548
PARTISAN REVIEW
of the cellar. The lentils kept trickling down on to the concrete.
"All right," he said, "let's be done with it."
Resigned at last to the evident fact that to save the ship he must
lighten the cargo, he drew from his pocket a fat billfold, and handed
two notes of a thousand francs each to the ram. The latter pocketed
them, and caught a third one on the fly, which Jamblier in his nervous–
ness had let slip. He put it in his pocket with the others, and showed
a disposition to continue his inventory around the cellar. Convinced
at once of the futility of any attempt to regain the note, J amblier
swallowed his rage and made haste to restore his billfold to a safe
place. Martin, however, went up to Grandgil, who was standing in
front of a heap of sugar sacks, and seized him by the arm, crying:
"You are going to return that money! You are going to give
it
back this minute!"
"Let him alone," said Jamblier, "I don't want any row."
"You get the hell out of here and tend to your rank meat.
This affair is my business."
"This is my place," replied the proprietor, raising his voice. "I
don't want a fracas in my -cellar. You have made too much trouble
for me already, and I have paid out enough money to have peace,
at least."
He spoke all at once with an authority that had been singularly
lacking in him up to this time. Martin noted this with some bitterness,
and dropping Grandgil's arm, he turned toward the little man.
"That's right. Side with him against me."
"I don't care who's right or who's wrong. I tell you, I want
to have peace."
The ram had turned his back on his inventory, and with laugh–
ing eyes was watching the two men as they confronted each other.
Under this glance, Martin felt keenly the humiliation of being taken
to task by the man he had just defended, and who had not ventured
a word or a gesture to resist the robber.
"The hell with your three thousand francs, that's not what I'm
worrying about. But nobody can do a thing like this to me."
"You have already gotten me in a mess," said Jamblier, "that
ought to satisfy you. I want peace. Just layoff."
"All right. You're the boss, aren't you? Let's go pack the
valises."
