If I pounced upon them in the midst of a meal, at
least they could not escape before being recognised by me: and as to
what should come after recognition, the moment of meeting must decide.
The five franc piece worked like a charm. I was promptly ushered into
the dining-room, and standing just inside the door, I swept the long
table with a quick, eager glance. About eighteen or twenty people were
dining, but, though several were unmistakably English, I saw no one who
resembled my travelling companions.
Everyone turned and stared. There was no face of which I had not a good
view. In a low voice I asked the servant which were the new arrivals of
whom he had spoken. He pointed them out, and added that, though they had
come only that day from England, they were old patrons, well known in
the house.
As I lingered, deeply disappointed, the elderly proprietor of the
_pension_, who superintended the comfort of his guests, trotted fussily
up to enquire the stranger's business in his dining-room. I explained
that I had hoped to find friends, and was so polite that I contrived to
get permission for my cabman to have a peep through the crack of the
door.
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