Part 17 (1/2)
”With what purpose?”
”With the purpose of going to a certain place.”
”Did I take a light?”
”No, you had none.”
”How did I walk?”
”Feeling your way.”
”You hear him, messieurs; I felt my way because I had no light; he doesn't make a mistake as to a single detail.--Let's go on: where did I go?”
”Out into the corridor; you forgot that you had been told that it was the door at the left; you turned to the right and came into this room.”
”Exactly,--and then?”
”You found a soup-tureen, and you used it for----”
”Better and better!”
”The noise woke our host; he yelled and went out to get out a light, and meanwhile you hid the tureen under the bed.”
”Exactly. Look and see if he is mistaken in a single point!”
The servants did in fact find the tureen, which they soon returned to its place, holding their noses. The host was stupefied; but his spoiled soup-stock made him rather sulky, for he expected to make soup with it for a whole week. My companion, seeing what disturbed him, came back to me.
”What has it been my intention to do, since I discovered my mistake?”
”To give our host twelve francs as compensation for this accident.”
”Parbleu! exactly! Twelve francs! I told you so a moment ago, my dear host, to appease your wrath.”
”No, monsieur, I a.s.sure you that you never mentioned it.”
”No? Well, I had it on the tip of my tongue. Now you are satisfied, I hope, and I can wake our young man.”
He came to me and pinched the end of my little finger. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, like a person just waking, and naturally asked what I was doing there.
My companion glanced at the people of the inn; they were so surprised by all that they had seen and heard, that they stared at me as at a supernatural being.
”Now let's go back to bed,” said the crafty hunchback. ”Until to-morrow, messieurs; I promise you that you will see many more wonderful things, if you allow us to make our experiments in peace.”
My companion took my arm and we returned to our room, leaving the inn-keeper and his servants a.s.suring one another that all that they had just seen had really happened.
XII
MARVELOUS EXPERIMENTS OF THE LITTLE HUNCHBACK