“We had not heard a single cry.
“As the fire crept toward the shed, I suddenly
bethought me of my horse, and Cavalier ran to free
it.
“Hardly had he opened the door of the stable,
when a supple, nimble body darted between his legs,
and threw him on his face. It was Marius, running
for all he was worth.
“The man was up in a second. He tried to
run after the wretch, but, seeing that he could not
catch him, and maddened by an irresistible anger,
yielding to one of those thoughtless impulses which
we cannot foresee or prevent, he picked up my gun,
which was lying on the ground. near him, put it to
his shoulder, and, before I could make a motion, he
pulled the trigger without even noticing whether or
not the weapon was loaded.
“One of the cartridges which I had put in to
announce the fire was still intact, and the charge
caught the fugitive right in the back,—throwing
him forward on the ground, bleeding profusely.
He immediately began to claw the earth with his hands
and with his knees, as though trying to run on all
fours like a rabbit who has been mortally wounded,
and sees the hunter approaching.
“I rushed forward to the boy, but I could already
hear the death-rattle. He passed away before
the fire was extinguished, without having said a word.
“Cavalier, still in his shirt, his legs bare,
was standing near us, motionless, dazed.
“When the people from the village arrived, my
gamekeeper was taken away, like an insane man.
“I appeared at the trial as witness, and related
the facts in detail, without changing a thing.
Cavalier was acquitted. He disappeared that very
day, leaving the country.
“I have never seen him since.
“There, gentlemen, that is my story.”
As the weather was very fine, the people on the farm
had hurried through their dinner and had returned
to the fields.
The servant, Rose, remained alone in the large kitchen,
where the fire was dying out on the hearth beneath
the large boiler of hot water. From time to time
she dipped out some water and slowly washed her dishes,
stopping occasionally to look at the two streaks of
light which the sun threw across the long table through
the window, and which showed the defects in the glass.
Three venturesome hens were picking up the crumbs
under the chairs, while the smell of the poultry yard
and the warmth from the cow stall came in through
the half-open door, and a cock was heard crowing in
the distance.
When she had finished her work, wiped down the table,
dusted the mantelpiece and put the plates on the high
dresser close to the wooden clock with its loud tick-tock,
she drew a long breath, as she felt rather oppressed,
without exactly knowing why. She looked at the
black clay walls, the rafters that were blackened
with smoke and from which hung spiders’ webs,
smoked herrings and strings of onions, and then she
sat down, rather overcome by the stale odor from the
earthen floor, on which so many things had been continually
spilled and which the heat brought out. With
this there was mingled the sour smell of the pans of
milk which were set out to raise the cream in the
adjoining dairy.
