"What saved me, I fancy, was this: at the moment I escaped, I heard a great clatter of hoofs——"
"Oho! you heard the sound of horses?" queried Leroux, uneasily.
"Yes; at least, I thought so. But I was so excited! It may have been other brigands, or the constables in pursuit of them."
"Yes, that's so; it might have been."
"I served in the army once, but I confess that I don't care for an encounter with robbers; against such hounds, courage is often of no avail. Besides, I had no weapons about me."
"Ah! you have no weapons?"
"No; my pistols were in the carriage, but they didn't give me time to take them."
Leroux seemed to reflect. Since the stranger had said that he had heard horses on the road, he was less tranquil in his mind.
"You are a woodcutter, I presume?" said the traveller.
"Yes, monsieur; I'm a woodcutter; and this is my wife," said Leroux, pointing to Christine, who was laying the table for supper.