第39章

“Whotoldme!“hereplied，ratherastonishedatherabrupttone。

“Why，Girard，whomImetjustnowatthedooroftheCafeFrancais。Hehasgoneonajourney，oristogo。“

Shegaveasob。

“Whatsurprisesyouinthat？Heabsentshimselflikethatfromtimetotimeforachange，and，mafoi，Ithinkhe’sright，whenonehasafortuneandisabachelor。Besides，hehasjollytimes，hasourfriend。He’sabitofarake。MonsieurLangloistoldme——“

Hestoppedforpropriety’ssakebecausetheservantcamein。Sheputbackintothebaskettheapricotsscatteredonthesideboard。

Charles，withoutnoticinghiswife’scolour，hadthembroughttohim，tookone，andbitintoit。

“Ah!perfect!“saidhe；“justtaste!“

Andhehandedherthebasket，whichsheputawayfromhergently。

“Dojustsmell!Whatanodour!“heremarked，passingitunderhernoseseveraltimes。

“Iamchoking，“shecried，leapingup。Butbyaneffortofwillthespasmpassed；then——

“Itisnothing，“shesaid，“itisnothing!Itisnervousness。Sitdownandgooneating。“Forshedreadedlestheshouldbeginquestioningher，attendingtoher，thatsheshouldnotbeleftalone。

Charles，toobeyher，satdownagain，andhespatthestonesoftheapricotsintohishands，afterwardsputtingthemonhisplate。

Suddenlyabluetilburypassedacrossthesquareatarapidtrot。

Emmautteredacryandfellbackrigidtotheground。

Infact，Rodolphe，aftermanyreflections，haddecidedtosetoutforRouen。Now，asfromLaHuchettetoBuchythereisnootherwaythanbyYonville，hehadtogothroughthevillage，andEmmahadrecognisedhimbytheraysofthelanterns，whichlikelightningflashedthroughthetwilight。

Thechemist，atthetumultwhichbrokeoutinthehouseranthither。Thetablewithalltheplateswasupset；sauce，meat，knives，thesalt，andcruet-standwerestrewnovertheroom；

Charleswascallingforhelp；Berthe，scared，wascrying；andFelicite，whosehandstrembled，wasunlacinghermistress，whosewholebodyshiveredconvulsively。

“I’llruntomylaboratoryforsomearomaticvinegar，“saidthedruggist。

Thenassheopenedhereyesonsmellingthebottle——

“Iwassureofit，“heremarked；“thatwouldwakeanydeadpersonforyou!“

“Speaktous，“saidCharles；“collectyourself；itisyourCharles，wholovesyou。Doyouknowme？See!hereisyourlittlegirl!Oh，kissher!“

Thechildstretchedoutherarmstohermothertoclingtoherneck。Butturningawayherhead，Emmasaidinabrokenvoice“No，no!noone!“

Shefaintedagain。Theycarriedhertoherbed。Shelaytherestretchedatfulllength，herlipsapart，hereyelidsclosed，herhandsopen，motionless，andwhiteasawaxenimage。Twostreamsoftearsflowedfromhereyesandfellslowlyuponthepillow。

Charles，standingup，wasatthebackofthealcove，andthechemist，nearhim，maintainedthatmeditativesilencethatisbecomingontheseriousoccasionsoflife。

“Donotbeuneasy，“hesaid，touchinghiselbow；“Ithinktheparoxysmispast。“

“Yes，sheisrestingalittlenow，“answeredCharles，watchinghersle