roubaud, on entering the room, placed the loaf, the paté, and the bottle of white wine on the table. but mother victoire, before going down to her post in the morning, had crammed the stove with such a quantity of cinders that the heat was stifling, and the assistant station-master, having opened a window, leant out on the rail in front of it.
this occurred in the impasse d'amsterdam, in the last house on the right, a lofty dwelling, where the western railway company lodged some of their staff. the window on the fifth floor, at the angle of the mansarded roof, looked on to the station, that broad trench cutting into the quartier de l'europe, to abruptly open up the view, and which the grey mid-february sky, of a grey that was damp and warm, penetrated by the sun, seemed to make still wider on that particular afternoon.
opposite, in the sunny haze, the houses in the rue de rome became confused, fading lightly into distance. on the left gaped the gigantic porches of the iron marquees, with their smoky glass. that of the main lines on which the eye looked down, appeared immense. it was separated from those of argenteuil, versailles, and the ceinture railway, which were smaller, by the buildings set apart for[pg 2] the post-office, and for heating water to fill the foot-warmers. to the right the trench was severed by the diamond pattern ironwork of the pont de l'europe, but it came into sight again, and could be followed as far as the batignolles tunnel.
and below the window itself, occupying all the vast space, the three double lines that issued from the bridge deviated, spreading out like a fan, whose innumerable metal branches ran on to disappear beneath the span roofs of the marquees. in front of the arches stood the three boxes of the pointsmen, with their small, bare gardens. amidst the confused background of carriages and engines encumbering the rails, a great red signal formed a spot in the pale daylight.
roubaud was interested for a few minutes, comparing what he saw with his own station at havre. each time he came like this, to pass a day at paris, and found accommodation in the room of mother victoire, love of his trade got the better of him. the arrival of the train from mantes had animated the platforms under the marquee of the main lines; and his eyes followed the shunting engine, a small tender-engine with three low wheels coupled together, which began briskly bustling to and fro, branching off the train, dragging away the carriages to drive them on to the shunting lines. another engine, a powerful one this, an express engine, with two great devouring wheels, stood still alone, sending from its chimney a quantity of black smoke, which ascended straight, and very slowly, through the calm air.
but all the attention of roubaud was centred on the 3.25 train for caen, already full of passengers and awaiting its locomotive, which he could not see, for it had stopped on the other side of the pont de l'europe. he could only hear it asking for permission to advance, with slight, hurried whistles, like a person becoming impatient. an order resounded. the locomotive responded by one short whistle to indicate that it had understood. then, before moving, came a brief silence. the exhaust pipes were opened, and[pg 3] the steam went hissing on a level with the ground in a deafening jet.
he then noticed this white cloud bursting from the bridge in volume, whirling about like snowy fleece flying through the ironwork. a whole corner of the expanse became whitened, while the smoke from the other engine expanded its black veil. from behind the bridge could be heard the prolonged, muffled sounds of the horn, mingled with the shouting of orders and the shocks of turning-tables. all at once the air was rent, and he distinguished in the background a train from versailles, and a train from auteuil, one up and one down, crossing each other.
as roubaud was about to quit the window, a voice calling him by name made him lean out. below, on the fourth floor balcony, he recognised a young man about thirty years of age, named henri dauvergne, a headguard, who resided there with his father, deputy station-master for the main lines, and his two sisters, claire and sophie, a couple of charming blondes, one eighteen and the other twenty, who looked after the housekeeping with the 6,000 frcs. of the two men, amidst a constant stream of gaiety. the elder one would be heard laughing, while the younger sang, and a cage full of exotic birds rivalled one another in roulades.
"by jove, monsieur roubaud! so you are in paris, then? ah! yes, about your affair with the sub-prefect!"
the assistant station-master, leaning on the rail again, explained that he had to leave havre that morning by the 6.40 express. he had been summoned to paris by the traffic-manager, who had been giving him a serious lecture. he considered himself lucky in not having lost his post.
"and madam?" henri inquired.
madame had wished to come also, to make some purchases. her husband was waiting for her there, in that room which mother victoire placed at their service whenever they came to paris. it was there that they loved to lunch, tranquil and[pg 4] alone, while the worthy woman was detained downstairs at her post. on that particular day they had eaten a roll at mantes, wishing to get their errands over first of all. but three o'clock had struck, and he was dying with hunger.
henri, to be amiable, put one more question:
"and are you going to pass the night in paris?"
no, no! both were returning to havre in the evening by the 6.30 express. ah! holidays, indeed! they brought you up to give you your dose, and off, back again at once!
the two looked at one another for a moment, tossing their heads, but they could no longer hear themselves speak; a devil-possessed piano had just broken into sonorous notes. the two sisters must have been thumping on it together, laughing louder than ever, and exciting the exotic birds. then the young man gained by the merriment, said good-bye to withdraw into the apartment; and the assistant station-master, left alone, remained a moment with his eyes on the balcony whence ascended all this youthful gaiety. then, looking up, he perceived the locomotive, whose driver had shut off the exhaust pipes and which the pointsman switched on to the train for caen. the last flakes of white steam were lost amid the heavy whirling cloud of smoke soiling the sky. and roubaud also returned into his room.
standing before the cuckoo clock pointing to 3.20, he gave a gesture of despair. what on earth was keeping séverine so long? when she once entered a shop, she could never leave it. to stay his famishing hunger he thought of laying the table. he was familiar with this large apartment lighted by two windows, which served as bedroom, dining-room, and kitchen; and with its walnut furniture, its bed draped in turkey-red material, its sideboard, its round table, and norman wardrobe.
