"With my hands and feet…. It is easy enough to get up…."
"Especially when there are tempting plums hanging above your head…."
"Yes…. But when you have eaten your courage goes. You can't find the way to get down."
He looked at her on her perch. He said:
"You are all right there. Stay there quietly. I'll come and see you to-morrow. Good-night!"
But he did not budge, and stood beneath her. She pretended to be afraid, and begged him with little glances not to leave her. They stayed looking at each other and laughing. She showed him the branch to which she was clinging and asked:
"Would you like some?"
Respect for property had not developed in Christophe since the days of his expeditions with Otto: he accepted without hesitation. She amused herself with pelting him with plums. When he had eaten she said:
"Now!…"
He took a wicked pleasure in keeping her waiting. She grew impatient on her wall. At last he said: