Alpha Book

"
"Has a cat five claws?" asked Anastase, appealing anxiously to Orsino.
"Of course, but you would only see four on the skin."
"I insist upon knowing," said Madame d'Aragona. "This is dreadful! Has
no one got a tiger? What sort of studio is this--with no tiger!"
"I am not Sarah Bernhardt, nor the emperor of Siam," observed Gouache,
with a laugh.
But Madame d'Aragona was not satisfied.
"I am sure you could procure me one, Prince," she said, turning to
Orsino. "I am sure you could, if you would! I shall cry if I do not have
one, and it will be your fault."
"Would you like the animal alive or dead?" inquired Orsino gravely, and
he rose from his seat.
"Ah, I knew you could procure the thing!" she exclaimed with grateful
enthusiasm. "Alive or dead, Gouache? Quick--decide!"
"As you please, Madame. If you decide to have him alive, I will ask
permission to exchange a few words with my wife and children, while some
one goes for a priest."
"You are sublime, to-day. Dead, then, if you please, Prince.


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