“And when may I expect to see him?”
“Ah, when—that I cannot tell you. Maybe to-morrow, maybe the next day, maybe the day after, there are no fixed rules for the visits of the governor through the castle of Vincennes.”
“Maybe to-morrow, maybe the next day—but I wish to see him to-day.”
“Monsieur, that is what the prisoners are always saying. If the governor were to obey the requests of everyone he would be run off his legs.”
“I do not wish to run him off his legs. I simply wish to see him.”
“And what does monsieur wish to see him about?”
“Ma foi! what about, that is a secret. I wish to have a private talk with him.”
“A private talk, why that is in any event impossible.”
“Impossible, how do you mean?”
“When the governor visits the prisoners, monsieur, he is always accompanied by a soldier who remains in the room. That is one of the rules of Vincennes.”