Evidently it was a _pension_.
Of the man-servant who answered my ring, I enquired if three English gentlemen had lately arrived.

He replied that they had, and were dining.
Would Monsieur give himself the pain of waiting a few minutes, until dinner should be over?
My answer was to slip a five franc piece into the servant's hand, and suggest that I should be shown at once into the dining-room, without waiting.
My idea was to catch my birds while they fed, and take them by surprise, lest they fly away.

If I pounced upon them in the midst of a meal, at least they could not escape before being recognised by me: and as to what should come after recognition, the moment of meeting must decide.
The five franc piece worked like a charm.

I was promptly ushered into the dining-room, and standing just inside the door, I swept the long table with a quick, eager glance.

About eighteen or twenty people were dining, but, though several were unmistakably English, I saw no one who resembled my travelling companions.
Everyone turned and stared.