ter, with blood streaming out of your nose, out of your
mouth, and even out of your eyes."

"All that is as true as the gospel, Monsieur de Coconnas. But the noise
you heard was the bullet striking against my sallat, on which
fortunately it flattened itself; but the blow was none the less severe,
and the proof of it," added La Huriere, lifting his cap and displaying a
pate as bald as a man's knee, "is that as you see I have not a spear of
hair left."

The two young men burst out laughing when they saw his grotesque
appearance.

"Aha! you laugh, do you?" said La Huriere, somewhat reassured, "you do
not come, then, with any evil intentions."

"Now tell us, Maitre La Huriere, are you entirely cured of your
bellicose inclinations?"

"Faith, that I am, gentlemen; and now"--

"Well, and now"--

"Now I have vowed not to meddle with any other fire than that in my
kitchen."

"Bravo!" cried Coconnas, "see how prudent he is! Now," added the
Piedmontese, "we left in your stables two horses, and in your rooms two
portmanteaus."

"Oh, the devil!" replied the landlord, scratching his ear.

"Well?"

"Two horses, you say?"

"Yes, in your stable."

"And two portmanteaus?"

"Yes, in the rooms we had."

"The truth is, don't you see--you thought I was dead, didn't you?"

"Certainly we did."

"You will agree that as you were mistaken, I also might be."

"What? In believing that we also were dead? You were perfectly free."

"Now that's it. You see, as you died intestate," continued Maitre La
Huriere.

"Go on"--

"I believed something, I was mistaken, I see it now"--

"Tell us, what was it you believed?"

"I believed that I might consider myself your heir."

"Oho!" exclaimed the two young men.

"Nevertheless, I could not be more grateful to find that you are alive,
gentlemen."

"So you sold our horses, did you?" asked Coconnas.

"Alas!" cried La Huriere.

"And our portmanteaus?" insisted La Mole.

"Oh! your portmanteaus? Oh, no," cried La Huriere, "only what was in
them."

"Now look here, La Mole," persisted Coconnas, "it seems to me that this
is a bold rascal; suppose we disembowel him!"

This threat seemed to have great effect on Maitre La Huriere, who
stammered out these words:

"Well, gentlemen, I rather think the affair can be arranged."

"Listen!" said La Mole, "I am the one who has the greatest cause of
complaint against you."

"Certainly, Monsieur le Comte, for I recollect that in a mome