One day when Mathieu was passing along the Avenue d'Antin, it occurred to
him to call at the house to ascertain if Seguin had re-appeared there,
for he had suddenly taken himself off without warning, and had gone, so
it was believed, to Italy. Then, as Mathieu found himself alone with
Celeste, the opportunity seemed to him an excellent one to discover La
Couteau's whereabouts. He asked for news of her, saying that a friend of
his was in need of a good nurse.
"Well, monsieur, you are in luck's way," the maid replied; "La Couteau is
to bring a child home to our neighbor, Madame Menoux, this very day. It
is nearly four o'clock now, and that is the time when she promised to
come. You know Madame Menoux's place, do you not? It is the third shop in
the first street on the left." Then she apologized for being unable to
conduct him thither: "I am alone," she said; "we still have no news of
the master. On Wednesdays Madame presides at the meeting of her society,
and Mademoiselle Andree has just gone out walking with her uncle."
Mathieu hastily repaired to Madame Menoux's shop. From a distance he saw
her standing on the threshold; age had made her thinner than ever; at
forty she was as slim as a young girl, with a long and pointed face.
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