And in this slumbering air a shot
suddenly
burst forth.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v27 - Wat to Zor
The building, of planks and
mortar, seemed as old as the world. Half of it dipped into the
Morelle, which at this point widens out into a clear, rounded
basin. A dam was contrived to let the water fall from a height
of several metres upon the mill-wheel, which turned creaking
with the asthmatic cough of a faithful servant grown old in the
household. When people advised old Merlier to change it for a
new one, he would shake his head, saying that a young wheel
would be lazier and not so well up in its business; and he
mended the old one with everything that came to hand, - staves
of casks, bits of rusty iron, zinc, lead. The wheel seemed all the
gayer for it, - its outline grown strange, all beplumed with weeds
and moss. When the water beat against it with its silver stream,
it would cover itself with beads; you saw it deck out its strange
carcass with a sparkling bedizenment of mother-of-pearl necklaces.
The part of the mill that thus dipped into the Morelle looked
like a barbarous ark stranded there. A good half of the struct-
ure was built on piles. The water ran in under the board floor;
there too were holes, well known in the country for the eels and
enormous crawfish caught there. Above the fall, the basin was
as clear as a mirror; and when the wheel did not cloud it with
its foam, you could see shoals of large fish swimming there with
the deliberateness of a naval squadron. A broken flight of steps
led down to the river, near a stake to which a boat was moored.
A wooden balcony ran above the wheel. Windows opened upon
## p. 16298 (#652) ##########################################
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ÉMILE ZOLA
it, cut at irregular distances. This pellmell of corners, little
walls, L's added as an afterthought, beams and bits of roof, gave
the mill the appearance of an old dismantled citadel.
But ivy
had grown there; all sorts of climbing vines had stopped up the
too wide cracks and thrown a cloak of green over the old dwell-
ing. Young ladies who passed by would sketch old Merlier's
mill in their albums.
Toward the road the house was stouter. A stone gateway
opened upon the main court-yard, which was bordered on the
right by sheds and stables. Near a well a huge elm covered
half the court-yard with its shade. At the farther end, the house
showed the line of its four first-story windows, surmounted by a
pigeon-house. Old Merlier's only bit of dandyism was to have
its wall whitewashed every ten years. It had just been whitened,
and dazzled the village when the sun lighted it up in the middle
of the day.
For twenty years old Merlier had been mayor of Rocreuse.
He was esteemed for the fortune he had managed to make. He
was supposed to be worth something like eighty thousand francs,
laid up sou by sou. When he married Madeleine Guillard, who
brought him the mill as her dowry, he hardly possessed anything
but his two arms; but Madeleine never repented her choice, so
well did he manage the affairs of the household. Now that his
wife was dead, he remained a widower with his daughter Fran-
çoise. No doubt he might have taken a rest, left his mill to
sleep in the moss; but he would have been too much bored, and
the house would seem dead to him. He kept on working for the
fun of it.
Old Merlier was then a tall old man, with a long, silent face,
never laughing, but very jolly internally nevertheless. He had
been chosen for mayor on account of his money; and also for
the fine air he knew how to assume when he married a couple.
Françoise Merlier was just eighteen. She did not pass for
one of the beauties of the country-side: she was too puny. Up
to the age of eleven, she was, even ugly. No one in Rocreuse
could understand how the daughter of father and mother Merlier
-- both of them ruggedly built -- could grow up so ill, and, so to
speak, grudgingly. But at fifteen, although still delicate, she had
the prettiest little face in the world. She had black hair, black
eyes, and at the same time was all rosy; a mouth that laughed
## p. 16299 (#653) ##########################################
EMILE ZOLA
16299
-
all the time, dimpled cheeks, a clear brow on which there seemed
to rest a crown of sunshine. Although puny for the neighbor-
hood, she was not thin— far from it; people only meant that she
could not shoulder a sack of grain: but she grew very plump
with time, and stood a good chance of ending by being round and
dainty as a quail. Only her father's long spells of speechlessness
had made her thoughtful at an early age. If she was always
laughing, it was to give others pleasure. At bottom she was
serious.
