Chapter XI

by Emile Zola

　　One Sunday the race for the Grand Prix de Paris was being run in theBois de Boulogne beneath skies rendered sultry by the first heats ofJune. The sun that morning had risen amid a mist of dun-coloreddust, but toward eleven o'clock, just when the carriages werereaching the Longchamps course, a southerly wind had swept away theclouds; long streamers of gray vapor were disappearing across thesky, and gaps showing an intense blue beyond were spreading from oneend of the horizon to the other. In the bright bursts of sunlightwhich alternated with the clouds the whole scene shone again, fromthe field which was gradually filling with a crowd of carriages,horsemen and pedestrians, to the still-vacant course, where thejudge's box stood, together with the posts and the masts forsignaling numbers, and thence on to the five symmetrical stands ofbrickwork and timber, rising gallery upon gallery in the middle ofthe weighing enclosure opposite. Beyond these, bathed in the lightof noon, lay the vast level plain, bordered with little trees andshut in to the westward by the wooded heights of Saint-Cloud and theSuresnes, which, in their turn, were dominated by the severeoutlines of Mont-Valerien.Nana, as excited as if the Grand Prix were going to make herfortune, wanted to take up a position by the railing next thewinning post. She had arrived very early--she was, in fact, one ofthe first to come--in a landau adorned with silver and drawn, a laDaumont, by four splendid white horses. This landau was a presentfrom Count Muffat. When she had made her appearance at the entranceto the field with two postilions jogging blithely on the near horsesand two footmen perching motionless behind the carriage, the peoplehad rushed to look as though a queen were passing. She sported theblue and white colors of the Vandeuvres stable, and her dress wasremarkable. It consisted of a little blue silk bodice and tunic,which fitted closely to the body and bulged out enormously behindher waist, thereby bringing her lower limbs into bold relief in sucha manner as to be extremely noticeable in that epoch of voluminousskirts. Then there was a white satin dress with white satin sleevesand a sash worn crosswise over the shoulders, the whole ornamentedwith silver guipure which shone in the sun. In addition to this, inorder to be still more like a jockey, she had stuck a blue toquewith a white feather jauntily upon her chignon, the fair tressesfrom which flowed down beyond her shoulders and resembled anenormous russet pigtail.Twelve struck. The public would have to wait more than three hoursfor the Grand Prix to be run. When the landau had drawn up besidethe barriers Nana settled herself comfortably down as though shewere in her own house. A whim had prompted her to bring Bijou andLouiset with her, and the dog crouched among her skirts, shiveringwith cold despite the heat of the day, while amid a bedizenment ofribbons and laces the child's poor little face looked waxen and dumband white in the open air. Meanwhile the young woman, withouttroubling about the people near her, talked at the top of her voicewith Georges and Philippe Hugon, who were seated opposite on thefront seat among such a mountain of bouquets of white roses and bluemyosotis that they were buried up to their shoulders."Well then," she was saying, "as he bored me to death, I showed himthe door. And now it's two days that he's been sulking."She was talking of Muffat, but she took care not to confess to theyoung men the real reason for this first quarrel, which was that oneevening he had found a man's hat in her bedroom. She had indeedbrought home a passer-by out of sheer ennui--a silly infatuation."You have no idea how funny he is," she continued, growing merryover the particulars she was giving. "He's a regular bigot atbottom, so he says his prayers every evening. Yes, he does. He'sunder the impression I notice nothing because I go to bed first soas not to be in his way, but I watch him out of the corner of myeye. Oh, he jaws away, and then he crosses himself when he turnsround to step over me and get to the inside of the bed.""Jove, it's sly," muttered Philippe. "That's what happens before,but afterward, what then?"She laughed merrily."Yes, just so, before and after! When I'm going to sleep I hear himjawing away again. But the biggest bore of all is that we can'targue about anything now without his growing 'pi.' I've always beenreligious. Yes, chaff as much as you like; that won't prevent mebelieving what I do believe! Only he's too much of a nuisance: heblubbers; he talks about remorse. The day before yesterday, forinstance, he had a regular fit of it after our usual row, and Iwasn't the least bit reassured when all was over."But she broke off, crying out:"Just look at the Mignons arriving. Dear me, they've brought thechildren! Oh, how those little chaps are dressed up!"The Mignons were in a landau of severe hue; there was somethingsubstantially luxurious about their turnout, suggesting rich retiredtradespeople. Rose was in a gray silk gown trimmed with red knotsand with puffs; she was smiling happily at the joyous behavior ofHenri and Charles, who sat on the front seat, looking awkward intheir ill-fitting collegians' tunics. But when the landau had drawnup by the rails and she perceived Nana sitting in triumph among herbouquets, with her four horses and her liveries, she pursed up herlips, sat bolt upright and turned her head away. Mignon, on theother hand, looking the picture of freshness and gaiety, waved her asalutation. He made it a matter of principle to keep out offeminine disagreements."By the by," Nana resumed, "d'you know a little old man who's veryclean and neat and has bad teeth--a Monsieur Venot? He came to seeme this morning.""Monsieur Venot?" said Georges in great astonishment. "It'simpossible! Why, the man's a Jesuit!""Precisely; I spotted that. Oh, you have no idea what ourconversation was like! It was just funny! He spoke to me about thecount, about his divided house, and begged me to restore a familyits happiness. He was very polite and very smiling for the matterof that. Then I answered to the effect that I wanted nothingbetter, and I undertook to reconcile the count and his wife. Youknow it's not humbug. I should be delighted to see them all happyagain, the poor things! Besides, it would be a relief to me forthere are days--yes, there are days--when he bores me to death."The weariness of the last months escaped her in this heartfeltoutburst. Moreover, the count appeared to be in big moneydifficulties; he was anxious and it seemed likely that the billwhich Labordette had put his name to would not be met."Dear me, the countess is down yonder," said Georges, letting hisgaze wander over the stands."Where, where?" cried Nana. "What eyes that baby's got! Hold mysunshade, Philippe."But with a quick forward dart Georges had outstripped his brother.It enchanted him to be holding the blue silk sunshade with itssilver fringe. Nana was scanning the scene through a huge pair offield glasses."Ah yes! I see her," she said at length. "In the right-hand stand,near a pillar, eh? She's in mauve, and her daughter in white by herside. Dear me, there's Daguenet going to bow to them."Thereupon Philippe talked of Daguenet's approaching marriage withthat lath of an Estelle. It was a settled matter--the banns werebeing published. At first the countess had opposed it, but thecount, they said, had insisted. Nana smiled."I know, I know," she murmured. "So much the better for Paul. He'sa nice boy--he deserves it"And leaning toward Louiset:"You're enjoying yourself, eh? What a grave face!"The child never smiled. With a very old expression he was gazing atall those crowds, as though the sight of them filled him withmelancholy reflections. Bijou, chased from the skirts of the youngwoman who was moving about a great deal, had come to nestle,shivering, against the little fellow.Meanwhile the field was filling up. Carriages, a compact,interminable file of them, were continually arriving through thePorte de la Cascade. There were big omnibuses such as the Pauline,which had started from the Boulevard des Italiens, freighted withits fifty passengers, and was now going to draw up to the right ofthe stands. Then there were dogcarts, victorias, landaus, allsuperbly well turned out, mingled with lamentable cabs which joltedalong behind sorry old hacks, and four-in-hands, sending along theirfour horses, and mail coaches, where the masters sat on the seatsabove and left the servants to take care of the hampers of champagneinside, and "spiders," the immense wheels of which were a flash ofglittering steel, and light tandems, which looked as delicatelyformed as the works of a clock and slipped along amid a peal oflittle bells. Every few seconds an equestrian rode by, and a swarmof people on foot rushed in a scared way among the carriages. Onthe green the far-off rolling sound which issued from the avenues inthe Bois died out suddenly in dull rustlings, and now nothing wasaudible save the hubbub of the ever-increasing crowds and cries andcalls and the crackings of whips in the open. When the sun, amidbursts of wind, reappeared at the edge of a cloud, a long ray ofgolden light ran across the field, lit up the harness and thevarnished coach panels and touched the ladies' dresses with fire,while amid the dusty radiance the coachmen, high up on their boxes,flamed beside their great whips.Labordette was getting out of an open carriage where Gaga, Clarisseand Blanche de Sivry had kept a place for him. As he was hurryingto cross the course and enter the weighing enclosure Nana gotGeorges to call him. Then when he came up:"What's the betting on me?" she asked laughingly.She referred to the filly Nana, the Nana who had let herself beshamefully beaten in the race for the Prix de Diane and had not evenbeen placed in April and May last when she ran for the Prix des Carsand the Grande Poule des Produits, both of which had been gained byLusignan, the other horse in the Vandeuvres stable. Lusignan hadall at once