"Poor wretches," said I; "I should have thought that they'd be more afraid of you than you of them. Did they ever do you any harm?" "No," he answered, "I've never had any trouble with them myself, but they _have_ been known to attack carriages, and to be very awkward customers, too; and as I like to be on the safe side, I always take arms with me, as you see." "Why, one might think these escaped prisoners were regular banditti to hear you talk," I returned, rather scornfully; for I did not believe in there being any real ground for alarm on account of _penitenciers_. "Well, and so they are," he replied; "there's plenty of room for any number of people to hide amongst the various kinds of bushes--_maquis_ as we call them--which grow wild over the hills and large tracts of uninhabited waste land. They form almost impenetrable thickets, where a _penitencier_ has little trouble in keeping out of the way; there he lives as best he can, subsisting chiefly on the quails and woodcocks, of which the _maquis_ is full, and helping himself to the property of other people whenever he gets a chance. For he is sure to be a _vaurien_." I shrugged my shoulders, thinking it would be a long while before _I_ should take the trouble to carry arms for fear of some Mrs. Harris of a _penitencier_, who probably had no existence save in the imaginations of the timid and the credulous. Our conversation ended there, as Kitty had completed her sketch, and we resumed our course. That evening I told her of the driver's absurd precautions, and found she was as much amused at the idea as I was, and we had a good laugh at the man's excessive prudence. It was, however, a joke which was not imparted to Mrs. Rollin, as she, being somewhat inclined to be nervous, might possibly not have regarded the matter in the same light that we did; and the knowledge of the driver's thinking it necessary to carry pistols would perhaps have put uncomfortable notions into her head. Of course anything likely to do that was to be avoided most carefully; as, if she became alarmed or disgusted in any way, she might insist on cutting short the expedition, and returning at once to more civilised places, which would have been a great bore. I was far more afraid of this happening than of any perils from _penitenciers_; and I eagerly seconded Kitty's efforts to make everything smooth and pleasant, and to keep her aunt contented.