Naturally all the country-side courted her,- even more for her
dollars than for her niceness. And at last she made a choice
that had just scandalized the country. On the other side of
the Morelle lived a young fellow named Dominique Penquer. He
did not belong in Rocreuse. Ten years before, he had come
there from Belgium, to take possession of a legacy from an
uncle of his who owned a little piece of property on the very
outskirts of the Gagny forest, just opposite the mill, within a
few gunshots. He came to sell this property, he said, and go
home again. But the country fascinated him, it seems, for he
did not stir. He was seen tilling his bit of field, — picking a
few vegetables, on which he lived. He fished, he went shooting;
several times the gamekeepers just missed catching him and
reporting him to the authorities. This free life, the material
resources of which the peasants could not well account for, had
at last given him a bad name. He was vaguely spoken of as
a poacher. At all events he was lazy, for he was often found
asleep in the grass at times when he ought to have been at work.
The hut in which he lived, under the first trees of the forest,
did not look like an honest fellow's dwelling either.
had business with the wolves of the old ruins of Gagny it would
not have surprised the old women. Yet the girls would, now
and then, have the audacity to stand up for him; for this suspi-
cious man was a superb fellow, tall and supple as a poplar, with
a very white skin, fair beard, and hair that shone like gold in
the sun.
So one fine morning, Françoise declared to her father
that she loved Dominique, and that she would never consent to
marry any one else.
You can imagine what a blow old Merlier received that day.
He said nothing, as usual. He always looked thoughtful in the
face; only his internal jollity stopped sparkling in his eyes. The
two did not speak for a week. Françoise too was very grave.
## p. 16300 (#654) ##########################################
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ÉMILE ZOLA
What bothered old Merlier was to make out how in the world
that rascal of a poacher could have bewitched his daughter.
Dominique had never come to the mill. The miller began to
watch him, and espied the gallant on the other side of the Mo-
relle, lying in the grass and pretending to be asleep. The thing
was clear: they must have fallen in love, making sheep's-eyes at
each other across the mill-wheel.
Meanwhile another week passed by. Françoise looked more
and more solemn. Old Merlier still said nothing. Then one
evening he brought Dominique home with him, without a word.
Françoise was just setting the table. She did not seem aston-
ished; she only added another plate and knife and fork: but
the little dimples appeared once more in her cheeks, and her
laugh came back again. That morning old Merlier had gone
after Dominique to his hut on the outskirts of the wood. There
the two men had talked for three hours, with closed doors and
windows.
No one
ever knew what they found to say to each
other. What was certain was, that on coming out, old Merlier
already treated Dominique like his own son. No doubt the old
man had found the man he was after a fine fellow - in this
lazybones who lay in the grass to make the girls fall in love
with him.
All Rocreuse gossiped. The women in the doorways did not
run dry of tittle-tattle about old Merlier's folly in taking a scape-
grace into his household. He let them talk on. Perhaps he
remembered his own marriage. Neither had he a red sou, when
he married Madeleine and her mill; but that did not prevent
his making a good husband. Besides, Dominique cut the gossip
short by going to work with such a will that the whole country
marveled at it. It so happened that the miller's boy had just
been drafted; and Dominique would never hear of his hiring
another. He carried the sacks, drove the cart, struggled with
the old wheel when it had to be begged hard before it would
turn; and all with such a will that people would come to look at
him, for sheer pleasure. Old Merlier laughed his quiet laugh.
He was very proud of having scented out this fellow. There is
nothing like love for putting heart into young people.
In the midst of all this hard work, Françoise and Dominique
adored each other. They hardly ever spoke, but they looked at
each other with smiling tenderness. So far, old Merlier had not
said a single word about the marriage; and they both respected
## p. 16301 (#655) ##########################################
ÉMILE ZOLA
16301
this silence, awaiting the old man's pleasure. At last, one day
about the middle of July, he had three tables set out in the
court-yard under the big elm, inviting his friends in Rocreuse
to come and take a drink with him in the evening. When the
court-yard was full, and every one had his glass in his hand, old
Merlier raised his very high, saying: -
« This is for the pleasure of announcing to you that Fran-
çoise will marry that fellow there in a month, on St. Louis's
day. ”
Then they clinked glasses noisily. Everybody laughed. But
old Merlier, raising his voice, went on:-
Dominique, kiss your intended. That must be done. "
And they kissed each other, very red, while the crowd laughed
still louder. It was a real jollification. A small cask was emp-
tied. Then when only the intimate friends were left, they chat-
ted quietly. Night had come,-a starlit and very clear night.
