Page:Des Grieux, The Prelude to Teleny.djvu/140

 From where I was I could see him quite well now, I had not been mistaken in my thoughts; it was the junior master, he taught history and mathematics.

I did think it somewhat strange that the matron should call him Guillaume when everybody called him Mr Durieux, but then there were so many other things to astonish me that this incident was soon forgotten.

I waited just a little and I heard the nurse snore—as she always did when she slept—then glided out of my hiding-place, crept on all fours round the screen and thus went back to my bed. There, it did not take me long to fall asleep.

It was late when I woke, nay the nurse was tugging at me to rouse me from my overpowering drowsiness. But what was she saying: The words I heard were: Puttering is the only thing worth living for," and I believed I repeated them in an inarticulate way.

"Get up, it's late," added the nurse,giving me another shake.

I opened my eyes, the matron was there