CHAPTER I

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THE FRONTIER

BY

MAURICE LEBLANC

AUTHOR OF "ARSENE LUPIN," "813," ETC.

TRANSLATED BY

ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE MATTOS

[Illustration: Publisher's logo]

HODDER & STOUGHTON

NEW YORK

GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY

Copyright, 1912,

By Maurice Leblanc

Copyright, 1912,

By George H. Doran Company

CONTENTS

PART I

CHAPTER PAGE

I A HEAD BETWEEN THE BUSHES 3

II THE GIRL WITH THE BARE ARMS 17

III THE VIOLET PAMPHLET 30

IV PHILIPPE AND HIS WIFE 46

V THE SHEET OF NOTE-PAPER 58

VI THE PLASTER STATUE 66

VII EVE TRIUMPHANT 76

VIII THE TRAP 94

PART II

I THE TWO WOMEN 107

II PHILIPPE TELLS A LIE 118

III FATHER AND SON 133

IV THE ENQUIRIES 150

V THE THUNDERCLAP 164

VI THE BUTTE-AUX-LOUPS 177

VII MARTHE ASKS A QUESTION 195

VIII THE STAGES TO CALVARY 208

PART III

I THE ARMED VIGIL 233

II THEY WHO GO TO THEIR DEATH 249

III IDEAS AND FACTS 268

IV THE SACRED SOIL 281

THE FRONTIER

PART I

CHAPTER I

A HEAD BETWEEN THE BUSHES

"They've done it!"

"What?"

"The German frontier-post ... at the circus of the Butte-aux-Loups."

"What about it?"

"Knocked down."

"Nonsense!"

"See for yourself."

Old Morestal stepped aside. His wife came out of the drawing-room and

went and stood by the telescope, on its tripod, at the end of the

terrace.

"I can see nothing," she said, presently.

"Don't you see a tree standing out above the others, with lighter

foliage?"

"Yes."

"And, to the right of that tree, a little lower down, an empty space

surrounded by fir-trees?"

"Yes."

"That's the circus of the Butte-aux-Loups and it marks the frontier at

that spot."

"Ah, I've got it!... There it is!... You mean on the ground, don't you?

Lying flat on the grass, exactly as if it had been rooted up by last

night's storm...."

"What are you talking about? It has been fairly felled with an axe: you

can see the gash from here."

"So I can ... so I can...."

She stood up and shook her head:

"That makes the third time this year.... It will mean more

unpleasantness."

"Fiddle-de-dee!" he exclaimed. "All they've got to do is to put up a

solid post, instead of their old bit of wood." And he added, in a tone

of pride, "The French post, two yards off, doesn't budge, you know!"

"Well, of course not! It's made of cast-iron and cemented into the

stone."

"Let them do as much then! It's not money they're wanting ... when you

think of the five thousand millions they robbed us of!... No, but, I say

... three of them in eight months!... How will the people take it, on

the other side of the Vosges?"

He could not hide the sort of gay and sarcastic feeling of content that

filled his whole being and he walked up and down the terrace, stamping

his feet as hard as he could on the ground.

But, suddenly going to his wife, he seized her by the arm and said, in

a hollow voice:

"Would you like to know what I really think?"

"Yes."

"Well, all this will lead to trouble."

"No," said the old lady, quietly.

"How do you mean, no?"

"We've been married five-and-thirty years; and, for five-and-thirty

years, you've told me, week after week, that we shall have trouble. So,

you see...."

She turned away from him and went back to the drawing-room again, where

she began to dust the furniture with a feather-broom.

He shrugged his shoulders, as he followed her indoors:

"Oh, yes, you're the placid mother, of course! Nothing excites you. As

long as your cupboards are tidy, your linen all complete and your jams

potted, you don't care!... Still, you ought not to forget that they

killed your poor father."

"I don't forget it ... only, what's the good? It's more than forty years

ago...."

"It was yesterday," he said, sinking his voice, "yesterday, no longer

ago than yesterday...."

"Ah, there's the postman!" she said, hurrying to change the

conversation.

She heard a heavy footstep outside the windows opening on the garden.

There was a rap at the knocker on the front-door. A minute later,

Victor, the man-servant, brought in the letters.

"Oh!" said Mme. Morestal. "A letter from the boy.... Open it, will you?

I haven't my spectacles.... I expect it's to say that he will arrive

this evening: he was to have left Paris this morning."

"Not at all!" cried M. Morestal, glancing over the letter. "Philippe and

his wife have taken their two boys to some friends at Versailles and

started with the intention of sleeping last night at the Ballon de

Colnard, seeing the sunrise and doing the rest of the journey on foot,

with their knapsacks on their backs. They will be here by twelve."

She at once lost her head:

"And the storm! What about last night's storm?"

"My son doesn't care about the storm! It won't be the first that the

fellow's been through. It's eleven o'clock. He will be with us in an

hour."

"But that will never do! There's nothing ready for them!"

She at once went to work, like the active little old woman that she was,

a little too fat, a little tired, but wide-awake still and so

methodical, so orderly in her ways that she never made a superfluous

movement or one that was not calculated to bring her an immediate

advantage.

As for him, he resumed his walk between the terrace and the

drawing-room. He strode with long, even steps, holding his body erect,

his chest flung out and his hands in the pockets of his jacket, a

blue-drill gardening-jacket, with the point of a pruning-shears and the

stem of a pipe sticking out of it. He was tall and broad-shouldered; and

his fresh-coloured face seemed young still, in spite of the fringe of

white beard in which it was framed.

"Ah," he exclaimed, "what a treat to set eyes upon our dear Philippe

again! It must be three years since we saw him last. Yes, of course, not

since his appointment as professor of history in Paris. By Jove, the

chap has made his way in the world! What a time we shall give him during

the fortnight that he's with us! Walking ... exercise.... He's all for

the open-air life, like old Morestal!"

He began to laugh:

"Shall I tell you what would be the thing for him? Six months in camp

between this and Berlin!"

"I'm not afraid," she declared. "He's been through the Normal School.

The professors keep to their garrisons in time of war."

"What nonsense are you talking now?"

"The school-master told me so."

He gave a start:

"What! Do you mean to say you still speak to that dastard?"

"He's quite a decent man," she replied.

"He! A decent man! With theories like his!"

She hurried from the room, to escape the explosion. But Morestal was

fairly started:

"Yes, yes, theories! I insist upon the word: theories! As a

district-councillor, as Mayor of Saint-Élophe, I have the right to be

present at his lessons. Oh, you have no idea of his way of teaching the

history of France!... In my time, the heroes were the Chevalier d'Assas,

Bayard, La Tour d'Auvergne, all those beggars who shed lustre on our

country. Nowadays, it's Mossieu Étienne Marcel, Mossieu Dolet.... Oh, a

nice set of theories, theirs!"

He barred the way to his wife, as she entered the room again, and roared

in her face:

"Do you know why Napoleon lost the battle of Waterloo?"

"I can't find that large breakfast-cup anywhere," said Mme. Morestal,

engrossed in her occupation.

"Well, just ask your school-master; he'll give you the latest up-to-date

theories about Napoleon."

"I put it down here, on this chest, with my own hand."

"But there, they're doing all they can to distort the children's

minds."

"It spoils my set."

"Oh, I swear to you, in the old days, we'd have ducked our school-master

in the horse-pond, if he had dared.... But, by Jove, France had a place

of her own in the world then! And such a place!

... That was the time of Solferino!... Of Magenta!... We weren't

satisfied with chucking down frontier-posts in those days: we crossed

the frontiers ... and at the double, believe me...."

He stopped, hesitating, pricking up his ears. Trumpet-blasts sounded in

the distance, ringing from valley to valley, echoing and re-echoing

against the obstacles formed by the great granite rocks and dying away

to right and left, as though stifled by the shadow of the forests.

He whispered, excitedly:

"The French bugle...."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, there are troops of Alpines manoeuvring ... a company from

Noirmont.... Listen ... listen.... What gaiety!... What swagger!... I

tell you, close to the frontier like this, it takes such an air...."

She listened too, seized with the same excitement, and asked, anxiously:

"Do you really think that war is possible?"

"Yes," he replied, "I do."

They were silent for a moment. And Morestal continued:

"It's a presentiment with me.... We shall have it all over again, as in

1870.... And, mark you, I hope that this time ..."

She put down her breakfast-cup, which she had found in a cupboard, and,

leaning on her husband's arm:

"I say, the boy's coming ... with his wife. She's a dear girl and we're

very fond of her.... I want the house to look nice for them, bright and

full of flowers.... Go and pick the best you have in your garden."

He smiled:

"That's another way of saying that I'm boring you, eh? I can't help it.

I shall be just the same to my dying day. The wound is too deep ever to

heal."

They looked at each other for a while with a great gentleness, like two

old travelling-companions, who, from time to time, for no particular

reason, stop, exchange glances or thoughts and then resume their

journey.

He asked:

"Must I cut my roses? My Gloires de Dijon?"

"Yes."

"Come along then! I'll be a hero!"

*

* *

Morestal, the son and grandson of well-to-do farmers, had increased his

fathers' fortune tenfold by setting up a mechanical saw-yard at

Saint-Élophe, the big neighbouring village. He was a plain, blunt man,

as he himself used to say, "with no false bottom, nothing in my hands,

nothing up my sleeves;" just a few moral ideas to guide his course

through life, ideas as old and simple as could be. And those few ideas

themselves were subject to a principle that governed his whole existence

and ruled all his actions, the love of his country, which, in Morestal,

stood for regret for the past, hatred of the present and, especially,

the bitter recollection of defeat.

Elected Mayor of Saint-Élophe and a district-councillor, he sold his

works and built, within view of the frontier, on the site of a ruined

mill, a large house designed after his own plans and constructed, so to

speak, under his own eyes. The Morestals had lived here for the last ten

years, with their two servants: Victor, a decent, stout, jolly-faced

man, and Catherine, a Breton woman who had nursed Philippe as a baby.

They saw but few people, outside a small number of friends, of whom the

most frequent visitors were the special commissary of the government,

Jorancé, and his daughter Suzanne.

The Old Mill occupied the round summit of a hill with slopes shelving

down in a series of fairly large gardens, which Morestal cultivated with

genuine enthusiasm. The property was surrounded by a high wall, the top

of which was finished off with an iron trellis bristling with spikes. A

spring leapt from place to place and fell in cascades to the bottom of

the rocks decked with wild flowers, moss, lichen and maiden-hair ferns.

*

* *

Morestal picked a great armful of flowers, laid waste his rose-garden,

sacrificed all the Gloires de Dijon of which he was so proud and

returned to the drawing-room, where he himself arranged the bunches in

large glass vases.

The room, a sort of hall occupying the centre of the house, with beams

of timber showing and a huge chimney covered with gleaming brasses, the

room was bright and cheerful and open at both fronts: to the east, on

the terrace, by a long bay; to the west, by two windows, on the garden,

which it overlooked from the height of a first floor.

The walls were covered with War Office maps, Home Office maps, district

maps. There was an oak gun-rack with twelve rifles, all alike and of the

latest pattern. Beside it, nailed flat to the wall and roughly stitched

together, were three dirty, worn, tattered strips of bunting, blue,

white and red.

"They look very well: what do you say?" he asked, when he had finished

arranging the flowers, as though his wife had been in the room. "And

now, I think, a good pipe ..."

He took out his tobacco-pouch and matches and, crossing the terrace,

went and leant against the stone balustrade that edged it.

Hills and valleys mingled in harmonious curves, all green, in places,

with the glad green of the meadows, all dark, in others, with the

melancholy green of the firs and larches.

At thirty or forty feet below him ran the road that leads from

Saint-Élophe up to the Old Mill. It skirted the walls and then dipped

down again to the Étang-des-Moines, or Monks' Pool, of which it followed

the left bank. Breaking off suddenly, it narrowed into a rugged path

which could be seen in the distance, standing like a ladder against a

rampart, and which plunged into a narrow pass between two mountains

wilder in appearance and rougher in outline than the ordinary Vosges

landscape. This was the Col du Diable, or Devil's Pass, situated at a

distance of sixteen hundred yards from the Old Mill, on the same level.

A few buildings clung to one of the sides of the pass: these belonged to

Saboureux's Farm. From Saboureux's Farm to the Butte-aux-Loups, or

Wolves' Knoll, which you saw on the left, you could make out or imagine

the frontier by following a line of which Morestal knew every

guiding-mark, every turn, every acclivity and every descent.

"The frontier!" he muttered. "The frontier here ... at twenty-five miles

from the Rhine ... the frontier in the very heart of France!"

Every day and ten times a day, he tortured himself in this manner,

gazing at that painful and relentless line; and, beyond it, through

vistas which his imagination contrived as it were to carve out of the

Vosges, he conjured up a vision of the German plain on the misty

horizon.

And this too he repeated to himself; and he did so this time as at every

other time, with a bitterness which the years that passed did nothing to

allay:

"The German plain ... the German hills ... all that land of Alsace in

which I used to wander as a boy.... The French Rhine, which was my river

and the river of my fathers.... And now _Deutschland_ ... _Deutsches

Rhein_...."

A faint whistle made him start. He leant over towards the staircase that

climbed the terrace, a staircase cut out of the rock, by which people

coming from the side of the frontier often entered his grounds so as to

avoid the bend of the road. There was nobody there nor anybody opposite,

on the roadside slope all tangled with shrubs and ferns.

And the sound was renewed, discreetly, stealthily, with the same

modulations as before.

"It's he ... it's he ..." thought M. Morestal, with an uncomfortable

feeling of embarrassment.

