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Article THE LUCKY INHERITANCE. ← Page 12 of 19 →
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The Lucky Inheritance.
mainder of the day on Avhich I arrived , I had the toAvn entirel y to myself , Avithout being bored by a single cicerone . The " Pelican" turned out to be a very passable hotel , rather primitive , perhaps , in some of the arrangements , but , on the Avhole , comfortable enough ; and having dined , supped , and slept Avell , I rose next day fully prepared to continue my researches .
I was standing at the door of the inn , debating in my own mind which Avay I should go , Avhen two persons entered the market-place from a narrow street at no great distance , and stood for a few minutes in earnest conversation . In one of these I had no difficulty in recognising Monsieur Roqueplan , my temporary companion in the steamboat ; the other I Avas not
so sure of , but I fancied it was the man in the blouse who accompanied the little game-purveyor on shore at St . Nazaire . In Avhatmanner they had contrived to reach Guerande I could nottell , the only public means of conveyance being the patache in which I had travelled ; perhaps they had procured some private vehicle ; perhaps , —but AA-hat Avas the use of speculating on such a
subject , —there they were ; and Avhen a man has an inheritance in prospective , he generally contrives to find a Avay to get at it . I dare say I should not have thought twice on the matter , but that I could not divest myself of the idea of there being something odd in the apparent intimacy which had sprung up betAveen Monsieur Roqueplan and his present companion , whom
he had evidently seen for the first time only on the day before . Any doubt about the identity of the last-named personage was immediately removed Avhen , their colloquy ended , they turned toAvards me , and I was able to see them more distinctly . There Avas a striking contrast in their personal appearance . Monsieur Roqueplan was of very IOAV statureof meagre framewith
fea-, , tures salloAv and Avrinkled , and he looked at least sixty . The man in the blouse had scarcely numbered half as many years , he Avas tall and muscular , his bronzed countenance Avas set in a thick black beard , and , to judge by his large bony hands , he must have been possessed of great strength : he was , in fact , just the sort of felloAV that Monsieur Roqueplan might have
selected to carry his large trunk all the way from St . Nazaire to Guerande , but appeared scarcely companionable for any other purpose . The quick eyes of the little game-purveyor soon found me out , and he came forward to greet me ; his companion folloAved him for a step or tAvo , and then , after uttering a feAV Avords in a low tone of voice , turned back and disappeared down the narroAv street . The first greeting over , Monsieur Roqueplan plunged at once into his OAVU concerns . He had already occupied him-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Lucky Inheritance.
mainder of the day on Avhich I arrived , I had the toAvn entirel y to myself , Avithout being bored by a single cicerone . The " Pelican" turned out to be a very passable hotel , rather primitive , perhaps , in some of the arrangements , but , on the Avhole , comfortable enough ; and having dined , supped , and slept Avell , I rose next day fully prepared to continue my researches .
I was standing at the door of the inn , debating in my own mind which Avay I should go , Avhen two persons entered the market-place from a narrow street at no great distance , and stood for a few minutes in earnest conversation . In one of these I had no difficulty in recognising Monsieur Roqueplan , my temporary companion in the steamboat ; the other I Avas not
so sure of , but I fancied it was the man in the blouse who accompanied the little game-purveyor on shore at St . Nazaire . In Avhatmanner they had contrived to reach Guerande I could nottell , the only public means of conveyance being the patache in which I had travelled ; perhaps they had procured some private vehicle ; perhaps , —but AA-hat Avas the use of speculating on such a
subject , —there they were ; and Avhen a man has an inheritance in prospective , he generally contrives to find a Avay to get at it . I dare say I should not have thought twice on the matter , but that I could not divest myself of the idea of there being something odd in the apparent intimacy which had sprung up betAveen Monsieur Roqueplan and his present companion , whom
he had evidently seen for the first time only on the day before . Any doubt about the identity of the last-named personage was immediately removed Avhen , their colloquy ended , they turned toAvards me , and I was able to see them more distinctly . There Avas a striking contrast in their personal appearance . Monsieur Roqueplan was of very IOAV statureof meagre framewith
fea-, , tures salloAv and Avrinkled , and he looked at least sixty . The man in the blouse had scarcely numbered half as many years , he Avas tall and muscular , his bronzed countenance Avas set in a thick black beard , and , to judge by his large bony hands , he must have been possessed of great strength : he was , in fact , just the sort of felloAV that Monsieur Roqueplan might have
selected to carry his large trunk all the way from St . Nazaire to Guerande , but appeared scarcely companionable for any other purpose . The quick eyes of the little game-purveyor soon found me out , and he came forward to greet me ; his companion folloAved him for a step or tAvo , and then , after uttering a feAV Avords in a low tone of voice , turned back and disappeared down the narroAv street . The first greeting over , Monsieur Roqueplan plunged at once into his OAVU concerns . He had already occupied him-