from the sideboard he took napkins, plates, knives and forks, and two glasses. everything was extremely clean, and he felt as much pleased to perform this little household[pg 5] duty, as if he had been a child playing at dining. the whiteness of the linen delighted him, and, being very much in love with his wife, he smiled to himself at the idea of the peal of laughter she would give on opening the door. but when he had placed the paté on a plate, and set the bottle of white wine beside it, he became uneasy and looked about him. then he quickly drew a couple of small parcels from his pockets which he had forgotten—a little box of sardines and some gruyère cheese.
the half hour struck. roubaud strode up and down with an ear attentive to the staircase, turning round at the least sound. passing before the looking-glass as he waited with nothing to do, he stopped and gazed at himself. he did not appear to be growing old. although getting on for forty, the bright reddishness of his curly hair had not diminished. his fair beard, also verging on red, which he wore full, had remained thick. of medium height, but extremely vigorous, he felt pleased with his appearance, satisfied with his rather flat head, and low forehead, his thick neck, his round, ruddy face lit up by a pair of large, sparkling eyes. his eyebrows joined, clouding his forehead with the bar of jealousy.
there was a sound of footsteps. roubaud ran and set the door ajar; but it was a woman who sold newspapers in the station, returning to her lodging hard by. he came back and examined a box made of shells standing on the sideboard. he knew that box very well, a present from séverine to mother victoire, her wet-nurse. and this trifling object sufficed to recall all the story of his marriage, which had taken place almost three years previously.
born in the south of france at plassans, he had a carter for father. he had quitted the army with the stripes of a sergeant-major, and for a long time had been general porter at the station at mantes. he had then been promoted head-porter at barentin, and it was there that he had first[pg 6] seen his dear wife, when she came from doinville in company with mademoiselle berthe, the daughter of president grandmorin.
séverine aubry was nothing more than the younger daughter of a gardener, who had died in the service of the grandmorins; but the president, her godfather and guardian, had taken such a fancy to her, making her the playmate of his own daughter, sending them both to the same school at rouen, and, moreover, she possessed such an innate air of superiority herself, that roubaud for a long time, had been content to admire her at a distance, with the passion of a workman freed from some of his rough edge, for a dainty jewel that he considered precious.
this was the sole romance of his existence. he would have wedded the girl without a sou, for the joy of calling her his own; and when he had been so bold as to ask her hand, the realisation of his hopes had surpassed his dream. apart from séverine and a marriage portion of 10,000 frcs., the president, now pensioned off, a member of the board of directors of the western railway company, had extended to him his protection. almost immediately after the wedding he had become assistant station-master at havre. no doubt he had good notes to his credit—firm at his post, punctual, honest, of limited intelligence, but very straightforward,—all excellent qualities that might explain the prompt attention given to his request and his rapid promotion. but he preferred to believe that he owed everything to his wife whom he adored.
when roubaud had opened the box of sardines he positively lost patience. it had been agreed that they should meet there at three o'clock. where could she be? she would not have the audacity to tell him that it required a whole day to purchase a pair of boots, and a few articles of linen. and as he again passed before the looking-glass, he perceived his eyebrows on end, and his forehead furrowed[pg 7] with a harsh line. never had he suspected her at havre. in paris he pictured to himself all sorts of danger, deceit, and levity. the blood rushed to his head, his fists of a former porter were clenched, as in the days when he shunted the carriages. he became the brute again, unconscious of his strength. he would have crushed her in an outburst of blind fury.
séverine pushed open the door, and presented herself quite fresh and joyful.
"here i am! eh! you must have fancied me lost," she exclaimed.
in the lustre of her five-and-twenty years she looked tall, slim, and very supple, but she was plump, notwithstanding her small bones. at first sight she did not appear pretty, with her long face, and large mouth set with beautiful teeth. but on observing her more closely, she fascinated one by her charm, by the peculiarity of her blue eyes, crowned with an abundance of raven hair.
and as her husband, without answering, continued to examine her with the troubled, vacillating look she knew so well, she added:
"oh! i walked very fast. just imagine, it was impossible to get an omnibus. then, as i did not want to spend money on a cab, i walked as fast as i could. see how hot i am!"
"look here," said he violently, "you will not make me believe you come from the bon marché."
but immediately, in the delightful manner of a child, she threw herself on his neck, closing his mouth with her pretty little plump hand.
"oh! you wicked creature! you wicked creature!" she exclaimed; "hold your tongue; you know i love you."
she was so full of sincerity, he felt her still so candid, so straightforward, that he pressed her passionately in his arms. his suspicions always ended thus. she abandoned herself[pg 8] to him, loving to be petted. he covered her with kisses, which she did not return; and it was this that caused him a sort of vague uneasiness. this great, passive child, full of filial affection, had not yet awakened to love.
"so you ransacked the bon marché?" said he.
"oh! yes. i'll tell you all about it," she replied. "but, first of all, let us eat. you cannot imagine how hungry i am! ah! listen! i've a little present. repeat, 'where is my little present?'"
and she laughed quite close to his face. she had thrust her right hand in her pocket, where she held an object she did not take out of it.
"say quick, 'where is my little present?'" she continued.
he also was laughing, like a good-natured man, and did as she asked him.
"where is my little present?" he inquired. she had bought him a knife to replace one he had lost, and which he had been regretting for the past fortnight. he uttered an exclamation of delight, pronouncing this beautiful new knife superb, with its ivory handle and shining blade. he wanted to use it at once. she was charmed at his joy, and, in fun, made him give her a sou, so that their friendship might not be severed.
"to lunch, to lunch!" she repeated. "no, no!" she exclaimed, as he was about to shut the window; "don't close it yet, i beg of you! i am too warm!"
she joined him at the window, and remained there a few seconds, leaning on his shoulder, gazing at the vast expanse of the station. for the moment the smoke had disappeared. the copper-coloured disc of the sun descended in the haze behind the houses in the rue de rome. at their feet a shunting engine was bringing along the mantes train, all made up, which was to leave at 4.25. the engine drove it back beside the platform under the marquee, and was unhooked. in the background, beneath the span-roof of the[pg 9] ceinture line, the shocks of buffers announced the unforeseen coupling-on of extra carriages. and alone, in the middle of the network of rails, with driver and fireman blackened with the dust of the journey, the heavy engine of some slow train stood motionless, as if weary and breathless, with merely a thin thread of steam issuing from a valve. it was waiting for the line to be opened to return to the dep?t at batignolles. a red signal clacked, disappeared, and the locomotive went off.
