Laisangy bit his lips so fiercely that the blood started. Then suddenly, as if a thought had struck him, he cried:
"Come now, Carmen, don't say any more nasty things to me. I am an old man and have had many troubles."
"Indeed?"
"You have never questioned me like this before. Even my appetite offends you. Surely, there is no crime in that! You want to know something about me. One thing I will tell you—it may strike you as rather a joke. Once in Italy, going from one city to another, I had a large sum of money with me, and I was taken by brigands. These villains took it into their heads to sell me every mouthful I ate at its weight in gold. For some time I would not yield, and was nearly starved. Since that time I have had paroxysms of violent hunger. Do you see?"
Carmen did not see, and she said:
"But why did not the brigands take your money without subjecting you to this torture?"
Laisangy looked troubled as he replied:
"I am sure I don't know."
"It looks to me as if these men whom you call brigands were inflicting a chastisement upon you, perhaps."