“I am very glad that I have been able to atone for the discourtesy of the concierge, and that I found you again to-day at the same place.”
“Faith! it’s a mere chance! If I were not waiting for a comrade, whom I agreed to meet in this village, I certainly should not have stayed here.”
“Ah! you are waiting for a comrade?”
“Yes, monsieur.”
Edouard was silent for a moment; he seemed to be reflecting upon what the stranger had said; the latter resumed the conversation.
“Excuse me, monsieur, if I question you in my turn; but how does it happen that the old villain of a proprietor has intrusted the keys of his garden to you?”
“This house no longer belongs to Monsieur Renâré; he has sold it to me this very day.”
“Sold it! Pardieu! I am delighted to hear that. I was distressed to see this house in the clutches of that Arab!”
“You seem to be very fond of this house?”
“I well may be, as I passed a large part of my youth here.”