A head popped from between the bushes, a head in which all the bones

stood out, joined by prominent muscles, which gave it the look of the

head of an anatomical model. On the bridge of the nose, a pair of

copper-rimmed spectacles. Across the face, like a gash, the toothless,

grinning mouth.

"You again, Dourlowski...."

"Can I come?" asked the man.

"No ... no ... you're mad...."

"It's urgent."

"Impossible.... And besides, you know, I don't want any more of it. I've

told you so before...."

But the man insisted:

"It's for this evening, for to-night.... It's a soldier of the

Börsweilen garrison.... He says he's sick of wearing the German

uniform."

"A deserter.... I've had enough of them.... Shut up and clear out!"

"Now don't be nasty, M. Morestal.... Just think it over.... Look here,

let's meet at four o'clock, in the pass, near Saboureux's Farm ... like

last time.... I shall expect you.... We'll have a talk ... and I shall

be surprised if ..."

"Hold your tongue!" said Morestal.

A voice cried from the drawing-room:

"Here they come, sir, here they come!"

It was the man-servant; and Mme. Morestal also ran out and said:

"What are you doing here? Whom were you talking to?"

"Nobody."

"Why, I heard you!..."

"No, I assure you...."

"Well, I must have imagined it.... I say you were quite right. It's

twelve o'clock and they are here, the two of them."

"Philippe and Marthe?"

"Yes, they are coming. They are close to the garden-entrance. Let's

hurry down and meet them...."

CHAPTER II

THE GIRL WITH THE BARE ARMS

"He hasn't changed a bit.... His complexion is as fresh as ever.... The

eyes are a little tired, perhaps ... but he's looking very well...."

"When you've finished picking me to pieces, between you!" said Philippe,

laughing. "What an inspection! Why don't you give my wife a kiss? That's

more to the point!"

Marthe flung herself into Mme. Morestal's arms and into her

father-in-law's and was examined from head to foot in her turn.

"I say, I say, we're thinner in the face than we were!... We want

picking up.... But, my poor children, you're soaked to the skin!"

"We were out all through the storm," said Philippe.

"And what do you think happened to me?" asked Marthe. "I got

frightened!... Yes, frightened, like a little girl ... and I fainted....

And Philippe had to carry me ... for half an hour at least...."

"What do you say to that?" said Morestal to his wife. "For half an

hour! He's the same strong chap he was.... And why didn't you bring the

boys? It's a pity. Two fine little fellows, I feel sure. And well

brought up too: I know my Marthe!... How old are they now? Ten and nine,

aren't they? By the way, mother got two rooms ready. Do you have

separate rooms now?"

"Oh, no," said Marthe, "only down here!... Philippe wants to get up

before day-break and ramble about the roads ... whereas I need a little

rest."

"Capital! Capital! Show them to their rooms, mother ... and, when you're

ready, children, come down to lunch. As soon as we've finished, I'll

take the carriage and go and fetch your trunks at Saint-Élophe: the

railway-omnibus will have brought them there by this time. And, if I

meet my friend Jorancé, I'll bring him back with me. I expect he's in

the dumps. His daughter left for Lunéville this morning. But she said

she had written to you...."

"Yes," said Marthe, "I had a letter from Suzanne the other day. She

didn't seem to like the idea, either, of going away...."

*

* *

Two hours later, Philippe and his wife settled themselves in two pretty,

adjoining bedrooms on the second floor, looking out on the French side.

Marthe threw herself on her bed and fell asleep almost immediately,

while her husband, with his elbows on the window-sill, sat gazing at the

peaceful valley where the happiest days of his boyhood had been spent.

It was over yonder, in the straggling village of Saint-Élophe-la-Côte,

in the modest dwelling which his parents occupied before they moved to

the Old Mill. He was at the boarding-school at Noirmont and used to have

glorious holidays playing in the village or roaming about the Vosges

with his father: Papa Trompette, as he always called him, because of all

the trumpets, bugles, horns and cornets which, together with drums of

every shape and kind, swords and dirks, helmets and breast-plates, guns

and pistols, were the only presents that his childhood knew. Morestal

was a little strict; a little too fond of everything that had to do with

principle, custom, discipline, exactness; a little quick-tempered; but,

at the same time, he was the kindest of men and had no difficulty in

winning his son's love, his frank and affectionate respect.

Their only quarrel was on the day when Philippe, who was then in the top

form, announced his intention of continuing his studies after he had

passed his examination and of entering the Normal School. The father's

whole dream was shattered, his great dream of seeing Philippe in

uniform, with his sword at his side and the gold braid on the sleeve of

his loose jacket.

It came as a violent and painful shock; and Morestal was stupefied to

find himself faced by an obstinate, deliberate Philippe, a Philippe

wholly master of himself and firmly resolved to lead his life according

to his own views and his own ambitions. For a week on end, the two

argued, hurt each other's feelings, made it up again, only to fall out

once more. Then the father suddenly yielded, in the middle of a

discussion and as though he had all at once realized the futility of his

efforts:

"You have made up your mind?" he cried. "Very well! An usher you shall

be, since that is your ideal; but I warn you that I decline all

responsibility for the future and that I wash my hands of anything that

happens."

What happened was simply that Philippe's career was swift and brilliant

and that, after a probationary term at Lunéville and another at

Châteauroux, he was appointed professor of history at Versailles. He

then published, at a few months' interval, two remarkable books, which

caused much heated controversy: _The Idea of Country in Ancient Greece_

and _The Idea of Country before the Revolution_. Three years later, he

was promoted to Paris, to the Lycée Carnot.

Philippe was now approaching his fortieth year. Day-work and night-work

seemed to have no effect upon his sturdy highland constitution.

Possessing a set of powerful muscles and built on the same strong lines

as his father, he found rest and recreation from study in violent

exercise, in long bicycle-rides into the country or through the woods on

the outskirts of Paris. The boys at the school, who held him in a sort

of veneration, told stories of his exploits and his feats of strength.

With all this, a great look of gentleness, especially about the eyes, a

pair of very good, blue eyes, which smiled when he spoke and which, when

at rest, were candid, childish almost, filled with dreams and kindness.

By this time, old Morestal was proud of his son. On the day when he

heard of his nomination to Carnot, he wrote, frankly:

"Well done, my dear Philippe! So you're prospering now and in a

fair way to obtain anything you like to ask for. Let me tell you

that I am not in the least surprised, for I always expected that,

with your great qualities, your perseverance and your serious way

of looking at life, you would win the place which you deserved. So,

once more, well done!

"I confess, however, that your last book, on the idea of country

in France, puzzled me not a little. I know, of course, that you

will not change your opinions on this subject; but it seems to me

that you are trying to explain the idea of patriotism as due to

rather inferior motives and that this idea strikes you not as

natural and inherent to human societies, but as though it were a

momentary and passing phase of civilization. No doubt I have

misunderstood you. Still, your book is not very clear. You almost

appear to be hesitating. I shall look forward eagerly to the new

work, on the idea of country in our own times and in the future,

which I see that you are announcing...."

The book to which Morestal alluded had been finished for over a year,

during which Philippe, for reasons which he kept to himself, refused to

deliver the manuscript to his publishers.

*

* *

"Are you glad to be here?"

Marthe had come up and folded her two hands over his arm.

"Very," he said. "And I should be still more pleased if I had not that

explanation with my father before me ... the explanation which I came

down here to have."

"It will be all right, my own Philippe. Your father is so fond of you.

And then you are so sincere!..."

"My dear Marthe," he said, kissing her affectionately on the forehead.

He had first met her at Lunéville, through M. Jorancé, who was her

distant cousin; and he had at once felt that she was the ideal companion

of his life, who would stand by him in hours of trouble, who would bear

him comely children, who would understand how to bring them up and how,

with his assistance and with his principles, to make sturdy men of them,

worthy to bear his name.

Perhaps Marthe would have liked something more; perhaps, as a girl, she

had dreamt that a married woman is not merely the wife and mother, but

also her husband's lover. But she soon saw that love went for little

with Philippe, a studious man, much more interested in mental

speculation and social problems than in any manifestation of sentimental

feeling. She therefore loved him as he wished to be loved, stifling

within herself, like smothered flames, a whole throbbing passion made up

of unsatisfied longings, restrained ardours and needless jealousies and

allowing only just so much of this to escape her as was needed to give

him fresh courage at times of doubt and defeat.

Short, slender and of delicate build, she was plucky, hardened to

trouble, fearless in the face of obstacles, proof against disappointment

after a check. Her bright, dark eyes betokened her energy. In spite of

all the influence which Philippe wielded over her, in spite of the

admiration with which he inspired her, she retained her personality, her

own standpoint towards life, her likes and dislikes. And, to such a man

as Philippe, nothing could be more precious.

"Won't you try and sleep a little?" she asked.

"No. I am going down to him."

"To your father?" she asked, anxiously.

"Yes, I don't want to put it off any longer. As it is, I have almost

done wrong in coming here and embracing him without first letting him

know the exact truth about me."

They were silent for a while. Philippe seemed undecided and worried.

He said to her:

"Don't you agree with me? Or do you think I ought to wait till

to-morrow?..."

She opened the door for him to pass:

"No," she said, "you are right."

She often had those unexpected movements which cut short hesitation and

put you face to face with events. Another would have launched out into

words. But Marthe never shirked responsibility, even where it concerned

but the smallest facts of ordinary life. Philippe used to laugh and

call it her daily heroism.

He kissed her and felt strengthened by her confidence.

Downstairs, he was told that his father was not yet back and he resolved

to wait for him in the drawing-room. He lit a cigarette, let it go out

again and, at first in a spirit of distraction and then with a growing

interest, looked around him, as though he were trying to gather from

inanimate objects particulars relating to the man who lived in their

midst.

He examined the rack containing the twelve rifles. They were all loaded,

ready for service. Against what foe?

He saw the flag which he had so often gazed upon in the old house at

Saint-Élophe, the old, torn flag whose glorious history he knew so well.

He saw the maps hanging on the wall, all of which traced the frontier in

its smallest details, together with the country adjoining it on either

side of the Vosges.

He bent over the shelves of the little book-case and read the titles of

the works: _The War of 1870, prepared in the historical section of the

German General Staff_; _The Retreat of Bourbaki_; _The Way to prepare

our Revenge_; _The Crime of the Peace-at-any-Price Party_....

But one volume caught his attention more particularly. It was his own

book on the idea of country. He turned the pages and, seeing that some

of them were covered and scored with pencil-marks, he sat down and began

to read:

"It's as I thought," he muttered, presently. "How are he and I to

understand each other henceforth? What common ground is there between

us? I cannot expect him to accept my ideas. And how can I submit to

his?"

He went on reading and noticed comments the harshness of which

distressed him beyond measure. Twenty minutes passed in this way,

disturbed by no sound but that of the leaves which he turned as he read.

And, suddenly, he felt two bare arms round his head, two cool, bare arms

stroking his face. He tried to release himself. The two arms clasped him

all the tighter.

He made an abrupt effort and rose to his feet:

"You!" he cried, stepping back. "You here, Suzanne!"

A most attractive creature stood before him, at once smiling and

bashful, in an attitude of provocation and fear, with hands clasped,

then with arms again outstretched, beautiful, white, fragrant arms that

showed below the short sleeves of her fine cambric blouse. Her fair hair

was divided into two loose waves, whose rebellious curls played about

at random. She had grey, almond-shaped eyes, half-veiled by their dark

lashes; and her tiny teeth laughed at the edge of her red lips, lips so

red that one would have thought--and been quite wrong in thinking--that

they were painted.

It was Suzanne Jorancé, the daughter of Jorancé the special commissary

and a friend of Marthe, who knew her when she was quite a child at

Lunéville. Suzanne had spent four months, last winter, in Paris with the

Philippe Morestals.

"You!" he repeated. "You, Suzanne!"

She replied, gaily:

"Myself. Your father came to call on us at Saint-Élophe. And, as mine

was out for a walk, he brought me back with him. I have just got out of

the carriage. And here I am."

He seized her by the wrists, in a fit of anger, and, in a hollow voice:

"You had no business to be at Saint-Élophe. You wrote to Marthe that you

were going away this morning. You ought not to have stayed. You know

quite well that you ought not to have stayed."

"Why?" she asked, quite confused.

"Why? Because, at the end of your visit to Paris, you spoke to me in

words which I was entitled to interpret ... which I took to mean ...

And I would not have come, if you had not written that you were...."

He broke off, embarrassed by the violence of his own outburst. The tears

stood in Suzanne's eyes and her face had flushed so deep a red that her

crimson lips seemed hardly red at all.

Petrified by the words which he had uttered and still more by those

which he had been on the verge of uttering, Philippe suddenly, in the

girl's presence, felt a need to be gentle and friendly and to make

amends for his inexplicable rudeness. An unexpected sense of pity

softened him. He took the small, ice-cold hands between his own and

said, kindly, with the intonation of a big brother scolding a younger

sister:

"Why did you stay, Suzanne?"

"May I tell you, Philippe?"

"Certainly, or I shouldn't ask you," he replied, a little nervously.

"I wanted to see you, Philippe.... When I knew that you were coming ...

and that, by delaying my departure by one day ... just one day.... You

understand, don't you?..."

He was silent, rightly thinking that, if he answered the least word, she

would at once say something that he did not want to hear. And they no

longer knew how to stand opposite each other and they no longer dared

look each other in the face. But Philippe felt those small hands turn

warm at the touch of his and felt all the life rush once more through

that turbulent young being, like a source that is released and brings

back joy and strength and hope.

Steps were heard and a sound of voices rose in the hall outside.

"M. Morestal," Suzanne whispered.

