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"'What do you want with me? said Cut-in-half to him, half opening the door. 'I want to speak to you, said the Alderman, who entered almost by force into the little yard; then, seeing the ape still savage after Gringalet, he ran, caught Gargousse by the nape of his neck, and tried to take the child away from under him; but he only then saw that the child was chained to the ape.
This is what I wish to do; I will dress Gargousse in a red coat and a cap with feathers; I will seat Gringalet in a child's chair; then I will put a towel around his neck, and the ape, with a large wooden razor will pretend to shave him. "The Alderman could not keep from laughing at this idea. 'Is it not comical? said Cut-in-half, with a smirking look.
"Hooray! so much the better!" said a prisoner. "But why did he not go and complain to the Alderman?" said Blue Cap; "he would have given Cut-in-half his token!" "Yes, but he did not dare; he was too much afraid, he preferred to run away.
For the fifteen sous which each of the little boys was obliged to bring him, Cut-in-half fed them, lodged them, and clothed them.
"Be quiet; once the story started, he will leave." Pique-Vinaigre continued his recital. "No one knew whence Cut-in-half came; some said he was an Italian, others a gipsy, others a Turk, others an African; the old women called him a magician, although a magician in these days may appear fishy; as for me, I should be quite tempted to say the same as the old women.
As he always had about a dozen boys, and some of the innocents brought sometimes as much as twenty sous a day, Cut-in-half, his expenses paid, and they were not heavy, had for himself about four or five francs each day; with that he frolicked, for note well that he was the greatest drinker on the earth, and was regularly dead drunk once every day.
"Poor little fellow, he was right; no one could no one did come, as you will see. The Alderman had gone, and Cut-in-half had double-locked the door of the court on the inside, and drawn the bolt; no one could come there to the aid of Gringalet." "Oh! this time," said several of the prisoners, much interested in the story, "Gringalet, you are lost!" "Poor little fellow!" "What a pity!"
"And without defense!" "One would be a regular Cut-in-half!" "So much the better!" answered the Cripple and the partisans of Skeleton. "One cannot do too much to a spy!" "Death to him!" "Fall upon him!" "Let us support Skeleton!" "Yes, yes! down with the Blue Cap!" "No; let us sustain the Blue Cap! hang the Skeleton!" answered the party of the Chourineur. "No; down with the Blue Cap!"
The ape cried like a burned child, gnashed his teeth, but fled quickly, and went to take refuge on the top of a shed, where he shook his fist at the Alderman. 'Why do you beat my ape? said Cut-in-half to the Alderman. 'You ought rather to ask me, why I do not beat you, to cause this child such suffering!
"Yes, nothing; for one should not keep a red in his pocket, and thus deprive himself of the pleasure of hearing the adventures of poor little Gringalet, of the terrible Cut-in-half, and the wicked Gargousse; it is enough to break one's heart, to make your hair stand on end. Now, gents, who is it that cannot spare the bagatelle of four coppers, to have his heart broken and his hair stand on end?"
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