The ex-cook appeared before Tantaine in all his appalling vulgarity as the latter descended the stairs. The proprietor of the musical academy was a stout, red-faced man, with an insolent mouth and a cynical eye.
He was gorgeously dressed, and wore a profusion of jewelry. He was much startled at seeing Tantaine, whom he knew to be the redoubtable Mascarin's right-hand man. "A thousand thunders!" muttered he. "If these people have sent him here for me, I must take care what I am about," and with a friendly smile he extended his hand to Tantaine.
"Glad to see you," said he. "Now, what can I do for you, for I hope you have come to ask me to do something?""The veriest trifle," returned Tantaine.
"I am sorry that it is not something of importance, for I have the greatest respect for M. Mascarin."This conversation had taken place in the window, and was interrupted every moment by the shouts and laughter of the children; but beneath these sounds of merriment came an occasional bitter wail of lamentation.
"What is that?" inquired Perpignan, in a voice of thunder. "Who presumes to be unhappy in this establishment?""It is two of the lads that I have put on half rations," returned Poluche. "I'll make them learn somehow or----"A dark frown on the master's face arrested his further speech. "What do I hear?" roared Perpignan. "Do you dare, under my roof, to deprive those poor children of an ounce of food? It is scandalous, I may say, infamous on your part, M. Poluche.""But, sir," faltered the professor, "have you not told me hundreds of times--""That you were an idiot, and would never be anything better. Go and tell Mother Butor to give these poor children their dinner."Repressing further manifestations of rage, Perpignan took Tantaine by the arm and led him into a little side-room, which he dignified by the name of his office. There was nothing in it but three chairs, a common deal table, and a few shelves containing ledgers. "You have come on business, I presume," remarked Perpignan.
Tantaine nodded, and the two men seated themselves at the table, gazing keenly into each other's eyes, as though to read the thoughts that moved in the busy brain.
"How did you find out my little establishment down here?" asked Perpignan.
"By a mere chance," remarked Tantaine carelessly. "I go about a good deal, and hear many things. For instance, you have taken every precaution here, and though you are really the proprietor, yet the husband of your cook and housekeeper, Butor, is supposed to be the owner of the house--at least it stands in his name. Now, if anything untoward happened, you would vanish, and only Butor would remain a prey for the police."Tantaine paused for a moment, and then slowly added, "Such tactics usually succeed unless a man has some secret enemy, who would take advantage of his knowledge, to do him an injury by obtaining irrefragable proofs of his complicity."The ex-cook easily perceived the threat that was hidden under these words. "They know something," muttered he, "and I must find out what it is.""If a man has a clear conscience," said he aloud, "he is all right. Ihave nothing to conceal, and therefore nothing to fear. You have now seen my establishment; what do you think of it?""It seems to me a very well-conducted one."
"It may have occurred to you that a factory at Roubaix might have been a better investment, but I had not the capital to begin with."Tantaine nodded. "It is not half a bad trade," said he.
"I agree with you. In the Rue St. Marguerite you will find more than one similar establishment; but I never cared for the situation of the Faubourg St. Antoine. My little angels find this spot more salubrious.""Yes, yes," answered Tantaine amicably, "and if they howl too much when they are corrected, there are not too many neighbors to hear them."Perpignan thought it best to take no notice of this observation. "The papers are always pitching into us," continued he. "They had much better stick to politics. The fact is, that the profits of our business are tremendously exaggerated.""Well, you manage to make a living out of it?""I don't lose, I confess, but I have six little cherubs in hospital, besides the one in the kitchen, and these, of course, are a dead loss to me.""That is a sad thing for you," answered Tantaine gravely.
Perpignan began to be amazed at his visitor's coolness.
"Damn it all," said he, "if you and Mascarin think the business such a profitable one, why don't you go in for it. You may perhaps think it easy to procure the kids; just try it. You have to go to Italy for most of them, then you have to smuggle them across the frontier like bales of contraband goods."Perpignan paused to take a breath, and Tantaine asked,--"What sum to you make each of the lads bring in daily?""That depends," answered Perpignan hesitatingly.
"Well, you can give an average?"
"Say three francs then."
"Three francs!" repeated Tantaine with a genial smile, "and you have forty little cherubs, so that makes one hundred and twenty francs per day.""Absurd!" retorted Perpignan; "do you think each of the lads bring in such a sum as that?""Ah! you know the way to make them do so."
"I don't understand you," answered Perpignan, in whose voice a shade of anxiety now began to appear.
"No offence, no offence," answered Tantaine; "but the fact is, the newspapers are doing you a great deal of harm, by retailing some of the means adopted by your colleague to make the boys do a good day's work. Do you recollect the sentence on that master who tied one of his lads down on a bed, and left him without food for two days at a stretch?""I don't care about such matters; no one can bring a charge of cruelty against me," retorted Perpignan angrily.
"A man with the kindest heart in the world may be the victim of circumstances."Perpignan felt that the decisive moment was at hand.
"What do you mean?" asked he.