And old Morestal shouted, long before entering the room:

"Where are you, Suzanne? Here's your father coming. Quick, Jorancé, the

children are here. Yes, yes, your daughter, too.... I brought her back

with me from Saint-Élophe.... But how did you come? Through the woods?"

Suzanne slipped on a pair of long suède gloves and, at the moment when

the door opened, said, in a tone of implacable resolve and as though the

promise must needs fill Philippe's heart with delight:

"No one shall ever see my bare arms again.... No one, Philippe, I swear

to you.... No one shall ever stroke them...."

CHAPTER III

THE VIOLET PAMPHLET

Jorancé was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man. Twenty-five

years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had

married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a

boarding-school. One evening, after four years of marriage, four years

of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of

humiliation, Jorancé came home to find the house empty. His wife had

gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne,

with her.

The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the

child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have

forced upon her in the future.

He did not have to look for her long. A month later, his wife sent back

the child, who was no doubt in her way. But the wound had cut deep and

lingered; and neither time nor the love which he bore his daughter could

wipe out the memory of that cruel story.

He buckled to his work, accepted the most burdensome tasks so as to

increase his income and give Suzanne a good education, was transferred

to the commissary's office at Lunéville and, somewhat late in life, was

promoted to be special commissary at the frontier. The position involved

the delicate functions of a sentry on outpost duty whose business it is

to see as much as possible of what goes on in the neighbour's country;

and Jorancé filled it so conscientiously, tactfully and skilfully that

the neighbour aforesaid, while dreading his shrewdness and insight,

respected his character and his professional qualities.

At Saint-Élophe, he renewed his intimacy with old Morestal, who was his

grand-uncle by marriage and who was very much attached to him.

The two men saw each other almost every day. Jorancé and Suzanne used to

dine at the Old Mill on Thursdays and Sundays. Suzanne would also often

come alone and accompany the old man on his daily walk. He took a great

fancy to her; and it was upon his advice and at the urgent request of

Philippe and Marthe Morestal that Jorancé had taken Suzanne to Paris the

previous winter.

*

* *

His first words on entering the room were to thank Philippe:

"You can't think, my dear Philippe, how glad I was to leave her with

you. Suzanne is young. And I approve of a little distraction."

He looked at Suzanne with the fervent glance of a father who has brought

up his daughter himself and whose love for her is mingled with a touch

of feminine affection.

And he said to Philippe:

"Have you heard the news? I am marrying her."

"Really?" said Philippe.

"Yes, to one of my cousins at Nancy, a man rather well-on in years,

perhaps, but a serious, active and intelligent fellow. Suzanne likes him

very much. You do like him very much, don't you, Suzanne?"

The girl seemed not to hear the question and asked:

"Is Marthe in her room, Philippe?"

"Yes, on the second floor."

"I know, the blue room. I was here yesterday, helping Mme. Morestal. I

must run up and give her a kiss."

She turned round in the doorway and kissed her hand to the three men,

keeping her eyes fixed on Philippe.

"How pretty and charming your daughter is!" said Morestal to Jorancé.

But they could see that he was thinking of something else and that he

was eager to change the conversation. He shut the door quickly and,

returning to the special commissary, said:

"Did you come by the frontier-road?"

"No."

"And you haven't been told yet?"

"What?"

"The German post ... at the Butte-aux-Loups...."

"Knocked down?"

"Yes."

"Oh, by Jove!"

Morestal stopped to enjoy the effect which he had produced and then

continued:

"What do you say to it?"

"I say ... I say that it's most annoying.... They're in a very bad

temper as it is, on the other side. This means trouble for me."

"Why?"

"Well, of course. Haven't you heard that they're beginning to accuse me

of encouraging the German deserters?"

"Nonsense!"

"I tell you, they are. It seems that there's a secret desertion-office

in these parts. I'm supposed to be at the head of it. And you, you are

the heart and soul of it."

"Oh, they can't stand me at any price!"

"Nor me either. Weisslicht, the German commissary at Börsweilen, has

sworn a mortal hatred against me. We cut each other now when we meet.

There's not a doubt but that he is responsible for the calumnies."

"But what proofs do they put forward?"

"Any number ... all equally bad.... Among others, this: pieces of French

gold which are said to have been found on their soldiers. So you see ...

with the post tumbling down once more, the explanations that are certain

to begin all over again, the enquiries that are certain to be

opened...."

Philippe went up to him:

"Come, come, I don't suppose it's so serious as all that."

"You think not, my boy? Then you haven't seen the stop-press telegrams

in this morning's papers?"

"No," said Philippe and his father. "What's the news?"

"An incident in Asia Minor. A quarrel between the French and German

officials. One of the consuls has been killed."

"Oh, oh!" said Morestal. "This time ..."

And Jorancé went into details:

"Yes, the position is exceedingly strained. The Morocco question has

been opened again. Then there's the espionage business and the story of

the French air-men flying over the fortresses in Alsace and dropping

tricolour flags in the Strasburg streets.... For six months, it has been

one long series of complications and shocks. The newspapers are becoming

aggressive in their language. Both countries are arming, strengthening

their defences. In short, in spite of the good intentions of the two

governments, we are at the mercy of an accident. A spark ... and the

thing's done."

A heavy silence weighed upon the three men. Each of them conjured up the

sinister vision according to his own temperament and instincts.

Jorancé repeated:

"A spark ... and the thing's done."

"Well, let it be done!" said Morestal, with an angry gesture.

Philippe gave a start:

"What are you saying, father?"

"Well, what! There must be an end to all this."

"But the end need not be in blood."

"Nonsense ... nonsense.... There are injuries that can only be wiped out

in blood. And, when a great country like ours has received a slap in the

face like that of 1870, it can wait forty years, fifty years, but a day

comes when it returns the slap in the face ... and with both hands!"

"And suppose we are beaten?" said Philippe.

"Can't be helped! Honour comes first! Besides, we sha'n't be beaten.

Let every man do his duty and we shall see! In 1870, as a prisoner of

war, I gave my word not to serve in the French army again. I escaped, I

collected the young rapscallions of Saint-Élophe and round about, the

old men, the cripples, the women even.... We took to the woods. Three

rags served as a rallying-signal: a bit of white linen, a strip of red

flannel and a piece out of a blue apron ... the flag of the band! There

it hangs.... It shall see the light of day again, if necessary."

Jorancé could not help laughing:

"Do you think that will stop the Prussians?"

"Don't laugh, my friend.... You know the view I take of my duty and what

I am doing. But it is just as well that Philippe should know, too. Sit

down, my boy."

He himself sat down, put aside the pipe which he was smoking and began,

with the obvious satisfaction of a man who is at last able to speak of

what he has most at heart:

"You know the frontier, Philippe, or rather the German side of the

frontier?... A craggy cliff, a series of peaks and ravines which make

this part of the Vosges an insuperable rampart...."

"Yes, absolutely insuperable," said Philippe.

"That's a mistake!" exclaimed Morestal. "A fatal mistake! From the

first moment when I began to think of these matters, I believed that a

day would come when the enemy would attack that rampart."

"Impossible!"

"That day has come, Philippe. For the last six months, not a week has

passed without my meeting some suspicious figure over there or knocking

up against men walking about in smocks that were hardly enough to

conceal their uniform.... It is a constant, progressive underhand work.

Everybody is helping in it. The electric factory which the Wildermann

firm has run up in that ridiculous fashion on the edge of the precipice

is only a make-believe. The road that leads to it is a military road.

From the factory to the Col du Diable is less than half a mile. One

effort and the frontier's crossed."

"By a company," objected Jorancé.

"Where a company passes, a regiment can pass and a brigade can

follow.... At Börsweilen, five miles from the Vosges, there are three

thousand German soldiers: on a war-footing, mark you. At Gernach, twelve

miles further, there are twelve thousand; and four thousand horses; and

eight hundred waggons. By the evening of the day on which war is

declared, perhaps even earlier, those fifteen thousand men will have

crossed the Col du Diable. It's not a surprise which they mean to

attempt: that wouldn't be worth their while. It is the absolute

crossing of the frontier, the taking possession of our ridges, the

occupation of Saint-Élophe. When our troops arrive, it will be too late!

They will find Noirmont cut off, Belfort threatened, the south of the

Vosges invaded.... You can picture the moral effect: we shall be done

for! That is what is being prepared in the dark. That is what you have

been unable to see, Jorancé, in spite of all your watchfulness ... and

in spite of my warnings."

"I wrote to the prefect last week."

"You should have written last year! All this time, the other has been

coming on, the other has been advancing.... He hardly takes the trouble

to conceal himself.... There ... listen to him ... listen to him...."

In the far distance, like the sound of an echo, deadened by the mass of

trees, a bugle-call had rung out, somewhere, through the air. It was an

indistinct call, but Morestal was not mistaken and he hissed:

"Ah, it's he!... It's he.... I know the voice of Germany.... I know it

when I hear it ... the hoarse, the odious voice!..."

Presently, Philippe, who had not taken his eyes off his father, said:

"And then, father?"

"And then, my son, it was in anticipation of that day that I built my

house on this hill, that I surrounded my gardens with a wall, that,

unknown to anybody, I stocked the out-houses with means of defence:

ammunition, bags of sand, gun-powder ... that, in short, I prepared for

an alarm by setting up this unsuspected little fortress at twenty

minutes from the Col du Diable ... on the very threshold of the

frontier!"

He had planted himself with his face to the east, with his face to the

enemy; and, clutching his hips with his clenched hands, in an attitude

of defiance, he seemed to be awaiting the inevitable assault.

The special commissary, who still feared that his zeal had been caught

napping in this business, growled:

"Your shanty won't hold out for an hour."

"And who tells you," shouted Morestal, "who tells you that that hour is

not exactly the one hour which we shall want to gain?... An hour! You

never spoke a truer word: an hour of resistance to the first attack! An

hour of delay!... That's what I wanted, that's what I offer to my

country. Let every one be doing as I am, to the best of his power, let

every one be haunted to fever-point by the obsession of the personal

service which it is his duty to render to the country; and, if war

breaks out, you shall see how a great nation can take its revenge!"

"And suppose we are beaten, in spite of all?" Philippe asked again.

"What's that?"

Old Morestal turned to his son as though he had received a blow; and a

rush of blood inflamed his features. He looked Philippe in the face:

"What do you say?"

Philippe had an inkling of the conflict that would hurl them one against

the other if he dared to state his objections more minutely. And he

uttered words at random:

"Of course, the supposition is not one of those which we can

entertain.... But, all the same ... don't you think we ought to face the

possibility?..."

"Face the possibility of defeat?" echoed the old man, who seemed

thunderstruck. "Are you suggesting that the fear of that ought to

influence France in her conduct?"

A diversion relieved Philippe of his difficulty. Some one had appeared

from the staircase at the end of the terrace and in so noisy a fashion

that Morestal did not wait for his son to reply:

"Is that you, Saboureux? What a row you're making!"

It was Farmer Saboureux, whose house could be seen on the Col du Diable.

He was accompanied by an old, ragged tramp.

Saboureux had come to complain. Some soldiers taking part in the

manoeuvres had helped themselves to two of his chickens and a duck. He

seemed beside himself, furious at the catastrophe:

"Only, I've a witness in old Poussière here. And I want an indemnity,

not to speak of damages and punishment. I call it a calamity, I do:

soldiers of our own country!... I'm a good Frenchman, but, all the same

..."

Morestal was too much absorbed in the discussion of his favourite ideas

to take the least interest in the man's troubles; and the farmer's

presence, on the contrary, seemed to him an excellent reason for

returning to the subject in hand. They had other things to talk about

than chickens and ducks! What about the chances of war? And the alarming

rumours that were current?

"What do you say, Saboureux?"

The farmer presented the typical appearance of those peasants whom we

sometimes find in the eastern provinces and who, with their stern,

clean-shaven faces, like the faces on ancient medals, remind us of our

Roman ancestors rather than of the Gauls or Francs. He had marched to

battle in 1870 with the others, perishing with hunger and wretchedness,

risking his skin. And, on his return, he had found his shanty reduced to

ashes. Some passing Uhlans.... Since that time, he had laboured hard to

repair the harm done.

"And you want it all over again?" he said. "More Uhlans burning and

sacking?... Oh, no, I've had enough of that game! You just let me be as

I am!"

He was filled with the small land-owner's hatred against all those,

Frenchmen or others, who were likely to tread with a sacrilegious foot

on the sown earth, where the harvest is so slow in coming. He crossed

his arms, with a serious air.

"And you, Poussière, what would you say if we went to war?" asked

Morestal, calling to the old tramp, who was sitting on the parapet of

the terrace, breaking a crust.

The man was lean and wizened, twisted like a vine-shoot, with long,

dust-coloured hair and a melancholy, impassive face that seemed carved

out of old oak. He put in an appearance at Saint-Élophe once every three

or four months. He knocked at the doors of the houses and then went off

again.

"What country do you belong to, to begin with?"

He grunted:

"Don't know much about it ... it's so long ago...."

"Which do you like best? France, eh? The roads on this side?"

The old chap swung his legs without answering, perhaps without

understanding. Saboureux grinned:

"He doesn't look at the roads, not he! He doesn't as much as know if he

belongs to the country on the right or on the left! His country lies

where the grub lies ... eh, Poussière?"

Thereupon, seized with sudden ill-humour, Morestal lost his temper and

let fly at the lukewarm, at the indifferent--working-men, townsmen or

farmers--who think only of their comfort, without caring whether the

country is humiliated or victorious. But what else could one expect,

with the detestable ideas spread by some of the newspapers and carried

to the furthermost ends of the country in the books and pamphlets hawked

about by travelling agents?

