"'I shall only pay when the fancy takes me,' returned Maxime, and he
rang for Suzon. 'It was very rash of Claparon to buy up bills of mine
without speaking to me beforehand. I am sorry for him, for he did so
very well for such a long time as a man of straw for friends of mine.
I always said that a man must really be weak in his intellect to work
for men that stuff themselves with millions, and to serve them so
faithfully for such low wages. And now here he gives me another proof
of his stupidity! Yes, men deserve what they get. It is your own doing
whether you get a crown on your forehead or a bullet through your
head; whether you are a millionaire or a porter, justice is always
done you. I cannot help it, my dear fellow; I myself am not a king, I
stick to my principles. I have no pity for those that put me to
expense or do not know their business as creditors.--Suzon! my tea! Do
you see this gentleman?' he continued when the man came in. 'Well, you
have allowed yourself to be taken in, poor old boy. This gentleman is
a creditor; you ought to have known him by his boots. No friend nor
foe of mine, nor those that are neither and want something of me, come
to see me on foot.--My dear M. Cerizet, do you understand? You will
not wipe your boots on my carpet again' (looking as he spoke at the
mud that whitened the enemy's soles). 'Convey my compliments and
sympathy to Claparon, poor buffer, for I shall file this business
under the letter Z.'

"All this with an easy good-humor fit to give a virtuous citizen the
colic.

"'You are wrong, Monsieur le Comte,' retorted Cerizet, in a slightly
peremptory tone. 'We will be paid in full, and that in a way which you
may not like. That is why I came to you first in a friendly spirit, as
is right and fit between gentlemen--'