"Ah, well! my dear child," he said, in an oily voice,
"what was I telling you just now? Everything comes to those who
know how to wait."
However she had already broken the seal, and she was now reading
the letter eagerly, clapping her hands with delight as she
finished its perusal. "He consents!" she exclaimed. "He's
frightened--he begs me to wait a little--look--read!"
But M. Mouchon could not read without his spectacles, and he lost
at least two minutes in searching his pockets before he found
them. And when they were adjusted, the light was so dim that it
took him at least three minutes more to decipher the missive.
Chupin had spent this time in scrutinizing--in appraising the man,
as it were. "What is this venerable gentleman doing here?" he
thought. "He's a middle class man, that's evident from his linen.
He's married--there's a wedding-ring on his finger; he has a
daughter, for the ends of his necktie are embroidered. He lives
in the neighborhood, for, well dressed as he is, he wears a cap.
But what was he doing there in that back room in the dark?"
Meanwhile M. Mouchon had finished reading the letter. "What did I
tell you?" he said complacently.
"Yes, you were right!" answered Madame Paul as she took up the
letter and read it again with her eyes sparkling with joy. "And
now what shall I do?" she asked. "Wait, shall I not?"
"No, no!" exclaimed the elderly gentleman, in evident dismay.
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