"Yes," he cried, "the new ideas: those are the evil that is destroying

us. The school-masters are poisoning the minds of the young. The very

army is smitten with the canker. Whole regiments are on the verge of

mutiny...."

He turned a questioning glance upon Philippe, who, from time to time,

nodded his head without replying, with a movement which his father might

take for one of approval.

"Isn't it so, Philippe? You see the thing close at hand, where you are:

all those poltroons who weaken our energies with their fine dreams of

peace at any price! You hear them, all the wind-bags at the public

meetings, who preach their loathsome crusade against the army and the

country with open doors and are backed up by our rulers.... And that's

only speaking of the capital!... Why, the very provinces haven't escaped

the contagion!... Here, have you read this abomination?"

He took a little volume in a violet wrapper from among the papers heaped

up on his table and held it before his son's eyes. And he continued:

"_Peace before All!_ No author's name. A book that's all the more

dangerous because it's very well written, not by one of those wind-bags

to whom I was referring just now, but by a scholar, a provincial and,

what's more, a Frenchman from the frontier. He seems even to bear our

name ... some distant cousin, no doubt: the Morestals are a large

family."

"Are you sure?" blurted Philippe, who had turned pale at the sight of

the pamphlet. "How do you know?"

"Oh, by accident.... A letter which was addressed to me and which said,

'All good wishes for the success of your pamphlet, my dear Morestal.'"

Philippe remembered. He was to have gone to the Old Mill last year; and

the letter must have been sent to him by one of his friends.

"And haven't you tried to find out?"

"What for? Because I have a scoundrel in my family, that's no reason

why I should be in a hurry to make his acquaintance! Besides, he himself

has had the decency not to put his name to his scurrilous nonsense....

No matter: if ever I lay my hands on him!... But don't let's talk of

it...."

He continued to talk of it, nevertheless, and at great length, as well

as of all the questions of war and peace, history and politics that came

to his mind. It was not until he had "got his budget off his chest," as

he said, that he exclaimed, suddenly:

"Enough of this palavering, my friends! Why, it's four o'clock!

Saboureux, I'm your man.... So they've been making free with your

poultry, have they? Are you coming, Jorancé? We'll see some fine

soldier-chaps making their soup. There's nothing jollier and livelier

than a French camp!"

CHAPTER IV

PHILIPPE AND HIS WIFE

Marthe and Suzanne were very intimate, in spite of the difference in

their ages. Marthe was full of indulgent kindness for her friend, whom

she had known as quite a child, motherless and left to herself; whereas

Suzanne was less even-tempered with Marthe, now gushing and coaxing, now

aggressive and satirical, but always full of charm.

When Marthe had finished unfastening the trunks, Suzanne herself

insisted on emptying the travelling-bag and arranging on the table all

the little things with which one tries, when away, to give one's room a

look of home: portraits of the children, writing-cases, favourite

books....

"You'll be very snug here, Marthe," she said. "It's a nice, light room

... and there's only a dressing-room between you and Philippe.... But

how did you come to want two bedrooms?"

"It was Philippe. He was afraid of disturbing me in the mornings...."

"Oh," repeated the girl. "It was Philippe's suggestion...."

Then she took up one of the photographs and examined it:

"How like his father your son Jacques is!... Much more so than Paul ...

don't you think?"

Marthe came to the table and, bending over her friend, looked at the

picture with those mother's eyes which seem to see in the inanimate

image the life, the smile and the beauty of the absent one.

"Which do you like best, Jacques or Paul?" asked Suzanne.

"What a question! If you were a mother...."

"If I were a mother, I should like that one best who reminded me most of

my husband. The other would make me suspect that my husband had ceased

to love me...."

"You put down everything to love, my poor Suzanne! Do you imagine that

there is nothing in the world but love?"

"There are heaps of other things. But you yourself, Marthe: wouldn't you

like love to fill a greater place in your life?"

This was said with a certain sarcasm, of which Marthe felt the sting.

But, before she had time to retort, Philippe appeared in the doorway.

Suzanne at once cried:

"We were talking about you, Philippe."

He made no reply. He went to the window, closed it and then came back to

the two young women. Suzanne pointed to a chair beside her, but he sat

down by Marthe; and Marthe saw by his look that something had happened:

"Have you spoken to him?"

"No."

"Still ..."

He told her, in a few sentences, of the conversation, with the incident

of the pamphlet and the words which his father had spoken against the

author of that work. He repeated the words, a second time, with

increasing bitterness. Then he stopped, reflected and, pressing his

clenched fists to his temples, said, slowly, as though he were

explaining matters to himself:

"It's three years now that this has lasted ... ever since his letter on

my appointment, in which he wrote about my second book on the idea of

country. Perhaps I ought to have written to him then and there and told

him of the evolution of my mind and the tremendous change which the

study of history and of vanished civilizations had wrought in me."

"Perhaps it would have been better," said Marthe.

"I was afraid to. I was afraid of hurting him.... It would have hurt him

so terribly!... And my love for him is so great!... And then, Marthe,

you see, the ideas which he defends and of which, in my eyes, he is the

living and splendid incarnation are so beautiful in themselves that,

after one has ceased to share them, one continues, for a long time, for

always, to retain a sort of involuntary affection for them, deep down in

one's inner self. They constituted the greatness of our country for

centuries. They are vigorous, like everything that is religious and

pure. One feels a renegade at losing them; and any word spoken against

them sounds like blasphemy. How could I say to my father, 'Those ideas,

which you gave me and which were the life of my youth, I have ceased to

hold. Yes, I have ceased to think as you do. My love of humanity does

not stop at the boundaries of the country in which I was born; and I do

not hate those who are on the other side of the frontier. I am one of

those men who will not have war, who will not have it at any price and

who would give their life-blood to save the world the horror of that

scourge.' How could I say such things as that to my father?"

He rose and, pacing the room, continued:

"I did not say them. I concealed the true state of my mind, as though I

were hiding a shameful sore. At the meetings, in the newspapers to which

I contribute by stealth, to my adversaries and to the majority of the

men on my own side I was M. Philippe, denying my name and my

personality, setting a bad example to those who are silent for

prudence' sake and for fear of compromising themselves. I do not sign

the pamphlets which I write; and the book in which I give the conclusion

of my work has been ready for more than a year, without my daring to

publish it. Well, that's over now. I can't go on as I have been doing.

Silence is choking me. By humbling myself, I lower my ideals. I must

speak aloud, in the hearing of all men. I will speak."

He had gradually become animated, excited by his own words. His voice

had increased in volume. His face expressed the glowing, irresistible,

often blind enthusiasm of those who devote themselves to generous

causes. And, yielding to a need to speak out which was anything but

frequent with him, he went on:

"You don't know, you don't know what it means to a man to be fired with

a great idea ... whether it be love of humanity, hatred of war or any

other beautiful illusion. It lights us and leads us. It is our pride and

our faith. We seem to have a second life, the real life, that belongs to

it, and an unknown heart that beats for it alone. And we are prepared to

suffer any sacrifice, any pain, any wretchedness, any insult ...

provided that it gain the day."

Suzanne listened to him with obvious admiration. Marthe appeared

uneasy. Knowing Philippe's nature thoroughly, she was well aware that,

in thus letting himself go, he was not only being carried away by a

flood of eloquent words.

He opened the window and drew a deep breath of the pure air which he

loved. Then he returned and added:

"We are even prepared to sacrifice those around us."

Marthe felt all the importance which he attached to this little

sentence; and, after a moment, she said:

"Are you referring to me?"

"Yes," said Philippe.

"But you know, Philippe, that, when I agreed to marry you, I agreed to

share your life, whatever it might be."

"My life as it looked like being, but not as I shall be compelled to

make it."

She looked at him with a glimmer of apprehension. For some time now, she

had noticed that he was even less communicative than usual, that he

hardly ever spoke of his plans and that he no longer told her what he

was working at.

"How do you mean, Philippe?" she asked.

He took a sealed letter from his pocket and showed her the address:

"_To the Minister of Public Instruction._"

"What is in that letter?" asked Marthe.

"My resignation."

"Your resignation! The resignation of your professorship?"

"Yes. I shall send this letter the moment I have confessed everything to

my father. I did not like to tell you before, for fear of your

objections.... But I was wrong.... It is necessary that you should

know...."

"I don't understand," she stammered. "I don't understand...."

"Yes, you do, Marthe: you understand. The ideas which have taken

possession of me little by little and to which I want to devote myself

without reserve are dangerous for young brains to listen to. They form

the belief of an age for which I call with might and main, but it is not

the belief of to-day; and I have no right to teach it to the children

entrusted to my care."

She was on the verge--thinking of her own children, whose well-being and

whose future were about to suffer through this decision--she was on the

verge of exclaiming:

"Why need you shout it from the house-tops? Stifle your vain scruples

and go on teaching what you find in the manuals and school-books."

But she knew that he was like those priests who prefer to incur poverty

and opprobrium rather than preach a religion which they no longer

believe.

And she simply said:

"I do not share all your opinions, Philippe. There are even some that

terrify me ... especially those which I do not know, but which I half

suspect. But, whatever the goal to which you are leading us, I will walk

to it with my eyes closed."

"And ... so far ... you approve?"

"Entirely. You must act according to your conscience, send that letter

and, first of all, tell your father everything. Who knows? Perhaps he

will admit ..."

"Never!" exclaimed Philippe. "Men who look into the future can still

understand the beliefs of former days, because those were their own

beliefs when they were young. But men who cling to the past cannot

accept ideas which they do not understand and which clash with their

feelings and with their instincts."

"So ...?"

"So we shall quarrel and cause each other pain; and the thought of it

distresses me infinitely."

He sat down, with a movement of weariness. She leant over him:

"Do not lose courage. I am sure that things will turn out better than

you think. Wait a few days.... There is no hurry; and you will have time

to see ... to prepare...."

"Everything turns out well when you speak," he said, smiling and

allowing himself to be caressed.

"Unfortunately ..."

He did not finish his sentence. He saw Suzanne opposite him, glaring at

the pair of them. She was ghastly pale; and her mouth was wrung with a

terrible expression of pain and hatred. He felt that she was ready to

fling herself upon them and proclaim her rage aloud.

He released himself quickly and, making an effort to jest:

"Tush!" he said. "Time will show.... Enough of these jeremiads: what say

you, Suzanne?... Suppose you saw to putting away my things?... Is

everything done?"

Marthe was surprised at the abrupt change in his manner. However, she

replied:

"There are only your papers; and I always prefer you to arrange them

yourself."

"Come on, then," he said, gaily.

Marthe walked through the dressing-room to her husband's bedroom.

Philippe was about to follow her and his foot touched the door-sill when

Suzanne darted in front of him and barred the way with her outstretched

arms.

It happened so suddenly that he uttered a slight exclamation. Marthe

asked, from the further room:

"What is it?"

"Nothing," said Suzanne. "We're coming."

Philippe tried to pass. She pushed him back violently and with such a

look of her eyes that he yielded at once.

They watched each other for a few seconds, like two enemies. Philippe

fumed:

"Well? What does all this mean? Do you propose to keep me here

indefinitely?..."

She came nearer to him and, in a voice that shook with restraint and

implacable energy:

"I shall expect you this evening.... It's quite easy.... You can get

out.... I shall be outside my door at eleven."

He was petrified:

"You are mad!..."

"No.... But I want to see you ... to speak to you ... I must ... I am

suffering more than I can bear.... It's enough to kill me."

Her eyes were full of tears, her chin seemed convulsed with spasms, her

lips trembled.

Philippe's anger was mingled with a little pity; and, above all, he felt

the need of putting an end to the scene as quickly as possible:

"Look here, baby, look here!" he said, employing an expression which he

often used to her.

"You will come ... you must come ... that is why I stayed.... One hour,

one hour of your presence!... If you don't, I shall come here, I shall

indeed.... I don't care what happens!"

He had retreated to the window. Instinctively, he looked to see if it

was possible to climb over the balcony and jump. It would have been

absurd.

But, as he bent forward, he saw his wife, two windows further, lean out

and catch sight of him. He had to smile, to conceal his perturbation;

and nothing could be more hateful to him than this comedy which a

child's whims were compelling him to play.

"You're quite pale," said Marthe.

"Do you think so? I'm a little tired, I suppose. You too, you are

looking ..."

She broke in:

"I thought I saw your father."

"Is he back?"

"Yes, there he is, at the end of the garden, with M. Jorancé. They are

making signs to you."

Morestal and his friend were climbing up beside the waterfall and waving

their hands to attract Philippe's attention. When he came under the

windows, Morestal cried:

"This is what we have arranged, Philippe. You and I are dining at

Jorancé's."

"But ..."

"There's no but about it; we'll explain why. I'll have the carriage got

ready and Jorancé will go ahead with Suzanne."

"What about Marthe?" asked Philippe.

"Marthe can come if she likes. Come down here. We'll fix it all up."

When Philippe turned round, Suzanne was standing close against him:

"You'll come, won't you?" she said, eagerly.

"Yes, if Marthe does."

"Even if Marthe doesn't ... I insist ... I insist.... Oh, Philippe, I

implore you, don't drive me to extremities!"

He was afraid of an outburst:

"As a matter of fact," he said, "why shouldn't I come? It's quite

natural that I should dine at your house with my father."

"Do you mean it?" she murmured. "Will you really come?"

She seemed suddenly calmed; and her face assumed a look of childish

delight:

"Oh, how happy I am!... How happy I am! My beautiful dream will be

fulfilled.... We shall walk together in the dark, without speaking a

word.... And I shall never forget that hour.... Nor you either, Philippe

... nor you either...."