"how gay those little dauvergnes are!" remarked roubaud. "do you hear them thumping on their piano? i saw henri just now, and he asked me to give you his compliments."
"to table, to table!" exclaimed séverine.
and she fell upon the sardines with a hearty appetite, having eaten nothing since she bought the roll at mantes. her visits to paris always made her excited. she was quivering with pleasure at her run through the streets, and still enraptured with her purchases at the bon marché. each spring she spent all her winter savings at one stroke, preferring to purchase everything at the capital, and thus economise the cost of the journey, as she said. without losing a mouthful, she never paused in her chatter. a trifle confused, and blushing, she ended by letting out the total of the sum she had spent, more than 300 frcs.
"the deuce!" remarked roubaud, startled; "you get yourself up well for the wife of an assistant station-master! but i thought you were only going to buy a little linen and a pair of boots."
"oh! my dear! but i have got such bargains. a piece of silk with such lovely stripes! a hat, in exquisite taste, something to dream of! ready-made petticoats with embroidered flounces! and all this for next to nothing. i should have paid double at havre. they are going to send the parcel, and you'll see!"
she looked so pretty in her delight, with her confused air of supplication, that he resolved to laugh. and besides,[pg 10] this little scratch dinner was so charming in this room where they were all alone, and much more comfortable than at a restaurant. she, who usually drank water, threw off restraint, and swallowed her glass of white wine without knowing what she was about. the box of sardines being empty, they attacked the paté with the beautiful new knife. it cut so admirably that it was a perfect triumph.
"and you—what about your affair?" she inquired. "you make me chatter, and you don't tell me how your matter with the sub-prefect ended."
thereupon he related in detail how he had been treated by the traffic-manager. oh! he had received a thorough good wigging! he had defended himself, he had told the truth. he had related how this little whipper-snapper of a sub-prefect had insisted on getting into a first-class carriage with his dog, when there was a second-class carriage reserved for sportsmen and their animals, and had given an account of the quarrel that had resulted, and the words that had been exchanged. in short, the manager had said he was right to have insisted on the regulations being complied with; but the bad part of the business was that sentence which he confessed having uttered: "you others will not always be the masters!" he was suspected of being a republican. the discussions that had just marked the opening of the session of 1869, and the secret alarm about the forthcoming elections, had made the government distrustful. and had not president grandmorin spoken warmly in his favour, he would certainly have been removed from his post. as it was, he had been compelled to sign the letter of apology which the latter had advised should be sent, and had drawn up himself.
"ah! you see!" broke in séverine. "wasn't i right to drop him a line, and pay him a visit along with you, this morning, before you went to receive your wigging? i knew he would get us out of the trouble."
"yes, he is very fond of you," resumed roubaud, "and is[pg 11] all powerful in the company. what is the use of being a good servant? ah! the manager did not stint me of praise: slow to take the initiative, but of good conduct, obedient, courageous, briefly, all sorts of qualities! well, my dear, if you had not been my wife, and if grandmorin had not pleaded my cause out of friendship for you, it would have been all up with me. i should have been sent to do penance at some small station."
she was staring fixedly into space, and murmured, as if speaking to herself:
"oh! certainly, he is a man with great influence."
there was a silence, and she sat with her eyes wide open and lost in thought. she had ceased eating. no doubt she was thinking of the days of her childhood, far away, at the chateau of doinville, four leagues from rouen. she had never known her mother. when her father, the gardener aubry died, she was commencing her thirteenth year; and it was at this period that the president, already a widower, had placed her with his daughter berthe in charge of his sister, madame bonnehon, herself the widow of a manufacturer, from whom she had inherited the chateau.
berthe, who was two years older than séverine, had been wedded six months after the marriage of the latter with roubaud, to m. de lachesnaye, a little, shrivelled-up, sallow-complexioned man, judge at the rouen court of appeal. in the preceding year president grandmorin was still at the head of this court at rouen, which was his own part of the country, when he retired on a pension, after a brilliant career.
born in 1804, substitute at digne on the morrow of the events in 1830, then at fontainebleau, then at paris, he had afterwards filled the posts of procurator at troyes; advocate-general at rennes; and finally, first president at rouen. a multi-millionaire, he had been member of the county council since 1855, and on the same day as he retired, he had been made commander of the legion of honour. as far back as she could recollect, she remembered him just[pg 12] as he was now—thick-set and strong, prematurely grey, but the golden grey of one formerly fair; his hair cut brutus fashion, his beard clipped short, no moustache, a square face, which eyes of a hard blue and a big nose rendered severe. he was harsh on being approached, and made everyone about him tremble.
séverine was so absorbed that roubaud had to raise his voice, repeating twice over:
"well, what are you thinking about?"
she started, gave a little shudder, as if surprised, and trembled with alarm.
"oh! of nothing!" she answered.
"but you are not eating. have you lost your appetite?" he inquired.
