"So is he," he answered, undaunted.

I left the matter there for a moment, while I summoned La Font
and the servants; whose rage, when, entering a-tiptoe and with
some misgiving, they discovered how they had been deceived, and
by whom, was scarcely to be restrained even by my presence.
However, aided by Philibert's comicalities, I presently secured a
truce, and the two strollers vacating in my honour the table by
the fire--though they had not the slightest notion who I was we
were soon on terms. I had taken the precaution to bring a meal
with me, and while La Trape and his companion unpacked it, and I
dried my riding boots, I asked the players who it was they had
meant to frighten.

They were not very willing to tell me, but at length confessed,
to my astonishment, that it was M. Grabot.

"Grabot--Grabot!" I said, striving to recollect where I had
heard the name. "The Mayor of Bottitort?"

The solemn man made an atrocious grimace. Then, "Yes, monsieur,
the Mayor of Bottitort," he said frankly. "A year ago he put
Philibert in the stocks for a riddle; that is his affair. And
the woman of this house has more than once befriended me, and he
is for turning her out for a debt she does not owe; and that is
my affair. However, your lordship's arrival has saved him for
this time."

"You expected him here this evening, then?"