Note 86 — Chapter XXIII · THE ORGANISATION OF OUR COMMON LIFE—THE “SIRIUSES”—WAGERS
Helen Chisholm translation
This simply meant a kopeck’s worth; the expression had originated in the wish to disguise from the gendarme who was always on guard in the corridor the extremely small amount of such an order, but naturally in the course of time the gendarmes had come to understand our argot thoroughly, so that there was no longer any real deception.