Dominique and Françoise, sitting side by side on a bench, said
nothing. An old peasant spoke of the war the Emperor had
declared with Prussia. All the boys in the village were already
gone. The day before, troops had passed through. There would
be hard knocks going.
“Bah! ” said old Merlier, with a happy man's egoism.
<< Dom-
inique is a foreigner,- he won't go. And if the Prussians come,
he will be here to defend his wife. ”
This notion that the Prussians might come seemed a good
joke. They were to be given an A i thrashing, and it would be
soon over.
“I've seen 'em, I've seen 'em,” the old peasant said over and
over again.
There was a silence. Then they clinked glasses once more.
Françoise and Dominique had heard nothing; they had taken
each other softly by the hand, behind the bench, so that no one
could see them; and it seemed so good that they stayed there,
their eyes lost in the depths of the darkness.
How warm and splendid a night! The village was falling
asleep on both sides of the road, tranquil as a child.
You only
heard from time to time the crowing of some cock, waked too
From the great woods hard by came long breaths that
passed like caresses over the roofs. The meadows with their
black shadows put on a mysterious and secluded majesty, while
all the running waters that gushed forth into the darkness
I
soon.
## p. 16302 (#656) ##########################################
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ÉMILE ZOLA
seemed to be the cool and rhythmic breathing of the sleeping
country. At moments the mill-wheel, fast asleep, seemed to be
dreaming, like those old watch-dogs that bark while snoring. It
creaked, it talked all by itself, lulled by the falls of the Morelle,
whose sheet of water gave forth the sustained and musical note
of an organ-pipe. Never had more wide-spread peace fallen over
a happier corner of the earth.
II
Just a month later, day for day, on St. Louis's eve, Ro-
creuse was in dismay. The Prussians had beaten the Emperor,
and were advancing toward the village by forced marches. For
a week past, people passing along the road had announced the
Prussians,—« They are at Lormière; they are at Novelles: ” and
hearing that they were approaching so fast, Rocreuse thought
every morning to see them come down by the Gagny woods.
Still they did not come: this frightened the inhabitants still
more. They would surely fall upon the village at night, and cut
everybody's throat.
The night before, a little before daybreak, there had been an
alarm. The inhabitants had waked up, hearing a great noise
of men
on the road.
The women were just falling on their
knees and crossing themselves, when red trousers were recognized
through cracks of windows prudently opened. It was a detach-
ment of French. The captain immediately asked for the mayor
of the place, and stayed at the mill, after talking with old Mer-
lier.
The sun rose gayly that day. It would be hot at noon. Over
the woods floated a yellow light; while in the distance above the
meadows, rose white vapors. The clean, pretty village awoke in
the cool air; and the country, with its river and springs, had
the dew-sprinkled loveliness of a nosegay. But this fine weather
made no one laugh. They had just seen the captain walk round
about the mill, examine the neighboring houses, cross to the
other side of the Morelle, and from there study the country
through a spyglass; old Merlier, who was with him, seemed to
be explaining the country to him. Then the captain stationed
soldiers behind walls, behind trees, in holes in the ground. The
bulk of the detachment was stationed in the court-yard of the
## p. 16303 (#657) ##########################################
ÉMILE ZOLA
16303
C
(
mill. So there was to be a fight? And when old Merlier came
back, he was plied with questions. He gave a long nod with his
head, without speaking. Yes, there was to be a fight.
Françoise and Dominique were in the court-yard, looking at
him. At last he took his pipe out of his mouth and said sim-
ply:--
"Ah! my poor children, there will be no wedding for you to-
morrow! »
Dominique, his lips set, a line of anger across his forehead,
raised himself up on tiptoe from time to time, with his eyes fixed
on the Gagny woods, as if he longed to see the Prussians come.
Françoise, very pale, serious, came and went, supplying the sol-
diers with what they needed. They were making their soup in
a corner of the court-yard, and joking while waiting for their
meal.
Meanwhile the captain seemed delighted. He had examined
the rooms and the great hall of the mill, looking out upon the
river. Now, sitting by the well, he was talking with old Merlier.
