I must leave this work to thee, _gacheur_. And stand up and
touch a hand to thy cap when I speak to thee, slow-worm."
"Yes, monsieur," said Hyacinthe wearily.
It is hard to do all the work and to be beaten into the bargain. And
fourteen is not very old. Hyacinthe worked on at the cabinet with his
slow and exquisite skill. But on Christmas eve he was still at work,
and the cabinet unfinished.
"The master will beat me," thought Hyacinthe, and he trembled a
little, for Pierre's beatings were cruel. "But if I hurry, I shall
spoil the wood, and it is too beautiful to be spoiled."
But he trembled again when Pierre came into the workshop, and he stood
up and touched his cap.
"Is the cabinet finished, _imbecile_?" asked Pierre. And Hyacinthe
answered in a low voice, "No, it is not finished yet, monsieur."
"Then work on it all night, and show it to me completed in the
morning, or thy bones shall mourn thine idleness," said Pierre, with a
wicked look in his little eyes. And he shut Hyacinthe into the shed
with a smoky lamp, his tools, and the sandalwood cabinet.
It was nothing unusual. He had been often left before to finish a
piece of work overnight while Pierre went off to his brandies. But
this was Christmas eve, and he was very tired. Even the scent of the
sandalwood could not make him fancy he was warm.
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