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"Kirikikiou!" At the second cry, a clear, young, merry voice responded from the belly of the elephant: "Yes!" Almost immediately, the plank which closed the hole was drawn aside, and gave passage to a child who descended the elephant's leg, and fell briskly near the man. It was Gavroche. The man was Montparnasse.
This presented a providential occasion to eat another apple-turnover before entering the unknown. Gavroche halted, fumbled in his fob, turned his pocket inside out, found nothing, not even a sou, and began to shout: "Help!" It is hard to miss the last cake. Nevertheless, Gavroche pursued his way. Two minutes later he was in the Rue Saint-Louis.
Little Gavroche appeared to be engaged in intent admiration of a wax bride, in a low-necked dress, and crowned with orange-flowers, who was revolving in the window, and displaying her smile to passers-by, between two argand lamps; but in reality, he was taking an observation of the shop, in order to discover whether he could not "prig" from the shop-front a cake of soap, which he would then proceed to sell for a sou to a "hair-dresser" in the suburbs.
He was so in love with the sensational, notoriety side of the business, so eager to pull wires, and square editors, so frankly exultant in the "big row" coming on, that Meynell, with the Bishop's face still in his mind, could presently hardly endure him. He felt as Renan toward Gavroche.
The gamin, at the sound of Marius' voice, ran up to him with his merry and devoted air. "Will you do something for me?" "Anything," said Gavroche. "Good God! if it had not been for you, I should have been done for." "Do you see this letter?" "Yes." "Take it. The heroic child replied "Well, but! in the meanwhile the barricade will be taken, and I shall not be there."
I was sometimes tempted to say to Gavroche, 'A nice lot of friends you pick up, but I refrained, for, after all, it was an amiable weakness: he might have eaten his dinner all by himself. "The interesting Eponine was more slender and graceful than her brothers, and she was an extraordinarily sensitive, nervous, and electric animal.
The urchin's profound remark recalled Montparnasse to calmness and good sense. He appeared to return to better sentiments with regard to Gavroche's lodging. "Of course," said he, "yes, the elephant. Is it comfortable there?" "Very," said Gavroche. "It's really bully there. There ain't any draughts, as there are under the bridges." "How do you get in?" "Oh, I get in."
And plunging into the darkness with the assurance of a person who is well acquainted with his apartments, he took a plank and stopped up the aperture. Again Gavroche plunged into the obscurity. The children heard the crackling of the match thrust into the phosphoric bottle. The chemical match was not yet in existence; at that epoch the Fumade steel represented progress.
Then the little one, who could no longer control his terror, questioned Gavroche, but in a very low tone, and with bated breath: "Sir?" "Hey?" said Gavroche, who had just closed his eyes. "What is that?" "It's the rats," replied Gavroche. And he laid his head down on the mat again.
A dandy who had lost his way and who lounged past the end of the street created a diversion! Gavroche shouted to him: "Come with us, young fellow! well now, don't we do anything for this old country of ours?" The dandy fled.
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