“You have a real fortress here,” said he. “We ought to hold
out till evening. The beggars are late. They should be here by
this time.
The miller looked serious. He saw his mill flaming like a
torch; but he did not complain, thinking it useless.
He only
opened his mouth to say:--
“ You ought to have some one hide the boat behind the wheel.
There is a hole there that will hold her. Perhaps she may be
of use. "
The captain gave an order, This captain was a handsome
man of about forty, tall and with a kindly face. The sight of
Françoise and Dominique seemed to please him. He was inter-
ested in them, as if he had forgotten the coming struggle. He
followed Françoise about with his eyes, and his look told plainly
that he found her charming. Then turning to Dominique:
“So you're not in the army, my boy? ” he asked abruptly.
"I'm a foreigner,” the young man answered.
The captain seemed only half pleased with this reason. He
winked and smiled. Françoise was pleasanter company than can-
non. Then, seeing him smile, Dominique added:-
“I'm a foreigner, but I can put a bullet into an apple at five
hundred metres. — See, my gun's there, behind you. "
>>
(
## p. 16304 (#658) ##########################################
16304
ÉMILE ZOLA
(
was
« It may be of use to you,” the captain replied simply.
Françoise had come up, trembling a little. And without
minding the people there, Dominique took both the hands she
held out to him, and pressed them in his, as if to take her under
his protection. The captain smiled again, but added not a word.
He remained sitting, his sword between his legs, his eyes looking
at vacancy, as if in a dream.
It was already two o'clock. It was growing very hot. There
a dead silence. In the court-yard, under the sheds, the
soldiers had fallen to eating their soup. Not a sound came
from the village, in which the people had barricaded their houses,
doors, and windows. A dog left alone in the road was howling.
From the neighboring woods and meadows, motionless in the
heat, came a far-off voice, long sustained, made up of every sep-
arate breath of air. A cuckoo was singing. Then the silence
spread itself over the country also.
And in this slumbering air a shot suddenly burst forth. The
captain sprang up quickly; the soldiers dropped their plates of
soup, still half full.
In a few seconds every man was at his post
for the fight; the mill was occupied from top to bottom. Yet
the captain, who had gone out upon the road, could make out
nothing: to the right and left the road stretched out, empty and
all white. A second shot was heard, and still nothing, not a
shadow; but on turning round, he espied, over towards Gagny,
between two trees, a light cloudlet of smoke wafted away like
gossamer. The wood was still profoundly quiet.
« The rascals have taken to the forest,” he muttered. (They
know we are here. ”
Then the firing kept up, harder and harder, between the
French soldiers stationed round the mill and the Prussians hidden
behind the trees. The bullets whistled across the Morelle, with-
out occasioning any loss on one side or the other. The shots
were irregular, coming from every bush; and all you saw was
still the little clouds of smoke gently wafted away by the wind,
This lasted for nearly two hours. The officer hummed a tune, as
if indifferent. Françoise and Dominique, who had stayed in
the court-yard, raised themselves up on tiptoe and looked over
the wall. They were particularly interested in watching a little
soldier, stationed on the brink of the Morelle, behind the hulk of
an old boat; he was flat on his belly, watched his chance, fired
## p. 16305 (#659) ##########################################
ÉMILE ZOLA
16305
his shot, then let himself slide down into a ditch a little behind
him, to reload his rifle; and his movements were so droll, so
cunning, so supple, that it made one smile to see him. He must
have espied the head of some Prussian, for he got up quickly
and brought his piece to his shoulder; but before he fired,
he gave a cry, turned over upon himself, and rolled into the
ditch, where his legs stiffened out with the momentary convuls-
ive jerk of those of a chicken with its neck wrung. The little
soldier had received a bullet full in the breast. He was the first
man killed.
Instinctively Françoise seized hold of Dominique's
hand and squeezed it with a nervous grip.
“Don't stay there,” said the captain. « The bullets reach
here. "
As he spoke, a little sharp stroke was heard in the old elm,
and a branch fell in zigzags through the air; but the young peo-
ple did not stir, riveted there by anxiety at the sight. On the
outskirts of the wood, a Prussian came out suddenly from behind
a tree, as from a side scene, beating the air with his arms, and
tumbling over backwards. And then nothing stirred: the two
dead men seemed to sleep in the dazzling sunshine; you saw
one in the torpid landscape. Even the crack of the shots
stopped. Only the Morelle kept up its silver-toned whispering.