become prime favorite, and since yesterday he had beencurrently taken at two to one."Always fifty to one against," replied Labordette."The deuce! I'm not worth much," rejoined Nana, amused by the jest."I don't back myself then; no, by jingo! I don't put a single louison myself."Labordette went off again in a great hurry, but she recalled him.She wanted some advice. Since he kept in touch with the world oftrainers and jockeys he had special information about variousstables. His prognostications had come true a score of timesalready, and people called him the "King of Tipsters.""Let's see, what horses ought I to choose?" said the young woman."What's the betting on the Englishman?""Spirit? Three to one against. Valerio II, the same. As to theothers, they're laying twenty-five to one against Cosinus, forty toone against Hazard, thirty to one against Bourn, thirty-five to oneagainst Pichenette, ten to one against Frangipane.""No, I don't bet on the Englishman, I don't. I'm a patriot.Perhaps Valerio II would do, eh? The Duc de Corbreuse was beaming alittle while ago. Well, no, after all! Fifty louis on Lusignan;what do you say to that?"Labordette looked at her with a singular expression. She leanedforward and asked him questions in a low voice, for she was awarethat Vandeuvres commissioned him to arrange matters with thebookmakers so as to be able to bet the more easily. Supposing himto have got to know something, he might quite well tell it her. Butwithout entering into explanations Labordette persuaded her to trustto his sagacity. He would put on her fifty louis for her as hemight think best, and she would not repent of his arrangement."All the horses you like!" she cried gaily, letting him take hisdeparture, "but no Nana; she's a jade!"There was a burst of uproarious laughter in the carriage. The youngmen thought her sally very amusing, while Louiset in his ignorancelifted his pale eyes to his mother's face, for her loud exclamationssurprised him. However, there was no escape for Labordette as yet.Rose Mignon had made a sign to him and was now giving him hercommands while he wrote figures in a notebook. Then Clarisse andGaga called him back in order to change their bets, for they hadheard things said in the crowd, and now they didn't want to haveanything more to do with Valerio II and were choosing Lusignan. Hewrote down their wishes with an impassible expression and at lengthmanaged to escape. He could be seen disappearing between two of thestands on the other side of the course.Carriages were still arriving. They were by this time drawn up fiverows deep, and a dense mass of them spread along the barriers,checkered by the light coats of white horses. Beyond them othercarriages stood about in comparative isolation, looking as thoughthey had stuck fast in the grass. Wheels and harness were here,there and everywhere, according as the conveyances to which theybelonged were side by side, at an angle, across and across or headto head. Over such spaces of turf as still remained unoccupiedcavaliers kept trotting, and black groups of pedestrians movedcontinually. The scene resembled the field where a fair is beingheld, and above it all, amid the confused motley of the crowd, thedrinking booths raised their gray canvas roofs which gleamed whitein the sunshine. But a veritable tumult, a mob, an eddy of hats,surged round the several bookmakers, who stood in open carriagesgesticulating like itinerant dentists while their odds were pastedup on tall boards beside them."All the same, it's stupid not to know on what horse one's betting,"Nana was remarking. "I really must risk some louis in person."She had stood up to select a bookmaker with a decent expression offace but forgot what she wanted on perceiving a perfect crowd of heracquaintance. Besides the Mignons, besides Gaga, Clarisse andBlanche, there were present, to the right and left, behind and inthe middle of the mass of carriages now hemming in her landau, thefollowing ladies: Tatan Nene and Maria Blond in a victoria, CarolineHequet with her mother and two gentlemen in an open carriage, LouiseViolaine quite alone, driving a little basket chaise decked withorange and green ribbons, the colors of the Mechain stables, andfinally, Lea de Horn on the lofty seat of a mail coach, where a bandof young men were making a great din. Farther off, in a huitressorts of aristocratic appearance, Lucy Stewart, in a very simpleblack silk dress, sat, looking distinguished beside a tall young manin the uniform of a naval cadet. But what most astounded Nana wasthe arrival of Simonne in a tandem which Steiner was driving, whilea footman sat motionless, with folded arms, behind them. She lookeddazzling in white satin striped with yellow and was covered withdiamonds from waist to hat. The banker, on his part, was handling atremendous whip and sending along his two horses, which wereharnessed tandemwise, the leader being a little warm-coloredchestnut with a mouselike trot, the shaft horse a big brown bay, astepper, with a fine action."Deuce take it!" said Nana. "So that thief Steiner has cleared theBourse again, has he? I say, isn't Simonne a swell! It's too muchof a good thing; he'll get into the clutches of the law!"Nevertheless, she exchanged greetings at a distance. Indeed, shekept waving her hand and smiling, turning round and forgetting noone in her desire to be seen by everybody. At the same time shecontinued chatting."It's her son Lucy's got in tow! He's charming in his uniform.That's why she's looking so grand, of course! You know she's afraidof him and that she passes herself off as an actress. Poor youngman, I pity him all the same! He seems quite unsuspicious.""Bah," muttered Philippe, laughing, "she'll be able to find him anheiress in the country when she likes."Nana was silent, for she had just noticed the Tricon amid the thickof the carriages. Having arrived in a cab, whence she could not seeanything, the Tricon had quietly mounted the coach box. And there,straightening up her tall figure, with her noble face enshrined inits long curls, she dominated the crowd as though enthroned amid herfeminine subjects. All the latter smiled discreetly at her whileshe, in her superiority, pretended not to know them. She wasn'tthere for business purposes: she was watching the races for the loveof the thing, as became a frantic gambler with a passion forhorseflesh."Dear me, there's that idiot La Faloise!" said Georges suddenly.It was a surprise to them all. Nana did not recognize her LaFaloise, for since he had come into his inheritance he had grownextraordinarily up to date. He wore a low collar and was clad in acloth of delicate hue which fitted close to his meager shoulders.His hair was in little bandeaux, and he affected a weary kind ofswagger, a soft tone of voice and slang words and phrases which hedid not take the trouble to finish."But he's quite the thing!" declared Nana in perfect enchantment.Gaga and Clarisse had called La Faloise and were throwing themselvesat him in their efforts to regain his allegiance, but he left themimmediately, rolling off in a chaffing, disdainful manner. Nanadazzled him. He rushed up to her and stood on the carriage step,and when she twitted him about Gaga he murmured:"Oh dear, no! We've seen the last of the old lot! Mustn't play heroff on me any more. And then, you know, it's you now, Juliet mine!"He had put his hand to his heart. Nana laughed a good deal at thisexceedingly sudden out-of-door declaration. She continued:"I say, that's not what I'm after. You're making me forget that Iwant to lay wagers. Georges, you see that bookmaker down there, agreat red-faced man with curly hair? He's got a dirty blackguardexpression which I like. You're to go and choose--Oh, I say, whatcan one choose?""I'm not a patriotic soul--oh dear, no!" La Faloise blurted out."I'm all for the Englishman. It will be ripping if the Englishmangains! The French may go to Jericho!"Nana was scandalized. Presently the merits of the several horsesbegan to be discussed, and La Faloise, wishing to be thought verymuch in the swim, spoke of them all as sorry jades. Frangipane,Baron Verdier's horse, was by The Truth out of Lenore. A big bayhorse he was, who would certainly have stood a chance if they hadn'tlet him get foundered during training. As to Valerio II from theCorbreuse stable, he wasn't ready yet; he'd had the colic in April.Oh yes, they were keeping that dark, but he was sure of it, on hishonor! In the end he advised Nana to choose Hazard, the mostdefective of the lot, a horse nobody would have anything to do with.Hazard, by jingo--such superb lines and such an action! That horsewas going to astonish the people."No," said Nana, "I'm going to put ten louis on Lusignan and five onBoum."La Faloise burst forth at once:"But, my dear girl, Boum's all rot! Don't choose him! Gasc himselfis chucking up backing his own horse. And your Lusignan--never!Why, it's all humbug! By Lamb and Princess--just think! By Lamband Princess--no, by Jove! All too short in the legs!"He was choking. Philippe pointed out that, notwithstanding this,Lusignan had won the Prix des Cars and the Grande Poule desProduits. But the other ran on again. What did that prove?Nothing at all. On the contrary, one ought to distrust him. Andbesides, Gresham rode Lusignan; well then, let them jolly well dryup! Gresham had bad luck; he would never get to the post.And from one end of the field to the other the discussion raging inNana's landau seemed to spread and increase. Voices were raised ina scream; the passion for gambling filled the air, set faces glowingand arms waving excitedly, while the bookmakers, perched on theirconveyances, shouted odds and jotted down amounts right furiously.Yet these were only the small fry of the betting world; the big betswere made in the weighing enclosure. Here, then, raged the keencontest of people with light purses who risked their five-francpieces and displayed infinite covetousness for the sake of apossible gain of a few louis. In a word, the battle would bebetween Spirit and Lusignan. Englishmen, plainly