And whenever the stream slackens, why, he invents things just to satisfy his craving for that hubbub on which both his pride and his pocket subsist." Little Massot spoke without bitterness; indeed, he had even begun to laugh again.

Beneath his thoughtless ferocity he really felt some respect for Sagnier.

"Oh! he's a bandit," he continued, "but a clever fellow all the same.

You can't imagine how full of vanity he is.

Lately it occurred to him to get himself acclaimed by the populace, for he pretends to be a kind of King of the Markets, you know.