No, she contented herself with taking a slate down from the wall, the pencil belonging to which was already in her hand:
"How much?" said she, coolly.
Pierre Prévost pulled out of his pocket a great leather purse, and detailed, day by day, how much he had made by the sale of his fish. After which, he put down the money upon the corner of the table.
All this time the woman was eagerly dotting down the various sums on the slate. Then she gravely added them all up, and determinedly counted out every sou.
By great good luck the figures tallied with the money. Then Alphonsine shut up the money in a drawer, and locked it very securely.
Meanwhile Pierre repocketed his leather purse, which he had just emptied, never attempting to grumble in the least, and going through the task as methodically as possible.
"I was quite wrong in forming so hasty an opinion," thought I to myself, as I witnessed this peculiar scene; "Pierre is not such a bad fellow, after all."
It was not long before the young ones made a second burst into the room, making rather more noise than they did on the first occasion.
They were not long in scrambling on to Pierre's knees, and smothering him with kisses, and it was all done so heartily, with such warmth, and so naturally, that I could not help exclaiming to myself, "Why, he's a capital father, after all!"
But, judge, of my astonishment when I heard their pretty voices call out,