We and the young Indians now laughed in concert; and this incident led on to a long conversation between Sumichrast and me. L'Encuerado, who, we had imagined, envied us our white skins, pitied us, in fact; as no doubt he would himself have been pitied by Nubians, because he was only copper-colored.
"Why," said Lucien, who came up to us just as the discussion began, "are not all men the same color? What is the reason of it, M. Sumichrast?"
"It is owing to the influence of the sun, which more or less colors the pigment of the skin."
"The pigment?"
"Yes; a brown matter which exists under the skin, and gives to it a shade more or less dark."
"Then Europeans have no pigment?"
"Yes, they have, just like all other races of men; only this matter does not affect the whole of their bodies. The brown spots which cover the face and hands of some people are produced by the pigment making its way through the epidermis."
"Then," replied Lucien, "negroes would become white if they lived in Europe."
"No," I answered, smiling; "the sun shines in Europe as well as in America, and however weak its action may be, it is sufficient to blacken the pigment."
"But if they always lived in the shade?" cried l'Encuerado.