than people suppose. The eight bullies, who packed themselves in a
circle around us, were so filthy in appearance that I should have wished
to give them my money with a pair of tongs. You might guess, with a
little effort, that their caps had been red; but lye-wash itself could
not have restored the original color of their clothes. All the rocks of
the kingdom had stained their cotton shirts, and their vests preserved a
sample of the different soils on which they had reposed. Their hands,
their faces, and even their moustachios were of a reddish-gray, like the
soil which supports them. Every animal is colored according to its abode
and its habits: the foxes of Greenland are of the color of snow; lions,
of the desert; partridges, of the furrow; Greek brigands, of
the highway.

The chief of the little troop which had made us prisoners was
distinguished by no outward mark. Perhaps, however, his face, his hands,
and his clothes were richer in dust than those of his comrades. He
leaned toward us from the height of his tall figure, and examined us so
closely that I felt the grazing of his moustachios. You would have
pronounced him a tiger, who smells of his prey before tasting it. When
his curiosity was satisfied, he said to Dimitri, "Empty your pockets!"

Dimitri did not give him cause to repeat the order: he threw down before
him a knife, a tobacco-pouch, and three Mexican dollars, which compose a
sum of about sixteen francs.

"Is that all?" demanded the brigand.

"Yes, brother."

"You are the servant?"