CHAPTER V

THE SHEET OF NOTE-PAPER

A hand was passed through the bars of the gate at the top of the

staircase leading to the terrace and seized the clapper of the little

bell fastened to one of the bars. A push ... and the gate was open.

"Not much difficulty about that," said the man, carefully stepping on to

the terrace. "Since the mountain won't come to Dourlowski, Dourlowski

must ..."

The man stopped: he had heard voices. But, on listening, he found that

the sound of voices came from behind the house. He quietly entered the

drawing-room, therefore, walked straight across it and reached the

windows on the other side. A little further, at the foot of the steps,

he saw a carriage ready to start, with Suzanne and her father sitting in

it. The Morestal family were standing round the carriage.

"That's all right," said Morestal. "Philippe and I will walk ... and

we'll do the same coming home, won't we, my boy?"

"And you, Marthe?" asked Jorancé.

"No, thank you. I will stay with mamma."

"Well, we'll send your men home to you soon ... especially as Morestal

likes going to bed early. They will leave the house at ten o'clock

precisely; and I will go a bit of the way with them, as far as the

Butte."

"That's it," said Morestal. "We shall see the demolished post by

moonlight. And we shall be here by half-past ten, mother. That's a

promise. Off you go, Victor."

The carriage drove off. Dourlowski, in the drawing-room, took out his

watch and set it by the clock, whispering:

"Consequently, they'll reach the Butte at a quarter past ten. That's a

good thing to know. And now to inform old Morestal that his friend

Dourlowski has come to hunt him up in his happy home."

Putting two of his fingers to his mouth, he gave the same faint whistle

which Morestal had heard that morning, something like the unfinished

note of certain birds:

"That's done it," he grinned. "The old boy pricked up his ears. He has

sent the others for a stroll in the garden and he's coming this way...."

He made a movement backwards on hearing Morestal's footstep in the hall,

for he knew the old fellow was not given to joking. And, in fact,

Morestal, the moment he entered, ran up to him and took him by the

collar of his jacket:

"What are you doing here? What do you mean by it? How dare you?... I'll

show you a road which you don't know of!"

Dourlowski began to laugh with his crooked mouth:

"My dear M. Morestal, you'll dirty your hands."

His clothes were shiny and thick with grease, stretched over a small

round body, that contrasted strangely with his lean and bony face. And

all this formed a jovial, grotesque and rather alarming picture.

Morestal let go his hold and, in an imperative tone:

"Explain yourself and quickly. I don't want my son to see you here.

Speak."

There was no time to be lost, as Dourlowski saw:

"Well, look here," he said. "It's a question of a young soldier in the

Börsweilen garrison. He's too unhappy for words where he is ... and he's

mad at having to serve Germany."

"A ne'er-do-well," growled Morestal. "A slacker who doesn't want to

work."

"No, not this one, I tell you, not this one. He means to enlist in the

Foreign Legion. He loves France."

"Yes, always the same story. And then--pah!--one never hears of them

again. More gallows' seed!"

Dourlowski seemed shocked and scandalized:

"How can you say such a thing, M. Morestal?... If you only knew! A brave

soldier who asks nothing better than to die fighting for our country."

The old man started:

"'Our country,' indeed! I forbid you to speak like that. Have you the

least idea where you hail from? A scamp like you has no country."

"You forget all that I have done, M. Morestal.... You and I, between us,

have 'passed' four of them already."

"Hold your tongue!" said Morestal, who seemed to take no pleasure in

this recollection. "Hold your tongue.... If the thing had never happened

..."

"It would happen just the same, because you are a good-natured man and

because there are things.... There.... It's like with this lad.... It

would break your heart to see him.... Johann Baufeld his name is.... His

father is just dead ... and he wants to go out to his mother, who was

divorced and who lives in Algeria.... Such a nice lad, full of

pluck...."

"Well," said Morestal, "he's only got to 'pass'! You don't want me for

that."

"And what about the money? He hasn't a sou. Besides, there's no one

like you to tell us all the paths, the best place to cross at, the best

time to select...."

"I'll see about it.... I'll see about it," said Morestal. "There's no

hurry...."

"Yes, there is...."

"Why?"

"The Börsweilen regiment is manoeuvring on the slopes of the Vosges.

If you'll lend us a hand, I'll run down to Saint-Élophe first, buy a

suit of second-hand French peasant's clothes and go and find my man.

Then I'll bring him to the old barn in your little farm to-night ... as

I have done before...."

"Where is he at this moment?"

"His company is quartered in the Albern Woods."

"But that's next door to the frontier!" cried Morestal. "An hour's walk,

no more."

"Just so; but how he is to reach the frontier? Where is he to cross it?"

"That's quite easy," said Morestal, taking up a pencil and a sheet of

note-paper. "Look, here are the Albern Woods. Here's the Col du Diable.

Here's the Butte-aux-Loups.... Well, he's only got to leave the woods by

the Fontaine-Froide and take the first path to the left, by the Roche de

..."

He suddenly interrupted himself, looked at Dourlowski with a suspicious

air and said:

"But you know the road as well as I do ... there's no doubt about

that.... So ..."

"My word," said Dourlowski, "I always go by the Col du Diable and the

factory."

Morestal reflected for a moment, scribbled a few lines and a few words

in an absent-minded sort of way and then, with a movement of quick

resolution, took the sheet of note-paper, crumpled it into a ball and

flung it into the waste-paper basket:

"No, no, certainly not!" he cried. "I've had enough of this nonsense!

One succeeds four times; and, at the fifth attempt.... Besides, it's not

a business I care about.... A soldier's a soldier ... whatever uniform

he wears...."

"Still ..." mumbled Dourlowski.

"I refuse. Not to mention that they suspect me over yonder. The German

commissary gives me a queer look when he meets me; and I won't risk ..."

"You're risking nothing."

"That'll do; and clear out of this as fast as you can.... Oh, wait a

second!... I think I ... Listen ..."

Morestal ran to the windows overlooking the garden. Quick as thought,

Dourlowski stooped and fished Morestal's crumpled sheet out of the

waste-paper basket. He hid it in the palm of his hand and, raising his

voice:

"We'll say no more about it, as you don't see your way to help me," he

said. "I give it up."

"That's it," said Morestal, who had seen no one in the garden. "You give

it up, my friend: it's the best thing you can do."

He took Dourlowski by the shoulders and pushed him towards the terrace:

"Be off ... and don't come back.... There's nothing more for you to do

here ... absolutely nothing...."

He hoped to get rid of the fellow without being perceived, but, as he

reached the gate, he saw his wife, his son and Marthe come up the

staircase, after strolling round the walls of the Old Mill.

Dourlowski took off his hat and distributed bows all round. Then, as

soon as the road was clear, he disappeared.

Mme. Morestal expressed her astonishment:

"What! Do you still see that rogue of a Dourlowski?"

"Oh, it was an accident!..."

"You are very wrong to have him in the house. We don't even know where

he comes from or what his trade is."

"He's a hawker."

"A spy, rather: that's what they say about him."

"Tah! In the pay of which country?"

"Of both, very likely. Victor thinks he saw him with the German

commissary, two Sundays ago."

"With Weisslicht? Impossible. He doesn't even know him."

"I'm telling you what they say. In any case, Morestal, be careful with

that fellow. He's a bird of ill-omen."

"Come, come, mother, no hard words. This is a day of rejoicing.... Are

you ready, Philippe?"

CHAPTER VI

THE PLASTER STATUE

There were several ways leading to Saint-Élophe. First of all, the

high-road, which goes winding down a slope some two miles long; next, a

few rather steep short cuts; and, lastly, further north, the

forest-path, part of which skirts the ridge of the Vosges.

"Let's go by the road, shall we?" said Morestal to his son.

And, as soon as they had started, he took Philippe's arm and said,

gleefully:

"Only think, my boy, at the camp, just now, we met one of the

lieutenants of the manoeuvring company. We talked about the Saboureux

business and, this evening, he is going to introduce us to his captain,

who happens to be a nephew of General Daspry, commanding the army-corps.

So I shall tell him what I have done at the Old Mill, you see; he will

report it to his uncle Daspry; and Fort Morestal will be listed at

once...."

He beamed with delight, held his head high and flung out his chest,

while, with his free hand, he made warlike flourishes with his cane.

Once he even halted and placed himself on guard and stamped his foot on

the ground:

"Three appels ... Engage ... Lunge! What do you say to that, Philippe,

eh? Old Morestal is game yet!"

Philippe, full of affection for the old man, smiled. Now that he was

acting on Marthe's advice and delaying the painful explanation, life

seemed better to him, quite simple and quite easy, and he surrendered

himself to the pleasure of seeing his father again and the scenes which

he loved and renewing the childhood memories that seemed to await him at

every turn of the road and to rise up at his approach:

"Do you remember, father? This is where I fell off my bicycle.... I was

standing under that tree when it was struck by lightning...."

They stopped, recalled all the circumstances of the event and set off

again, arm in arm.

And, a little further, Morestal took up the thread:

"And over there, do you remember? That's where you killed your first

rabbit ... with a catapult! Ah, even in those days you promised to be a

good shot ... the best at Saint-Élophe, as I live!... But I was

forgetting: you have given up your gun! A fellow of your build! Why,

sport, my boy, is the great apprenticeship for war!..."

*

* *

Saint-Élophe-la-Côte, once a flourishing little town, had never quite

recovered from the wounds earned by its heroism during the war. It stood

crowding round an old ruined castle which became visible at the last

turn in the road. Nevertheless, situated on the borders of the

department, at twelve or thirteen miles from Noirmont, the

sub-prefecture, it owed a certain importance to its position near the

frontier, facing the German garrisons, whose increasing activity was

becoming a subject of uneasiness and had led to Jorancé's appointment as

special commissary.

Jorancé, the first holder of this newly-created office, lived at the

other end of the village and a little way outside it, in a low-storeyed

house which had been greatly improved by Suzanne's good taste and fancy.

It was surrounded by a garden with arbours and quaintly-clipped old

trees and a clear, winding stream that flowed under the very doorstep.

It was nearly dark when Morestal entered, accompanied by Philippe.

Everything was ready for their reception: the table was laid in a room

hung with bright stuffs; flowers were scattered over the cloth; two

lamps shed a calm and even light; and Suzanne sat smiling, happy and

charming.

All this was very simple. And yet Philippe received the impression that

special pains had been taken on his account. It was he who was expected;

he was the master who was to be conquered and chained with invisible

bonds. He felt sure of this; and Suzanne told him as much throughout

dinner, with her fond glances, her attentive movements, her whole person

bending towards him.

"I ought not to have come," he thought. "No, I ought not to have."

And, each time that he met Suzanne's eyes, he called to mind his wife's

discreet manner and her thoughtful air.

"How absorbed you are, Philippe!" cried Morestal, who had never ceased

talking while eating. "And you, Suzanne, what are you thinking about?

Your future husband?"

"Not I!" she replied, without the least embarrassment. "I was thinking

of those months I spent in Paris last winter. How good you were to me,

Philippe! I remember the walks we used to take!..."

They spoke of those walks; and, little by little, Philippe was surprised

to realize the extent to which their lives had been mingled during that

stay. Marthe, retained by her household duties, used to remain at home,

while they two escaped, like a couple of free and careless play-fellows.

They visited the museums and churches of Paris, the little towns and

castles of the Ile-de-France. An intimacy sprang up between them. And

now it confused him to find Suzanne at once so near to him and so far,

so near as a friend, so far as a woman.

When dinner was over, he moved round to his father. Morestal, eager to

go and keep his appointment with Captain Daspry, stood up:

"Are you coming with us, Philippe?"

"Certainly."

The three men took their hats and sticks; but, when they reached the

hall-door, after a whispered colloquy with Jorancé, Morestal said to his

son:

"On second thoughts, it's better that we should go alone. The interview

must remain as secret as possible; and we shall be less easy if there

are three of us...."

"Besides," added the special commissary, "you may just as well keep

Suzanne company: it is her last evening. Good-bye for the present,

children. You can be sure that the two conspirators will be back when

the belfry-clock strikes ten, eh, Morestal?"

They went off, leaving Philippe not a little perplexed.

Suzanne burst out laughing:

"My poor Philippe, you look very uncomfortable. Come, cheer up! I

sha'n't eat you, I promise you!"

"No, I don't expect you will," he said, laughing in his turn. "But, all

the same, it's strange ..."

"All the same, it's strange," she said, completing the sentence, "that

we should take a walk round the garden together, as I asked you. You

will have to make the best of a bad job. Here comes the harmless,

necessary moonlight."

The moon emerged slowly from the great clouds stacked around a

mountain-crest; and its light cast the regular shadows of the yews and

fir-trees on the lawns. The weather was heavy with approaching storms. A

warm breeze wafted the perfumes of plants and grass.

Three times, they followed the outer path, along a hedge and along a

wall. They said nothing; and this silence, which he found it impossible

to break, filled Philippe with remorse. At that moment, he experienced a

feeling of aversion for that capricious and unreasonable little girl,

who had brought about those compromising minutes between them.

Unaccustomed to women and always rather shy in their company, he

suspected her of some mysterious design.

"Let's go over there," said Suzanne, pointing to the middle of the

garden, where the shadows seemed to gather round a thick clump of

shrubs and hornbeams.

They made for the place through an arcade of verdure which brought them

to a short flight of steps. It was a sunk amphitheatre, surrounded by a

stone balustrade, with a small pond in the middle and, opposite, in a

leafy frame, a female statue, with a moonbeam quivering upon it. A musty

smell arose from this old-fashioned spot.

