"I want you to go with me to our house beyond the Seine," he said. "It
is a quaint old place hidden away, as so many happy homes are in this
city. You will find nobody there but my mother, my sister Julie, and a
faithful old servant, Antoine Picard, and his daughter, Suzanne."

"But I will be a trespasser?"

"Not at all. There will be a warm welcome for you. I have told them of
you, how you were my comrade in the air, and how you fought."

"Pshaw, Lannes, it was you who did most of the fighting. You've given me
a reputation that I can't carry."

"Never mind about the reputation. What have you been doing since I left
you this morning?"

"I spent a part of the time in the lantern of the Basilica on
Montmartre, and I had with me a most interesting friend."

Lannes looked at him curiously.

"You did not speak of any friend in Paris at this time," he said.

"I didn't because I never heard of him until a few hours ago. I made his
acquaintance while I was going up Montmartre, but I already consider
him, next to you, the best friend I have in France."

"Acquaintanceship seems to grow rapidly with you, Monsieur Jean the
Scott."