"I ain't deaf; but some days I can't hear so well as others."
Poor old woman! she ought never to have laid aside her trumpet. I repeated my question, and that time she replied:
"My niece Rosette? Why, she ain't here, monsieur."
"What, madame! not here? Why, where on earth can I find her, then?"
"Oh! that's easily done, monsieur. She must be with her Aunt Falourdin, Faubourg Saint-Denis, corner of Rue Chabrol."
At that, I gave up all hope of finding my grisette; I had no desire to begin the circuit of the aunts anew; I had had quite enough of them. I bade my cabman take me home. It was five o'clock, and we had been on the road since noon! Ah! Mademoiselle Rosette! Mademoiselle Rosette! you had shown me aunts of all colors! What a day! Jason was certainly more fortunate than I: after many perils, he obtained the Golden Fleece; I had faced seven aunts, and had not obtained Rosette!
XXXVIII
THE DEALER IN SPONGES
As I entered my apartment, Pomponne came to meet me with his expression that denoted news.
"There's someone waiting for you, monsieur, who's been here quite a long while. But I didn't know that monsieur would be away so long; he did not tell me."
"Can it be that Rosette has come while I have been running after her?"