Take me to him. When we get there I’ll show you that I’m not a thief, but this man might be one. I am not unknown in this town. The day before yesterday evening my master and I arrived here and we stayed with the Lieutenant-Governor,8 my master’s old friend…’

If I did not say sooner that Jacques and his master had passed through Conches and that they had stayed with the Lieutenant-Governor of this place, then that is because it didn’t come back to me any earlier.

‘Take me to the Lieutenant-Governor,’ said Jacques, and dismounted. Jacques, his horse and the pedlar were in the middle of the procession. They set off and arrived at the gate of the Lieutenant-Governor’s house. Jacques, his horse and the pedlar went in, Jacques and the pedlar holding each other by the lapels. The crowd stayed outside.

Meanwhile, what was Jacques’ master doing? He was sleeping by the side of the road, the reins of his horse looped round his arm, and the animal grazing the grass around the sleeping figure as far as the length of the reins allowed.

As soon as the Lieutenant-Governor saw Jacques he shouted out: ‘Ah! Is that you, my poor Jacques? What’s brought you back here all alone?’

‘My master’s watch. He left it hanging on the corner of the chimney and I’ve just discovered it in this man’s pack. Our purse, which I left under the head of my bed, will doubtless also be found if you order it.’

‘If it is written up above,’ added the magistrate…

He called his people straight away and the pedlar immediately pointed out a large rascal with a shifty manner who had recently arrived at the house and said: ‘There’s the man who sold me the watch.’

The magistrate, taking on a solemn tone, said to the pedlar and his valet: ‘The pair of you deserve to go to the galleys, you for having sold the watch, and you for having bought it.’

To his valet: ‘Give this man back his money and take off your livery immediately…’

To the pedlar: ‘Hurry up and get out of these parts, unless you want to stay here hanging from a gibbet. The way you two earn your living always leads to a bad end… Now, Jacques, let’s see about your purse.’

The person who had taken it appeared without being called for. She was a full-grown shapely girl.

‘Monsieur, I have the purse,’ she said to her master, ‘but I didn’t steal it. He gave it to me.’

‘I gave you my purse?’

‘Yes.’

‘I suppose it’s possible, but the devil take me if I can remember.’

The magistrate said to Jacques: ‘All right, Jacques, we won’t go any further into that.’

‘Monsieur…’

‘She’s pretty and obliging from what I can see.’

‘Monsieur, I swear…’

‘How much was there in the purse?’

‘Around nine hundred and seventeen pounds.’

‘Ah! Javotte! Nine hundred and seventeen pounds for one night. That’s far too much for you, and for him. Give me the purse.’

The girl gave the purse to her master who took out a six-franc piece: ‘There you are,’ he said, throwing her the coin, ‘that is the price of your services. You deserve better, but from someone other than Jacques. I wish you twice as much as that every day, but not in my house, do you hear? And as for you, Jacques, hurry up and get back on your horse and return to your master.’

Jacques bowed to the magistrate and went off without answering, but saying to himself: ‘The brazen hussy! So it was written up above that someone else would sleep with her and that Jacques would pay for it, was it? Come along Jacques, cheer up; aren’t you pleased that you got the purse and your master’s watch back and that it cost you so little?’

Jacques got back on to his horse and pushed his way through the crowd which had gathered round the entrance to the magistrate’s house, but because he took it rather badly that so many people should take him for a thief he affected to take the watch out of his pocket to look at the time. Then he spurred his horse, which was not used to this and took off faster than it had ever done before. It was Jacques’ habit to let the horse do whatever it wanted because he found it just as inconvenient to stop it when it was galloping as it was to make it go faster when it was going slowly. We believe that it is we who control Destiny but it is always Destiny which controls us. And Destiny for Jacques was everything which touched him or came near him – his horse, his master, a monk, a dog, a woman, a mule, a crow. And so his horse took him as fast as it could go towards his master, who was sound asleep by the side of the road with his horse’s reins tied around his arm, as I have told you. On that occasion, however, the horse was on the end of the reins but when Jacques arrived the reins were still there and the horse was not. It would appear that a thief had come up to the sleeping figure, quietly cut the reins and led the animal away. On hearing the noise of Jacques’ horse his master woke up and his first words were: ‘Come here, come here, you scoundrel. I’m going to…’

Then he started to yawn his head off.

‘Have a good yawn, Monsieur, as much as you like,’ said Jacques, ‘but where is your horse?’

‘My horse?’

‘Yes, your horse.’

The master, noticing straight away that somebody had stolen his horse, was about to belabour Jacques with the reins when Jacques said to him: ‘Gently, Monsieur, I’m in no mood today to let myself be beaten senseless. I’ll take the first blow, but, I swear to you, on the second I’ll set spur to my horse and leave you here.’

This threat of Jacques’ had the sudden effect of calming the wrath of his master, who asked him in a gentler manner: ‘And my watch?’

‘Here it is.’

‘What about the purse?’

‘Here.’

‘You’ve been a long time.’

‘Not too long for all that I’ve done. Listen carefully. I went there. I got into a fight.