"oh! no; you'll see," she replied.
séverine, having emptied her glass of white wine, finished the slice of paté on her plate. but there was a cry of alarm. they had eaten the small loaf; not a mouthful remained for the cheese. they clamoured, then laughed, and finally, after disturbing everything, found a piece of stale bread at the back of the sideboard cupboard of mother victoire.
although the window was open, it continued very warm, and the young woman, seated with her back to the stove, could not get refreshed; and she had become more rosy and excited, by the unforeseen talkative lunch in this room.
speaking of mother victoire, roubaud had returned to grandmorin; there was another who owed him a famous debt of gratitude. the mother of a child who had died, she became wet-nurse to séverine, whose birth had sent her mamma into the grave. later on, as wife of a fireman of the company, who spent all he earned in drink, she was leading a wretched existence in paris by the aid of a little sewing, when, happening to meet her foster-daughter, the former intimacy had been renewed, while the president, at the same time, took her under his protection. he had now[pg 13] obtained for her the post of attendant at the lavatory for ladies. the company gave her no more than 100 frcs., but she made nearly 1,400 frcs. out of the gratuities, without counting the lodging, this room where they were lunching, and her coals. indeed, she had a most comfortable post. and roubaud calculated that if pecqueux, the husband, had brought home the 2,800 frcs. which he earned as fireman, wages and gratuities together, instead of running riot at both ends of the line, they would have had between them more than 4,000 frcs. a year, double what he received as assistant station-master at havre.
in the meanwhile, their sharp hunger had become appeased, and they dawdled over the rest of the meal, cutting the cheese into small pieces to make the feast last longer. conversation also flagged.
"by the way," said he, "why did you decline the invitation of the president to go to doinville for two or three days?"
in the comfort of a good digestion, he had just been running over in his mind, the incidents of their visit in the morning to the mansion in the rue du rocher, quite close to the station; he had seen himself again in the large, stern study, and he again heard the president telling them that he was leaving on the morrow for doinville. then, as if acting on a sudden impulse, the latter had suggested taking the 6.30 express with them that evening, and conducting his god-daughter on a visit to his sister, who had been wanting to see her for a long time. but the young woman had given all kinds of reasons which prevented her, she said, from accepting the invitation.
"for my part," he remarked, "i saw no inconvenience in this little trip. you might have remained there till thursday. i should have been able to manage without you; don't you think so? we have need of them in our position. it is rather silly to show indifference to their politeness, and the more so as your refusal seemed to cause him real pain. and[pg 14] that was why i never ceased pressing you to accept, until you tugged at my coat; and then i spoke as you did, but without understanding what it meant. eh! why wouldn't you go?"
séverine, with restless eyes, gave a gesture of impatience.
"how could i leave you all alone?" she exclaimed.
"that isn't a reason," he replied. "during the three years we have been married, you have paid two visits of a week to doinville. there was nothing to prevent you going there a third time."
the young woman, more and more uneasy, turned away her head.
"well, i didn't care about it," said she. "you don't want to force me to do things that displease me."
roubaud opened his arms, as if to say that he had no intention of forcing her to do anything. nevertheless, he resumed:
"look here, you are hiding something. did madame bonnehon receive you badly the last time you went there?"
oh! no; madame bonnehon had always welcomed her with great kindness, she was so amiable. tall, and well developed, with magnificent light hair, she still remained beautiful, notwithstanding her fifty-five years. gossip had it that since her widowhood, and even during the lifetime of her husband, her heart had frequently been occupied. they adored her at doinville, where she made the chateau a perfect paradise. all rouen society visited there, particularly the magistracy; and it was among this body that madame bonnehon had met with a great many friends.
"then own that it was the lachesnayes who gave you the cold shoulder," continued roubaud.
it was true that since berthe had married m. de lachesnaye, she had not been on the same terms with séverine as before. this poor berthe, who looked so insignificant with her red nose, was certainly not improving in character. the ladies at rouen extolled her noble bearing in no mean measure. but a husband such as she had, ugly, harsh, and[pg 15] miserly, seemed likely to communicate his bad qualities to his wife, and make her ill-natured. still, séverine had nothing in particular to reproach her with. berthe had been agreeable to her former companion.
"then it's the president who displeases you down there," remarked roubaud.
séverine, who had been answering slowly and in an even tone, became impatient again.
"he! what an idea!" she exclaimed.
and she continued in short, nervous phrases. they barely caught sight of him. he had reserved to himself a pavilion in the park, having a door opening on a deserted lane. he went out and came in without anybody knowing anything about his movements. his sister never even knew positively on what day he arrived. he took a vehicle at barentin, and drove over by night to doinville, where he remained for days together in his pavilion, ignored by everyone. ah! it was not he who troubled them down there.
"i only mention it," said roubaud, "because you have told me, over and over again, that in your childhood, he frightened you out of your senses."
"oh! frightened me out of my senses!" she replied. "you exaggerate, as usual. it is a fact that he rarely laughed. he stared at you so with his great eyes, that he made you hang your head at once. i have seen persons confused, to the point of being unable to say a word to him, so deeply were they impressed by his great reputation for severity and wisdom. but as for me, i was never scolded by him. i always felt he had a weakness for me."
once more her speech became slow, and her eyes were lost in space.
"i remember," she resumed, "when i was a little girl, and happened to be having a game with playmates on the paths, that if he chanced to appear, everyone ran into hiding, even his daughter berthe, who was always trembling with[pg 16] fear lest she should be caught doing something wrong. for my part, i calmly awaited him. he came along, and seeing me there, smiling and looking up, gave me a pat on the cheek. later on, at sixteen, whenever berthe wished to obtain some favour from him, she always entrusted me with the mission of asking it. i spoke. i never looked down, and i felt his eyes penetrating me. but i did not care a fig, i was so sure he would grant whatever i wanted. ah! yes; i remember it all. there is not a piece of brushwood in the park, not a corridor, nor a room in the chateau that i cannot see, when i close my eyes."
she ceased speaking, and lowered her lids. the thrill of incidents of former days seemed to pass over her warm, puffy face. she remained thus for a few moments, with a slight beating of the lips, something like a nervous twitch, that drew down the corner of her mouth as if she were in pain.
"he has certainly been very good to you," said roubaud, who had just lit his pipe. "not only did he bring you up like a young lady, but he very shrewdly invested the little money you had, and increased it when we were married, without counting what he is going to leave you. he said in my presence that he had mentioned you in his will."
