Chapter II. The Attack on the Mill

by Emile Zola

　　A month later, on the day preceding that of Saint Louis, Rocreusewas in a state of terror. The Prussians had beaten the emperor andwere advancing by forced marches toward the village. For a weekpast people who hurried along the highway had been announcing themthus: "They are at Lormiere--they are at Novelles!" And on hearingthat they were drawing near so rapidly, Rocreuse every morningexpected to see them descend from the wood of Gagny. They did notcome, however, and that increased the fright. They would surelyfall upon the village during the night and slaughter everybody.

　　That morning, a little before sunrise, there was an alarm. Theinhabitants were awakened by the loud tramp of men on the highway.The women were already on their knees, making the sign of the cross,when some of the people, peering cautiously through the partiallyopened windows, recognized the red pantaloons. It was a Frenchdetachment. The captain immediately asked for the mayor of thedistrict and remained at the mill after having talked with PereMerlier.

　　The sun rose gaily that morning. It would be hot at noon. Over thewood floated a golden brightness, while in the distance white vaporsarose from the meadows. The neat and pretty village awoke amid thefresh air, and the country, with its river and its springs, had themoist sweetness of a bouquet. But that beautiful day caused nobodyto smile. The captain was seen to take a turn around the mill,examine the neighboring houses, pass to the other side of theMorelle and from there study the district with a field glass; PereMerlier, who accompanied him, seemed to be giving him explanations.Then the captain posted soldiers behind the walls, behind the treesand in the ditches. The main body of the detachment encamped in thecourtyard of the mill. Was there going to be a battle? When PereMerlier returned he was questioned. He nodded his head withoutspeaking. Yes, there was going to be a battle!

　　Francoise and Dominique were in the courtyard; they looked at him.At last he took his pipe from his mouth and said:

　　"Ah, my poor young ones, you cannot get married tomorrow!"

　　Dominique, his lips pressed together, with an angry frown on hisforehead, at times raised himself on tiptoe and fixed his eyes uponthe wood of Gagny, as if he wished to see the Prussians arrive.Francoise, very pale and serious, came and went, furnishing thesoldiers with what they needed. The troops were making soup in acorner of the courtyard; they joked while waiting for it to getready.

　　The captain was delighted. He had visited the chambers and the hugehall of the mill which looked out upon the river. Now, seatedbeside the well, he was conversing with Pere Merlier.

　　"Your mill is a real fortress," he said. "We can hold it withoutdifficulty until evening. The bandits are late. They ought to behere."

　　The miller was grave. He saw his mill burning like a torch, but heuttered no complaint, thinking such a course useless. He merelysaid:

　　"You had better hide the boat behind the wheel; there is a placethere just fit for that purpose. Perhaps it will be useful to havethe boat."

　　The captain gave the requisite order. This officer was a handsomeman of forty; he was tall and had an amiable countenance. The sightof Francoise and Dominique seemed to please him. He contemplatedthem as if he had forgotten the coming struggle. He followedFrancoise with his eyes, and his look told plainly that he thoughther charming. Then turning toward Dominique, he asked suddenly:

　　"Why are you not in the army, my good fellow?"

　　"I am a foreigner," answered the young man.

　　The captain evidently did not attach much weight to this reason. Hewinked his eye and smiled. Francoise was more agreeable companythan a cannon. On seeing him smile, Dominique added:

　　"I am a foreigner, but I can put a ball in an apple at five hundredmeters. There is my hunting gun behind you."

　　"You may have use for it," responded the captain dryly.

　　Francoise had approached, somewhat agitated. Without heeding thestrangers present Dominique took and grasped in his the two handsshe extended to him, as if to put herself under his protection. Thecaptain smiled again but said not a word. He remained seated, hissword across his knees and his eyes plunged into space, lost in areverie.

　　It was already ten o'clock. The heat had become very great. Aheavy silence prevailed. In the courtyard, in the shadows of thesheds, the soldiers had begun to eat their soup. Not a sound camefrom the village; all its inhabitants had barricaded the doors andwindows of their houses. A dog, alone upon the highway, howled.From the neighboring forests and meadows, swooning in the heat, camea prolonged and distant voice made up of all the scattered breaths.A cuckoo sang. Then the silence grew more intense.

　　Suddenly in that slumbering air a shot was heard. The captainleaped briskly to his feet; the soldiers left their plates of soup,yet half full. In a few seconds everybody was at the post of duty;from bottom to top the mill was occupied. Meanwhile the captain,who had gone out upon the road, had discovered nothing; to the rightand to the left the highway stretched out, empty and white. Asecond shot was heard, and still nothing visible, not even a shadow.But as he was returning the captain perceived in the direction ofGagny, between two trees, a light puff of smoke whirling away likethistledown. The wood was calm and peaceful.