Old Merlier looked at the captain in surprise, as if to ask if
it were over.
"Here it comes,” the latter muttered. “Look out! Don't stay
there. "
He had not finished speaking when there came
a terrific
volley. It was as if the great elm were mowed down; a cloud
of leaves whirled about them. Luckily the Prussians had fired
too high. Dominique dragged, almost carried Françoise away;
while old Merlier followed them, crying out:-
«Go down to the little cellar: the walls are solid. ”
But they did not mind him; they went into the great hall
where ten soldiers or so were waiting in silence, with shutters
closed, peeping through the cracks. The captain had stayed
alone in the court-yard, crouched down behind the little wall,
while the furious volleys continued. The soldiers he had sta-
tioned outside yielded ground only foot by foot. Yet they came
in, one by one, crawling on their faces, when the enemy had
dislodged them from their hiding-places. Their orders were to
no
»
XXVI-I020
## p. 16306 (#660) ##########################################
16306
ÉMILE ZOLA
gain time, not to show themselves; so that the Prussians might
not know what numbers they had before them. Another hour
went by; and as a sergeant came up, saying that there were
only two or three men left outside, the officer looked at his
watch, muttering:-
« Half after two. Come, we must hold out four hours. ”
He had the gate of the court-yard shut, and all preparations
were made for an energetic resistance. As the Prussians were
on the other side of the Morelle, an immediate assault was not
to be feared. To be sure, there was a bridge, a little over a
mile off, but they doubtless did not know of its existence; and it
was hardly probable that they would try to ford the river. So
the officer merely had the road watched. The whole effort was
to be made on the side toward the fields,
The firing had once more ceased. The mill seemed dead
beneath the hot sun. Not a shutter was opened, not a sound
came from the inside. Little by little, meanwhile, the Prussians
showed themselves at the outskirts of the Gagny wood. They
stretched forth their heads, grew more daring. In the mill, sev-
eral soldiers had already leveled their rifles, but the captain cried
out:
No, no, wait. Let them come up. ”
They were very cautious about it, looking at the mill with
evident distrust. This old dwelling, silent and dismal, with its
curtains of ivy, made them uneasy. Still they kept advancing.
When there were about fifty of them in the meadow opposite,
the officer said a single word:-
« Fire ! »
A tearing sound was heard, followed by single shots. Fran-
çoise, shaken with a fit of trembling, put her hands up to her
ears, in spite of herself. Dominique, behind the soldiers, looked
on; and when the smoke had blown away a little, he saw three
Prussians stretched on their backs in the middle of the field.
The rest had thrown themselves down behind the willows and
poplars; and the siege began.
For over an hour the mill was riddled with bullets. They
whipped its old walls like hail. When they struck stone, you
beard them flatten out and fall back into the water. Into wood
they penetrated with a hollow sound. Now and then a cracking
told that the wheel had been hit. The soldiers inside husbanded
>
## p. 16307 (#661) ##########################################
ÉMILE ZOLA
16307
>>>
their shots,- fired only when they could take aim. From time to
—
time the captain would look at his watch; and as a ball split a
shutter and then lodged in the ceiling:-
Four o'clock,” he muttered. « We shall never hold out. "
It was true: this terrible firing of musketry was shivering
the old mill. A shutter fell into the water, riddled like a piece
of lace, and had to be replaced by a mattress. Old Merlier
exposed himself every moment, to make sure of the injury done
to his poor wheel, whose cracking went to his heart. It was all
over with it this time: never would he be able to repair it.
Dominique had implored Françoise to go, but she would stay
with him; she had sat down behind a great oak clothes-press, the
sides of which gave out a deep sound. Then Dominique placed
himself in front of Françoise. He had not fired yet; he held his
gun in his hands, not being able to get up to the windows, whose
entire width was taken up by the soldiers. At every discharge
the floor shook.
"Look out! look out! ” the captain cried of a sudden.
