"Indeed!"
"Yes, as I have the honour of telling you."
"Still, when I met you, you were alone."
"Granted."
"Well?"
"The others were further off, that's all."
"What others?"
"The persons who accompanied me."
"Ah! And who are they?"
"That is the question——Nonsense," he said, a minute after, as if holding a conversation with himself, "the most disadvantageous reports are current about me. I am accused of a number of bad actions; suppose I were to try and do a good one, that might change my luck. Who knows whether I may not be rewarded at a later date? At any rate, here goes."