recognizable assuch, were strolling about among the various groups. They werequite at home; their faces were fiery with excitement; they wereafready triumphant. Bramah, a horse belonging to Lord Reading, hadgained the Grand Prix the previous year, and this had been a defeatover which hearts were still bleeding. This year it would beterrible if France were beaten anew. Accordingly all the ladieswere wild with national pride. The Vandeuvres stable became therampart of their honor, and Lusignan was pushed and defended andapplauded exceedingly. Gaga, Blanche, Caroline and the rest bettedon Lusignan. Lucy Stewart abstained from this on account of herson, but it was bruited abroad that Rose Mignon had commissionedLabordette to risk two hundred louis for her. The Tricon, as shesat alone next her driver, waited till the last moment. Very cool,indeed, amid all these disputes, very far above the ever-increasinguproar in which horses' names kept recurring and lively Parisianphrases mingled with guttural English exclamations, she satlistening and taking notes majestically."And Nana?" said Georges. "Does no one want her?"Indeed, nobody was asking for the filly; she was not even beingmentioned. The outsider of the Vandeuvres's stud was swamped byLusignan's popularity. But La Faloise flung his arms up, crying:"I've an inspiration. I'll bet a louis on Nana.""Bravo! I bet a couple," said Georges."And I three," added Philippe.And they mounted up and up, bidding against one another good-humoredly and naming prices as though they had been haggling overNana at an auction. La Faloise said he would cover her with gold.Besides, everybody was to be made to back her; they would go andpick up backers. But as the three young men were darting off topropagandize, Nana shouted after them:"You know I don't want to have anything to do with her; I don't forthe world! Georges, ten louis on Lusignan and five on Valerio II."Meanwhile they had started fairly off, and she watched them gaily asthey slipped between wheels, ducked under horses' heads and scouredthe whole field. The moment they recognized anyone in a carriagethey rushed up and urged Nana's claims. And there were great burstsof laughter among the crowd when sometimes they turned back,triumphantly signaling amounts with their fingers, while the youngwoman stood and waved her sunshade. Nevertheless, they made poorenough work of it. Some men let themselves be persuaded; Steiner,for instance, ventured three louis, for the sight of Nana stirredhim. But the women refused point-blank. "Thanks," they said; "tolose for a certainty!" Besides, they were in no hurry to work forthe benefit of a dirty wench who was overwhelming them all with herfour white horses, her postilions and her outrageous assumption ofside. Gaga and Clarisse looked exceedingly prim and asked LaFaloise whether he was jolly well making fun of them. When Georgesboldly presented himself before the Mignons' carriage Rose turnedher head away in the most marked manner and did not answer him. Onemust be a pretty foul sort to let one's name be given to a horse!Mignon, on the contrary, followed the young man's movements with alook of amusement and declared that the women always brought luck."Well?" queried Nana when the young men returned after a prolongedvisit to the bookmakers."The odds are forty to one against you," said La Faloise."What's that? Forty to one!" she cried, astounded. "They werefifty to one against me. What's happened?"Labordette had just then reappeared. The course was being cleared,and the pealing of a bell announced the first race. Amid theexpectant murmur of the bystanders she questioned him about thissudden rise in her value. But he replied evasively; doubtless ademand for her had arisen. She had to content herself with thisexplanation. Moreover, Labordette announced with a preoccupiedexpression that Vandeuvres was coming if he could get away.The race was ending unnoticed; people were all waiting for the GrandPrix to be run--when a storm burst over the Hippodrome. For someminutes past the sun had disappeared, and a wan twilight haddarkened over the multitude. Then the wind rose, and there ensued asudden deluge. Huge drops, perfect sheets of water, fell. Therewas a momentary confusion, and people shouted and joked and swore,while those on foot scampered madly off to find refuge under thecanvas of the drinking booths. In the carriages the women did theirbest to shelter themselves, grasping their sunshades with bothhands, while the bewildered footmen ran to the hoods. But theshower was already nearly over, and the sun began shiningbrilliantly through escaping clouds of fine rain. A blue cleftopened in the stormy mass, which was blown off over the Bois, andthe skies seemed to smile again and to set the women laughing in areassured manner, while amid the snorting of horses and the disarrayand agitation of the drenched multitude that was shaking itself drya broad flush of golden light lit up the field, still dripping andglittering with crystal drops."Oh, that poor, dear Louiset!" said Nana. "Are you very drenched,my darling?"The little thing silently allowed his hands to be wiped. The youngwoman had taken out her handkerchief. Then she dabbed it overBijou, who was trembling more violently than ever. It would notmatter in the least; there were a few drops on the white satin ofher dress, but she didn't care a pin for them. The bouquets,refreshed by the rain, glowed like snow, and she smelled oneecstatically, drenching her lips in it as though it were wet withdew.Meanwhile the burst of rain had suddenly filled the stands. Nanalooked at them through her field glasses. At that distance youcould only distinguish a compact, confused mass of people, heapedup, as it were, on the ascending ranges of steps, a dark backgroundrelieved by light dots which were human faces. The sunlightfiltered in through openings near the roof at each end of the standand detached and illumined portions of the seated multitude, wherethe ladies' dresses seemed to lose their distinguishing colors. ButNana was especially amused by the ladies whom the shower had drivenfrom the rows of chairs ranged on the sand at the base of thestands. As courtesans were absolutely forbidden to enter theenclosure, she began making exceedingly bitter remarks about all thefashionable women therein assembled. She thought them fearfullydressed up, and such guys!There was a rumor that the empress was entering the little centralstand, a pavilion built like a chalet, with a wide balcony furnishedwith red armchairs."Why, there he is!" said Georges. "I didn't think he was on dutythis week."The stiff and solemn form of the Count Muffat had appeared behindthe empress. Thereupon the young men jested and were sorry thatSatin wasn't there to go and dig him in the ribs. But Nana's fieldglass focused the head of the Prince of Scots in the imperial stand."Gracious, it's Charles!" she cried.She thought him stouter than formerly. In eighteen months he hadbroadened, and with that she entered into particulars. Oh yes, hewas a big, solidly built fellow!All round her in the ladies' carriages they were whispering that thecount had given her up. It was quite a long story. Since he hadbeen making himself noticeable, the Tuileries had grown scandalizedat the chamberlain's conduct. Whereupon, in order ro retain hisposition, he had recently broken it off with Nana. La Faloisebluntly reported this account of matters to the young woman and,addressing her as his Juliet, again offered himself. But shelaughed merrily and remarked:"It's idiotic! You won't know him; I've only to say, 'Come here,'for him to chuck up everything."For some seconds past she had been examining the Countess Sabine andEstelle. Daguenet was still at their side. Fauchery had justarrived and was disturbing the people round him in his desire tomake his bow to them. He, too, stayed smilingly beside them. Afterthat Nana pointed with disdainful action at the stands andcontinued:"Then, you know, those people don't fetch me any longer now! I know'em too well. You should see 'em behind scenes. No more honor!It's all up with honor! Filth belowstairs, filth abovestairs, filtheverywhere. That's why I won't be bothered about 'em!"And with a comprehensive gesture she took in everybody, from thegrooms leading the horses on to the course to the sovereign ladybusy chatting with with Charles, a prince and a dirty fellow toboot."Bravo, Nana! Awfully smart, Nana!" cried La Faloiseenthusiastically.The tolling of a bell was lost in the wind; the races continued.The Prix d'Ispahan had just been run for and Berlingot, a horsebelonging to the Mechain stable, had won. Nana recalled Labordettein order to obtain news of the hundred louis, but he burst outlaughing and refused to let her know the horses he had chosen forher, so as not to disturb the luck, as he phrased it. Her money waswell placed; she would see that all in good time. And when sheconfessed her bets to him and told him how she had put ten louis onLusignan and five on Valerio II, he shrugged his shoulders, as whoshould say that women did stupid things whatever happened. Hisaction surprised her; she was quite at sea.Just then the field grew more animated than before. Open-airlunches were arranged in the interval before the Grand Prix. Therewas much eating and more drinking in all directions, on the grass,on the high seats of the four-in-hands and mail coaches, in thevictorias, the broughams, the landaus. There was a universal spreadof cold viands and a fine disorderly display of champagne basketswhich footmen kept handing down out of the coach boots. Corks cameout with feeble pops, which the wind drowned. There was aninterchange of jests, and the sound of breaking glasses imparted anote of discord to the high-strung gaiety of the scene. Gaga andClarisse, together with Blanche, were making a serious repast, forthey were eating sandwiches on the carriage rug with which they hadbeen covering their knees. Louise Violaine had got down from herbasket carriage and had joined Caroline Hequet. On the turf attheir feet some gentlemen had instituted a drinking bar, whitherTatan, Maria, Simonne and the rest came to refresh themselves, whilehigh in air and close at hand bottles were being emptied on Lea deHorn's mail coach, and, with infinite bravado and gesticulation, awhole band were making themselves tipsy in the sunshine, above theheads of the crowd. Soon, however, there was an especially largecrowd by Nana's landau. She had risen to her feet and had setherself to pour out glasses of champagne for the men who came to payher their respects. Francois, one of the footmen, was passing upthe bottles while La Faloise, trying hard to imitate a coster'saccents, kept pattering away:"'Ere y're, given away, given away! There's some for everybody!""Do be still, dear boy," Nana ended by saying. "We look like a setof tumblers."She thought him very droll and was greatly entertained. At onemoment she conceived the idea of sending Georges with a glass ofchampagne to Rose Mignon, who was affecting temperance. Henri andCharles were bored to distraction; they would have been glad of somechampagne, the poor little fellows. But Georges drank the glassful,for he feared an argument. Then Nana remembered Louiset, who wassitting forgotten behind her. Maybe he was thirsty, and she forcedhim to take a drop or two of wine, which made him cough dreadfully."'Ere y'are, 'ere y'are, gemmen!" La Faloise reiterated. "It don'tcost two sous; it don't cost one. We give it away."But Nana broke in with an exclamation:"Gracious, there's Bordenave down there! Call him. Oh, run,please, please do!"It was indeed Bordenave. He was strolling about with his handsbehind his back, wearing a hat that looked rusty in the sunlight anda greasy frock coat that was glossy at the seams. It was Bordenaveshattered by bankruptcy, yet furious despite all reverses, aBordenave who flaunted his misery among all the fine folks with thehardihood becoming a man ever ready to take Dame Fortune by storm."The deuce, how smart we are!" he said when Nana extended her handto him like the good-natured wench she was.Presently, after emptying a glass of champagne, he gave vent to thefollowmg profoundly regretful phrase:"Ah, if only I were a woman! But, by God, that's nothing! Wouldyou like to go on the stage again? I've a notion: I'll hire theGaite, and we'll gobble up Paris between us. You certainly owe itme, eh?"And he lingered, grumbling, beside her, though glad to see heragain; for, he said, that confounded Nana was balm to his feelings.Yes, it was balm to them merely to exist in her presence! She washis daughter; she was blood of his blood!The circle increased, for now La Faloise was filling glasses, andGeorges and Philippe were picking up friends. A stealthy impulsewas gradually bringing in the whole field. Nana would flingeveryone a laughing smile or an amusing phrase. The groups oftipplers were drawing near, and all the champagne scattered over theplace was moving in her direction. Soon there was only one noisycrowd, and that was round her landau, where she queened it amongoutstretched glasses, her yellow hair floating on the breeze and hersnowy face bathed in the sunshine. Then by way of a finishing touchand to make the other women, who were mad at her triumph, simplyperish of envy, she lifted a brimming glass on high and assumed herold pose as Venus Victrix.But somebody touched her shoulder, and she was surprised, on turninground, to see Mignon on the seat. She vanished from view an instantand sat herself down beside him, for he had come to communicate amatter of importance. Mignon had everywhere declared that it wasridiculous of his wife to bear Nana a grudge; he thought herattitude stupid and useless."Look here, my dear," he whispered. "Be careful: don't madden Rosetoo much. You understand, I think it best to warn you. Yes, she'sgot a weapon in store, and as she's never forgiven you the PetiteDuchesse business--""A weapon," said Nana; "what's that blooming well got to do withme?""Just listen: it's a letter she must have found in Fauchery'spocket, a letter written to that screw Fauchery by the CountessMuffat. And, by Jove, it's clear the whole story's in it. Wellthen, Rose wants to send the letter to the count so as to berevenged on him and on you.""What the deuce has that got to do with me?" Nana repeated. "It's afunny business. So the whole story about Fauchery's in it! Verywell, so much the better; the woman has been exasperating me! Weshall have a good laugh!""No, I don't wish it," Mignon briskly rejoined. "There'll be apretty scandal! Besides, we've got nothing to gain."He paused, fearing lest he should say too much, while she loudlyaverred that she was most certainly not going to get a chaste womaninto trouble.But when he still insisted on his refusal she looked steadily athim. Doubtless he was afraid of seeing Fauchery again introducedinto his family in case he broke with the countess. While avengingher own wrongs, Rose was anxious for that to happen, since she stillfelt a kindness toward the journalist. And Nana waxed meditativeand thought of M. Venot's call, and a plan began to take shape inher brain, while Mignon was doing his best to talk her over."Let's suppose that Rose sends the letter, eh? There's food forscandal: you're mixed up in the business, and people say you're thecause of it all. Then to begin with, the count separates from hiswife.""Why should he?" she said. "On the contrary--"She broke off, in her turn. There was no need for her to thinkaloud. So in order to be rid of Mignon she looked as though sheentered into his view of the case, and when he advised her to giveRose some proof of her submission--to pay her a short visit on theracecourse, for instance, where everybody would see her--she repliedthat she would see about it, that she would think the matter over.A commotion caused her to stand up again. On the course the horseswere coming in amid a sudden blast of wind. The prize given by thecity of Paris had just been run for, and Cornemuse had gained it.Now the Grand Prix was about to be run, and the fever of the crowdincreased, and they were tortured by anxiety and stamped and swayedas though they wanted to make the minutes fly faster. At thisultimate moment the betting world was surprised and startled by thecontinued shortening of the odds against Nana, the outsider of theVandeuvres stables. Gentlemen kept returning every few moments witha new quotation: the betting was thirty to one against Nana; it wastwenty-five to one against Nana, then twenty to one, then fifteen toone. No one could understand it. A filly beaten on all theracecourses! A filly which that same morning no single sportsmanwould take at fifty to one against! What did this sudden madnessbetoken? Some laughed at it and spoke of the pretty doing awaitingthe duffers who were being taken in by the joke. Others lookedserious and uneasy and sniffed out something ugly under it all.Perhaps there was a "deal" in the offing. Allusion was made towell-known stories about the robberies which are winked at onracecourses, but on this occasion the great name of Vandeuvres put astop to all such accusations, and the skeptics in the end prevailedwhen they prophesied that Nana would come in last of all."Who's riding Nana?" queried La Faloise.Just then the real Nana reappeared, whereat the gentlemen lent hisquestion an indecent meaning and burst into an uproarious fit oflaughter. Nana bowed."Price is up," she replied.And with that the discussion began again. Price was an Englishcelebrity. Why had Vandeuvres got this jockey to come over, seeingthat Gresham ordinarily rode Nana? Besides, they were astonished tosee him confiding Lusignan to this man Gresham, who, according to LaFaloise, never got a place. But all these remarks were swallowed upin jokes, contradictions and an extraordinarily noisy confusion ofopinions. In order to kill time the company once more setthemselves to drain bottles of champagne. Presently a whisper ranround, and the different groups opened outward. It was Vandeuvres.Nana affected vexation."Dear me, you're a nice fellow to come at this time of day! Why,I'm burning to see the enclosure.""Well, come along then," he said; "there's still time. You'll takea stroll round with me. I just happen to have a permit for a ladyabout me."And he led her off on his arm while she enjoyed the jealous glanceswith which Lucy, Caroline and the others followed her. The youngHugons and La Faloise remained in the landau behind her retreatingfigure and continued to do the honors of her champagne. She shoutedto them that she would return immediately.But Vandeuvres caught sight of Labordette and called him, and therewas an interchange of brief sentences."You've scraped everything up?""Yes.""To what amount?""Fifteen hundred louis--pretty well all over the place."As Nana was visibly listening, and that with much curiosity, theyheld their tongues. Vandeuvres was very nervous, and he had thosesame clear eyes, shot with little flames, which so frightened herthe night he spoke of burning himself and his horses together. Asthey crossed over the course she spoke low and familiarly."I say, do explain this to me. Why are the odds on your fillychanging?"He trembled, and this sentence escaped him:"Ah, they're talking, are they? What a set those betting men are!When I've got the favorite they all throw themselves upon him, andthere's no chance for me. After that, when an outsider's asked for,they give tongue and yell as though they were being skinned.""You ought to tell me what's going to happen--I've made my bets,"she reioined. "Has Nana a chance?"A sudden, unreasonable burst of anger overpowered him."Won't you deuced well let me be, eh? Every horse has a chance.The odds are shortening because, by Jove, people have taken thehorse. Who, I don't know. I should prefer leaving you if you mustneeds badger me with your idiotic questions."Such a tone was not germane either to his temperament or his habits,and Nana was rather surprised than wounded. Besides, he was ashamedof himself directly afterward, and when she begged him in a dryvoice to behave politely he apologized. For some time past he hadsuffered from such sudden changes of temper. No one in the Paris ofpleasure or of society was ignorant of the fact that he was playinghis last trump card today. If his horses did not win, if, moreover,they lost him the considerable sums wagered upon them, it would meanutter disaster and collapse for him, and the bulwark of his creditand the lofty appearance which, though undermined, he still kept up,would come ruining noisily down. Moreover, no one was ignorant ofthe fact that Nana was the devouring siren who had finished him off,who had been the last to attack his crumbling fortunes and to sweepup what remained of them. Stories were told of wild whims andfancies, of gold scattered to the four winds, of a visit to Baden-Baden, where she had not left him enough to pay the hotel bill, of ahandful of diamonds cast on the fire during an evening ofdrunkenness in order to see whether they would burn like coal.Little by little her great limbs and her coarse, plebeian way oflaughing had gained complete mastery over this elegant, degenerateson of an ancient race. At that time he was risking his all, for hehad been so utterly overpowered by his taste for ordure andstupidity as to have even lost the vigor of his skepticism. A weekbefore Nana had made him promise her a chateau on the Norman coastbetween Havre and Trouville, and now he was staking the veryfoundations of his honor on the fulfillment of his word. Only shewas getting on his nerves, and he could have beaten her, so stupiddid he feel her to be.The man at the gate, not daring to stop the woman hanging on thecount's arm, had allowed them to enter the enclosure. Nana, greatlypuffed up at the thought that at last she was setting foot on theforbidden ground, put on her best behavior and walked slowly by theladies seated at the foot of the stands. On ten rows of chairs thetoilets were densely massed, and in the blithe open air their brightcolors mingled harmoniously. Chairs were scattered about, and aspeople met one another friendly circles were formed, just as thoughthe company had been sitting under the trees in a public garden.Children had been allowed to go free and were running from group togroup, while over head the stands rose tier above crowded tier andthe light-colored dresses therein faded into the delicate shadows ofthe timberwork. Nana stared at all these ladies. She staredsteadily and markedly at the Countess Sabine. After which, as shewas passing in front of the imperial stand, the sight of Muffat,looming in all his official stiffness by the side of the empress,made her very merry."Oh, how silly he looks!" she said at the top of her voice toVandeuvres. She was anxious to pay everything a visit. This smallparklike region, with its green lawns and groups of trees, rathercharmed her than otherwise. A vendor of ices had set up a largebuffet near the entrance gates, and beneath a rustic thatched roof adense throng of people were shouting and gesticulating. This wasthe ring. Close by were some empty stalls, and Nana wasdisappointed at discovering only a gendarme's horse there. Thenthere was the paddock, a small course some hundred meters incircumference, where a stable help was walking about Valerio II inhis horsecloths. And, oh, what a lot of men on the graveledsidewalks, all of them with their tickets forming an orange-coloredpatch in their bottonholes! And what a continual parade of peoplein the open galleries of the grandstands! The scene interested herfor a moment or two, but truly, it was not worth while getting thespleen because they didn't admit you inside here.Daguenet and Fauchery passed by and bowed to her. She made them asign, and they had to come up. Thereupon she made hay of theweighing-in enclosure. But she broke off abruptly:"Dear me, there's the Marquis de Chouard! How old he's growing!That old man's killing himself! Is he still as mad about it asever?"Thereupon Daguenet described the old man's last brilliant stroke.The story dated from the day before yesterday, and no one knew it asyet. After dangling about for months he had bought her daughterAmelie from Gaga for thirty thousand francs, they said."Good gracious! That's a nice business!" cried Nana in disgust. "Goin for the regular thing, please! But now that I come to think ofit, that must be Lili down there on the grass with a lady in abrougham. I recognized the face. The old boy will have brought herout."Vandeuvres was not listening; he was impatient and longed to get ridof her. But Fauchery having remarked at parting that if she had notseen the bookmakers she had seen nothing, the count was obliged totake her to them in spite of his obvious repugnance. And she wasperfectly happy at once; that truly was a curious sight, she said!Amid lawns bordered by young horse-chestnut trees there was a roundopen enclosure, where, forming a vast circle under the shadow of thetender green leaves, a dense line of bookmakers was waiting forbetting men, as though they had been hucksters at a fair. In orderto overtop and command the surrounding crowd they had taken uppositions on wooden benches, and they were advertising their priceson the trees beside them. They had an ever-vigilant glance, andthey booked wagers in answer to a single sign, a mere wink, sorapidly that certain curious onlookers watched them openmouthed,without being able to understand it all. Confusion reigned; priceswere shouted, and any unexpected change in a quotation was receivedwith something like tumult. Occasionally scouts entered the placeat a run and redoubled the uproar as they stopped at the entrance tothe rotunda and, at the tops of their voices, announced departuresand arrivals. In this place, where the gambling fever was pulsingin the sunshine, such announcements were sure to raise a prolongedmuttering sound."They are funny!" murmured Nana, greatly entertained."Their features look as if they had been put on the wrong way. Justyou see that big fellow there; I shouldn't care to meet him allalone in the middle of a wood."But Vandeuvres pointed her out a bookmaker, once a shopman in afancy repository, who had made three million francs in two years.He was slight of build, delicate and fair, and people all round himtreated him with great respect. They smiled when they addressedhim, while others took up positions close by in order to catch aglimpse of him.They were at length leaving the ring when Vandeuvres nodded slightlyto another bookmaker, who thereupon ventured to call him. It wasone of his former coachmen, an enormous fellow with the shoulders ofan ox and a high color. Now that he was trying his fortunes at racemeetings on the strength of some mysteriously obtained capital, thecount was doing his utmost to push him, confiding to him his secretbets and treating him on all occasions as a servant to whom oneshows one's true character. Yet despite this protection, the manhad in rapid succession lost very heavy sums, and today he, too, wasplaying his last card. There was blood in his eyes; he looked fitto drop with apoplexy."Well, Marechal," queried the count in the lowest of voices, "towhat amount have you laid odds?""To five thousand louis, Monsieur le Comte," replied the bookmaker,likewise lowering his voice. "A pretty job, eh? I'll confess toyou that I've increased the odds; I've made it three to one."Vandeuvres looked very much put out."No, no, I don't want you to do that. Put it at two to one againdirectly. I shan't tell you any more, Marechal.""Oh, how can it hurt, Monsieur le Comte, at this time o' day?"rejoined the other with the humble smile befitting an accomplice."I had to attract the people so as to lay your two thousand louis."At this Vandeuvres silenced him. But as he was going off Marechalremembered something and was sorry he had not questioned him aboutthe shortening of the odds on the filly. It would be a nicebusiness for him if the filly stood a chance, seeing that he hadjust laid fifty to one about her in two hundreds.Nana, though she did not understand a word of what the count waswhispering, dared not, however, ask for new explanations. He seemedmore nervous than before and abruptly handed her over to Labordette,whom they came upon in front of the weighing-in room."You'll take her back," he said. "I've got something on hand. Aurevoir!"And he entered the room, which was narrow and low-pitched and halffilled with a great pair of scales. It was like a waiting room in asuburban station, and Nana was again hugely disillusioned, for shehad been picturing to herself something on a very vast scale, amonumental machine, in fact, for weighing horses. Dear me, theyonly weighed the jockeys! Then it wasn't worth while making such afuss with their weighing! In the scale a jockey with an idioticexpression was waiting, harness on knee, till a stout man in a frockcoat should have done verifying his weight. At the door a stablehelp was holding a horse, Cosinus, round which a silent and deeplyinterested throng was clustering.The course was about to be cleared. Labordette hurried Nana butretraced his steps in order to show her a little man talking withVandeuvres at some distance from the rest."Dear me, there's Price!" he said."Ah yes, the man who's mounting me," she murmured laughingly.And she declared him to be exquisitely ugly. All jockeys struck heras looking idiotic, doubtless, she said, because they were preventedfrom growing bigger. This particular jockey was a man of forty, andwith his long, thin, deeply furrowed, hard, dead countenance, helooked like an old shriveled-up child. His body was knotty and soreduced in size that his blue jacket with its white sleeves lookedas if it had been thrown over a lay figure."No," she resumed as she walked away, "he would never make me veryhappy, you know."A mob of people were still crowding the course, the turf of whichhad been wet and trampled on till it had grown black. In front ofthe two telegraphs, which hung very high up on their cast-ironpillars, the crowd were jostling together with upturned faces,uproariously greeting the numbers of the different horses as anelectric wire in connection with the weighing room made them appear.Gentlemen were pointing at programs: Pichenette had been scratchedby his owner, and this caused some noise. However, Nana did not domore than cross over the course on Labordette's arm. The bellhanging on the flagstaff was ringing persistently to warn people toleave the course."Ah, my little dears," she said as she got up into her landau again,"their enclosure's all humbug!"She was welcomed with acclamation; people around her clapped theirhands."Bravo, Nana! Nana's ours again!"What idiots they were, to be sure! Did they think she was the sortto cut old friends? She had come back just at the auspiciousmoment. Now then, 'tenshun! The race was beginning! And thechampagne was accordingly forgotten, and everyone left off drinking.But Nana was astonished to find Gaga in her carriage, sitting withBijou and Louiset on her knees. Gaga had indeed decided on thiscourse of action in order to be near La Faloise, but she told Nanathat she had been anxious to kiss Baby. She adored children."By the by, what about Lili?" asked Nana. "That's certainly sheover there in that old fellow's brougham. They've just told mesomething very nice!"Gaga had adopted a lachrymose expression."My dear, it's made me ill," she said dolorously. "Yesterday I hadto keep my bed, I cried so, and today I didn't think I should beable to come. You know what my opinions were, don't you? I didn'tdesire that kind of thing at all. I had her educated in a conventwith a view to a good marriage. And then to think of the strictadvice she had and the constant watching! Well, my dear, it was shewho wished it. We had such a scene--tears--disagreeable speeches!It even got to such a point that I caught her a box on the ear. Shewas too much bored by existence, she said; she wanted to get out ofit. By and by, when she began to say, ''Tisn't you, after all,who've got the right to prevent me,' I said to her: 'you're amiserable wretch; you're bringing dishonor upon us. Begone!' Andit was done. I consented to arrange about it. But my last hope'sblooming well blasted, and, oh, I used to dream about such nicethings!"The noise of a quarrel caused them to rise. It was Georges in theact of defending Vandeuvres against certain vague rumors which werecirculating among the various groups."Why should you say that he's laying off his own horse?" the youngman was exclaiming. "Yesterday in the Salon des Courses he took theodds on Lusignan for a thousand louis.""Yes, I was there," said Philippe in affirmation of this. "And hedidn't put a single louis on Nana. If the betting's ten to oneagainst Nana he's got nothing to win there. It's absurd to imaginepeople are so calculating. Where would his interest come in?"Labordette was listening with a quiet expression. Shrugging hisshoulders, he said:"Oh, leave them alone; they must have their say. The count hasagain laid at least as much as five hundred louis on Lusignan, andif he's wanted Nana to run to a hundred louis it's because an ownerought always to look as if he believes in his horses.""Oh, bosh! What the deuce does that matter to us?" shouted LaFaloise with a wave of his arms. "Spirit's going to win! Down withFrance--bravo, England!"A long shiver ran through the crowd, while a fresh peal from thebell announced the arrival of the horses upon the racecourse. Atthis Nana got up and stood on one of the seats of her carriage so asto obtain a better view, and in so doing she trampled the bouquetsof roses and myosotis underfoot. With a sweeping glance she took inthe wide, vast horizon. At this last feverish moment the course wasempty and closed by gray barriers, between the posts of which stooda line of policemen. The strip of grass which lay muddy in front ofher grew brighter as it stretched away and turned into a tendergreen carpet in the distance. In the middle landscape, as shelowered her eyes, she saw the field swarming with vast numbers ofpeople, some on tiptoe, others perched on carriages, and all heavingand jostling in sudden passionate excitement.Horses were neighing; tent canvases flapped, while equestrians urgedtheir hacks forward amid a crowd of pedestrians rushing to getplaces along the barriers. When Nana turned in the direction of thestands on the other side the faces seemed diminished, and the densemasses of heads were only a confused and motley array, fillinggangways, steps and terraces and looming in deep, dark, serriedlines against the sky. And beyond these again she over looked theplain surrounding the course. Behind the ivy-clad mill to theright, meadows, dotted over with great patches of umbrageous wood,stretched away into the distance, while opposite to her, as far asthe Seine flowing at the foot of a hill, the avenues of the parkintersected one another, filled at that moment with long, motionlessfiles of waiting carriages; and in the direction of Boulogne, on theleft, the landscape widened anew and opened out toward the bluedistances of Meudon through an avenue of paulownias, whose rosy,leafless tops were one stain of brilliant lake color. People werestill arriving, and a long procession of human ants kept comingalong the narrow ribbon of road which crossed the distance, whilevery far away, on the Paris side, the nonpaying public, herding likesheep among the wood, loomed in a moving line of little dark spotsunder the trees on the skirts of the Bois.Suddenly a cheering influence warmed the hundred thousand souls whocovered this part of the plain like insects swarming madly under thevast expanse of heaven. The sun, which had been hidden for about aquarter of an hour, made his appearance again and shone out amid aperfect sea of light. And everything flamed afresh: the women'ssunshades turned into countless golden targets above the heads ofthe crowd. The sun was applauded, saluted with bursts of laughter.And people stretched their arms out as though to brush apart theclouds.Meanwhile a solitary police officer advanced down the middle of thedeserted racecourse, while higher up, on the left, a man appearedwith a red flag in his hand."It's the starter, the Baron de Mauriac," said Labordette in replyto a question from Nana. All round the young woman exclamationswere bursting from the men who were pressing to her very carriagestep. They kept up a disconnected conversation, jerking out phrasesunder the immediate influence of passing impressions. Indeed,Philippe and Georges, Bordenave and La Faloise, could not be quiet."Don't shove! Let me see! Ah, the judge is getting into his box.D'you say it's Monsieur de Souvigny? You must have good eyesight--eh?--to be able to tell what half a head is out of a fakement likethat! Do hold your tongue--the banner's going up. Here they are--'tenshun! Cosinus is the first!"A red and yellow banner was flapping in mid-air at the top of amast. The horses came on the course one by one; they were led bystableboys, and the jockeys were sitting idle-handed in the saddles,the sunlight making them look like bright dabs of color. AfterCosinus appeared Hazard and Boum. Presently a murmur of approvalgreeted Spirit, a magnificent big brown bay, the harsh citron colorand black of whose jockey were cheerlessly Britannic. Valerio IIscored a success as he came in; he was small and very lively, andhis colors were soft green bordered with pink. The two Vandeuvreshorses were slow to make their appearance, but at last, inFrangipane's rear, the blue and white showed themselves. ButLusignan, a very dark bay of irreproachable shape, was almostforgotten amid the astonishment caused by Nana. People had not seenher looking like this before, for now the sudden sunlight was dyeingthe chestnut filly the brilliant color of a girl's red-gold hair.She was shining in the light like a new gold coin; her chest wasdeep; her head and neck tapered lightly from the delicate, high-strung line of her long back."Gracious, she's got my hair!" cried Nana in an ecstasy. "You betyou know I'm proud of it!"The men clambered up on the landau, and Bordenave narrowly escapedputting his foot on Louiset, whom his mother had forgotten. He tookhim up with an outburst of paternal grumbling and hoisted him on hisshoulder, muttering at the same time:"The poor little brat, he must be in it too! Wait a bit, I'll showyou Mamma. Eh? Look at Mummy out there."And as Bijou was scratching his legs, he took charge of him, too,while Nana, rejoicing in the brute that bore her name, glanced roundat the other women to see how they took it. They were all ragingmadly. Just then on the summit of her cab the Tricon, who had notmoved till that moment, began waving her hand and giving herbookmaker her orders above the heads of the crowd. Her instinct hadat last prompted her; she was backing Nana.La Faloise meanwhile was making an insufferable noise. He wasgetting wild over Frangipane."I've an inspiration," he kept shouting. "Just look at Frangipane.What an action, eh? I back Frangipane at eight to one. Who'll takeme?""Do keep quiet now," said Labordette at last. "You'll be sorry forit if you do.""Frangipane's a screw," Philippe declared. "He's been utterly blownupon already. You'll see the canter."The horses had gone up to the right, and they now started for thepreliminary canter, passing in loose order before the stands.Thereupon there was a passionate fresh burst of talk, and people allspoke at once."Lusignan's too long in the back, but he's very fit. Not a cent, Itell you, on Valerio II; he's nervous--gallops with his head up--it's a bad sign. Jove! Burne's riding Spirit. I tell you, he'sgot no shoulders. A well-made shoulder--that's the whole secret.No, decidedly, Spirit's too quiet. Now listen, Nana, I saw herafter the Grande Poule des Produits, and she was dripping anddraggled, and her sides were trembling like one o'clock. I laytwenty louis she isn't placed! Oh, shut up! He's boring us withhis Frangipane. There's no time to make a bet now; there, they'reoff!"Almost in tears, La Faloise was struggling to find a bookmaker. Hehad to be reasoned with. Everyone craned forward, but