Page:Travels with a Donkey In The Cevennes.djvu/66

48 there was a woman who would not open to me. She could do nothing, she cried to me through the door, being alone and lame; but if I would apply at the next house, there was a man who could help me if he had a mind. They came to the next door in force, a man, two women, and a girl, and brought a pair of lanterns to examine the wayfarer. The man was not ill-looking, but had a shifty smile. He leaned against the door-post, and heard me state my case. All I asked was a guide as far as Cheylard. "C'est que, voyez-vous, il fait noir," said he. I told him that was just my reason for requiring help. "I understand that,' said he, looking uncomfortable; "mais—c'est—de la peine."

I was willing to pay, I said. He shook his head. I rose as high as ten francs; but he continued to shake his head. "Name your own price, then," said I. "Ce n'est pas ça" he said at length, and with evident difficulty; "but I am not going to cross the door—mais je ne sortirai pas de la porte."