Short Stories, vol 11 | Page 6

of the houses; there were still twenty-eight.
That was all right, so she had time to consider, and she walked slower
and slower. Suddenly she saw a door on which was a large brass plate
with "La Maternelle Fire Assurance Office" engraved on it. Already!
She waited a moment, for she felt nervous and almost ashamed; then
she walked past, came back, walked past again, and came back again.
At last she said to herself:
"I must go in, however, so I may as well do it sooner as later."
She could not help noticing, however, how her heart beat as she entered.
She went into an enormous room with grated doors all round it, and
above them little openings at which a man's head appeared, and as a
gentleman carrying a number of papers passed her, she stopped him
and said timidly: "I beg your pardon, monsieur, but can you tell me
where I must apply for payment for anything that has been accidentally
burned?"
He replied in a sonorous voice:
"The first door on the left; that is the department you want."
This frightened her still more, and she felt inclined to run away, to put
in no claim, to sacrifice her eighteen francs. But the idea of that sum
revived her courage, and she went upstairs, out of breath, stopping at
almost every other step.
She knocked at a door which she saw on the first landing, and a clear
voice said, in answer:
"Come in!"
She obeyed mechanically, and found herself in a large room where
three solemn gentlemen, all with a decoration in their buttonholes, were
standing talking.
One of them asked her: "What do you want, madame?"
She could hardly get out her words, but stammered: "I have come--I
have come on account of an accident, something--".
He very politely pointed out a seat to her,
"If you will kindly sit down I will attend to you in a moment."
And, returning to the other two, he went on with the conversation.
"The company, gentlemen, does not consider that it is under any
obligation to you for more than four hundred thousand francs, and we
can pay no attention to your claim to the further sum of a hundred
thousand, which you wish to make us pay. Besides that, the surveyor's

valuation--"
One of the others interrupted him:
"That is quite enough, monsieur; the law courts will decide between us,
and we have nothing further to do than to take our leave." And they
went out after mutual ceremonious bows.
Oh! if she could only have gone away with them, how gladly she would
have done it; she would have run away and given up everything. But it
was too late, for the gentleman came back, and said, bowing:
"What can I do for you, madame?"
She could scarcely speak, but at last she managed to say:
"I have come-for this."
The manager looked at the object which she held out to him in mute
astonishment.
With trembling fingers she tried to undo the elastic, and succeeding,
after several attempts, she hastily opened the damaged remains of the
umbrella.
"It looks to me to be in a very bad state of health," he said
compassionately.
"It cost me twenty francs," she said, with some hesitation.
He seemed astonished. "Really! As much as that?"
"Yes, it was a capital article, and I wanted you to see the condition it is
in."
"Yes, yes, I see; very well. But I really do not understand what it can
have to do with me."
She began to feel uncomfortable; perhaps this company did not pay for
such small articles, and she said:
"But--it is burned."
He could not deny it.
"I see that very well," he replied.
She remained open-mouthed, not knowing what to say next; then,
suddenly recollecting that she had left out the main thing, she said
hastily:
"I am Mme. Oreille; we are assured in La Maternelle, and I have come
to claim the value of this damage."
"I only want you to have it re-covered," she added quickly, fearing a
positive refusal.
The manager was rather embarrassed, and said: "But, really, madame,

we do not sell umbrellas; we cannot undertake such kinds of repairs."
The little woman felt her courage reviving; she was not going to give
up without a struggle; she was not even afraid any more, and said:
"I only want you to pay me the cost of repairing it; I can quite well get
it done myself."
The gentleman seemed rather confused.
"Really, madame, it is such a very small matter! We are never asked to
give compensation for such trivial losses. You must allow that we
cannot make good pocket-handkerchiefs, gloves, brooms, slippers, all
the small articles which are every day exposed