　　"The bandits have thrown themselves into the forest," he muttered."They know we are here."

　　Then the firing continued, growing more and more vigorous, betweenthe French soldiers posted around the mill and the Prussians hiddenbehind the trees. The balls whistled above the Morelle withoutdamaging either side. The fusillade was irregular, the shots comingfrom every bush, and still only the little puffs of smoke, tossedgently by the breeze, were seen. This lasted nearly two hours. Theofficer hummed a tune with an air of indifference. Francoise andDominique, who had remained in the courtyard, raised themselves ontiptoe and looked over a low wall. They were particularlyinterested in a little soldier posted on the shore of the Morelle,behind the remains of an old bateau; he stretched himself out flaton the ground, watched, fired and then glided into a ditch a triflefarther back to reload his gun; and his movements were so droll, sotricky and so supple, that they smiled as they looked at him. Hemust have perceived the head of a Prussian, for he arose quickly andbrought his weapon to his shoulder, but before he could fire heuttered a cry, fell and rolled into the ditch, where for an instanthis legs twitched convulsively like the claws of a chicken justkilled. The little soldier had received a ball full in the breast.He was the first man slain. Instinctively Francoise seizedDominique's hand and clasped it with a nervous contraction.

　　"Move away," said the captain. "You are within range of the balls."

　　At that moment a sharp little thud was heard in the old elm, and afragment of a branch came whirling down. But the two young folksdid not stir; they were nailed to the spot by anxiety to see whatwas going on. On the edge of the wood a Prussian had suddenly comeout from behind a tree as from a theater stage entrance, beating theair with his hands and falling backward. Nothing further moved; thetwo corpses seemed asleep in the broad sunlight; not a living soulwas seen in the scorching country. Even the crack of the fusilladehad ceased. The Morelle alone whispered in its clear tones.

　　Pere Merlier looked at the captain with an air of surprise, as if toask him if the struggle was over.

　　"They are getting ready for something worse," muttered the officer."Don't trust appearances. Move away from there."

　　He had not finished speaking when there was a terrible discharge ofmusketry. The great elm was riddled, and a host of leaves shot intothe air. The Prussians had happily fired too high. Dominiquedragged, almost carried, Francoise away, while Pere Merlier followedthem, shouting:

　　"Go down into the cellar; the walls are solid!"

　　But they did not heed him; they entered the huge hall where tensoldiers were waiting in silence, watching through the chinks in theclosed window shutters. The captain was alone in the courtyard,crouching behind the little wall, while the furious dischargescontinued. Without, the soldiers he had posted gave ground onlyfoot by foot. However, they re-entered one by one, crawling, whenthe enemy had dislodged them from their hiding places. Their orderswere to gain time and not show themselves, that the Prussians mightremain in ignorance as to what force was before them. Another hourwent by. As a sergeant arrived, saying that but two or three moremen remained without, the captain glanced at his watch, muttering:

　　"Half-past two o'clock. We must hold the position four hourslonger."

　　He caused the great gate of the courtyard to be closed, and everypreparation was made for an energetic resistance. As the Prussianswere on the opposite side of the Morelle, an immediate assault wasnot to be feared. There was a bridge two kilometers away, but theyevidently were not aware of its existence, and it was hardly likelythat they would attempt to ford the river. The officer, therefore,simply ordered the highway to be watched. Every effort would bemade in the direction of the country.

　　Again the fusillade had ceased. The mill seemed dead beneath theglowing sun. Not a shutter was open; no sound came from theinterior. At length, little by little, the Prussians showedthemselves at the edge of the forest of Gagny. They stretched theirnecks and grew bold. In the mill several soldiers had alreadyraised their guns to their shoulders, but the captain cried:

　　"No, no; wait. Let them come nearer."

　　They were exceedingly prudent, gazing at the mill with a suspiciousair. The silent and somber old structure with its curtains of ivyfilled them with uneasiness. Nevertheless, they advanced. Whenfifty of them were in the opposite meadow the officer uttered thesingle word:

　　"Fire!"

　　A crash was heard; isolated shots followed. Francoise, all of atremble, had mechanically put her hands to her ears. Dominique,behind the soldiers, looked on; when the smoke had somewhat liftedhe saw three Prussians stretched upon their backs in the center ofthe meadow. The others had thrown themselves behind the willows andpoplars. Then the siege began.

　　For more than an hour the mill was riddled with balls. They dashedagainst the old walls like hail. When they struck the stones theywere heard to flatten and fall into the water. They buriedthemselves in the wood with a hollow sound. Occasionally a sharpcrack announced that the mill wheel had been hit. The soldiers inthe interior were careful of their shots; they fired only when theycould take aim. From time to time the captain consulted his watch.As a ball broke a shutter and plowed into the ceiling he said tohimself:

　　"Four o'clock. We shall never be able to hold out!"

