Recollect! He had suffered so much; it was not surprising if his disposition had soured! But it would pass off when his health returned.

And if any one hinted that Coupeau seemed all right again, that he could very well return to work, she protested: No, no; not yet! She did not want to see him take to his bed again.

They would allow her to know best what the doctor said, perhaps! It was she who prevented him returning to work, telling him every morning to take his time and not to force himself.

She even slipped twenty sou pieces into his waistcoat pocket.

Coupeau accepted this as something perfectly natural.