Canalis, at a sign from La Briere, kept silence. The conversation
presently became unimportant, and after a few turns round the garden
the count retired, urging the visit of the two friends.
"That's our dismissal," cried Canalis; "you saw it as plainly as I
did. Well, in his place, I should not hesitate between the grand
equerry and either of us, charming as we are."
"I don't think so," said La Briere. "I believe that frank soldier came
here to satisfy his desire to see you, and to warn us of his
neutrality while receiving us in his house. Modeste, in love with your
fame, and misled by my person, stands, as it were, between the real
and the ideal, between poetry and prose. I am, unfortunately, the
prose."
"Germain," said Canalis to the valet, who came to take away the
coffee, "order the carriage in half an hour. We will take a drive
before we go to the Chalet."
CHAPTER XVIII
A SPLENDID FIRST APPEARANCE
The two young men were equally impatient to see Modeste, but La Briere
dreaded the interview, while Canalis approached it with the confidence
of self-conceit.
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