'He had just seen a whole black mass come out from the
wood. Immediately a formidable platoon fire was opened. It
was as if a waterspout had passed over the mill. Another shut-
ter gave way; and by the gaping opening of the window the
bullets came in. Two soldiers rolled upon the floor. One did
not move; they pushed him up against the wall, because he was
The other squirmed on the ground, begging them
to make an end of him; but no one minded him: the balls kept
coming in; every one shielded himself, and tried to find a loop-
hole to fire back through. A third soldier was wounded; he said
not a word, he let himself slide down by the edge of a table,
with fixed and haggard eyes. Opposite the dead men, Fran-
çoise, seized with horror, had pushed her chair aside mechanically,
to sit down on the ground next the wall; she felt smaller there,
and in less danger. Meanwhile they had gone after all the mat-
tresses in the house, and had half stopped up the window. The
hall was getting filled with rubbish, with broken weapons, with
gutted furniture.
“Five o'clock," said the captain. « Keep it up.
They are
going to try to cross the water. »
At this instant Françoise gave a shriek. A rebounding ball
had just grazed her forehead. A few drops of blood appeared.
Dominique looked at her; then stepping up to the window, he
in the way.
>>
## p. 16308 (#662) ##########################################
16308
ÉMILE ZOLA
fired his first shot, and kept on firing. He loaded, fired, without
paying any attention to what was going on near him; only from
time to time he would give Françoise a look. For the rest, he
did not hurry himself, - took careful aim. The Prussians, creep-
ing along by the poplars, were attempting the passage of the
Morelle, as the captain had foreseen; but as soon as one of
them risked showing himself, he would fall, hit in the head by a
ball from Dominique. The captain who followed this game was
astonished. He complimented the young man, saying that he
would be glad to have a lot of marksmen like him. Dominique
did not hear him. A ball cut his shoulder, another bruised his
arm; and he kept on firing.
There were two more men killed. The mattresses, all slashed
to bits, no longer stopped up the windows. A last volley seemed
as if it would carry away the mill. The position was no longer
tenable. Still the officer repeated:-
« Stick to it. Half an hour more. ”
Now he counted the minutes. He had promised his superior
officers to hold the enemy there until evening, and would not
draw back a sole's breadth before the time he had set for the
retreat. He still had his gracious manner; smiling at Françoise,
to reassure her. He himself had just picked up a dead soldier's
rifle, and was firing.
There were only four soldiers left in the hall. The Prussians
showed themselves in a body on the other bank of the Morelle,
and it was evident that they might cross the river at any time.
A few minutes more elapsed. The captain stuck to it obsti-
nately, and would not give the order to retreat; when a sergeant
came running up saying: -
« They are on the road: they are going to take us in the
rear. »
The Prussians must have found the bridge. The captain
pulled out his watch.
“Five minutes more,” said he. “They won't be here for five
minutes. »
Then at the stroke of six, he at last consented to order his
men out by a little door opening upon an alley-way. From there
they threw themselves into a ditch; they reached the Sauval for-
est. Before going, the captain saluted old Merlier very politely,
excusing himself; and he even added:
“Make them lose time. We shall be back again. ”
## p. 16309 (#663) ##########################################
ÉMILE ZOLA
16309
Meanwhile Dominique stayed on in the hall. He still kept
firing, hearing nothing, understanding nothing. He only felt
that he must defend Françoise. The soldiers were gone, without
his suspecting it the least in the world. He took aim and killed
his man at every shot. Suddenly there was a loud noise. The
Prussians, from the rear, had just overrun the court-yard. He
fired his last shot, and they fell upon him as his piece was still
smoking.
Four men held him. Others shouted round him in a fright-
ful language. They all-but cut his throat off-hand. Françoise
threw herself before him in supplication; but an officer came in
and took charge of the prisoner. After a few sentences ex-
changed in German with the soldiers, he turned to Dominique
and said roughly, and in very good French:-
“You will be shot in two hours. »
>>>
III
It was a rule made by the German staff: every Frenchman
not belonging to the regular army, and taken with arms in his
hands, should be shot. Even the guerrilla companies were not
recognized as belligerents. By thus making terrible examples
of the peasants who defended their own firesides, the Germans
wished to prevent the uprising of the whole country en masse,
which they dreaded.
