"No, German Swiss. For my part, I've no great liking for German Swiss. They're only one remove from Germans. But his money is good, and it's something to make a little money out of the old mill after all these years."
The old man spoke quite frankly, and evidently had no suspicions about his tenant. Pariset thought it safe to disillusion him.
"Would you be surprised to learn that your fisherman is actually a German?" he said.
"But that is impossible," said the miller. "He would have gone back to Germany, because of the war."
"Unless he is a spy! We have reason to believe that he is, and that he is using your mill for the benefit of the enemy. That is what has brought us here."
"Sacre nom de nom!" the old man ejaculated, and the farmer thumped the table and swore. "Is that the truth, monsieur?"
"We suspect him of intending to blow up the railway bridge at a given signal."
"Ah! the villain! And he will use the underground passages. That is why he pays me a high rent, parbleu! But he has come to the end of his tether. You are here to arrest him?"
"No. We have no men with us. We came to learn whether our suspicions were justified. We are not sure of our man yet."
"Bah!" shouted the old man, red with fury. "It is certain. He has fooled me. I will raise the countryside. We will fall on these Germans. Before night they shall lie in the dungeons of Charleroi."