“Very well.”

They seated themselves on the half-rotten trunk of a tree.

“Are you on a trip?” he asked me, noticing my horse fastened to a branch.

“Yes. I am coming back from a visit.”

“Ah! Are you the town doctor?”

“Yes.”

“And do you live here, in Cestona?”

“Yes, I live here.”

“Alone?”

“Quite alone.”