"Not very busy?" I said, with a laugh to the conductor.
"_Parbleu_," replied the man, polyglot and cosmopolitan, like most of
his class, but a Frenchman, or, more likely from his accent, a Swiss.
"I never saw the like before."
"I shall have a compartment to myself, then?"
"Monsieur may have the whole carriage if he wishes--the whole five
carriages. It is but to arrange." His eyes glistened at the prospect
of something special in this obvious scarcity of coming tips.
"The train will run, I hope? I am anxious to get on."
"But assuredly it will run. Even without monsieur it would run. The
carriages are wanted at the other end for the return journey. Stay,
what have we here?"
We stood talking together on the platform, and at some little distance
from the railway station, the road to which was clear and open all the
way, so that I could see a little party of four approaching us, and
distinguish them. Two ladies, an official, probably one of the guards,
and a porter laden with light luggage.
As they came up I discreetly withdrew to my own compartment, the
window of which was open, so that I could hear and see all that
passed.
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