Robineau turned away with a shrug, muttering:
"What fools these bright men are! The idea of talking about a poet to this countryman who doesn’t know about anything except his ducks and his wife and children! I shall never do anything so stupid as that!"
Then, turning to the peasant once more, he said:
"My dear friend, these gentlemen have asked you to name all these places—that’s all right, but they forget the most essential thing, which is to ask the shortest way to Saint-Amand, and consequently to my château, which is close by."
"Oh! messieurs, you want to go down the hill first, then bear to your left; you’ll see Le Crest, and it ain’t far from there to Saint-Amand.—Good-day, messieurs."
"Thanks, my good man."
The peasant went his way, and Robineau, after looking at his watch, cried:
"Come, come, messieurs, forward! Do you know what time it is? Half-past five—think of that!"
"Well! it’s light until almost nine now."
"Light! Oh! that depends on what sort of road you are on. At all events, we haven’t arrived yet."