de Mardeille.—Then he leaned toward Georgette and said to her, almost timidly:
"You're not wearing your brooch?"
"Well, I should think not—with my jacket!" laughed Georgette. "Is it customary to put on a brooch so early in the morning?"