tubs; and the children, Claude and Etienne, crying, choking, terrified,
clung to her dress with the continuous cry of "Mamma! Mamma!" broken by
their sobs. When she saw Virginie fall she hastened forward, and tried
to pull Gervaise away by her skirt, repeating the while,

"Come now, go home! Be reasonable. On my word, it's quite upset me.
Never was such a butchery seen before."

But she had to draw back and seek refuge again between the two tubs,
with the children. Virginie had just flown at Gervaise's throat. She
squeezed her round the neck, trying to strangle her. The latter freed
herself with a violent jerk, and in her turn hung on to the other's
hair, as though she was trying to pull her head off. The battle was
silently resumed, without a cry, without an insult. They did not seize
each other round the body, they attacked each other's faces with open
hands and clawing fingers, pinching, scratching whatever they caught
hold of. The tall, dark girl's red ribbon and blue silk hair net were
torn off. The body of her dress, giving way at the neck, displayed
a large portion of her shoulder; whilst the blonde, half stripped, a
sleeve gone from her loose white jacket without her knowing how, had
a rent in her underlinen, which exposed to view the naked line of her
waist. Shreds of stuff flew in all directions. It was from Gervaise that
the first blood was drawn, three long scratches from the mouth to the
chin; and she sought to protect her eyes, shutting them at every grab
the other made, for fear of having them torn out. No blood showed on
Virginie as yet. Gervaise aimed at her ears, maddened at not being able
to reach them. At length she succeeded in seizing hold of one of the
earrings--an imitation pear in yellow glass--which she pulled out and
slit the ear, and the blood flowed.