When they reached home they found Cachelin, Pitolet, and Boissel laughing immoderately and almost carrying old Savon, whom they jokingly declared they had found on the beach in the company of a girl.
The frightened old man was crying: "It is not true, no, it is not true. It is not right to say that, M. Cachelin, it is not kind."
And Cachelin, choking with laughter, cried: "Ah, you old rogue, did you not call her your 'sweet goose quill'? We caught you, you rascal!"
Then the ladies, too, began to laugh at the dismay of the poor old man.
Cachelin continued: "With M. Torchebeuf's permission, we will keep him prisoner as a punishment and make him dine with us."
The chief good-humouredly consented, and they continued to laugh about the lady abandoned by the old man, who protested all the time, annoyed at this mischievous farce.
The subject was the occasion of inexhaustible wit throughout the evening, which sometimes even bordered on the obscene.
Cora and Mme Torchebeuf, seated under a tent on the lawn, watched the reflections of the setting sun, which threw upon the leaves a purple glow.
Not a breath stirred the branches, a serene and infinite peace fell from the calm and flaming heavens.
Some boats still passed, more slowly, drifting with the tide.