"We are going," said Robineau; "we leave my travelling chaise here, with our trunks and luggage, monsieur l’aubergiste. François, my valet, will come to-morrow to get everything, with a horse to draw the carriage; these gentlemen wish to walk the rest of the way."
"Oh! you are going to see a beautiful country, messieurs."
"Yes, but it would be well for us to know in which direction we must go."
"There’s a pleasant crossroad through the mountains to Saint-Saturnin, which is only half a league from Saint-Amand; and then there’s the main road to Issoire and Saint-Flour."
"No; no main roads," said Edouard; "we want something varied, picturesque, even terrible!"
"One moment, messieurs; I don’t propose to walk on the brink of precipices, myself! Perhaps it would be wiser to take a guide through this region, with which we are entirely unacquainted."
The stranger, having overheard Robineau’s last words, suddenly approached the three young men, and said, without removing his hat:
"If you need a guide, messieurs, I can serve you; for I have done nothing but stroll about the neighborhood for a week, and I am beginning to know it well."
Alfred and Edouard hesitated; but Robineau, to whom the stranger’s face was most unpleasant, replied hastily:
"No, no, we don’t need anybody. I was joking; we are big enough to find our way ourselves."