And as he took a
last look in the little glass hanging over the table, he was
himself astonished at the transformation. "Ah!" he muttered, "I
was a sorry looking devil in those days."
Although he had cautiously avoided making any noise in dressing,
his mother, with the wonderfully acute hearing of the blind, had
followed each of his movements as surely as if she had been
standing near watching him. "You have changed your clothes,
Toto," she remarked.
"Yes, mother."
"But why have you put on your blouse, my son?"
Although accustomed to his mother's remarkable quickness of
perception, he was amazed. Still he did not think of denying it.
She would only have to extend her hand to prove that he was
telling a falsehood. The blind woman's usually placid face had
become stern. "So it is necessary to disguise yourself," she
said, gravely.
"But, mother----"
"Hush, my son! When a man doesn't wish to be recognized, he's
evidently doing something he's ashamed of. Ever since your
employer came here, you have been concealing something from me.
Take care, Toto! Since I heard that man's voice, I'm sure that he
is quite as capable of urging you to commit a crime as others were
in days gone by."
The blind woman was preaching to a convert; for during the past
three days, M. Fortunat had shown himself in such a light that
Chupin had secretly resolved to change his employer.
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