"That makes a difference, monsieur. I wish you good-morning!"
"And I wish you nothing at all!"
Thereupon Cherami left the banker's office, saying to himself:
"There's a tough old uncle for you! I think I won't borrow money of him—I won't do him that honor. No, never! especially as he wouldn't lend me any."
XXVI
A CAFÉ ACQUAINTANCE
Cherami strolled about at random for some time, seeking some person of his acquaintance with whom he could negotiate a small loan. But he saw few save unfamiliar faces, and if by chance he did espy some former friend, that friend turned away to avoid meeting him.
"The devil!" said Cherami to himself; "the day opens badly! I counted on Gustave for breakfast, and now it's after twelve o'clock, and I'm as hungry as a cannibal. However, if I must, I will dispose of my new cane. I shall be sorry to do it, for it's a pretty one—a genuine rattan. But I should be still more sorry to go without breakfast. It must have cost at least thirty francs. A dealer will give me six for it,—they have all the cheek they need, those fellows,—and he'll act as if he were doing me a favor! I prefer to leave it in pawn for a beefsteak and its accessories. Come, let us look for a café where we can get a good breakfast."
Cherami was then on the boulevard, where there is no lack of cafés; for one cannot walk thirty feet without passing one. The ex-Beau Arthur entered the establishment which had the most modern show-front, seated himself at a table, hung up his hat, laid his cane on the seat, and summoned the waiter with that resounding voice and in that arrogant tone which never fail to produce their effect on the waiters in a café.
"What does monsieur wish?"
"Radishes, sardines, and butter; then a beefsteak-châteaubriand, rare, with roquefort and a bottle of bordeaux. After that, we will see. Go!—That cane is certainly worth all that I have ordered," he said to himself; "yes, and I can safely add a cup of coffee and a petit verre. At all events, if they are not satisfied, I will do like Bilboquet in Les Saltimbanques, I will pledge my signature.—I am annoyed, all the same, to find that my young friend Gustave is in Spain. But is he really in Spain? That is what I must find out."