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Pique-Vinaigre continued: "Cut-in-half, who feared the Alderman as he did fire, had grumblingly loosened the child from the chain; when that was done, the Alderman threw Gargousse into the air, received him on the end of a most magnificent kick, and sent him sprawling ten feet off.
Gargousse, chained and crouching on the body of his master, and playing with the razor; poor Gringalet, happily out of his reach, still seated, and tied on the chair, not daring to cast his eyes on the dead body, and looking at guess what? The little golden fly, which, after having fluttered around the child, as if to felicitate him, had finally come and seated itself on his little hand.
Unfortunately, Cut-in-half had seen him; he caught him by the throat, and carried him back to the garret; this time Gringalet, thinking of what he had to expect, shuddered from head to foot, for he was not at the end of his troubles. Speaking of the troubles of Gringalet, it is necessary that I should tell you of Gargousse, the favorite ape.
"It is true, there are men more cruel than the most cruel beasts." "When Cut-in-half had done this, he said to his ape, which appeared to understand him, "'Attention, Gargousse! they have led and shown you, now in your turn you shall show Gringalet; he shall be your ape. Come, hop, stand up, Gringalet, or I say to Gargousse, 'Speak to him, fellow!"
He could prevent the patterer from finishing his story, but then his last hope vanished of seeing the keeper retire before the hour in which Germain would be in safety. "Oh! stupid, is it?" said Pique-Vinaigre. "Well, the honorable society shall be the judge. "There was not then an animal more wicked than the large ape Gargousse, which was, above all, as savage as his master toward children.
"'But why have you chosen Gringalet rather than any other? "'Because he is the smallest of all, and, being seated, Gargousse will be larger than he is; besides, I intended to give half the profits to Gringalet. "'If this is so, said the Alderman, reassured by the hypocrisy of the owner of the beasts, 'I regret the dose I gave you; consider it as an advance against the next time you do wrong.
Seeing this, Gargousse, his master setting him at the child continually, mounted on his back, took him by the neck, and fell to biting him, until he made the blood come. 'Oh! the spider of my dream the spider! cried Gringalet in a stifled voice, believing now that he was going to be killed. Suddenly there was a knock at the door!" "Ah! the Alderman!" cried the prisoners with joy.
Never had the child been more afraid of him. "Gargousse was chained to the foot of the bed. In the middle of the room was a chair with a cord hanging on the back. "Gringalet seated himself trembling.
While Gargousse was eating, he passed a cord through the end of his chain, and fastened it to a tree; and when he had the scoundrel of an ape once tied fast, he poured on him such a torrent of blows! a torrent that fire could not have extinguished." "Good boy!" "Bravo! Auvergnat!" "Hit him again, he's got no friends." "Break his back for him, the rascally Gargousse," said the prisoners.
But the vagabond Gargousse watched him out of the corner of his eye, all wounded as he was, and as soon as he saw himself alone and Auvergnat at a distance, he gnawed the cord with his teeth. The Boulevard Monceau, where he had had his dance, was very near Little Poland; the ape knew the road as well as he did his prayers.
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