"ah! yes!" murmured séverine, "that house at la croix-de-maufras, the property the railway cut in two. we used to go there, occasionally, for a week. oh! i don't much count on that. the lachesnayes must be at work to prevent him leaving me anything. and, besides, i would rather have nothing—nothing at all!"
she had uttered these last words in such a sharp tone, that he was astonished, and, taking his pipe from his mouth, he stared at her with rounded eyes.
"how funny you are!" said he. "everyone knows that the president is worth millions. what harm would there be in him putting his god-daughter in his will? no one would be surprised, and it would be all right for us."
[pg 17]
"well, i've had enough of the subject," answered séverine; "let us talk about something else. i will not go to doinville because i will not, because i prefer to return with you to havre."
he tossed his head, and appeased her with a motion of the hand. very good, very good! as the subject annoyed her, he would say no more about it. he smiled. never had he seen her so nervous. no doubt it was the white wine. anxious to be forgiven, he took up the knife, went into another fit of ecstasy about it, and carefully wiped the blade. to show that it cut like a razor, he began to trim his nails with it.
"already a quarter past four," murmured séverine, standing before the cuckoo clock. "i have a few more errands to do. we must think about our train."
but, as if to get quite calm before making the room tidy, she went to the window and leant out of it. then he, leaving his knife, leaving his pipe, also rose from the table, and, approaching her, took her gently from behind in his arms; and holding her enlaced, placed his chin on her shoulder, pressing his head against her own. neither moved, but remained gazing at the scene below them.
the small shunting engines went and came without intermission. similar to sharp and prudent housewives, the activity of their movements could barely be heard as they glided along with muffled wheels and a discreet whistle. one of them ran past, and disappeared under the pont de l'europe, dragging the carriages of a trouville train to the coach-house. over there, beyond the bridge, it brushed by a locomotive that had come alone from the dep?t, like a solitary pedestrian, with its shimmering brass and steel, fresh and smart for the journey. this engine was standing still, and with a couple of short whistles appealed to the pointsman to open the line. almost immediately he switched it on to its train, which stood ready made up, beside the platform, under the marquee of the main lines.
[pg 18]
this was the 4.25 train for dieppe. a stream of passengers hurried forward. one heard the roll of the trucks loaded with luggage, and the porters pushing the foot-warmers, one by one, into the compartments. the engine and tender had reached the first luggage van with a hollow clash, and the head-porter could then be seen tightening the screw of the spreader. the sky had become cloudy in the direction of batignolles. an ashen crepuscule, effacing the fa?ades, seemed to be already falling on the outspread fan of railway lines; and, in this dim light, one saw in the distance, the constant departure and arrival of trains on the banlieue and ceinture lines. beyond the great sheet of span-roofing of the station, shreds of reddish smoke flew over darkened paris.
séverine and roubaud had remained some minutes at the open window without speaking. he had taken her left hand, and was playing with an old gold ring, a golden serpent with a small ruby head, which she wore on the same finger as her wedding-ring. he had always seen it there.
"my little serpent," she murmured, in an involuntary dreamy voice, thinking he was looking at the ring, and feeling an imperative necessity to speak. "he made me a present of it at la croix-de-maufras when i was sixteen."
roubaud raised his head in surprise.
"who was that?" he inquired. "the president?"
as the eyes of her husband rested on her own, she awoke, with an abrupt shock, to a sense of reality. she felt a little chill turn her cheeks icy cold. she wished to answer, when, choked by a sort of paralysis, she could say nothing.
"but," he continued, "you always told me it was your mother who left you that ring."
even at this second, she could have annulled the sentence she had thoughtlessly let slip. she had only to laugh, to play the madcap. but, losing her self-command, unconscious of the gravity of what she was doing, she obstinately maintained her statement.
[pg 19]
"i never told you, my dear," she replied, "that my mother left me that ring."
thereupon, roubaud, also turning pale, stared at her threateningly.
"what do you mean," he retorted, "by saying you never told me so? why, you've told it me twenty times over! there's no harm in the president giving you a ring. he has made you other presents of much greater value. but what need was there to hide it from me? why lie, in speaking of your mother?"
"i never mentioned my mother, my darling," she persisted. "you are mistaken."
this obstinacy was idiotic. she was aware that she was ruining herself, that he could clearly see through her. and she then wanted to retrieve her position, to swallow her words. but it was too late. she felt her features becoming discomposed. do what she would, the truth burst from all her being. the chill on her cheeks had spread all over her face, and a nervous twitch dragged down her lip.
roubaud looked frightful. he had suddenly become red again, so red that it seemed as if his veins were about to burst. he had grasped her by the wrists, looking close into her face so as to be better able to follow, in the terror-stricken distraction of her eyes, what she dared not utter aloud. he stammered a great oath, which threw her into a fright, and, foreseeing a blow, she bowed her head, covering her face with her arm.
a trifling, wretched, insignificant incident—the failure to recollect the falsehood she had told about this ring—had just now, in the few words they had exchanged together, supplied evidence of a matter she had every desire to conceal. and a minute had sufficed to bring this about.
with a jerk, he threw her across the bed, and struck her haphazard with his two fists. in three years he had not given her so much as a flip, and now he was beating[pg 20] her black and blue, in the brutish fit of passion of a man with coarse hands, who had formerly shunted railway carriages.
uttering another frightful oath, he exclaimed:
"you did something wrong! something wrong! something wrong!"
as he repeated the words, his rage increased, and he belaboured her with his fists, each time he pronounced them, as if to drive them into her flesh. his voice at last became so thick with anger, that it hissed, and ceased to be intelligible. it was only then that he heard her, quite weak from his blows, saying "no." she could imagine no other defence. she denied the accusation, so that he might not kill her. and this utterance, this obstinate clinging to the lie, made him completely furious.