"Venus or Minerva? Corinne perhaps?" said Philippe, joking to conceal

his uneasiness. "I confess I can't quite make out. What is she wearing:

a peplum or an Empire frock? And is that a helmet or a turban on her

head?"

"It depends," said Suzanne.

"How do you mean? What upon?"

"Yes, it depends upon my humour. When I'm good and sensible, she's

Minerva. When I look at her with a yearning heart, she becomes Venus.

And she is also, according to the mood of the moment, the goddess of

madness ... and the goddess of tears ... and the goddess of death."

She spoke with a playfulness that saddened Philippe. He asked:

"And what is she the goddess of to-day?"

"The goddess of farewell."

"Of farewell?"

"Yes, farewell to Suzanne Jorancé, to the girl who has come here every

day, for the last five years, and who will never come here again."

She leant against the statue:

"My dear goddess, what dreams we two have had, you and I! We used to

wait together. For whom? For the Blue Bird ... for Prince Charming. The

prince was to arrive on horseback, one day, jump the garden-wall and

carry me off, slung across his saddle. He was to slip through the trees,

one evening, and go up the steps on his knees, sobbing. And all the vows

I made to my dear goddess! Just think, Philippe: I promised her never to

bring a man into her presence unless I loved him! And I kept my promise.

You are the first, Philippe."

He flushed red in the dark; and she continued, in a voice the gaiety of

which rang false:

"If you only knew how silly a girl is, dreaming and vowing things! Why,

I even promised her that that man and I should exchange our first kiss

before her. Isn't it ridiculous? Poor goddess! She will never see that

kiss of love; for, after all, I don't suppose you intend to kiss me?"

"Suzanne!"

"Well, did you? There's no reason why you should; and the whole thing's

absurd. So you will admit that this dear goddess has no sense and that

she deserves to be punished."

With a quick movement of the arm, she gave a push to the statue, which

fell to the ground and broke into halves.

"What are you doing?" he cried.

"Leave me alone ... leave me alone," said Suzanne, in an angry voice.

It was as though her action had loosed in her a long-contained fury and

wicked instincts which she was no longer able to control. She rushed

forwards and madly kicked and raged at the broken pieces of the statue.

He tried to interfere and took her by the arm. She turned upon him:

"I won't have you touch me!... It's your fault.... Let me go ... I hate

you!... Yes, it's all your fault!..."

And, releasing herself from his grasp, she fled towards the house.

The scene had not lasted twenty seconds.

"Hang it!" snarled Philippe, though he was not in the habit of swearing.

His irritation was so great that, if the poor plaster goddess had not

already been reduced to fragments, he would certainly have flung her

from her pedestal. But, above all things, he was swayed by one idea: to

go away, not to see Suzanne again and to have done with this nonsense,

of which he felt all the hatefulness and absurdity.

He also quickly made his way back to the house. Unfortunately, knowing

no other outlet by which to escape, he went through the passage. The

dining-room door was open. He saw the girl sitting huddled in a chair,

with her head between her hands, sobbing.

He did not know how artificial a woman's tears can be. Nor did he know

the danger in those tears for him who is moved by the sight of their

flowing. But, had he known it, he would just the same have stayed; for

man's pity is infinite.

CHAPTER VII

EVE TRIUMPHANT

"There!" she said, after a few minutes. "The storm is over."

She raised her beautiful face, now lit with a smile:

"No black on my eye-lashes, you see," she added, gaily. "No rouge on my

lips.... Take note, please.... Nothing that comes off!"

This versatility of mood, the despair, which he had felt to be real,

followed by a light-heartedness which he felt to be equally sincere; all

this bewildered Philippe.

She began to laugh:

"Philippe! Philippe! You look as though you did not understand much

about women ... and even less about girls!"

She rose and went to the next room, which was her bedroom, as he saw by

the white curtains and the arrangement of the furniture; and she

returned with an album, in which she showed him, on the first page, the

photograph of a child, crying:

"Look, Philippe. I haven't changed. At two years old, just as now, I

used to have great big sorrows and eyes that flowed like taps."

He turned the pages of the album. There were portraits of Suzanne at all

ages: Suzanne as a child, Suzanne as a little girl, Suzanne as a young

girl; and each was more bewitching than the last.

At the bottom of one page, he read:

"_Suzanne, twenty._"

"Lord, how pretty you were!" he muttered, dazed by that image of beauty

and gladness.

And he looked at Suzanne, in spite of himself.

"I have grown older," she said. "Three long years...."

He shrugged his shoulders without replying, for, on the contrary, he

thought her lovelier still; and he turned the pages. Two loose

photographs slipped to the floor. She put out her hand to take them, but

did not complete the movement.

"May I?" asked Philippe.

"Yes, certainly."

He was much astonished when he examined one of the portraits:

"This," he said, "makes you look older than you are.... How funny! And

why that old-fashioned dress?... That quaint way of doing your hair....

It's you ... and yet it's not you.... Who is it?"

"Mamma," she said.

He was surprised, knowing Jorancé's persistent rancour, that he should

have given his daughter the portrait of a mother whom she had been

taught to believe long dead. And he remembered the riotous adventures of

the divorced wife, now the beautiful Mme. de Glaris, who was celebrated

in the chronicles of fast society for her dresses and her jewellery and

whose photographs were displayed in the shop-windows of the Rue de

Rivoli for the admiration of the passers-by.

"Yes," he said, awkwardly and not quite knowing what he was saying,

"yes, you are like her.... And is this also ...?"

He suppressed a movement of astonishment. This time, he clearly

recognized Suzanne's mother, or rather the Mme. de Glaris of the Rue de

Rivoli, bare-shouldered, decked in her pearls and diamonds, shameless

and magnificent.

Suzanne, who kept her eyes raised to his face, did not speak; and they

remained opposite each other, motionless and silent.

"Does she know the truth?" Philippe asked himself. "No ... no ... it's

not possible.... She must have bought this photograph, because of the

likeness to herself which she saw in it, and she does not suspect

anything...."

But he was not satisfied with his surmise and he dared not question the

girl, for fear of touching upon one of those mysterious griefs which

become more acute when once they are no longer secret.

She put the two portraits back in the album and locked the clasp with a

little key. Then, after a long pause, laying her hand on Philippe's arm,

she said to him, in words that corresponded strangely with the thoughts

that troubled him:

"Do not be angry with me, dear, and, above all, do not judge me too

severely. There is a Suzanne in me whom I do not know well ... and who

often frightens me.... She is capricious, jealous, wrong-headed, capable

of anything ... yes, of anything.... The real Suzanne is good and

sensible: 'You're _my_ daughter to-day,' papa used to say to me, when I

was a little girl. And he said it in such a happy tone! But, the next

day, I was his daughter no longer; and, struggle and fight as hard as I

might, I could not become so again.... Things prevented me; and I used

to cry because papa seemed to hate me.... And I wanted to be good....

And I still want to and I always do.... But there is nothing in the

world so hard ... because the other ... the other one does not want

to.... And besides ..."

"What?"

She waited a moment, as though hesitating, and continued:

"And, besides, what she wants, what the other Suzanne wants does not

appear to me so very unreasonable. It is an immense longing to love

somebody, but to love madly, boundlessly, to love too well.... Then it

seems to me that life has no other object ... and all the rest bores

me.... You know, Philippe, even when I was ever so small, that word love

used to upset me. And, later ... and now, at certain times, I feel my

brain going and all my soul seeking, waiting...."

She hid her face again, as though seized with a sudden feeling of

bashfulness, and Philippe saw, between her fingers, her crimson forehead

and cheeks.

His pity swelled within him. Through those desultory confidences, he saw

Suzanne as she was, ignorant, ill-informed about herself and about the

realities of life, troubled with desires which she took for unsatisfied

feelings, torn by the implacable duel between contrary instincts and

possessing nothing to counteract her woman's nature but a wayward and

melancholy virtue.

How good it would be to save her! He went up to her and, very gently,

said:

"You must get married, Suzanne."

She shook her head:

"There have been young men here who seemed to like me, but they always

went away after a few days. One would almost think that they were afraid

of me ... or that they had heard things ... against me.... Besides ... I

didn't care for them.... It was not they ... that I was waiting for....

It was somebody else.... And he did not come."

He understood the irreparable words which she was about to utter and he

ardently hoped that she would not utter them.

Suzanne guessed his wish and was silent. But the avowal was so clear,

even when unexpressed, that Philippe read all its passion in the long

silence that followed. And Suzanne experienced a great joy, as though

the indissoluble bond of words were linking them together. She added:

"It was a little your fault, Philippe, and you felt it, in a way, at

dinner. Yes, a little your fault.... In Paris, I lived a dangerous life

beside you.... Just think, we were always together, always by ourselves,

we two; and, for days at a time, I had the right to think that there was

no one in the world but you and I. It was for me that you talked, it was

to make me worthy of yourself that you explained things to me which I

did not know, that you took me to see the beautiful sights in the

churches, in the old towns.... And I, I was amazed. At what I was

learning? Oh, no, Philippe, but at the new world that suddenly opened up

to me. I did not listen to your words, but I listened to the sound of

your voice. My eyes saw only your eyes. It was your admiration that I

admired; your love for the beautiful was what I loved. All that you

taught me to know ... and to love, Philippe, was ... yourself."

Notwithstanding his inward rebellion, the words entered into Philippe's

being like a caress; and he too almost forgot himself in the pleasure of

listening to the sound of a soft voice and looking into eyes that are

dear to one.

He said, simply:

"And Marthe?"

She did not answer; and he felt that, like many women, she was

indifferent to considerations of that sort. To them, love is a reason

that excuses everything.

Then, seeking to create a diversion, he repeated:

"You must get married, Suzanne, you must. That is where your safety

lies."

"Oh, I know!" she said, wringing her hands in despair. "I know ... only

..."

"Only what?"

"I haven't the strength to."

"You must find the strength."

"I can't.... I ought to have it given me. I ought to have ... oh,

nothing very much, perhaps ... a little gladness ... a glad memory ...

the thought that my life will not have been entirely wasted.... The

thought that I too shall have had my spell of love.... But that short

spell I ask for ... I beg for it, I pray for it."

He blurted out:

"You will find it in marriage, Suzanne."

"No, no," she said, more bitterly, "only the man I love can give it to

me.... I want, once at least, to feel a pair of arms around me, nothing

but that, I assure you ... to lay my head on your shoulder and to remain

like that, for an instant."

She was so near to Philippe that the muslin of her bodice touched his

clothes and he breathed the scent of her hair. He felt a mad temptation

to take her in his arms. And it would have been a very small thing, as

she had said: one of those moments of happiness which one plucks like a

flower and remembers.

She looked at him, not sadly now, nor resigned, but smiling, archly,

with all the ingenious charm of the woman who is trying to conquer.

He turned pale and murmured:

"Suzanne, I am your friend. Be my friend, simply, and let your

imagination ..."

"You're afraid," she said.

He tried to jest:

"Afraid! Goodness gracious me, of what?"

"Afraid of the one little affectionate action which I ask of you, the

action of a brother kissing his sister. That's what you shrink from,

Philippe."

"I shrink from it because it is wrong and wicked," he declared, firmly.

"That is the only reason."

"No, Philippe, there is another reason."

"Which is that?"

"You love me."

"I! I love you?... I!"

"Yes, you, Philippe, you love me. And I defy you to look me in the face,

to look me straight in the eyes and deny it."

And, without giving him time to recover, she continued, bending over him

eagerly:

"You were in love with me, before I fell in love with you. It was your

love that created mine. Don't protest, you have no right to do so now,

for you know.... And I, I knew it from the first day. Oh, believe me, a

woman is never mistaken.... Your eyes, when they looked at me, had a new

look in them ... there, the look of just now. You have never looked like

that at any woman, Philippe; not even at Marthe, ... no ... not even at

her.... You never loved her, her nor the others. I was the first. Love

was a thing unknown to you and you do not understand it yet ... and you

sit there in front of me, nonplussed and dumbfoundered, because the

truth appears to you and because you love me, Philippe, because you love

me, my dear Philippe...."

She clung to him, in an upheaval of hope and certainty, and he seemed

not to resist.

"You were afraid, Philippe. That is why you made up your mind not to see

me again.... That is why you spoke so harshly to me just now.... You

were afraid, because you love me.... Do you understand now?... Oh,

Philippe, I should not have acted with you as I have done, if you did

not love me.... I should never have had the presumption!... But I

knew.... I knew ... and you don't deny it, do you?... Oh, how I

suffered! My jealousy of Marthe!... To-day again, when she kissed

you.... And the thought of going away without as much as saying good-bye

to you!... And the thought of that marriage!... What a torture!... But

it's over now, is it not? I shall suffer no more ... because you love

me."

She spoke these last words with a sort of timorous hesitation and

without taking her eyes from Philippe's face, as though expecting him to

give an answer that would calm the sudden anguish with which she was

torn.

He was silent. His eyes were dull, his forehead creased with wrinkles.

He seemed to be reflecting and did not appear to reck that Suzanne was

there so close to him, her arms clinging to his arms.

She whispered:

"Philippe.... Philippe...."

Had he heard? He remained impassive. Then, little by little, Suzanne

released her embrace. Her hands fell to her sides. She gazed with

infinite distress upon the man she loved and, suddenly, sank into a

heap, weeping:

"Oh, I am mad!... I am mad! Why did I speak?"

It was a horrible ordeal for her, after the hope that had excited her,

and this time it was real tears that flowed down her cheeks. The sound

of the sobs roused Philippe from his dream. He listened to it sadly and

then began to pace the room. Moved though he was, what was passing

within him troubled him even more. He loved Suzanne!

