On Wednesday they gave "Figaro-Scaramouche,"
and on Thursday morning the "Courrier Nantais" came out with an
article of more than a column of praise of these brilliant
improvisers, for whom it claimed that they utterly put to shame the
mere reciters of memorized parts.
Andre-Louis, reading the sheet at breakfast, and having no delusions
on the score of the falseness of that statement, laughed inwardly.
The novelty of the thing, and the pretentiousness in which he had
swaddled it, had deceived them finely. He turned to greet Binet and
Climene, who entered at that moment. He waved the sheet above his
head.
"It is settled," he announced, "we stay in Nantes until Easter."
"Do we?" said Binet, sourly. "You settle everything, my friend."
"Read for yourself." And he handed him the paper.
Moodily M. Binet read. He set the sheet down in silence, and turned
his attention to his breakfast.
"Was I justified or not?" quoth Andre-Louis, who found M. Binet's
behaviour a thought intriguing.
"In what?"
"In coming to Nantes?"
"If I had not thought so, we should not have come," said Binet, and
he began to eat.
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