[He sends his assistants to purchase the necessary supplies; almost immediately after his shop is hastily entered by two students, Charles and John, who drop into chairs, as though completely exhausted.]
Fournichon (rising). How can I serve you, gentlemen?
Charles (gasping). A glass of water, if you please.
[Fournichon supplies them both, and goes on.] How you startled me, gentlemen! to rush in breathlessly like that! Yet it’s not the season for mad dogs!
Charles. If it had only been a mad dog!
Fournichon. Surely no tiger has broken loose from the Zoological Gardens?
John. If it had only been a tiger!
Fournichon. Come, come, I shall not make myself uneasy. You have been up to some mischief, haven’t you? You were pursued by the police, and you saw no other refuge but the hospitable establishment of M. Fournichon, Coiffeur des Deux Sexes. Now, am I not right?
FOURNICHON, THE HAIR-DRESSER.