"Enter Paris! You have chosen a nice time! There are many people in it who would be only too glad to make their escape. Who is this citoyenne?" added the officer, pointing to Dolores.
"That is my daughter."
"Be seated, citoyenne," said the lieutenant, politely offering Dolores his own chair.
She accepted it, and the examination continued.
"From whence do you come?"
"From Beaucaire."
"Afoot?"
"No, citizen; we left the coach at Montgeron. The driver had no other passengers, and, when he heard of the troubles in Paris, he declared he would wait there until they were over. His coach was loaded with merchandise, and he feared it would be taken from him."
"Does he take patriots for bandits?" exclaimed the officer, angrily. "If I am on guard here when his coach enters the city, he will receive the lesson he deserves. You said you had passports, I think?"
"Here they are!"