LITMIR.BIZ

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the sobs which choked her; but the tears rose nevertheless, shone at the brink of her eyelids, and soon two heavy drops coursed slowly down her cheeks. Others followed more quickly, like water filtering from a rock, and fell, one after another, on her rounded bosom. She sat upright, with a fixed expression, her face pale and rigid, hoping desperately that no one saw her give way.

      But the countess noticed that she was weeping, and with a sign drew her husband’s attention to the fact. He shrugged his shoulders, as if to say: “Well, what of it? It’s not my fault.” Madame Loiseau chuckled triumphantly, and murmured:

      “She’s weeping for shame.”

      The two nuns had betaken themselves once more to their prayers, first wrapping the remainder of their sausage in paper:

      Then Cornudet, who was digesting his eggs, stretched his long legs under the opposite seat, threw himself back, folded his arms, smiled like a man who had just thought of a good joke, and began to whistle the Marseillaise.

      The faces of his neighbors clouded; the popular air evidently did not find favor with them; they grew nervous and irritable, and seemed ready to howl as a dog does at the sound of a barrel-organ. Cornudet saw the discomfort he was creating, and whistled the louder; sometimes he even hummed the words:

      Amour sacre de la patrie,

      Conduis, soutiens, nos bras vengeurs,

      Liberte, liberte cherie,

      Combats avec tes defenseurs!

      The coach progressed more swiftly, the snow being harder now; and all the way to Dieppe, during the long, dreary hours of the journey, first in the gathering dusk, then in the thick darkness, raising his voice above the rumbling of the vehicle, Cornudet continued with fierce obstinacy his vengeful and monotonous whistling, forcing his weary and exasperated-hearers to follow the song from end to end, to recall every word of every line, as each was repeated over and over again with untiring persistency.

      And Boule de Suif still wept, and sometimes a sob she could not restrain was heard in the darkness between two verses of the song.

      TWO FRIENDS

      Besieged Paris was in the throes of famine. Even the sparrows on the roofs and the rats in the sewers were growing scarce. People were eating anything they could get.

      As Monsieur Morissot, watchmaker by profession and idler for the nonce, was strolling along the boulevard one bright January morning, his hands in his trousers pockets and stomach empty, he suddenly came face to face with an acquaintance—Monsieur Sauvage, a fishing chum.

      Before the war broke out Morissot had been in the habit, every Sunday morning, of setting forth with a bamboo rod in his hand and a tin box on his back. He took the Argenteuil train, got out at Colombes, and walked thence to the Ile Marante. The moment he arrived at this place of his dreams he began fishing, and fished till nightfall.

      Every Sunday he met in this very spot Monsieur Sauvage, a stout, jolly, little man, a draper in the Rue Notre Dame de Lorette, and also an ardent fisherman. They often spent half the day side by side, rod in hand and feet dangling over the water, and a warm friendship had sprung up between the two.

      Some days they did not speak; at other times they chatted; but they understood each other perfectly without the aid of words, having similar tastes and feelings.

      In the spring, about ten o’clock in the morning, when the early sun caused a light mist to float on the water and gently warmed the backs of the two enthusiastic anglers, Morissot would occasionally remark to his neighbor:

      “My, but it’s pleasant here.”

      To which the other would reply:

      “I can’t imagine anything better!”

      And these few words sufficed to make them understand and appreciate each other.

      In the autumn, toward the close of day, when the setting sun shed a blood-red glow over the western sky, and the reflection of the crimson clouds tinged the whole river with red, brought a glow to the faces of the two friends, and gilded the trees, whose leaves were already turning at the first chill touch of winter, Monsieur Sauvage would sometimes smile at Morissot, and say:

      “What a glorious spectacle!”

      And Morissot would answer, without taking his eyes from his float:

      “This is much better than the boulevard, isn’t it?”

      As soon as they recognized each other they shook hands cordially, affected at the thought of meeting under such changed circumstances.

      Monsieur Sauvage, with a sigh, murmured:

      “These are sad times!”

      Morissot shook his head mournfully.

      “And such weather! This is the first fine day of the year.”

      The sky was, in fact, of a bright, cloudless blue.

      They walked along, side by side, reflective and sad.

      “And to think of the fishing!” said Morissot. “What good times we used to have!”

      “When shall we be able to fish again?” asked Monsieur Sauvage.

      They entered a small cafe and took an absinthe together, then resumed their walk along the pavement.

      Morissot stopped suddenly.

      “Shall we have another absinthe?” he said.

      “If you like,” agreed Monsieur Sauvage.

      And they entered another wine shop.

      They were quite unsteady when they came out, owing to the effect of the alcohol on their empty stomachs. It was a fine, mild day, and a gentle breeze fanned their faces.

      The fresh air completed the effect of the alcohol on Monsieur Sauvage. He stopped suddenly, saying:

      “Suppose we go there?”

      “Where?”

      “Fishing.”

      “But where?”

      “Why, to the old place. The French outposts are close to Colombes. I know Colonel Dumoulin, and we shall easily get leave to pass.”

      Morissot trembled with desire.

      “Very well. I agree.”

      And they separated, to fetch their rods and lines.

      An hour later they were walking side by side on the highroad. Presently they reached the villa occupied by the colonel. He smiled at their request, and granted it. They resumed their walk, furnished with a password.

      Soon they left the outposts behind them, made their way through deserted Colombes, and found themselves on the outskirts of the small vineyards which border the Seine. It was about eleven o’clock.

      Before them lay the village of Argenteuil, apparently lifeless. The heights of Orgement and Sannois dominated the landscape. The great plain, extending as far as Nanterre, was empty, quite empty—a waste of dun-colored soil and bare cherry trees.

      Monsieur Sauvage, pointing to the heights, murmured:

      “The Prussians are up yonder!”

      And the sight of the deserted country filled the two friends with vague misgivings.

      The Prussians! They had never seen them as yet, but they had felt their presence in the neighborhood of Paris for months past—ruining France, pillaging, massacring, starving them. And a kind of superstitious terror mingled with the hatred they already felt toward this unknown, victorious nation.

      “Suppose we were to meet any of them?” said Morissot.

      “We’d offer them some fish,” replied Monsieur Sauvage, with that Parisian light-heartedness which nothing can wholly quench.

      Still, they hesitated to show themselves in the open country, overawed

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