The officer, a tall lean man of about fifty, put Dominique
through a brief examination. Although he spoke very pure
French, he had quite the Prussian stiffness.
“ You belong in these parts ? ”
“No, I am a Belgian. ”
“Why have you taken up arms? All this can't be any of
your business. »
Dominique did not answer. At this moment the officer caught
sight of Françoise, standing upright and very pale, listening; her
slight wound put a red bar across her white forehead. He looked
at the young people, one after the other, seemed to understand,
and contented himself with adding: -
« You don't deny that you were firing ? ”
"I fired as long as I was able,” Dominique answered quietly.
This confession was needless; for he was black with powder,
covered with sweat, spotted with some drops of blood that had
run down from the scratch on his shoulder.
## p. 16310 (#664) ##########################################
16310
ÉMILE ZOLA
>>
a
“Very well,” the officer repeated. « You will be shot in two
hours. ”
Françoise did not cry out. She clasped her hands together,
and raised them in a gesture of mute despair. The officer noticed
this gesture. Two soldiers had led Dominique away into the next
room, where they were to keep him in sight. The young girl
had dropped down upon a chair, her legs giving way under her;
she could not cry, she was choking. Meanwhile the officer kept
looking at her closely. At last he spoke to her.
“That young man is your brother? he asked.
She shook her head. He stood there stiff, without a smile.
Then after a silence:
«He has lived a long while in these parts ? ”
She nodded yes, still dumb.
« Then he must know the woods round here very well ? »
This time she spoke.
“Yes, sir,” she said, looking at him in some surprise.
He said no more, and turned on his heel, asking to have the
mayor of the village brought to him. But Françoise had risen, a
faint flush on her face, thinking to have caught the drift of his
questions, and seeing fresh hope in them. It was she who ran to
find her father.
Old Merlier, as soon as the shots had ceased, had run quickly
down the wooden steps to look at his wheel. He adored his
daughter, he had a stout friendship for Dominique, his intended
son-in-law; but his wheel also held a large place in his heart.
As the two young ones, as he called them, had come safe and
sound out of the scrimmage, he thought of his other love, and
this one had suffered grievously. And bending over the huge
wooden carcass, he investigated its wounds, the picture of distress.
Five paddles were in splinters, the central framework was rid-
dled. He stuck his fingers into the bullet-holes to measure their
depth; he thought over how he could repair all this damage.
Françoise found him already stopping up cracks with broken bits
of wood and moss.
Father,” she said, "you are wanted. ”
And at last she wept, telling him what she had just heard.
Old Merlier shook his head. You didn't shoot people that way.
He must see. And he went back into the mill with his silent,
pacific air.
When the officer asked him for victuals for his men,
he answered that the people in Rocreuse were not accustomed
to being bullied, and that nothing would be got from them by
## p. 16311 (#665) ##########################################
ÉMILE ZOLA
16311
»
violence. He took everything upon himself, but on the condition
of being allowed to act alone. The officer showed signs, at first,
of getting angry at this cool manner; then he gave in to the old
man's curt and business-like way of talking. He even called him
back to ask him :-
“What do you call those woods there, opposite ? ”
« The Sauval woods. "
"And what is their extent ? »
The miller looked at him fixedly.
“I don't know,” he answered.
mortar, seemed as old as the world. Half of it dipped into the
Morelle, which at this point widens out into a clear, rounded
basin. A dam was contrived to let the water fall from a height
of several metres upon the mill-wheel, which turned creaking
with the asthmatic cough of a faithful servant grown old in the
household. When people advised old Merlier to change it for a
new one, he would shake his head, saying that a young wheel
would be lazier and not so well up in its business; and he
mended the old one with everything that came to hand, - staves
of casks, bits of rusty iron, zinc, lead. The wheel seemed all the
gayer for it, - its outline grown strange, all beplumed with weeds
and moss. When the water beat against it with its silver stream,
it would cover itself with beads; you saw it deck out its strange
carcass with a sparkling bedizenment of mother-of-pearl necklaces.
