"A hundred louis to the man who brings back the carriage!" said Goton. "They will be very smart if they overtake it," said Dubourg, in an undertone; "it must be near to Paris now." "But how did you come to be locked into the shed with Goton?" inquired the innkeeper. "I should think you might guess that. I heard a noise in the yard during the night; I came downstairs softly and found my rascal harnessing the horses, intending to make his escape while we were asleep. Unluckily, I had no weapons, and the postilion is a much stronger man than I am. I attempted to go to call you, but the villain seized me, and, despite my resistance, forced me into the barn, where this girl was sleeping, and locked us in there. We began at once to shout for help; but you sleep like dead men." "Yes, yes, that's how it was!" said Goton, understanding now why Dubourg had told her to shout _thieves_. "You must go to monsieur le maire," said Ménard; "you must have the police ordered out.--There's a mayor here, of course?" "Yes, monsieur; the wine merchant; but he'll have to send to the next village for the police, and that will take two hours." "Don't be disturbed, my dear Ménard," said Frédéric, with a smile, "we have a comfortable post chaise to take the place of monsieur le baron's berlin." "But fifty thousand francs in gold, monsieur le comte!" "Oh! it isn't the loss of the money that distresses me," said Dubourg; "my fortune can stand that loss. Luckily, I still have fifteen thousand francs in my wallet, to pay my expenses for some little time; but I especially regret my wardrobe; there was a great trunk under the carriage, full of clothes and linen." "Certainly," observed Frédéric, with a mischievous glance at Dubourg and Goton, "you need a change of clothing now; you must have fallen while you were in the barn." Dubourg looked at him with an expression that signified: "I don't know why you need have called attention to that!" as he replied: "I certainly didn't go in like a lamb; ask Goton how the rascal handled me!" "Oh! yes," said the servant, "he threw you down more'n four times." "At all events, my friend, my wardrobe is at your service," said Frédéric. "And mine too, monsieur le baron," added Ménard, bowing to Dubourg; and he went back to his room to finish dressing, the baron having promised to go and lodge a complaint with the mayor. Frédéric's postilion came at last to inform the travellers that the chaise was ready. Ménard came down from his room, thanking heaven that they were to leave that inn, which had been so disastrous to them. Goton came down behind him, and whispered to Dubourg: "One of your friends ain't very well brought up; a man of his age do such things as that! If my little brother did it, he'd get a licking."