Chapter IV. A Terrible Experience

by Emile Zola

　　At dawn a clamor of voices shook the mill. Pere Merlier opened thedoor of Francoise's chamber. She went down into the courtyard, paleand very calm. But there she could not repress a shiver as she sawthe corpse of a Prussian soldier stretched out on a cloak beside thewell.

　　Around the body troops gesticulated, uttering cries of fury. Manyof them shook their fists at the village. Meanwhile the officer hadsummoned Pere Merlier as the mayor of the commune.

　　"Look!" he said to him in a voice almost choking with anger. "Therelies one of our men who was found assassinated upon the bank of theriver. We must make a terrible example, and I count on you to aidus in discovering the murderer."

　　"As you choose," answered the miller with his usual stoicism, "butyou will find it no easy task."

　　The officer stooped and drew aside a part of the cloak which hid theface of the dead man. Then appeared a horrible wound. The sentinelhad been struck in the throat, and the weapon had remained in thecut. It was a kitchen knife with a black handle.

　　"Examine that knife," said the officer to Pere Merlier; "perhaps itwill help us in our search."

　　The old man gave a start but recovered control of himselfimmediately. He replied without moving a muscle of his face:

　　"Everybody in the district has similar knives. Doubtless your manwas weary of fighting and put an end to his own life. It looks likeit!"

　　"Mind what you say!" cried the officer furiously. "I do not knowwhat prevents me from setting fire to the four corners of thevillage!"

　　Happily in his rage he did not notice the deep trouble pictured onFrancoise's countenance. She had been forced to sit down on a stonebench near the well. Despite herself her eyes were fixed upon thecorpse stretched our on the ground almost at her feet. It was thatof a tall and handsome man who resembled Dominique, with flaxen hairand blue eyes. This resemblance made her heart ache. She thoughtthat perhaps the dead soldier had left behind him in Germany asweetheart who would weep her eyes out for him. She recognized herknife in the throat of the murdered man. She had killed him.

　　The officer was talking of striking Rocreuse with terrible measures,when soldiers came running to him. Dominique's escape had just beendiscovered. It caused an extreme agitation. The officer went tothe apartment in which the prisoner had been confined, looked out ofthe window which had remained open, understood everything andreturned, exasperated.

　　Pere Merlier seemed greatly vexed by Dominique's flight.

　　"The imbecile!" he muttered. "He has ruined all!"

　　Francoise heard him and was overcome with anguish. But the millerdid not suspect her of complicity in the affair. He tossed hishead, saying to her in an undertone:

　　"We are in a nice scrape!"

　　"It was that wretch who assassinated the soldier! I am sure of it!"cried the officer. "He has undoubtedly reached the forest. But hemust be found for us or the village shall pay for him!"

　　Turning to the miller, he said:

　　"See here, you ought to know where he is hidden!"

　　Pere Merlier laughed silently, pointing to the wide stretch ofwooden hills.

　　"Do you expect to find a man in there?" he said.

　　"Oh, there must be nooks there with which you are acquainted. Iwill give you ten men. You must guide them."

　　"As you please. But it will take a week to search all the wood inthe vicinity."

　　The old man's tranquillity enraged the officer. In fact, the lattercomprehended the asburdity of this search. At that moment he sawFrancoise, pale and trembling, on the bench. The anxious attitudeof the young girl struck him. He was silent for an instant, duringwhich he in turn examined the miller and his daughter.

　　At length he demanded roughly of the old man:

　　"Is not that fellow your child's lover?"

　　Pere Merlier grew livid and seemed about to hurl himself upon theofficer to strangle him. He stiffened himself but made no answer.Francoise buried her face in her hands.

　　"Yes, that's it!" continued the Prussian. "And you or your daughterhelped him to escape! One of you is his accomplice! For the lasttime, will you give him up to us?"

　　The miller uttered not a word. He turned away and looked into spacewith an air of indifference, as if the officer had not addressedhim. This brought the latter's rage to a head.

　　"Very well!" he shouted. "You shall be shot in his place!"

　　And he again ordered out the platoon of execution. Pere Merlierremained as stoical as ever. He hardly even shrugged his shoulders;all this drama appeared to him in bad taste. Without doubt he didnot believe that they would shoot a man so lightly. But when theplatoon drew up before him he said gravely:

　　"So it is serious, is it? Go on with your bloody work then! If youmust have a victim I will do as well as another!"

　　But Francoise started up, terrified, stammering:

　　"In pity, monsieur, do no harm to my father! Kill me in his stead!I aided Dominique to fly! I alone am guilty!"

　　"Hush, my child!" cried Pere Merlier. "Why do you tell an untruth?She passed the night locked in her chamber, monsieur. She tells afalsehood, I assure you!"

　　"No, I do not tell a falsehood!" resumed the young girl ardently."I climbed out of my window and went down the iron ladder; I urgedDominique to fly. This is the truth, the whole truth!"

　　The old man became very pale. He saw clearly in her eyes that shedid not lie, and her story terrified him. Ah, these children withtheir hearts, how they spoil everything! Then he grew angry andexclaimed:

　　"She is mad; do not heed her. She tells you stupid tales. Come,finish your work!"

　　She still protested. She knelt, clasping her hands. The officertranquilly watched this dolorous struggle.

　　"Mon Dieu!" he said at last. "I take your father because I have notthe other. Find the fugitive and the old man shall be set atliberty!"

　　She gazed at him with staring eyes, astonished at the atrocity ofthe proposition.

　　"How horrible!" she murmured. "Where do you think I can findDominique at this hour? He has departed; I know no more about him."

　　"Come, make your choice--him or your father."

　　"Oh, Mon Dieu! How can I choose? If I knew where Dominique was Icould not choose! You are cutting my heart. I would rather die atonce. Yes, it would be the sooner over. Kill me, I implore you,kill me!"

　　This scene of despair and tears finally made the officer impatient.He cried out:

　　"Enough! I will be merciful. I consent to give you two hours. Ifin that time your lover is not here your father will be shot in hisplace!"

　　He caused Pere Merlier to be taken to the chamber which had servedas Dominique's prison. The old man demanded tobacco and began tosmoke. Upon his impassible face not the slightest emotion wasvisible. But when alone, as he smoked, he shed two big tears whichran slowly down his cheeks. His poor, dear child, how she wassuffering!

　　Francoise remained in the middle of the courtyard. Prussiansoldiers passed, laughing. Some of them spoke to her, uttered jokesshe could not understand. She stared at the door through which herfather had disappeared. With a slow movement she put her hand toher forehead, as if to prevent it from bursting.

　　The officer turned upon his heel, saying:

　　"You have two hours. Try to utilize them."

　　She had two hours. This phrase buzzed in her ears. Thenmechanically she quitted the courtyard; she walked straight ahead.Where should she go?--what should she do? She did not even try tomake a decision because she well understood the inutility of herefforts. However, she wished to see Dominique. They could have anunderstanding together; they might, perhaps, find an expedient. Andamid the confusion of her thoughts she went down to the shore of theMorelle, which she crossed below the sluice at a spot where therewere huge stones. Her feet led her beneath the first willow, in thecorner of the meadow. As she stooped she saw a pool of blood whichmade her turn pale. It was there the murder had been committed.She followed the track of Dominique in the trodden grass; he musthave run, for she perceived a line of long footprints stretchingacross the meadow. Then farther on she lost these traces. But in aneighboring field she thought she found them again. The new trailconducted her to the edge of the forest, where every indication waseffaced.

　　Francoise, nevertheless, plunged beneath the trees. It solaced herto be alone. She sat down for an instant, but at the thought thattime was passing she leaped to her feet. How long had it been sinceshe left the mill? Five minutes?--half an hour? She had lost allconception of time. Perhaps Dominique had concealed himself in acopse she knew of, where they had one afternoon eaten filbertstogether. She hastened to the copse, searched it. Only a blackbirdflew away, uttering its soft, sad note. Then she thought he mighthave taken refuge in a hollow of the rocks, where it had sometimesbeen his custom to lie in wait for game, but the hollow of the rockswas empty. What good was it to hunt for him? She would never findhim, but little by little the desire to discover him took entirepossession of her, and she hastened her steps. The idea that hemight have climbed a tree suddenly occurred to her. She advancedwith uplifted eyes, and that he might be made aware of her presenceshe called him every fifteen or twenty steps. Cuckoos answered; abreath of wind which passed through the branches made her believethat he was there and was descending. Once she even imagined shesaw him; she stopped, almost choked, and wished to fly. What wasshe to say to him? Had she come to take him back to be shot? Ohno, she would not tell him what had happened. She would cry out tohim to escape, not to remain in the neighborhood. Then the thoughtthat her father was waiting for her gave her a sharp pain. She fellupon the turf, weeping, crying aloud:

　　"Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu! Why am I here?"

　　She was mad to have come. And as if seized with fear, she ran; shesought to leave the forest. Three times she deceived herself; shethought she never again would find the mill, when she entered ameadow just opposite Rocreuse. As soon as she saw the village shepaused. Was she going to return alone? She was still hesitatingwhen a voice softly called:

　　"Francoise! Francoise!"

　　And she saw Dominique, who had raised his head above the edge of aditch. Just God! She had found him! Did heaven wish his death?She restrained a cry; she let herself glide into the ditch.

　　"Are you searching for me?" asked the young man.

　　"Yes," she answered, her brain in a whirl, not knowing what shesaid.

　　"What has happened?"

　　She lowered her eyes, stammered:

　　"Nothing. I was uneasy; I wanted to see you."

　　Then, reassured, he explained to her that he had resolved not to goaway. He was doubtful about the safety of herself and her father.Those Prussian wretches were fully capable of taking vengeance uponwomen and old men. But everything was getting on well. He addedwith a laugh:

　　"Our wedding will take place in a week--I am sure of it."

　　Then as she remained overwhelmed, he grew grave again and said:

　　"But what ails you? You are concealing something from me!"

　　"No; I swear it to you. I am out of breath from running."

　　He embraced her, saying that it was imprudent for them to betalking, and he wished to climb out of the ditch to return to theforest. She restrained him. She trembled.

　　"Listen," she said: "it would, perhaps, be wise for you to remainwhere you are. No one is searching for you; you have nothing tofear."

　　"Francoise, you are concealing something from me," he repeated.

　　Again she swore that she was hiding nothing. She had simply wishedto know that he was near her. And she stammered forth still furtherreasons. She seemed so strange to him that he now could not beinduced to flee. Besides, he had faith in the return of the French.Troops had been seen in the direction of Sauval.

　　"Ah, let them hurry; let them get here as soon as possible," shemurmured fervently.

　　At that moment eleven o'clock sounded from the belfry of Rocreuse.The strokes were clear and distinct. She arose with a terrifiedlook; two hours had passed since she quitted the mill.

　　"Hear me," she said rapidly: "if we have need of you I will wave myhandkerchief from my chamber window."

　　And she departed on a run, while Dominique, very uneasy, stretchedhimself out upon the edge of the ditch to watch the mill. As shewas about to enter Rocreuse, Francoise met an old beggar, PereBontemps, who knew everybody in the district. He bowed to her; hehad just seen the miller in the midst of the Prussians; then, makingthe sign of the cross and muttering broken words, he went on hisway.

　　"The two hours have passed," said the officer when Francoiseappeared.

　　Pere Merlier was there, seated upon the bench beside the well. Hewas smoking. The young girl again begged, wept, sank on her knees.She wished to gain time. The hope of seeing the French return hadincreased in her, and while lamenting she thought she heard in thedistance, the measured tramp of an army. Oh, if they would come, ifthey would deliver them all?

　　"Listen, monsieur," she said: "an hour, another hour; you can grantus another hour!"

　　But the officer remained inflexible. He even ordered two men toseize her and take her away, that they might quietly proceed withthe execution of the old man. Then a frightful struggle took placein Francoise's heart. She could not allow her father to be thusassassinated. No, no; she would die rather with Dominique. She wasrunning toward her chamber when Dominique himself entered thecourtyard.

　　The officer and the soldiers uttered a shout of triumph. But theyoung man, calmly, with a somewhat severe look, went up toFrancoise, as if she had been the only person present.

　　"You did wrong," he said. "Why did you not bring me back? Itremained for Pere Bontemps to tell me everything. But I am here!"