"Then you are willing that Monsieur Cherami should come to see you?"
"Yes, on the condition I have suggested."
"He will readily agree to that, I fancy; he is to come to me to-morrow morning to learn your reply, and I will send him to you."
"Very good! I must say that this Monsieur Cherami seemed to me no less clever than original."
Cherami did not fail to return to Madame Monléard's on the following day; she told him that Monsieur de la Bérinière consented to receive him, on condition that he would tell him who his seconds were.
"And now," said the widow, "how do you propose to restore the count's health and good-humor?"
"Never fear, madame," replied Beau Arthur; "that is my business; the count needs to be set up mentally, as well as physically. He's like an old clock that won't go; but as long as the mainspring isn't broken, there's a way out of the difficulty; I'll set him going."
On leaving Fanny, Cherami took a cab and drove to the Palais-Royal, where he went into Corselet's and purchased a half-bottle of the finest chartreuse; then he removed the label, the seal, and everything which could lead to the identification of the liqueur, put the bottle in his pocket, and repaired to Rue de la Ville-l'Évêque, saying to himself:
"It comes high; but one cannot make too many sacrifices when it's a question of ensuring a friend's happiness. I have only a hundred and fifty francs left of Gustave's thousand; but I will spend them with the best will in the world, if I can by that means induce our elderly lover to marry the little widow."
Monsieur de la Bérinière was informed that Monsieur Cherami craved the favor of an interview.