"I am one of the principal actors at the Odeon.

You know the Odeon ?" The watchman shook his head.

No, he did not know the Odeon.

After a prolonged silence, he once more opened the black cavern of his mouth: "And so, young man, you are on the loose.

You don't want to go back to the works, eh ?" Chevalier replied: "Read the paper the day after to-morrow, you will see my name in it." The old man tried to discover a meaning in these words, but it was too difficult; he gave it up, and reverted to his familiar train of thought.
"When once one's off on the loose, it is sometimes for weeks and months." At daybreak, Chevalier resumed his wanderings.