"confess that you did something wrong," said he.
"no, no!" she answered.
he had caught hold of her again, supporting her in his arms, preventing her from resuming her position with her face against the bed-covering, like some poor creature hiding herself. he forced her to look him in the face.
"confess that you did something wrong," he repeated.
but, slipping down, she escaped, and tried to gain the door. in a bound he was upon her again, his fist raised; and furiously, at one blow, near the table, he felled her. he threw himself beside her, he seized her by the hair to nail her to the boards. for an instant they remained thus, on the ground, face to face, without moving. and in the frightful silence, could be heard, ascending from the floor below, the singing and laughter of the young dauvergnes, whose piano, fortunately, frantically poured forth its notes, stifling the sound of the struggle. it was claire singing nursery-rhymes, while sophie accompanied her with all her might.
"confess that you did something wrong," said he.
no longer daring to say no, she remained silent.
[pg 21]
"confess that you did something wrong," he exclaimed with an oath, "or i'll rip you open!"
he would have killed her; she could see it distinctly in his eyes. in falling, she had perceived the knife, open on the table, and now she fancied she saw the flash of the blade again. she thought he was extending his arm. she was overcome by cowardice, by an abandonment of herself and everything, a necessity to have done with the matter.
"well, yes," said she, "it's true. let me go."
what followed was abominable. this avowal, which he had so violently exacted, had just come upon him, point blank, like something impossible and monstrous. it seemed that he could never have imagined such an infamy. he caught hold of her head, and knocked it against a leg of the table. she struggled, and he dragged her across the room by the hair, scattering the chairs.
each time she made an effort to rise he knocked her back on the floor by a blow from his fist. and he did this panting, with clenched teeth, in savage and senseless fury. the table, thrust away, almost upset the stove. blood and hair were sticking to a corner of the sideboard. when they recovered breath, stupefied and reeking with this horror, weary of striking and of being struck, they had got close to the bed again; she, still stretched on the floor, he squatting down, holding her by the shoulders. and they had breathing time. below, the music continued. the laughter rippled away, sonorous, and very youthful.
roubaud, with a jerk, raised séverine into a sitting posture, setting her back against the bedstead. then, still on his knees, weighing down on her shoulders, he could at last speak. he had ceased beating her; he tortured her with questions. she wept. she was so upset that she could not utter a word; and, raising his hand, he half stunned her with a blow from his palm. three times, at intervals, receiving no answer, he slapped her face. why should she[pg 22] struggle any longer? she was already half dead. he would have torn out her heart with those horny fingers of a former workman. and so, the cross-examination proceeded, with the threatening fist uplifted, ready to strike if she hesitated in her replies.
all at once he shook her, and inquired with an oath:
"why did you marry me? don't you know it was infamous to deceive me in this manner? there are thieves in prison, who have not half what you have on their conscience. so you despised me? you were not in love with me? eh! why did you marry me?"
she gave a vague gesture. she did not exactly know, now. she was happy to marry him, hoping to get rid of the other. there are so many things one would rather not do, and which one does, because they are after all the wisest. no, she did not love him; and she carefully avoided telling him that had it not been for this business, never would she have consented to become his wife.
séverine, by an effort, had risen to her feet. with a vigour that was extraordinary in such a weak, vanquished creature, she had thrust roubaud from her. and as she freed her hand he felt the ring, the little golden serpent with the ruby head, forgotten on her finger. he tore it off, crushed it beneath his heel in another fit of rage. then he began striding up and down, from one end of the room to the other, mute and distracted. she sank down, seated at the edge of the bed, staring at him with her great fixed eyes. and a terrible silence ensued.
the fury of roubaud was not calmed. no sooner did it seem to moderate a little, than it returned at once in great waves of increased volume, which bore him along in their vertiginous flood. no longer under self-control, he struck about in space, a victim to all the gusts of the violent tempest lacerating him, only to awaken to the imperative necessity of appeasing the howling brute within him. it was a physical,[pg 23] an immediate necessity, a thirst for vengeance that wrung his body, and which would leave him no repose until it had been satisfied.
without stopping in his walk, he struck his temples with his two fists, and he stammered out in a voice of anguish:
"what shall i do?"
as he had not killed this woman at once, he would not kill her now. his cowardice in allowing her to live exasperated his anger, for it was cowardly. it was because he still cared for her that he had not strangled her. nevertheless, he could not keep her with him, after what he had discovered. then he would have to drive her out, put her into the street, never to see her again? and at this thought, a fresh flood of suffering overwhelmed him. he experienced an execrable feeling of disgust when he recognised that he would not even do this. what then? it only remained for him to accept the abomination, and to take this woman back to havre, there to continue to live quietly together, as if nothing had occurred. no, no! death rather. death for both of them that very instant! he was stirred with such intense distress that his head seemed to have gone astray, and he cried out louder than before:
"what shall i do?"
séverine, from the bed, where she remained seated, continued following him with her great eyes. she had always felt the calm affection of a comrade for him, and the excessive grief in which she now saw him plunged, aroused her pity. the ugly words and blows she would have excused, if this wild fit of passion had caused her less surprise—a surprise that she had not yet got over. passive and docile, she had consented to her marriage simply from a desire to settle down, and she was at a loss to understand such an outburst of jealousy about a former error which she repented.
she watched her husband, going and coming, turning furiously round, as she would have watched a wolf, or an[pg 24] animal of some other species. what was the matter with him? there were so many husbands without anger. the thing that terrified her was to perceive the brute, whose presence she had suspected for three years, from certain sullen growls, at this moment unchained, mad and ready to bite. what could she say to him to avert a misfortune?
at each turn he came near the bed before her. she awaited him there, and had sufficient courage to address him.
"my dear, listen," said she.
but he heard not. he went back to the other end of the room, like a bit of straw beaten about in a storm.