It did not for a second occur to him to deny the truth. From the first

sentences that Suzanne had spoken and without his having to seek for

further proofs, he had admitted his love even as one admits the presence

of a thing that one sees and touches. And that was why Suzanne, at the

mere sight of Philippe's attitude, had suddenly realized the imprudence

which she had committed in speaking: Philippe, once warned, was escaping

her. He was one of those men who become conscious of their duty at the

very moment when they perceive their fault.

"Philippe!" she said, once more. "Philippe!"

As he did not reply, she took his hand again and whispered:

"You love me, though ... you love me.... Well, then, if you love me ..."

The tears did not disfigure her exquisite face. On the contrary, grief

decked her with a new, graver and more touching beauty. And she ended,

ingenuously enough:

"Then, if you love me, why do you repel me? Surely, when one loves, one

does not repel the thing one loves.... And you love me...."

The pretty mouth was all entreaty. Philippe observed its voluptuous

action. It was as though the two lips delighted in uttering words of

love and as though they could pronounce no others.

He turned away his eyes to escape the fascination and, controlling

himself, mastering his voice so that she might not perceive its tremor,

he said:

"It is just because I love you, Suzanne, that I am repulsing you ...

because I love you too well...."

The phrase implied a breach which she felt to be irreparable. She did

not attempt to protest. It was finished. And she knew this so thoroughly

that, a moment later, when Philippe opened the door and prepared to go

away, she did not even raise her head.

He did not go, however, for fear of offending her. He sat down. There

was only a little table between them. But how far he was from her! And

how it must surprise her that all her feminine wiles, her coquetry, the

allurement of her lips were powerless to subjugate the will of that man

who loved her!

The belfry-clock struck ten. When Morestal and Jorancé arrived, Suzanne

and Philippe had not exchanged a single word.

*

* *

"Ready to start, Philippe?" cried Morestal. "Have you said good-bye to

Suzanne?"

She replied:

"Yes, we have said good-bye."

"Well, then it's my turn," he said, kissing her. "Jorancé, it's settled

that you're coming with us."

"As far as the Butte-aux-Loups."

"If you go as far as the Butte," said Suzanne to her father, "you may

just as well go on to the Old Mill and come back by the high-road."

"That's true. But are you staying behind, Suzanne?"

She decided to see them out of Saint-Élophe. She quickly wrapped a silk

scarf round her head:

"Here I am," she said.

The four of them walked off, along the sleeping streets of the little

town, and Morestal at once began to comment on his interview with

Captain Daspry. A very intelligent man, the captain, who had not failed

to see the importance of the Old Mill as a block-house, to use his

expression. But, from another point of view, he had given something of a

shock to Morestal's opinions on the attitude which a French officer

should maintain towards his inferiors.

"Just imagine, Philippe: he refuses to punish the soldiers I told him

about ... you know, the pillagers whom Saboureux complained of.... Well,

he refuses to punish them ... even the leader of the band, one

Duvauchel, a lover of every country but his own, who glories in his

ideas, they say. Can you understand it? The rascal escapes with a fine

of ten francs, an apology, a promise not to do it again and a lecture

from his captain! And Mossieu Daspry pretends that, with kindness and

patience, he succeeds in turning Duvauchel and fellows of his kidney

into his best soldiers! What humbug! As though there were any way of

taming those beggars, short of discipline! A pack of good-for-nothing

scoundrels, who would fly across the frontier the moment the first shot

was fired!"

Philippe had instinctively slackened his pace. Suzanne was walking

beside him; and, every now and then, by the light of an electric lamp,

he saw the golden halo of her hair and the delicate profile draped in

the silk scarf.

He felt full of gentleness for her, now that he no longer feared her,

and he was tempted to speak kind words to her, as to a little sister of

whom one is very fond. But the silence was sweeter still and he did not

wish to break its charm.

They passed the last houses. The street ran into a white country-road,

lined with tall poplars. And they heard scraps of Morestal's

conversation:

"Oh, yes! Captain Daspry! Leniency, friendly relations between superiors

and inferiors, the barracks looked upon as a school of brotherhood, with

the officers for instructors! That's all very well; but do you know what

a system of that sort leads to? An army of deserters and renegades...."

Suzanne said, in a low voice:

"May I have your arm, Philippe?"

He at once slipped his arm through hers, happy at the thought of

pleasing her. And he felt, besides, a great relief at seeing that she

leant against him with the confidence of a friend. They were going to

part and nothing would tarnish the pure memory of that day. It was a

comforting impression, which nevertheless caused him a certain sadness.

Duty fulfilled always leaves a taste of bitterness behind. The

intoxication of sacrifice no longer stimulates you; and you begin to

understand what you have refused.

In the warm night, amid all the perfumes that stirred in the breeze,

Suzanne's own scent was wafted up to him. He inhaled it long and

greedily and reflected that no scent had ever excited him before:

"Good-bye," he said, within himself. "Good-bye, little girl; good-bye to

what was my love."

And, during those last minutes, as though he were granting a crowning

grace to his impossible longings and his forbidden dreams, he yielded to

the delights of that love which had blossomed so mysteriously in the

unknown regions of his soul.

"Good-bye," Suzanne now said. "Good-bye, Philippe."

"Are you going?"

"Yes, or else my father would come back with me; and I want nobody ...

nobody...."

Jorancé and old Morestal had stopped near a bench, at a place where two

paths met, the wider of which, the one on the left, climbed up towards

the frontier. The spot was known as the Carrefour du Grand Chêne, or

Great Oak Crossways.

Morestal kissed the girl again:

"Good-bye, for the present, Suzanne. And don't forget that I'm coming to

your wedding."

He pressed the spring of his repeater:

"I say, Philippe, it's a quarter past ten.... True, there's no hurry....

Your mother and Marthe must be asleep by now. No matter, let's get

on...."

"Look here, father, if you don't mind, I would rather take the direct

road.... The path by the Butte-aux-Loups is longer; and I am feeling

rather tired."

In reality, like Suzanne, Philippe wanted to go home alone, so that

nothing might disturb the melancholy charm of his dream. Old Morestal's

long speeches terrified him.

"As you please, my boy," cried the old man. "But mind you don't put up

the bolt or the chain on the hall-door."

Jorancé impressed the same injunctions on Suzanne and the two walked

away.

"Good-bye, Philippe," said the girl, once again.

He had already entered the path on the right.

"Good-bye, Suzanne," he said.

"Give me your hand, Philippe."

For his hand to reach Suzanne's, he had to turn two or three steps

back. He hesitated. But she had come towards him and, very gently, drew

him to the foot of the path:

"Philippe, we must not part like this.... It is too sad! Let us go back

together to Saint-Élophe ... as far as the house.... Please do...."

"No," he said, curtly.

"Oh!" she moaned. "I asked so that I might be with you a little

longer.... It is so sad! But you are right. Let us part."

He said, in a kinder tone:

"Suzanne.... Suzanne...."

Bending her head a little, she put out her forehead to him:

"Kiss me, Philippe."

He stooped, intending to kiss the curls of her hair. But she gave a

swift movement and flung her arms round his neck.

He felt that he was lost and made a despairing effort. Suzanne's lips

were close to his, offering themselves.

"Oh, Suzanne ... Suzanne, my darling ..." he whispered, abandoning all

resistance and pressing the girl to his breast....

CHAPTER VIII

THE TRAP

The road which Morestal and his friend followed first makes a bend and

climbs the wooded side of a ravine. It was formerly used for foresting

purposes and is still paved with large stones which are covered with mud

after a rainy day and make the ascent slippery and difficult.

Morestal was panting for breath when he reached the top:

"We ought ..." he said, "to see ... Philippe from here."

Faint clouds dimmed the light of the moon, but still, at certain places

denuded of trees, they were able to distinguish the other side of the

ravine.

He called out:

"Hullo!... Philippe!"

"I tell you what," said Jorancé. "I expect Philippe did not like to let

Suzanne go home alone and he is taking her back, at any rate as far as

the houses."

"I dare say," said Morestal. "Poor Suzanne, she doesn't look very

bright. So you've made up your mind to get her married?"

"Yes ... I'm getting her married ... it's all settled."

They started walking again, and, by an imperceptible slope, came to two

large trees, after which the road turned to the right. From that point

onwards, running through pine-woods along the line of the ridges, it

marked the frontier as far as the Col du Diable.

On their left was the German slope, which was steeper.

"Yes," repeated Jorancé, "it's all settled. Of course, Suzanne might

have met a younger man ... a better-looking man ... but no one more

respectable or more serious.... To say nothing of his having a very firm

character; and, with Suzanne, a certain amount of firmness is necessary.

Besides ..."

"Yes?" said Morestal, perceiving his hesitation.

"Well, you see, Morestal, Suzanne has got to be married. She inherits

from me an upright nature and strict principles ... but she is not only

my daughter ... and sometimes I am afraid of finding ... bad instincts

in her."

"Have you discovered anything?"

"Oh, no! And I am sure that there is nothing to discover. But it's the

future I'm afraid of. One day or another, she may know temptation ...

some one may make love to her ... turn her head with fair words. When

that time comes, will she know how to resist? Oh, Morestal, the thought

of it drives me mad! I couldn't bear it.... Just think, the daughter,

following after the mother.... Oh, I believe ... I believe I should kill

her!..."

Morestal jested:

"What a fuss about nothing! A good little girl like Suzanne!..."

"Yes, you are right, it's absurd. But I can't help it, I can't

forget.... And I don't want to, either. My duty is to think of

everything and to give her a guide, a master who will advise her.... I

know Suzanne: she will make a perfect wife...."

"And she will have lots of children; and they will be very happy,"

Morestal wound up. "Come, you're boring me and boring yourself with your

fancies.... Let's talk of something else. By the way ..."

He waited for Jorancé to come up with him. The two walked on abreast.

And Morestal, who was interested in no subject outside his personal

prejudice, resumed:

"By the way, can you tell me--if it's not a professional secret, of

course--can you tell me who that man Dourlowski is exactly?"

"Six months ago," replied Jorancé, "I should not have been able to

answer your question. But now ..."

"But now?..."

"He is no longer in our service."

"Do you think he has gone over to the other side?"

"I expect so, but I haven't the least proof of it. In any case, there's

not much to be said in the fellow's favour. Why do you ask? Have you

anything to do with him?"

"No, no," said Morestal, remaining thoughtful.

They went on in silence. The wind, which blew more strongly on the

ridge, played among the trees. The pine-needles crackled under the soles

of their boots. The moon had disappeared, but the sky was white with

light.

"The Pierre-Branlante.... The Cheminée-des-Fées," said Morestal,

pointing to the vaguely-seen shapes of two huge boulders known by those

names of the Rocking Stone and the Fairies' Chimney.

They walked for another moment:

"Eh? What is it?" said Jorancé, feeling his companion catch him by the

arm.

"Did you hear?"

"No."

"Listen!"

"Well, what?"

"Didn't you hear a sort of a hoot?"

"Yes, the hoot of an owl."

"Are you sure? It doesn't sound natural to me."

"What do you say it is, then? A signal?"

"I'm certain of it."

Jorancé reflected:

"After all, it's quite possible ... some smuggler perhaps.... But it's a

bad moment to have chosen."

"Why?"

"Well, now that the German post has been cut down, it's likely that all

this part of the frontier is being more closely watched than usual."

"Yes, of course," said Morestal. "Still, that owl's hoot ..."

There was a short slope and then they emerged upon a higher upland,

surrounded by enormous fir-trees, which formed a sort of rampart. This

was the Butte-aux-Loups. The road cut it in two; and the posts of each

country stood facing each other.

Jorancé noticed that the German post had been put up again, but in a

makeshift fashion, with the aid of a number of large stones which kept

it in position.

"A gust of wind and down it comes again," he said, shaking it.

"I say, mind what you're about!" said Morestal, with a chuckle. "Don't

you see yourself toppling it over and having the police down upon

you?... You'd better make a strategic movement to the rear, my

friend!..."

But he had not finished speaking when another cry reached his ears.

"Ah, this time," said Morestal, "you'll admit...."

"Yes ... yes ..." Jorancé agreed. "An owl gives a duller, slower

hoot.... It really is like a signal, a hundred yards or so ahead of

us.... Smugglers, of course, French or German."

"Suppose we turned back?" said Morestal. "Aren't you afraid of being

mixed up in an affair?..."

"Why? It's the custom-house people's business; it doesn't concern you

and me. They can settle it among themselves...."

They listened for a moment and then went on, thoughtfully, with watchful

ears.

After the Butte-aux-Loups, the ridge becomes flatter, the forest spreads

out and the road, now freer, winds among the trees, runs from one slope

to the other, avoids the big roots, passes round the inequalities of the

ground and, at times, disappears from sight under a bed of dead leaves.

But the moon had come out again and Morestal walked straight in front of

him, without hesitation. He knew the frontier so well! He could have

followed it with his eyes closed, in the dusk of the darkest night! At

one place, there was a branch that blocked the way; at another, there

was the trunk of an old oak which sounded hollow when he hit it with his

stick. And he announced the branch before he came to it; and he struck

at the old oak.

His uneasiness, which began to seem unreasonable, was dispelled.

Consulting his watch again, he hurried his steps, so as to reach home by

the time which he had said.

But suddenly he stopped. He thought he saw a shadow hiding, thirty or

forty yards away from him:

"Did you see?" he whispered.

"Yes ... I saw...."

And, all at once, there came a shrill, strident whistle, apparently from

the very place where the shadow had vanished.

"Don't move," said Jorancé.

They waited, their hearts tense with the anguish of what was coming.

A minute passed and more minutes; and then there was a sound of

footsteps, below them, on the German side, the sound of a man

hurrying....

