Locke William John. The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol
I. THE ADVENTURE OF THE FAIR PATRONNE
II. THE ADVENTURE OF THE ARLÉSIENNE
III. THE ADVENTURE OF THE KIND MR. SMITH
IV. THE ADVENTURE OF THE FOUNDLING
V. THE ADVENTURE OF THE PIG’S HEAD
VI. THE ADVENTURE OF FLEURETTE
VII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE MIRACLE
VIII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE FICKLE GODDESS
IX. THE ADVENTURE OF A SAINT MARTIN’S SUMMER
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Early next morning I found him awaiting me in the lounge and smoking an excellent cigar. He explained that so dear a friend as myself ought to be the first to hear the glad tidings. Last evening, by the grace of Heaven, he had run across a bare acquaintance, a manufacturer of nougat at Montélimar; had spent several hours in his company, with the result that he had convinced him of two things: first, that the dry, crumbling, shortbread-like nougat of Montélimar was unknown in England, where the population subsisted on a sickly, glutinous mess whereto the medical faculty had ascribed the prevalent dyspepsia of the population; and, secondly, that the one Heaven-certified apostle who could spread the glorious gospel of Montélimar nougat over the length and breadth of Great Britain and Ireland was himself, Aristide Pujol. A handsome salary had been arranged, of which he had already drawn something on account —hinc ille Colorado– and he was to accompany his principal the next day to Montélimar, en route for the conquest of Britain. In the meantime he was as free as the winds, and would devote the day to showing me the wonders of the town.
I congratulated him on his almost fantastic good fortune and gladly accepted his offer.
.....
“Precisely. So you’re not going to tell him. I adore you. I have come to protect you. Foi de Provençal.”
“The only way to protect me is to prove my innocence.”