　　Little by little the terrible fusillade weakened the old mill. Ashutter fell into the water, pierced like a bit of lace, and it wasnecessary to replace it with a mattress. Pere Merlier constantlyexposed himself to ascertain the extent of the damage done to hispoor wheel, the cracking of which made his heart ache. All would beover with it this time; never could he repair it. Dominique hadimplored Francoise to withdraw, but she refused to leave him; shewas seated behind a huge oaken clothespress, which protected her. Aball, however, struck the clothespress, the sides of which gaveforth a hollow sound. Then Dominique placed himself in front ofFrancoise. He had not yet fired a shot; he held his gun in his handbut was unable to approach the windows, which were altogetheroccupied by the soldiers. At each discharge the floor shook.

　　"Attention! Attention!" suddenly cried the captain.

　　He had just seen a great dark mass emerge from the wood.Immediately a formidable platoon fire opened. It was like awaterspout passing over the mill. Another shutter was shattered,and through the gaping opening of the window the balls entered. Twosoldiers rolled upon the floor. One of them lay like a stone; theypushed the body against the wall because it was in the way. Theother twisted in agony, begging his comrades to finish him, but theypaid no attention to him. The balls entered in a constant stream;each man took care of himself and strove to find a loophole throughwhich to return the fire. A third soldier was hit; he uttered not aword; he fell on the edge of a table, with eyes fixed and haggard.Opposite these dead men Francoise, stricken with horror, hadmechanically pushed away her chair to sit on the floor against thewall; she thought she would take up less room there and not be in somuch danger. Meanwhile the soldiers had collected all themattresses of the household and partially stopped up the windowswith them. The hall was filled with wrecks, with broken weapons anddemolished furniture.

　　"Five o'clock," said the captain. "Keep up your courige! They areabout to try to cross the river!"

　　At that moment Francoise uttered a cry. A ball which had ricochetedhad grazed her forehead. Several drops of blood appeared.Dominique stared at her; then, approaching the window, he fired hisfirst shot. Once started, he did not stop. He loaded and firedwithout heeding what was passing around him, but from time to timehe glanced at Francoise. He was very deliberate and aimed withcare. The Prussians, keeping beside the poplars, attempted thepassage of the Morelle, as the captain had predicted, but as soon asa man strove to cross he fell, shot in the head by Dominique. Thecaptain, who had his eyes on the young man, was amazed. Hecomplimented him, saying that he should be glad to have many suchskillful marksmen. Dominique did not hear him. A ball cut hisshoulder; another wounded his arm, but he continued to fire.

　　There were two more dead men. The mangled mattresses no longerstopped the windows. The last discharge seemed as if it would havecarried away the mill. The position had ceased to be tenable.Nevertheless, the captain said firmly:

　　"Hold your ground for half an hour more!"

　　Now he counted the minutes. He had promised his chiefs to hold theenemy in check there until evening, and he would not give an inchbefore the hour he had fixed on for the retreat. He preserved hisamiable air and smiled upon Francoise to reassure her. He hadpicked up the gun of a dead soldier and himself was firing.

　　Only four soldiers remained in the hall. The Prussians appeared ina body on the other side of the Morelle, and it was clear that theyintended speedily to cross the river. A few minutes more elapsed.The stubborn captain would not order the retreat. Just then asergeant hastened to him and said:

　　"They are upon the highway; they will take us in the rear!"

　　The Prussians must have found the bridge. The captain pulled outhis watch and looked at it.

　　"Five minutes longer," he said. "They cannot get here before thattime!"

　　Then at six o'clock exactly he at last consented to lead his men outthrough a little door which opened into a lane. From there theythrew themselves into a ditch; they gained the forest of Sauval.Before taking his departure the captain bowed very politely to PereMerlier and made his excuses, adding:

　　"Amuse them! We will return!"

　　Dominique was now alone in the hall. He was still firing, hearingnothing, understanding nothing. He felt only the need of defendingFrancoise. He had not the least suspicion in the world that thesoldiers had retreated. He aimed and killed his man at every shot.Suddenly there was a loud noise. The Prussians had entered thecourtyard from behind. Dominique fired a last; shot, and they fellupon him while his gun was yet smoking.

　　Four men held him. Others vociferated around him in a frightfullanguage. They were ready to slaughter him on the spot. Francoise,with a supplicating look, had cast herself before him. But anofficer entered and ordered the prisoner to be delivered up to him.After exchanging a few words in German with the soldiers he turnedtoward Dominique and said to him roughly in very good French:

　　"You will be shot in two hours!"