"Innocent, sir! harmless!" cried the outraged and perplexed inspector. "We will see!"
He approached the compartment, threw wide the door, addressed the ladies severely, as became his office, but tempered with respect and admiration, as became a man.
"How is this, ladies?" to the startled women. "Allow me to inform you that it is not _convenable_ for members of your sex to deliberately compose themselves for the night in a compartment labelled _For Smokers_."
"What!" cried the ladies in a breath. "_For Smokers?_ _Quel horreur!_ Monsieur the Inspector, you must be mad, or you have dined too well--_l'un ou l'autre_. _For Smokers!_ Why, we are horrified at smoke. It makes me cough, it makes my companion sneeze, it gets into our hair, it ruins our complexion. Monsieur the Inspector," shaking out their ruffled plumage, "this is an infamous accusation. We feel ourselves insulted. We shall appeal to the Chef de Gare. You had better at once say that we have done this thing ourselves, whilst the culprits are no doubt those three young men who are laughing behind your back. You have attacked our reputation and we will pursue the matter. When we entered this compartment it was labelled _For Ladies Only_, and if you will examine the plaque with sober senses you will find it still reads _For Ladies Only_."
"Mesdames," returned the bewildered inspector, "I will trouble you to alight and read for yourselves. No one shall accuse me of dining too well with impunity; and no one, not even such charming women as yourselves, shall exact an apology for an offence never committed."
Apparently there was nothing else for it. The ladies gracefully alighted, assisted by the gallant but uncompromising inspector, and the fatal words stared them in the face.
"But it is conjuring, it is a miracle!" they cried breathlessly, just as the young men had cried. "An enemy hath done this, Monsieur the Inspector, and the enemy is represented by those three young men who doubtless look upon it as a _petite plaisanterie_. But if there is law in the land they shall suffer for it. It is nothing more or less than an outrage to our feelings. In the meantime, Monsieur the Inspector, not to delay the train, have the kindness to change back the labels to their right positions, and put those three young men under the surveillance of the guard."