"Nothing."
"I thought so."
Brutandor, without heeding the irony of those words, began to whisper, bringing his mouth close to his friend's ear:—
"I have been for the last fortnight at La Florida, hiding in the house of the laundrymen...."
"Man! if I had known it, I should have made you a visit."
"Don't say anything about visits! They might follow you, and get their hands on me."
"And how have you enjoyed your visit in the country?"
"I had a pretty fair sort of time. There was only one bed in the house; in the night while the laundrymen were asleep, I would go out, and take a walk along the river bank, and at sunrise, when the men were up, I used to go to bed."
"How cool and delightful it must have been!"
"Well, sometimes it would nauseate me a little; do you wonder? The Countess de Ríos used to send me my meals with great precautions, changing the servant every time.... But day before yesterday the laundryman did not sleep in the house, and this, as you can easily imagine, worried me...."