"It's all that I ask."
"Where is the lieutenant criminal?"
"At the Palais de Justice."
"I will go there at once."
"Let us go together, Gervaise."
"Yes, together. In that way the punishment will follow at once."
"Take my arm, Gervaise."
"Come, monsieur."
They set off toward the Palais de Justice at the same gait at which they were accustomed to repair on Sundays to the Pré-aux-Clercs or the Butte Montmartre.
As they drew near the Temple of Themis, as Jacques Aubry poetically called the edifice in question, Gervaise's pace slackened perceptibly. When they reached the foot of the staircase, she had some difficulty in ascending; and finally, at the door of the lieutenant criminal's sanctum, her legs failed her altogether, and the student felt her whole weight hanging upon his arm.