Morestal thought of the precipitous hill which he had described to

Dourlowski as the way up to the frontier from the Albern Woods, by the

Cold Spring, the Fontaine-Froide. In all certainty, somebody was scaling

the upper portion of that precipice, clinging on to the branches and

dragging himself along the pebbles.

"A deserter!" whispered Jorancé. "No nonsense now!"

But Morestal pushed him away and began to run to where the two roads

crossed. At the very moment when he reached the spot, a man appeared,

all frenzied and out of breath, and stammered, in French:

"Save me!... I've been given away!... I'm frightened!..."

Morestal seized hold of him and flung him off the road:

"Run!... Look sharp!... Straight ahead of you!"

There was the report of a rifle. The man staggered, with a moan; but he

was evidently only wounded, for, after a few seconds, he drew himself

up and made off through the woods.

A chase ensued forthwith. Four or five Germans crossed the frontier and

set off in pursuit of the fugitive, swearing as they went, while their

comrades, forming the greater number, turned towards Morestal.

Jorancé took him round the waist and compelled him to recoil:

"This way," he said, "over there.... They won't dare ..."

They returned in the direction of the Butte-aux-Loups, but were at once

caught up:

"Halt!" commanded a rough voice. "I arrest you.... You are

accomplices.... I arrest you."

"We are in France," retorted Jorancé, facing his aggressors.

A hand fell on his shoulder:

"We'll see about that.... We'll see about that.... You're coming with

us."

The men surrounded them; but, vigorous both and exasperated, they

succeeded in fighting their way through with their fists:

"To the Butte-aux-Loups," said Jorancé, "and keep to the left of the

road."

"We're not on the left," said Morestal, who saw, after a moment, that

they had branched off to the right.

They re-entered French territory; but the police who were pursuing the

deserter, having lost his tracks, now fell back in their direction.

Thereupon they made a bend to the right, hesitated for a moment, careful

not to cross the road, and then set off again; and, still tracked by the

men, whom they felt close upon their heels, they reached the acclivity

of the Butte-aux-Loups. At that moment, surrounded on all hands and

utterly blown, they had to stop to take breath.

"Arrest them!" said the leader of the men, in whom they recognized the

German commissary, Weisslicht. "Arrest them! We are in Germany."

"You lie!" roared Morestal, fighting with wild energy. "You have not the

right.... It's a dirty trap!"

It was a violent struggle, but did not last long. He received a blow on

the chin with the butt of a rifle, reeled, but continued to defend

himself, hitting and biting his adversaries. At last, they succeeded in

throwing him and, to stifle his shouting, they gagged him.

Jorancé, who had taken a leap to the rear and was standing with his back

to a tree, resisted, protesting:

"I am M. Jorancé, special commissary at Saint-Élophe. I am on my own

ground here. We are in France. There's the frontier."

The men flung themselves upon him and dragged him away, while he shouted

at the top of his voice:

"Help! Help! They're arresting the French commissary on French soil!"

A report was heard, followed by another. Morestal, with a superhuman

effort, had knocked down the policeman who held him and once more took

to flight, with a cord cutting into one of his wrists and with a gag in

his mouth.

But, two hundred yards further, as he was turning towards the Col du

Diable, his foot knocked against the root of a tree and he fell.

He was at once overtaken and firmly bound.

*

* *

A few moments later, the two prisoners were carried by the police to the

road leading through the Albern Woods and hoisted on the backs of a

couple of horses. They were taken to the Col du Diable and, from there,

past the Wildermann factory and the hamlet of Torins, sent on to the

German town of Börsweilen.

PART II

CHAPTER I

THE TWO WOMEN

Suzanne Jorancé pushed the swing-gate and entered the grounds of the Old

Mill.

She was dressed in white and her face looked fresh and cool under a

large hat of Leghorn straw, with its black-velvet strings hanging loose

upon her shoulders. Her short skirt showed her dainty ankles. She walked

with a brisk step, using a tall, iron-shod stick, while her disengaged

hand crumpled some flowers which she had gathered on the way and which

she dropped heedlessly as she went.

The Morestals' peaceful house was waking in the morning sun. Several of

the windows were open; and Suzanne saw Marthe writing at the table in

her bedroom.

She called out:

"Can I come up?"

But Mme. Morestal appeared at one of the windows of the drawing-room and

made an imperious sign to her:

"Hush! Don't speak!"

"What's the matter?" asked Suzanne, when she joined the old lady.

"They're asleep."

"Who?"

"Why, the father and son."

"Oh!" said Suzanne. "Philippe too?..."

"Yes, they must have come in late and they are resting. Neither of them

has rung his bell yet. But tell me, Suzanne, aren't you going away?"

"To-morrow ... or the next day.... I confess, I'm in no hurry to go."

Mme. Morestal took her to her daughter-in-law's room and asked:

"Philippe's still asleep, isn't he?"

"I suppose so," said Marthe. "I haven't heard him move...."

"Nor I Morestal.... And yet he's an early riser, as a rule.... And

Philippe, who wanted to go tramping at daybreak!... However, so much the

better, sleep suits both of my men.... By the way, Marthe, didn't the

shooting wake you in the night?"

"The shooting!"

"Oh, of course, your room is on the other side. The sound came from the

frontier.... Some poacher, I suppose...."

"Were M. Morestal and Philippe in?"

"Surely! It must have been one or two o'clock ... perhaps later ... I

don't quite know."

She put the tea-pot and the jar of honey, which Marthe had had for

breakfast, on the tray; and, with her mania for tidying, obeying some

mysterious principle of symmetry, settled her daughter-in-law's things

and any piece of furniture in the room that had been moved from its

place. This done, with her hands hanging before her, she looked round

for an excuse to discontinue this irksome activity. Then, discovering

none, she left the room.

"How early you are," said Marthe to Suzanne.

"I wanted air ... and movement.... Besides, I told Philippe that I would

come and fetch him. I want to go and see the ruins of the

Petite-Chartreuse with him ... It's a bore that he's not up yet."

She seemed disappointed at this accident which deprived her of a

pleasure.

"Do you mind if I finish my letters?" asked Marthe, taking up her pen.

Suzanne strolled round the room, looking out of the window, leant to see

if Philippe's was open, then sat down opposite Marthe and examined her

long and carefully. She noted the eye-lids, which were a little rumpled;

the uneven colouring; the tiny wrinkles on the temples; a few white

hairs mingling with the dark tresses; all that proclaims time's little

victories over waning youth. And, raising her eyes, she saw herself in a

glass.

Marthe surprised her glance and cried, with an admiration free from all

envy:

"You are splendid, Suzanne! You look like a triumphant goddess. What

triumph have you achieved?"

Suzanne flushed and, in her confusion, said, at random:

"But you, Marthe, you look worried...."

"Well, yes ... perhaps I am."

And Marthe told how, on the previous evening, finding herself alone with

her mother-in-law, she had spoken to her of Philippe's new ideas, the

spirit of his work, his plan of resigning his position and his firm

intention to have an explanation with M. Morestal.

"Well?"

"Well," said Marthe, "my mother-in-law flew out. She absolutely objects

to any explanation whatever."

"Why?"

"M. Morestal is suffering from heart-trouble. Dr. Borel, who has

attended him for the last twenty years, says that he must be spared any

annoyance, any excessive excitement. And an interview with Philippe

might have fatal results.... What can one reply to that?"

"You will have to tell Philippe."

"Certainly. And he, he must either keep silent and continue to lead an

intolerable existence, or else, at the cost of the most terrible

anguish, face M. Morestal's anger."

She was silent for a moment and then, striking the table with her

clenched fists:

"Oh," she exclaimed, "if I could only take all those worries upon myself

and save Philippe's peace of mind!"

Suzanne felt all the force of her vehemence and energy. No pain would

have frightened Marthe, no sacrifice would have been beyond her

strength.

"Do you love Philippe very much?" she asked.

Marthe smiled:

"With all my heart.... He deserves it."

The younger woman felt a certain bitterness and could not help saying:

"Does he love you as much as you love him?"

"Why, yes, I think so.... I deserve it too."

"And do you trust him?"

"Oh, fully! Philippe is the most loyal creature I know."

"Still ..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Yes, say what you were going to.... Oh, you need not be afraid of

asking me questions!"

"Well, I was thinking ... suppose Philippe loved another woman...."

Marthe burst out laughing:

"If you knew how little importance Philippe attaches to all that

business of love!"

"However, supposing ..."

"Very well, supposing," she said, pretending to be serious. "Philippe

loves another woman. He is madly in love with her. What then?"

"In that case, what would you do?"

"Upon my word ... I've never thought about it."

"Wouldn't you go for a divorce?"

"And my children?"

"But, if he wanted to be divorced?"

"Then it would be, 'Good-bye, M. Philippe!'"

Suzanne reflected, without taking her eyes from Marthe, as though she

were spying for a sign of uneasiness on her features or seeking to

fathom the depths of her most secret thoughts.

She murmured:

"And, if he deceived you?"

This time, the thrust went home. Marthe shivered, stung to the quick.

Her face altered. And she said, in a voice which she made an effort to

contain:

"Oh, that, no! If Philippe fell in love with another woman, if he wanted

to begin his life again, without me, and if he confessed it frankly, I

should consent to everything ... yes, to everything, even to a divorce,

however great my despair.... But treachery, lying ..."

"You would not forgive him?"

"Never! Philippe is not a man whom one can forgive. He is a conscious

man, who knows what he is doing, incapable of a weakness; and no

forgiveness would absolve him. Besides, I myself could not ... no ... I

could not indeed." And she added, "I have too much pride."

The phrase was gravely and simply uttered and revealed a haughtiness of

soul which Suzanne had not suspected. She felt a sort of confusion in

the presence of the rival whom she was attacking and who held her at bay

with such disdain.

A long silence divided the two women; and Marthe said:

"You're in one of your wicked moods to-day, Suzanne, aren't you?"

"I am too happy to be wicked," chuckled the girl. "Only it's such a

strange happiness! I am afraid it won't last."

"Your marriage ..."

"I won't get married!" declared Suzanne, excitedly. "I won't get married

at any price! I hate that man.... He's not the only man in the world, is

he? There are others ... others who will love me.... I too am worthy of

being loved ... worthy of being lived for!..."

There were tears in her voice; and so great a despondency overwhelmed

her features that Marthe felt a longing to console her, as was her habit

in such cases. Nevertheless, she said nothing. Suzanne had wounded her,

not so much by her questions as by her attitude, by a certain sarcasm in

her accent and by an air of defiance that mingled with the expression of

her grief.

She preferred to cut short a painful scene the meaning of which escaped

her, although the scene itself did not astonish her on Suzanne's part:

"I am going downstairs," she said. "It's time for the post; and I am

expecting letters."

"So you're leaving me!" said Suzanne, in a broken voice.

Marthe could not help laughing:

"Well, yes, I am leaving you in this room ... unless you refuse to

stay...."

Suzanne ran after her and, holding her back:

"You mustn't! I only ask for a movement, a kind word.... I am passing

through a terrible time, I need help and you ... you repel me.... It's

you who are repelling me, don't forget that.... It's you...."

"That's understood," said Marthe. "I am a cruel friend.... Only, you

see, my dear little Suzanne, if the thought of your marriage upsets you

to that extent, it might be a good plan to tell your father.... Come,

come along downstairs and calm yourself."

They found Mme. Morestal below, feather-broom in hand, an apron tied

round her waist, waging her daily battle against a dust that existed

only in her imagination.

"I suppose you know, mamma, that Philippe is not yet up?"

"The lazy fellow! It's nearly nine o'clock. I hope he's not ill!"

"Oh, no!" said Marthe. "But, all the same, when I go up again, I'll look

in and see."

Mme. Morestal went as far as the hall with the two young women. Suzanne

was already walking away, without a word, with the face which she wore

on her black days, as Marthe said, when Mme. Morestal called her back:

"You're forgetting your stick, child."

The old lady had taken the long, iron-shod walking-stick from the

umbrella-stand. But, suddenly, she began to rummage among the canes and

sunshades, muttering:

"Well, that's funny...."

"What's the matter?" asked Marthe.

"I can't find Morestal's stick. And yet it's always here."

"He must have put it down somewhere else."

"Impossible! If so, it would be the first time in his life. I know him

so well!... What can it mean?... Victor!"

The man ran into the hall:

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Victor, why isn't your master's cane here?"

"I have a notion, ma'am, that the master has gone out."

"Gone out! But you ought to have told me.... I was beginning to be

anxious."

"I said so just now to Catherine."

"But what makes you think ...?"

"In the first place, the master did not put his boots outside his door

as usual.... M. Philippe neither...."

"What!" said Marthe. "Has M. Philippe gone out too?"

"Very early this morning, ma'am ... before my time for getting up."

In spite of herself, Suzanne Jorancé protested:

"But no, it's not conceivable...."

"Why, when I came down," said Victor, "the front-door was not locked."

"And your master never forgets to turn the key, does he?"

"Never. As the door was not locked, it means either that the master has

gone out ... or else...."

"Or else what?"

"That he hasn't come in.... Only, I say that as I might say anything

that came into my head...."

"Not come in!" exclaimed Mme. Morestal.

She reflected for a second, then turned on her heels, ran up the stairs

with surprising agility, crossed a passage and entered her husband's

bedroom.

She uttered a cry and called:

"Marthe!... Marthe!..."

But the young woman, who had followed her, was already on her way to the

second floor, with Suzanne.

Philippe's room was at the back. She opened the door quickly and stood

on the threshold, speechless.

Philippe was not there; and the bed had not even been undone.