have to drink? Eh?… A Pernod, four cognacs, coffee, a packet of cigarettes…. What did that come to, eh?… How much did you spend?… Twenty-one francs!… Ah, my dear, too much, too much!” she clucked sadly and regretfully. “You will spend all your money in café’s and have nothing to go on with!… Tell me, now, my dear,” her old eyes had an eager glint of curiosity, “were there many people there?… Was the place crowded?… Were there many women?… You didn’t talk to any of the girls, did you?” she said sharply.
He said that he had.
“You should not have done that!” she said reproachfully. “And what did she want? She wanted you to come with her, eh?”
“No; we didn’t get that far. She asked me for a cigarette.”
“And did you give it to her?”
“Yes, of course.”
“But no money! You didn’t give her any money?” she said feverishly.
“No.”
“Did you buy her a drink?… Was that what all the cognac was for?”
“No. It was for me.”
“How much money have you left, my boy?… Are you keeping track of your expenses?… Did you get another of those express cheques cashed yesterday?”
“Yes, I did.”
“What kind? A ten-dollar one?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, you shouldn’t have done that,” she said regretfully. “Once you cash it, it goes quickly.” She snapped her fingers, “like that! Ça file! Ça file!—You do not watch your money as you should. You do not keep track of what you spend…. My boy, promise me something, will you?” she went on in a low, earnest tone. “Promise me you won’t spend all your money and get stranded here…. You won’t do that, will you?… How much money have you left?… Tell me,” she said eagerly. “How many of those express cheques have you left?… Count it, count it,” she demanded greedily. “Take the book out and let me see what you have left.”
He took out the little leather folder of express cheques and opened it. It was getting very thin. Then he thumbed rapidly through the little sheaf of cheques, trying
