The two men looked at one another for some minutes in silence, just as two clever duelists might have done before venturing on the attack. But though each tried to read the other, their faces were like marble.
At a mute invitation from the outlaw, the stranger took a seat, and at once commenced the conversation.
"Sir," he said, "it is a matter of surprise, that you, a perfect stranger, should address me by a name—"
"Which is or has once been yours, monsieur," answered the outlaw chief, with freezing politeness.
"That is quite possible. I do not deny it. When one travels in foreign parts on important business, incognito—"
"Is adopted, I am aware, which only deceives fools and dupes," said the outlaw, speaking slowly.
"What do you mean, sir?" cried the other.
"I recollect a certain Count de Mas d'Azyr, an excellent gentleman of Languedoc, who had this mania."
The stranger shivered all over, and a lightning flash darted from beneath his dark and heavy eyebrows.