Arafrantz and Réginard saw no more dragons that day, nor the Count either. The two friends resolved to profit to the utmost from the Count's generosity. In the evening, they took the Count's eagle to the Teatro Alqualonde, to see a performance of Rohirrini's Dwarfana in Umbari. Arafrantz and Réginard installed themselves in the Count's loggia. In the middle of a delightful chorus wherein the Corsairs rejoiced at the large number of Dwarvish slaves they had managed to procure for their master Elessardo, the Countess G arrove in her loggia and directed her lorgnette towards the loggia of the Count. She seemed so taken aback at the presence there of Arafrantz and Réginard, that it would have been cruelty to keep her in suspense; so the friends made their way to her loggia, avoiding with difficulty to bump into the prostitutes, singers, and retired eagles that had made the hallway their redoubt.
"Eh bien," said the Countess as soon as the usual pleasantries had been exchanged. "It seems that you have had no business so hasty as to make the acquaintance of the new Jared Hasselhoff,† and that there you are, the best friends in the world?"
† A notoriously witty vampire.
