I told him openly whence I had come, by what road, how long I had stayed in Auch, and where; and so far I satisfied his curiosity.

Only, when I came to the subject of my visit to Cocheforet I kept a mysterious silence, hinting darkly at business in Spain and friends across the border, and this and that; in this way giving the peasants to understand, if they pleased, that I was in the same interest as their exiled master.
They took the bait, winked at one another, and began to look at me in a more friendly way--the landlord foremost.

But when I had led them so far, I dared go no farther, lest I should commit myself and be found out.

I stopped, therefore, and, harking back to general subjects, chanced to compare my province with theirs.

The landlord, now become almost talkative, was not slow to take up this challenge; and it presently led to my acquiring a curious piece of knowledge.