At that
moment, the noise of loud quarrelling reached us. We even thought
we heard a dull sound of blows, as if some one was being beaten.
The Green Man quickly rose and hurried to the door by the side of
the fireplace; but it was opened by the landlord who appeared, and
said to the keeper:
"Don't alarm yourself, Monsieur--it is my wife; she has the
toothache." And he laughed. "Here, Mother Angenoux, here are some
scraps for your cat."
He held out a packet to the old woman, who took it eagerly and
went out by the door, closely followed by her cat.
"Then you won't serve me?" asked the Green Man.
Daddy Mathieu's face was placid and no longer retained its
expression of hatred.
"I've nothing for you--nothing for you. Take yourself off."
The Green Man quietly refilled his pipe, lit it, bowed to us, and
went out. No sooner was he over the threshold than Daddy Mathieu
slammed the door after him and, turning towards us, with eyes
bloodshot, and frothing at the mouth, he hissed to us, shaking his
clenched fist at the door he had just shut on the man he evidently
hated:
"I don't know who you are who tell me 'We shall have to eat red
meat--now'; but if it will interest you to know it--that man is
the murderer!"
With which words Daddy Mathieu immediately left us.
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