"what shall i do? what shall i do?" he continued asking.
at last she seized him by the wrist, and retained him a minute.
"my dear, listen," she said. "you know it was i who refused to go to doinville. i should never have gone there again. never! never! it is you i love."
"look here," he answered, "if i am to live, i must kill the other! i must kill him!—kill him!"
his voice rose louder. he repeated the word, erect, grown taller, as if this utterance, in bringing him to a resolution, also brought him calm. he ceased speaking. he walked slowly to the table, and there, with a gesture of indifference looked at the knife, whose shimmering blade was wide open. he closed, and put it in his pocket. then, with his arms swinging at his sides, his eyes lost in space, he remained at the same place thinking. obstacles that presented themselves to some plan he was elaborating in his brain, caused two great wrinkles to appear on his forehead. to get the better of his difficulty, he went and opened the window, standing before it with his face in the chilly air of twilight. his wife in another fright stood up behind him; and, not daring to question him, waited with her face to the expansive sky, endeavouring to guess what was passing in that hard skull.
[pg 25]
in the falling shades of night, the distant houses stood out black, and a violescent mist clouded the vast site of the station. the deep cutting seemed as if smothered in dust, particularly in the direction of batignolles, and the ironwork of the pont de l'europe began to fade away. towards paris a final gleam of daylight whitened the windows of the great iron marquees, but within they became densely obscure. suddenly one saw a glitter of sparks. the men were lighting the gas-lamps along the platforms. here a great white spot was formed by the lantern on the engine of the dieppe train, crowded with passengers. the doors of the compartments were already closed, and the driver only awaited the order of the assistant station-master on duty, to start. but some hindrance had occurred. the red signal of the pointsman closed the line, while a small locomotive came and picked up a few carriages, which a defective man?uvre had left behind.
trains flew along without intermission, in the increasing darkness, over the complicated network of rails, threading their way through lines of carriages standing motionless on sidings. one started for argenteuil, another for saint germain. a very long train arrived from cherbourg. signals succeeded one another, accompanied by whistles and blasts of the horn. lights appeared on every side, one by one: red, green, yellow, white. there seemed to be a regular confusion at this troubled hour when day glides into night, and it looked as if a tremendous smash would ensue. but everything passed on. the trains brushed by each other, detaching themselves from the entanglement, in a smooth, creeping motion that could only be perceived indistinctly in the deep crepuscule. but the red light of the pointsman was effaced, the dieppe train blew its whistle, and rolled off. a few drops of rain began to fall from the wan sky. it was going to be a wet night.
when roubaud turned round, it was with a face cloudy[pg 26] and obstinate, as if overcast by the shadow of this night that was drawing in. he had made up his mind. his plan was formed. in the vanishing darkness, he looked at the cuckoo clock, and exclaimed aloud:
"twenty minutes past five!"
he was astounded; one hour, barely one hour, and so much to do! it seemed to him that they had been devouring one another there for weeks.
"twenty minutes past five!" he muttered. "we shall have enough time."
séverine, without daring to ask a question, continued following him with her anxious eyes. she saw him rummage in the cupboard, and bring out some notepaper, a small bottle of ink, and a pen.
"what!" she exclaimed. "are you going to write a letter? to whom?"
"to him. sit down."
and, as she instinctively drew away from the chair, ignoring as yet what he was about to exact from her, he brought her back, and weighed her down so heavily as he seated her at the table, that she remained there.
"write this: 'leave to-night by the 6.30 express, and do not show yourself before you arrive at rouen.'"
she held the pen, but her hand trembled. her fright increased at the thought of all the unknown gaping before her in those two simple lines. and she had the courage to raise her head, and say in a pleading tone:
"what are you going to do, my dear? i beg you to tell me."
he only repeated, in his loud, inexorable voice:
"write, write!"
then, with his eyes on her eyes, without anger, without ugly words, but with such obstinacy that she felt the weight crushing and annihilating her, he answered:
"what i am going to do, you will see, well enough. and[pg 27] listen, what i am going to do, i mean you to do with me. in that way we shall remain together. there will be something binding between us."
he terrified her. she drew back again.
"no, no; i want to know!" she exclaimed. "i will not write without knowing."
then, ceasing to speak, he took her hand—the small, delicate hand of a child, and pressed it in his iron fist, with the continuous pressure of a vice, until he almost crushed it. he was driving his will into her flesh with the pain. she uttered a cry. all her spirit was broken, all her will surrendered. ignorant creature as she had remained, in her passive gentleness, she could but obey. instrument of love, instrument of death.
"write, write!" he repeated again.
and she wrote painfully, with her poor, sore hand.
"that's all right; you are very good," said he, when he had the letter. "now tidy the place up a bit, and get everything ready. i'll come back and fetch you."
he was quite calm. he arranged the bow of his tie before the looking-glass, put on his hat, and took himself off. she heard him double-lock the door, and remove the key. night was drawing in more and more. for an instant she remained seated, her ear catching every sound outside. a continual, low whine came from the adjoining room in occupation of the newspaper woman: no doubt a little dog forgotten by its mistress. below, in the apartment of the dauvergnes, the piano had become silent. there was now a merry clatter of stewpans and crockery. the two little housekeepers were busy in their kitchen, claire looking after a mutton stew, sophie picking a salad. and séverine, prostrated, listened to their laughter in the frightful distress of this falling night.
at a quarter past six, the locomotive of the havre express, issuing from the pont de l'europe, was switched on to its[pg 28] train and there secured. owing to the metals being occupied, they had been unable to lodge this train under the marquee of the main lines. it waited in the open air beside a prolongation of the platform forming a sort of narrow jetty, in the gloom of an inky sky, where the poorly furnished row of gas lamps displayed but a line of smoky stars.
