"Ought I to get out?"
"By no means! Do not stir! I am going to put the lifting-jack under the car, and shall replace the damaged tire in no time."
Fandor was only a few yards off.
The man in the fur coat, evidently his own chauffeur, half turned towards the soldier, adding:
"Unfortunately, my jack does not work very well, I doubt if I can succeed unaided in getting it under the wheel-base."
"Can I give you a lift?" asked Fandor.
The chauffeur turned with a smile.
"That is very kind of you, Corporal.... I will not refuse your help."
From a box he extracted a lifting-jack which, to Fandor's expert eye, did not seem to function so badly as all that. The chauffeur slipped it under the car. Fandor lent an experienced hand, and lifted the wheel, whose tire had just given up the ghost.
"There, Monsieur! These punctures are the cause of endless delays," remarked Fandor, for the sake of saying something. The priest shrugged, and said in a disagreeable tone: