"I'll let you have it cheap," answered the host, closing one eye.
We again protested the entire innocence of our trafficking, but obviously did not convince him. He knew that people in our condition did not come to his shanty for nothing. He renewed his attack after supper.
"Why have you come to my dram shop?" he asked.
"Because big hotels are dull," we answered.
He shook his head.
"You have some reason for wanting to get to France secretly," he persisted. "Your papers, for instance, are not in order."
We protested that they were.
"You need not be afraid of me," went on our host. "I am quite trustworthy."
We replied that in spite of the high opinion he had of us we had done nothing to deserve it.