the first go-off was bad, the starter, who looked in the distance like a slimdash of blackness, not having lowered his flag. The horses cameback to their places after galloping a moment or two. There weretwo more false starts. At length the starter got the horsestogether and sent them away with such address as to elicit shouts ofapplause."Splendid! No, it was mere chance! Never mind--it's done it!"The outcries were smothered by the anxiety which tortured everybreast. The betting stopped now, and the game was being played onthe vast course itself. Silence reigned at the outset, as thougheveryone were holding his breath. White faces and trembling formswere stretched forward in all directions. At first Hazard andCosinus made the running at the head of the rest; Valerio IIfollowed close by, and the field came on in a confused mass behind.When they passed in front of the stands, thundering over the groundin their course like a sudden stormwind, the mass was already somefourteen lengths in extent. Frangipane was last, and Nana wasslightly behind Lusignan and Spirit."Egad!" muttered Labordette, "how the Englishman is pulling it offout there!"The whole carriageload again burst out with phrases andexclamations. Everyone rose on tiptoe and followed the brightsplashes of color which were the jockeys as they rushed through thesunlight.At the rise Valerio II took the lead, while Cosinus and Hazard lostground, and Lusignan and Spirit were running neck and neck with Nanastill behind them."By jingo, the Englishman's gained! It's palpable!" said Bordenave."Lusignan's in difficulties, and Valerio II can't stay.""Well, it will be a pretty biz if the Englishman wins!" criedPhilippe in an access of patriotic grief.A feeling of anguish was beginning to choke all that crowdedmultitude. Another defeat! And with that a strange ardent prayer,which was almost religious, went up for Lusignan, while peopleheaped abuse on Spirit and his dismal mute of a jockey. Among thecrowd scattered over the grass the wind of excitement put up wholegroups of people and set their boot soles flashing in air as theyran. Horsemen crossed the green at a furious gallop. And Nana, whowas slowly revolving on her own axis, saw beneath her a surgingwaste of beasts and men, a sea of heads swayed and stirred all roundthe course by the whirlwind of the race, which clove the horizonwith the bright lightning flash of the jockeys. She had beenfollowing their movement from behind while the cruppers sped awayand the legs seemed to grow longer as they raced and then diminishedtill they looked slender as strands of hair. Now the horses wererunning at the end of the course, and she caught a side view of themlooking minute and delicate of outline against the green distancesof the Bois. Then suddenly they vanished behind a great clump oftrees growing in the middle of the Hippodrome."Don't talk about it!" cried Georges, who was still full of hope."It isn't over yet. The Englishman's touched."But La Faloise was again seized with contempt for his country andgrew positively outrageous in his applause of Spirit. Bravo! Thatwas right! France needed it! Spirit first and Frangipane second--that would be a nasty one for his native land! He exasperatedLabordette, who threatened seriously to throw him off the carriage."Let's see how many minutes they'll be about it," said Bordenavepeaceably, for though holding up Louiset, he had taken out hiswatch.One after the other the horses reappeared from behind the clump oftrees. There was stupefaction; a long murmur arose among the crowd.Valerio II was still leading, but Spirit was gaining on him, andbehind him Lusignan had slackened while another horse was taking hisplace. People could not make this out all at once; they wereconfused about the colors. Then there was a burst of exclamations."But it's Nana! Nana? Get along! I tell you Lusignan hasn'tbudged. Dear me, yes, it's Nana. You can certainly recognize herby her golden color. D'you see her now? She's blazing away.Bravo, Nana! What a ripper she is! Bah, it doesn't matter a bit:she's making the running for Lusignan!"For some seconds this was everybody's opinion. But little by littlethe filly kept gaining and gaining, spurting hard all the while.Thereupon a vast wave of feeling passed over the crowd, and the tailof horses in the rear ceased to interest. A supreme struggle wasbeginning between Spirit, Nana, Lusignan and Valerio II. They werepointed out; people estimated what ground they had gained or lost indisconnected, gasping phrases. And Nana, who had mounted up on thecoach box, as though some power had lifted her thither, stood whiteand trembling and so deeply moved as not to be able to speak. Ather side Labordette smiled as of old."The Englishman's in trouble, eh?" said Philippe joyously. "He'sgoing badly.""In any case, it's all up with Lusignan," shouted La Faloise."Valerio II is coming forward. Look, there they are all fourtogether."The same phrase was in every mouth."What a rush, my dears! By God, what a rush!"The squad of horses was now passing in front of them like a flash oflightning. Their approach was perceptible--the breath of it was asa distant muttering which increased at every second. The wholecrowd had thrown themselves impetuously against the barriers, and adeep clamor issued from innumerable chests before the advance of thehorses and drew nearer and nearer like the sound of a foaming tide.It was the last fierce outburst of colossal partisanship; a hundredthousand spectators were possessed by a single passion, burning withthe same gambler's lust, as they gazed after the beasts, whosegalloping feet were sweeping millions with them. The crowd pushedand crushed--fists were clenched; people gaped, openmouthed; everyman was fighting for himself; every man with voice and gesture wasmadly speeding the horse of his choice. And the cry of all thismultitude, a wild beast's cry despite the garb of civilization, grewever more distinct:"Here they come! Here they come! Here they come!"But Nana was still gaining ground, and now Valerio II was distanced,and she was heading the race, with Spirit two or three necks behind.The rolling thunder of voices had increased. They were coming in; astorm of oaths greeted them from the landau."Gee up, Lusignan, you great coward! The Englishman's stunning! Doit again, old boy; do it again! Oh, that Valerio! It's sickening!Oh, the carcass! My ten louis damned well lost! Nana's the onlyone! Bravo, Nana! Bravo!"And without being aware of it Nana, upon her seat, had begun jerkingher hips and waist as though she were racing herself. She keptstriking her side--she fancied it was a help to the filly. Witheach stroke she sighed with fatigue and said in low, anguishedtones:"Go it, go it!"Then a splendid sight was witnessed. Price, rising in his stirrupsand brandishing his whip, flogged Nana with an arm of iron. The oldshriveled-up child with his long, hard, dead face seemed to breathflame. And in a fit of furious audacity and triumphant will he puthis heart into the filly, held her up, lifted her forward, drenchedin foam, with eyes of blood. The whole rush of horses passed with aroar of thunder: it took away people's breaths; it swept the airwith it while the judge sat frigidly waiting, his eye adjusted toits task. Then there was an immense re-echoing burst ofacclamation. With a supreme effort Price had just flung Nana pastthe post, thus beating Spirit by a head.There was an uproar as of a rising tide. "Nana! Nana! Nana!" Thecry rolled up and swelled with the violence of a tempest, tilllittle by little it filled the distance, the depths of the Bois asfar as Mont Valerien, the meadows of Longchamps and the Plaine deBoulogne. In all parts of the field the wildest enthusiasm declareditself. "Vive Nana! Vive la France! Down with England!" Thewomen waved their sunshades; men leaped and spun round, vociferatingas they did so, while others with shouts of nervous laughter threwtheir hats in the air. And from the other side of the course theenclosure made answer; the people on the stands were stirred, thoughnothing was distinctly visible save a tremulous motion of the air,as though an invisible flame were burning in a brazier above theliving mass of gesticulating arms and little wildly moving faces,where the eyes and gaping mouths looked like black dots. The noisedid not cease but swelled up and recommenced in the recesses offaraway avenues and among the people encamped under the trees, tillit spread on and on and attained its climax in the imperial stand,where the empress herself had applauded. "Nana! Nana! Nana!" Thecry rose heavenward in the glorious sunlight, whose golden rain beatfiercely on the dizzy heads of the multitude.Then Nana, looming large on the seat of her landau, fancied that itwas she whom they were applauding. For a moment or two she hadstood devoid of motion, stupefied by her triumph, gazing at thecourse as it was invaded by so dense a flood of people that the turfbecame invisible beneath the sea of black hats. By and by, whenthis crowd had become somewhat less disorderly and a lane had beenformed as far as the exit and Nana was again applauded as she wentoff with Price hanging lifelessly and vacantly over her neck, shesmacked her thigh energetically, lost all self-possession, triumphedin crude phrases:"Oh, by God, it's me; it's me. Oh, by God, what luck!"And, scarce knowing how to give expression to her overwhelming joy,she hugged and kissed Louiset, whom she now discovered high in theair on Bordenave's shoulder."Three minutes and fourteen seconds," said the latter as he put hiswatch back in his pocket.Nana kept hearing her name; the whole plain was echoing it back toher. Her people were applauding her while she towered above them inthe sunlight, in the splendor of her starry hair and white-and-sky-blue dress. Labordette, as he made off, had just announced to her again of two thousand louis, for he had put her fifty on Nana atforty to one. But the money stirred her less than this unforeseenvictory, the fame of which made her queen of Paris. All the otherladies