"Have a glass of rum to start on—it puts heart into you!"
The two women were quite ready for a drink together. When they had swallowed their dose, big Ernestine smacked her tongue:
"Famous stuff!... It puts a heart into you and no mistake!"
"Yes, it's the right stuff—the best," agreed Mother Toulouche: "It's what Nibet prefers!" she added. Then she cried: "But Nibet, how ... isn't he in it?"
Big Ernestine put a finger on her lips:
"Nibet's in it of course—as he always is—you know that, old Toulouche—but he's content to show the way—you know he seldom does anything himself ... besides, it seems he's on duty at the dépôt to-night!"
Big Ernestine threw an old shawl over her head and went off crying:
"I'm off, and in for it now!... Soon be back, Mother Toulouche!"
The magnificent mansion of Thomery, the sugar refiner, overlooked the park Monceau. It was approached by a very quiet little avenue, in which were a few big houses: it opened on to the boulevard Malesherbes, and was known as the avenue de Valois. All the dwellings there are sumptuous, richly inhabited, and if the avenue is peaceful and silent by day, it is no uncommon thing to see it of an evening crowded with carriages and luxurious motor-cars, come to fetch the owners away to dinners and entertainments.