THE COMPLETE WORKS OF ÉMILE ZOLA. Эмиль Золя

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СКАЧАТЬ immediately clasped the young woman round the neck, nestling close up to her, quite happy at having his favourite place again, and brought her back to life with his caresses. She raised herself up and kissed Joseph passionately. It seemed to her that she was awakening from a frightful nightmare. All of a sudden she turned pale again.

      “Where are Marius and Philippe?” she inquired. “Hide nothing from me, I beg of you.”

      When Cadet had pointed out the two brothers to her in the adjoining house she remained for a time motionless and quite absorbed with joy. All danger was not over for them, assuredly, but they lived, and for the moment she did not ask for anything more. Philippe and Marius also had good cause to be thankful. The former, after having discharged his gun, felt quite overcome, his eyes were bursting with tears and he uttered a cry of terror on seeing Mathéus and the child fall. For an instant, he felt as if he were choking, being unable to distinguish, through the smoke, whether he had struck his son or not. But when Marius heard the cries of the little one whom Cadet had just brought into the room, he exclaimed:

      “Look!”

      Then the two brothers followed the scene that was passing before them with profound happiness. They saw Fine and Joseph safe and sound, and said to each other that they ran little risk themselves, now that they had friends at hand to defend them. What gave them still further confidence was to see M. Martelly and Abbé Chastanier go up into the room conducted there by M. de Girousse. These three gentlemen had followed the soldiers into the house in order to protect the young woman, and had no idea of the rapid drama that had just occurred there. The sight of the corpse on the staircase had made them run up hurriedly, and as soon as they reached the room, they heard what had happened from Fine and Cadet.

      “This Cazalis is a scoundrel,” exclaimed M. de Girousse, “I’ll undertake to settle him. But before all, we must think of how we can shelter Marius and Philippe from the search of the troops. Indeed, there is no time to lose. Look!”

      He pointed to the square. The position of the two brothers was becoming critical. The shot fired by Philippe had attracted the attention of the troops to the house where they had taken refuge, and sappers were already belabouring the door with heavy blows from their axes.

      “They have only one chance of safety,” said M. Martelly, “to try and escape by the roofs.”

      “That’s impossible,” answered Cadet excitedly. “The house is much higher than those adjoining it. They’re lost.”

      Fine felt herself going mad with despair again. All those in the room were racking their brains in vain, and the blows from the axe were becoming more and more violent. Suddenly M. de Girousse addressed Sauvaire, whom Cadet had presented to him as a friend.

      “Cannot you make your men stop?” he inquired.

      “Eh! no,” exclaimed the captain in despair, “think you they obey so easily as that in the National Guard? wait a moment, wait a moment — “

      Sauvaire opened his eyes quite wide, and it could be seen that some conception was being painfully evolved in his mind. All at once he said:

      “I have an idea, come with me, Cadet.”

      The two men ran rapidly downstairs, and M. de Girousse and the others awaited their return with the most painful concern. At length they made their appearance, each carrying a bundle of clothes, and Cadet at once made signs to Marius and Philippe to open the window behind which they were concealing themselves. When they had understood what he meant, and conformed to his injunctions, the young man at the expense of considerable strength and dexterity, threw the two bundles over to them. The soldiers being busy below with the door, failed to see what was passing above.

      Such was the idea that Sauvaire had conceived. Accompanied by Cadet, he had gone to an ambulance where about a dozen wounded National Guards were lying, and had there quietly stolen two complete uniforms amidst the confusion of amputations and the dressing of wounds.

      Philippe and Marius had had all the gravity of their position brought home to them, and were on the point of deciding to attempt escape by the roofs, when they understood that their friends were busying themselves about their safety. As soon as they had the uniforms, they rushed up into the lofts where they attired themselves as National Guards, and had barely had time to do so and to throw their own clothes out of a window looking on to a neighbouring courtyard, when they heard the front door giving way. They at once hid themselves; but, after a moment or two, cleverly mingled with the swarm of besiegers, whom they pretended to assist in the search, and eventually quietly walked out into the street where they found M. de Girousse and Sauvaire awaiting them. A short distance further off, on the square, were Cadet and Fine, with M. Martelly and Abbé Chastanier. The young woman, who was carrying little Joseph, had expressed the desire to return at once to the lodging on the Cours Bonaparte. As soon as she perceived Marius and Philippe in the street, she moved away looking behind her at every step. She had requested M. de Girousse to follow her with the two brothers.

      Philippe and Marius warmly shook the ex-master-stevedore’s hand, unable to utter a word of thanks.

      “All right, all right,” murmured the worthy man, who was very much affected, “the least one can do is to assist one’s friends, hang it! But we must have order, you see, before everything! The National Guard was only formed to preserve order. I’m the man for duty!”

      And he began to cry out against the National Guards who were all in a flutter on the square, whilst M. de Girousse and the two brothers rapidly moved away.

      As Sauvaire was trying to get his men together, he perceived M. de Cazalis behind a tree looking pale and anxious. He pretended not to see him and watched his movements. The ex-deputy could not understand the strange events that were passing around him. Since Mathéus had disappeared in the house, he awaited his return without being able to form any idea of what was occurring. When he saw Fine appear with little Joseph, when he perceived that his enemies were miraculously escaping from all his snares, he was agitated with sullen rage. What added to his anger was his being tortured by the idea that Mathéus had betrayed him.

      “What can the scoundrel be doing?” he murmured. “He’s sold himself to the Cayols and has helped them to escape.”

      At last, unable to restrain himself any longer, he made up his mind to go and see what Mathéus could be doing in that house which he did not leave. Had he met him, he would have strangled him. On reaching the first floor landing he came in contact with his accomplice’s corpse. Livid, terrified, and with his mouth wide open he stood and stared at it. Then, he abruptly stooped down and searched it. When he found the pockets were empty, he was in despair, and giving the dead man’s body an angry kick he hurried rapidly away.

      “I knew very well,” thought Sauvaire, who had not lost sight of him, “that that bird of ill-omen must have had something to do with the abduction of the child.”

      The struggle, however, was over, and the troops victorious. It was about four o’clock. The resistance had been smart but of short duration. The principal leaders of the rioters had fled as soon as the barricades were captured, but a great many workmen were made prisoners. Those who were unable to escape by the roofs of the houses where they had taken refuge, were discovered in the cellars, cupboards, under the beds, in the chimneys and even in the wells, where they had thought they would have been in safety. When the houses had been searched, the six barricades were removed and the Place aux Œufs occupied by the military.

      There was a family gathering at Marius’ apartment in the evening. The young couple, Philippe and Joseph, had found themselves united again amidst tears of joy and tenderness. M. de Girousse troubled their happiness СКАЧАТЬ