a shower had just ceased, leaving behind a trace of icy dampness spread over this vast uncovered space, which the mist threw back as far as the pale glimmers on the fa?ades in the rue de rome. this immense, dreary expanse, bathed in water, here and there studded with a gory light, was broken up by opaque lumps, engines, and solitary carriages, parts of trains in repose on the shunting lines. and from the depths of this sheet of darkness came sounds,—giant-like respirations, breathless with fever, whistles resembling the piercing shrieks of women, distant, lamentable blasts of horns mingled with a rumble in the adjoining streets. orders were shouted out to add on a carriage. the engine of the express stood motionless, losing by a valve a great jet of steam, which ascended into all this obscurity to spread into small clouds and sprinkle the boundless veil of mourning drawn across the sky with white tears.
at twenty minutes past six, roubaud and séverine appeared. she had just returned the key to mother victoire, as she passed by the lavatory, near the waiting-rooms. and roubaud, impatient and blunt, his hat on the back of his head, urged her on, after the fashion of a husband with no time to lose, who is being delayed by his wife; while she, with her veil drawn tight over her face, advanced slowly as if broken down with fatigue.
joining the flood of passengers streaming along the platform, they followed the line of carriages, on the look-out for an empty first-class compartment. the footway became alive with porters rolling trucks of luggage to the van at the head of the train. an inspector was busy finding seats for a[pg 29] numerous family, the assistant station-master on duty, with his signal lantern in his hand, glanced at the couplings, to see that the spreaders had been properly screwed up. and roubaud, having at length found an empty compartment, was about to assist séverine to get in, when he perceived m. vandorpe, the head-station-master, strolling along in company with m. dauvergne, his deputy-chief of the main lines, both watching the man?uvre connected with the carriage that was being added to the train. roubaud, exchanging greetings with them, found it necessary to stop and have a chat.
first of all they spoke of the business with the sub-prefect, which had terminated to the satisfaction of everyone. then the conversation turned to an accident that had happened in the morning at havre, the news having come by telegraph. a locomotive, called la lison, which on thursday and saturday took the 6.30 express, had broken its connecting-rod, just as the train entered the station; and the repairs would give two days' holiday to jacques lantier, the driver, who came from the same part of the country as roubaud, and to his fireman, pecqueux, the husband of mother victoire.
séverine remained standing before the door of the compartment, while her husband affected great freedom of mind in conversation with these gentlemen, raising his voice and laughing. but there came a shock, and the train recoiled a few yards. it was the locomotive, driving back the first carriages to the one that had just been added on, the no. 293, so as to have a reserved coupé. and henri dauvergne, the son, who accompanied the train as headguard, having recognised séverine through her veil, had prevented her from receiving a knock from the wide-open door, by pulling her away without ceremony. then, excusing himself, smiling, very amiable, he explained that the coupé was for one of the directors of the company, who had sent to ask for it half an hour before the time for the train to start. she gave a little, senseless laugh, and he ran off to attend to his work.
[pg 30]
the clock marked 6.27. three minutes more. roubaud, who was watching the doors of the waiting-rooms in the distance, while chatting with the station-master, suddenly left the latter to return to séverine. but the carriage having moved back, they had to make their way to the empty compartment a few paces off. roubaud pushed his wife along, and with an effort of the wrist, made her get into the carriage; while she, in her anxious docility, looked instinctively behind her, to see what was going on.
a passenger behind time had just arrived, carrying only a rug in his hand. he had the broad collar of his blue top-coat turned up, and the rim of his bowler hat brought down so low over his eyebrows that nothing could be seen of his face, in the vacillating gaslight, but a bit of white beard. m. vandorpe and m. dauvergne advanced and followed the passenger, notwithstanding his evident desire to avoid being seen. he only greeted them three carriages further on, when in front of the reserved coupé, in which he hurriedly took a seat. it was the president. séverine, in a tremble, sank down on a seat, her husband bruised her arm in his grasp, as if in a final act of taking possession of her, exulting, now that he was certain of doing the thing he had thought out in his mind.
a minute later the half hour would strike. a newspaper seller stubbornly offered the evening editions, a few passengers still strolled along the platform finishing cigarettes. but all took their seats. the inspectors could be heard coming from both ends of the train, closing the doors. and roubaud, who had met with the disagreeable surprise of perceiving a sombre form occupying a corner in the compartment which he had thought empty, no doubt a woman in mourning, who remained mute and motionless, could not restrain an exclamation of real anger, when the door opened again, and an inspector pushed in a stout man and a stout woman, who flopped down on a seat, gasping.
[pg 31]
they were about to start. the very fine rain had recommenced, drowning the vast, dark expanse, which was crossed incessantly by trains that presented nothing distinguishable but a moving line of small, bright windows. green lights had been lit, a few lanterns danced on a level with the ground; and there was nothing else, nothing but black immensity, where alone appeared the marquees of the main lines, pale with a dim reflex of gas. all had disappeared, even the sounds had become muffled. the roar of the engine, opening its exhaust pipes, to let out a whirling wave of white steam, alone could be heard. a cloud ascended, unrolling like the winding-sheet of an apparition, and divided by dense black smoke springing from some invisible source. the sky was once more obscured, a volume of soot flew over nocturnal paris, ablaze with luminosity.
then the assistant station-master on duty, raised his lantern for the engine-driver to inquire if the line was free. two whistles were heard; and away, near the box of the pointsman, the red light vanished, to be succeeded by a white one. the headguard, standing at the door of his van, awaited the order to start, which he transmitted. the driver gave a long whistle, and opening the regulator, set the locomotive moving. they were off. at first the motion was imperceptible, then the train rolled along. darting under the pont de l'europe, it plunged towards the batignolles tunnel. all that could be seen of it were the three lights behind, the red triangle looking like gaping wounds. for a few seconds longer, it could be followed in the chilling darkness of night. now it flew on its way, and nothing now could stop this train, launched at full speed. it disappeared.
