"He will doubtless come of his own accord," said Réginard. "He has seen you, madame, and is greeting you."
And indeed, the Count was not long in making his appearance, for the Viscount de Pérégrin almost ran into him en route to his loge. "In verity," said he, "Annuminas is a strange town, and its inhabitants are stranger yet. One would think it the first time they had seen a spider. And the way everyone admires my Ring is bizarre in the extreme."
"They only marvel at it because it is yours," said Réginard.
"And who has obtained for me this favour?" inquired Monte Fato.
"Parbleu! You yourself," replied the viscount. "You give away silmarils; you heal the wife of the steuard du roi; you send your chevaliers to win the races and give the prize to the Countess G ..."
"Who has told you all these novellas of Brie?"
"The first, Mme. de Sacqueville-Danglars; the second, the newspaper of Boyen-Xènes-Baguines; the third, my own reasoning. Why send the Countess the prize in the name of Hasselhoff, if you wished to maintain your incognito?"
