\"Yes，butI’mnotbehindhandeither，\"exclaimedCerizet。\"Ihavecomenowtoshowyouawaytoputthethumbscrewsontheoldmaidandmakeherspinlikeateetotum。Wemustn’tdeceiveourselves；MademoiselleThuillieristheheadandfrontofeverythinginthisaffair；ifwegetheronoursidethetowniswon。Letussaylittle，butthatlittletothepoint，asbecomesstrongmenwitheachother。Claparon，youknow，isafool；he’llbeallhislifewhathealwayswas，——acat’s—paw。JustnowheislendinghisnametoanotaryinParis，whoisconcernedwithalotofcontractors，andtheyareall——notaryandmasons——onthepointofruin。Claparonisgoingheadlongintoit。Heneveryetwasbankrupt；butthere’safirsttimeforeverything。HeishiddennowinmyhovelintheruedesPoules，wherenoonewilleverfindhim。Heisdesperate，andhehasn’tapenny。Now，amongthefiveorsixhousesbuiltbythesecontractors，whichhavetobesold，there’sajewelofahouse，builtoffreestone，intheneighborhoodoftheMadeleine，——afrontagelacedlikeamelon，withbeautifulcarvings，——butnotbeingfinished，itwillhavetobesoldforwhatitwillbring；certainlynotmorethanahundredthousandfrancs。Byspendingtwenty—fivethousandfrancsuponititcouldbelet，undoubtedly，fortenthousand。MakeMademoiselleThuilliertheproprietorofthathouseandyou’llwinherlove；she’llbelievethatyoucanputsuchchancesinherwayeveryyear。Therearetwowaysofgettingholdofvainpeople：flattertheirvanity，ORthreatenthem；
andtherearealsotwowaysofmanagingmisers：filltheirpurse，orelseattackit。Now，thisstrokeofbusiness，whileitdoesgoodtoMademoiselleThuillier，doesgoodtousaswell，anditwouldbeapitynottoprofitbythechance。\"
\"Butwhydoesthenotaryletitslipthroughhisfingers？\"askedDutocq。
\"Thenotary，mydearfellow！Why，he’stheveryonewhosavesus。
Forcedtosellhispractice，andutterlyruinedbesides，hereservedforhimselfthiscrumbofthecake。BelievinginthehonestyofthatidiotClaparon，hehasaskedhimtofindadummypurchaser。We’lllethimsupposethatMademoiselleThuillierisaworthysoulwhoallowsClaparontousehername；they’llbothbefooled，Claparonandthenotarytoo。IowethislittletricktomyfriendClaparon，wholeftmetobearthewholeweightofthetroubleabouthisstock—company，inwhichweweretrickedbyConture，andIhopeyoumayneverbeinthatman’sskin！\"headded，infernalhatredflashingfromhiswornandwitheredeyes。\"Now，I’vesaidmysay，gentlemen，\"hecontinued，sendingouthisvoicethroughhisnasalholes，andtakingadramaticattitude；foronce，atamomentofextremepenury，hehadgoneuponthestage。