Page 108 - les-miserables

has travelled knows that there is no one who indulges in
better cheer than wagoners. A fat marmot, flanked by white
partridges and heather-cocks, was turning on a long spit be-
fore the fire; on the stove, two huge carps from Lake Lauzet
and a trout from Lake Alloz were cooking.
The host, hearing the door open and seeing a newcomer
enter, said, without raising his eyes from his stoves:—
‘What do you wish, sir?’
‘Food and lodging,’ said the man.
‘Nothing easier,’ replied the host. At that moment he
turned his head, took in the traveller’s appearance with a
single glance, and added, ‘By paying for it.’
The man drew a large leather purse from the pocket of
his blouse, and answered, ‘I have money.’
‘In that case, we are at your service,’ said the host.
The man put his purse back in his pocket, removed his
knapsack from his back, put it on the ground near the door,
retained his stick in his hand, and seated himself on a low
stool close to the fire. D—— is in the mountains. The eve-
nings are cold there in October.
But as the host went back and forth, he scrutinized the
traveller.
‘Will dinner be ready soon?’ said the man.
‘Immediately,’ replied the landlord.
While the newcomer was warming himself before the
fire, with his back turned, the worthy host, Jacquin Labarre,
drew a pencil from his pocket, then tore off the corner of
an old newspaper which was lying on a small table near the
window. On the white margin he wrote a line or two, folded

108 Les Miserables