were losers. With a raging movement Rose Mignon had snappedher sunshade, and Caroline Hequet and Clarisse and Simonne--nay,Lucy Stewart herself, despite the presence of her son--were swearinglow in their exasperation at that great wench's luck, while theTricon, who had made the sign of the cross at both start and finish,straightened up her tall form above them, went into an ecstasy overher intuition and damned Nana admiringly as became an experiencedmatron.Meanwhile round the landau the crush of men increased. The band ofNana's immediate followers had made a fierce uproar, and nowGeorges, choking with emotion, continued shouting all by himself inbreaking tones. As the champagne had given out, Philippe, takingthe footmen with him, had run to the wine bars. Nana's court wasgrowing and growing, and her present triumph caused many loiterersto join her. Indeed, that movement which had made her carriage acenter of attraction to the whole field was now ending in anapotheosis, and Queen Venus was enthroned amid suddenly maddenedsubjects. Bordenave, behind her, was muttering oaths, for heyearned to her as a father. Steiner himself had been reconquered--he had deserted Simonne and had hoisted himself upon one of Nana'scarriage steps. When the champagne had arrived, when she lifted herbrimming glass, such applause burst forth, and "Nana! Nana! Nana!"was so loudly repeated that the crowd looked round in astonishmentfor the filly, nor could any tell whether it was the horse or thewoman that filled all hearts.While this was going on Mignon came hastening up in defiance ofRose's terrible frown. That confounded girl simply maddened him,and he wanted to kiss her. Then after imprinting a paternal saluteon both her cheeks:"What bothers me," he said, "is that now Rose is certainly going tosend the letter. She's raging, too, fearfully.""So much the better! It'll do my business for me!" Nana let slip.But noting his utter astonishment, she hastily continued:"No, no, what am I saying? Indeed, I don't rightly know what I'msaying now! I'm drunk."And drunk, indeed, drunk with joy, drunk with sunshine, she stillraised her glass on high and applauded herself."To Nana! To Nana!" she cried amid a redoubled uproar of laughterand bravoes, which little by little overspread the whole Hippodrome.The races were ending, and the Prix Vaublanc was run for. Carriagesbegan driving off one by one. Meanwhile, amid much disputing, thename of Vandeuvres was again mentioned. It was quite evident now:for two years past Vandeuvres had been preparing his final strokeand had accordingly told Gresham to hold Nana in, while he had onlybrought Lusignan forward in order to make play for the filly. Thelosers were vexed; the winners shrugged their shoulders. After all,wasn't the thing permissible? An owner was free to run his stud inhis own way. Many others had done as he had! In fact, the majoritythought Vandeuvres had displayed great skill in raking in all hecould get about Nana through the agency of friends, a course ofaction which explained the sudden shortening of the odds. Peoplespoke of his having laid two thousand louis on the horse, which,supposing the odds to be thirty to one against, gave him twelvehundred thousand francs, an amount so vast as to inspire respect andto excuse everything.But other rumors of a very serious nature were being whisperedabout: they issued in the first instance from the enclosure, and themen who returned thence were full of exact particulars. Voices wereraised; an atrocious scandal began to be openly canvassed. Thatpoor fellow Vandeuvres was done for; he had spoiled his splendid hitwith a piece of flat stupidity, an idiotic robbery, for he hadcommissioned Marechal, a shady bookmaker, to lay two thousand louison his account against Lusignan, in order thereby to get back histhousand and odd openly wagered louis. It was a miserable business,and it proved to be the last rift necessary to the utter breakup ofhis fortune. The bookmaker being thus warned that the favoritewould not win, had realized some sixty thousand francs over thehorse. Only Labordette, for lack of exact and detailedinstructions, had just then gone to him to put two hundred louis onNana, which the bookmaker, in his ignorance of the stroke actuallyintended, was still quoting at fifty to one against. Cleared of onehundred thousand francs over the filly and a loser to the tune offorty thousand, Marechal, who felt the world crumbling under hisfeet, had suddenly divined the situation when he saw the count andLabordette talking together in front of the enclosure just after therace was over. Furious, as became an ex-coachman of the count's,and brutally frank as only a cheated man can be, he had just made afrightful scene in public, had told the whole story in atrociousterms and had thrown everyone into angry excitement. It was furtherstated that the stewards were about to meet.Nana, whom Philippe and Georges were whisperingly putting inpossession of the facts, gave vent to a series of reflections andyet ceased not to laugh and drink. After all, it was quite likely;she remembered such things, and then that Marechal had a dirty,hangdog look. Nevertheless, she was still rather doubtful whenLabordette appeared. He was very white."Well?" she asked in a low voice."Bloody well smashed up!" he replied simply.And he shrugged his shoulders. That Vandeuvres was a mere child!She made a bored little gesture.That evening at the Bal Mabille Nana obtained a colossal success.When toward ten o'clock she made her appearance, the uproar wasafready formidable. That classic night of madness had broughttogether all that was young and pleasure loving, and now this smartworld was wallowing in the coarseness and imbecility of theservants' hall. There was a fierce crush under the festoons of gaslamps, and men in evening coats and women in outrageous low-neckedold toilets, which they did not mind soiling, were howling andsurging to and fro under the maddening influence of a vast drunkenfit. At a distance of thirty paces the brass instruments of theorchestra were inaudible. Nobody was dancing. Stupid witticisms,repeated no one knew why, were going the round of the variousgroups. People were straining after wit without succeeding in beingfunny. Seven women, imprisoned in the cloakroom, were crying to beset free. A shallot had been found, put up to auction and knockeddown at two louis. Just then Nana arrived, still wearing her blue-and-white racecourse costume, and amid a thunder of applause theshallot was presented to her. People caught hold of her in her owndespite, and three gentlemen bore her triumphantly into the garden,across ruined grassplots and ravaged masses of greenery. As thebandstand presented an obstacle to her advance, it was taken bystorm, and chairs and music stands were smashed. A paternal policeorganized the disorder.It was only on Tuesday that Nana recovered from the excitements ofvictory. That morning she was chatting with Mme Lerat, the old ladyhaving come in to bring her news of Louiset, whom the open air hadupset. A long story, which was occupying the attention of allParis, interested her beyond measure. Vandeuvres, after beingwarned off all racecourses and posted at the Cercle Imperial on thevery evening after the disaster, had set fire to his stable on themorrow and had burned himself and his horses to death."He certainly told me he was going to," the young woman kept saying."That man was a regular maniac! Oh, how they did frighten me whenthey told me about it yesterday evening! You see, he might easilyhave murdered me some fine night. And besides, oughtn't he to havegiven me a hint about his horse? I should at any rate have made myfortune! He said to Labordette that if I knew about the matter Iwould immediately inform my hairdresser and a whole lot of othermen. How polite, eh? Oh dear, no, I certainly can't grieve muchfor him."After some reflection she had grown very angry. Just thenLabordette came in; he had seen about her bets and was now thebearer of some forty thousand francs. This only added to her badtemper, for she ought to have gained a million. Labordette, whoduring the whole of this episode had been pretending entireinnocence, abandoned Vandeuvres in decisive terms. Those oldfamilies, he opined, were worn out and apt to make a stupid ending."Oh dear no!" said Nana. "It isn't stupid to burn oneself in one'sstable as he did. For my part, I think he made a dashing finish;but, oh, you know, I'm not defending that story about him andMarechal. It's too silly. Just to think that Blanche has had thecheek to want to lay the blame of it on me! I said to her: 'Did Itell him to steal?' Don't you think one can ask a man for moneywithout urging him to commit crime? If he had said to me, 'I've gotnothing left,' I should have said to him, 'All right, let's part.'And the matter wouldn't have gone further.""Just so," said the aunt gravely "When men are obstinate about athing, so much the worse for them!""But as to the merry little finish up, oh, that was awfully smart!"continued Nana. "It appears to have been terrible enough to giveyou the shudders! He sent everybody away and boxed himself up inthe place with a lot of petroleum. And it blazed! You should haveseen it! Just think, a great big affair, almost all made of woodand stuffed with hay and straw! The flames simply towered up, andthe finest part of the business was that the horses didn't want tobe roasted. They could be heard plunging, throwing themselvesagainst the doors, crying aloud just like human beings. Yes, peoplehaven't got rid of the horror of it yet."Labordette let a low, incredulous whistle escape him. For his part,he did not believe in the death of Vandeuvres. Somebody had swornhe had seen him escaping through a window. He had set fire to hisstable in a fit of aberration, but when it had begun to grow toowarm it must have sobered him. A man so besotted about the womenand so utterly worn out could not possibly die so pluckily.Nana listened in her disillusionment and could only remark:"Oh, the poor wretch, it was so beautiful!"