Page 416 - les-miserables

at four o’clock to-morrow morning?’
‘Certainly not.’
‘There is one thing to be said about that, you see, by tak-
ing post-horses— Monsieur has his passport?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, by taking post-horses, Monsieur cannot reach Ar-
ras before to-morrow. We are on a cross-road. The relays
are badly served, the horses are in the fields. The season for
ploughing is just beginning; heavy teams are required, and
horses are seized upon everywhere, from the post as well as
elsewhere. Monsieur will have to wait three or four hours
at the least at every relay. And, then, they drive at a walk.
There are many hills to ascend.’
‘Come then, I will go on horseback. Unharness the
cabriolet. Some one can surely sell me a saddle in the neigh-
borhood.’
‘Without doubt. But will this horse bear the saddle?’
‘That is true; you remind me of that; he will not bear it.’
‘Then—‘
‘But I can surely hire a horse in the village?’
‘A horse to travel to Arras at one stretch?’
‘Yes.’
‘That would require such a horse as does not exist in
these parts. You would have to buy it to begin with, because
no one knows you. But you will not find one for sale nor to
let, for five hundred francs, or for a thousand.’
‘What am I to do?’
‘The best thing is to let me repair the wheel like an honest
man, and set out on your journey to-morrow.’

416 Les Miserables