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lowed these hints, walking with great strides, and talking to
himself the while:—
‘That man is evidently a million dressed in yellow, and
I am an animal. First he gave twenty sous, then five francs,
then fifty francs, then fifteen hundred francs, all with equal
readiness. He would have given fifteen thousand francs. But
I shall overtake him.’
And then, that bundle of clothes prepared beforehand
for the child; all that was singular; many mysteries lay con-
cealed under it. One does not let mysteries out of one’s hand
when one has once grasped them. The secrets of the wealthy
are sponges of gold; one must know how to subject them to
pressure. All these thoughts whirled through his brain. ‘I
am an animal,’ said he.
When one leaves Montfermeil and reaches the turn which
the road takes that runs to Livry, it can be seen stretching
out before one to a great distance across the plateau. On ar-
riving there, he calculated that he ought to be able to see
the old man and the child. He looked as far as his vision
reached, and saw nothing. He made fresh inquiries, but he
had wasted time. Some passers-by informed him that the
man and child of whom he was in search had gone towards
the forest in the direction of Gagny. He hastened in that di-
rection.
They were far in advance of him; but a child walks slowly,
and he walked fast; and then, he was well acquainted with
the country.
All at once he paused and dealt himself a blow on his
forehead like a man who has forgotten some essential point