"I have just come, with my fifteen men, from the ravine of Cirondelles,
upon the road to Thebes. I met a detachment of soldiers; twenty-five
men."
"Where are their guns?"
"I left them. They were percussion muskets, which would not serve us on
account of lack of caps."
"Good! Then?"
"It was market-day; I stopped the passers-by."
"How many?"
"One hundred and forty-two persons."
"And thou hast brought----?"
"About a thousand francs," naming the sum.
"Seven francs per head! It is small!"
"It is good. They were peasants."
"They had not, then, sold their goods?"
"Some had sold, others bought."
The man opened a heavy sack which he carried under his arm; he spread
out the contents before the secretaries, who began to count the amount.
The receipts were from thirty to forty Mexican piastres, some handfuls
of Austrian zwanzigs and an enormous quantity of copper coins. Some
crumpled papers were among the money. They were bank notes of ten francs
each.
"Thou hast no jewels?" asked the King.
"No!"
"Were there no women, then?"
"I found nothing worth bringing away."
"What is that on thy finger?"
"A ring."
"Gold?"
"Or copper; I do not know which."
"Where didst thou get it?"
"I bought it two months ago."
"If thou hadst bought it, thou wouldst know whether it was gold or
copper. Give it to me."
The man took it off with bad grace. The ring was immediately locked up
in a small coffer full of jewels.
"I pardon thee!" said the King, "because of thy bad education. The
people of thy country disgrace theft by mixing knavery with it. If I had
only Ionians in my band, I would be obliged to place turnstiles in the
roads as they do at the Exposition in London, so that I might count the
visitors and the money. The next!"
He, who came forward now, was a tall young man, well-proportioned, and
with a most pleasing face. His round eyes beamed forth rectitude and
good-nature. His lips, half-opened with a pleasant smile, showed a
magnificent set of teeth; I was greatly taken with him, and I said to
myself that if he had been led astray by evil associations, he must
surely return, some day, to the right path. My face must have pleased
him, for he saluted me very politely, before seating himself in front of
the King.