“Hope I don’t disturb you?” said a cheerful voice, and they both turned, to see with horror the common little man, with a great bundle of Sunday newspapers under his arm. He had politely taken off his hat and stood smiling at them.
“They told me down at the house that this was a pretty walk,” he said. “And it certainly is. Fine air to-day, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” said Claudine, in her most distrait, affable way. “It’s a lovely day.”
“Would you like to see the papers?” he asked.
“No, thank you. We’re going back at once.... We just stopped for the view.”
He smiled.
“A tame little view!” he said. “I guess I’ll find something better than this before I’ve finished.”
“How?” asked Andrée, abruptly.
“I’m going to climb some of these peaks. I’ve done a lot of climbing in the Alps,” he said. “I’ve got the head for it, and the legs. Why, there wasn’t one of those millionaire sportsmen who could beat me at it. These peaks look like hills to me.”
His boasting was somehow ameliorated by his good-humour. And one couldn’t help believing that he actually had defeated millionaire sportsmen.