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PARTISAN REVIEW
tion that reassured him as to the human conscience. In short, Jamblier
had a practical but optimistic notion of good and evil. For this reason,
the huge duplicity of Grandgil which functioned continuously with–
out regard to circumstances, his unaccountable perfidy, seemed to
Jamblier to be phenomena outside of nature, belonging to the realm
of metaphysics. Anger began gradually to rise in him.
"Not a cent," he stammered. "Not a cent."
Martin, who had, in spite of his somewhat irregular life, a
concept of honesty much stricter than that of Jamblier, and who
was quite ready to believe in ethical imperatives and absolutes, felt
almost the same amazement at the perfidy of the ram. However,
he was not sorry to see the boss taught a lesson, and he refrained
from interfering.
"Not a cent," insisted Jamblier. "No."
Upon this the ram set up a howl to split the eardrums, m a
ringing voice whose high notes were a trifle brassy:
"Give me two thousand francs, for God's sake! Jamblier! Jam–
blier! two thousand francs! J amblier !"
"I don't wish to intrude," said Martin in the silence which
followed. "But if you need somebody to ram his voice down his
throat.... "
"Jamblier!" howled Grandgil once more.
With one hand, J amblier made a sign to him to be still, and
with the other he drew out his billfold. Grandgil, having pocketed
the two notes, picked up the valise which he had put down, and
started toward the door. On the threshold, he made one more pause,
and began:
"I still have to have.... "
But he broke down in a wild laughter, bending over the valises
with shaking shoulders, and the words stuck in his throat.
The night was black and rough, the sky sheeted to the zenith
with clouds trailed by the north wind. Martin declared that it must
be four below freezing and the weather was surely going to clear.
The keen air which whistled down Poliveau Street was already stif–
fening their fingers on the valise handles. The two men turned up
their coat collars, and walked with heads down to expose themselves
less to the cold.
"Let's get down on the street," said Martin.
"If
you can do