The part of the mill that thus dipped into the Morelle looked
like a barbarous ark stranded there. A good half of the struct-
ure was built on piles. The water ran in under the board floor;
there too were holes, well known in the country for the eels and
enormous crawfish caught there. Above the fall, the basin was
as clear as a mirror; and when the wheel did not cloud it with
its foam, you could see shoals of large fish swimming there with
the deliberateness of a naval squadron. A broken flight of steps
led down to the river, near a stake to which a boat was moored.
A wooden balcony ran above the wheel. Windows opened upon
## p. 16298 (#652) ##########################################
16298
ÉMILE ZOLA
it, cut at irregular distances. This pellmell of corners, little
walls, L's added as an afterthought, beams and bits of roof, gave
the mill the appearance of an old dismantled citadel.
But ivy
had grown there; all sorts of climbing vines had stopped up the
too wide cracks and thrown a cloak of green over the old dwell-
ing. Young ladies who passed by would sketch old Merlier's
mill in their albums.
Toward the road the house was stouter. A stone gateway
opened upon the main court-yard, which was bordered on the
right by sheds and stables. Near a well a huge elm covered
half the court-yard with its shade. At the farther end, the house
showed the line of its four first-story windows, surmounted by a
pigeon-house. Old Merlier's only bit of dandyism was to have
its wall whitewashed every ten years. It had just been whitened,
and dazzled the village when the sun lighted it up in the middle
of the day.
For twenty years old Merlier had been mayor of Rocreuse.
He was esteemed for the fortune he had managed to make. He
was supposed to be worth something like eighty thousand francs,
laid up sou by sou. When he married Madeleine Guillard, who
brought him the mill as her dowry, he hardly possessed anything
but his two arms; but Madeleine never repented her choice, so
well did he manage the affairs of the household. Now that his
wife was dead, he remained a widower with his daughter Fran-
çoise. No doubt he might have taken a rest, left his mill to
sleep in the moss; but he would have been too much bored, and
the house would seem dead to him. He kept on working for the
fun of it.
Old Merlier was then a tall old man, with a long, silent face,
never laughing, but very jolly internally nevertheless. He had
been chosen for mayor on account of his money; and also for
the fine air he knew how to assume when he married a couple.
Françoise Merlier was just eighteen. She did not pass for
one of the beauties of the country-side: she was too puny. Up
to the age of eleven, she was, even ugly. No one in Rocreuse
could understand how the daughter of father and mother Merlier
-- both of them ruggedly built -- could grow up so ill, and, so to
speak, grudgingly. But at fifteen, although still delicate, she had
the prettiest little face in the world. She had black hair, black
eyes, and at the same time was all rosy; a mouth that laughed
## p. 16299 (#653) ##########################################
EMILE ZOLA
16299
-
all the time, dimpled cheeks, a clear brow on which there seemed
to rest a crown of sunshine. Although puny for the neighbor-
hood, she was not thin— far from it; people only meant that she
could not shoulder a sack of grain: but she grew very plump
with time, and stood a good chance of ending by being round and
dainty as a quail. Only her father's long spells of speechlessness
had made her thoughtful at an early age. If she was always
laughing, it was to give others pleasure. At bottom she was
serious.
Naturally all the country-side courted her,- even more for her
dollars than for her niceness. And at last she made a choice
that had just scandalized the country. On the other side of
the Morelle lived a young fellow named Dominique Penquer. He
did not belong in Rocreuse. Ten years before, he had come
there from Belgium, to take possession of a legacy from an
uncle of his who owned a little piece of property on the very
outskirts of the Gagny forest, just opposite the mill, within a
few gunshots. He came to sell this property, he said, and go
home again. But the country fascinated him, it seems, for he
did not stir. He was seen tilling his bit of field, — picking a
few vegetables, on which he lived. He fished, he went shooting;
several times the gamekeepers just missed catching him and
reporting him to the authorities. This free life, the material
resources of which the peasants could not well account for, had
at last given him a bad name. He was vaguely spoken of as
a poacher. At all events he was lazy, for he was often found
asleep in the grass at times when he ought to have been at work.
The hut in which he lived, under the first trees of the forest,
did not look like an honest fellow's dwelling either.
had business with the wolves of the old ruins of Gagny it would
not have surprised the old women. Yet the girls would, now
and then, have the audacity to stand up for him; for this suspi-
cious man was a superb fellow, tall and supple as a poplar, with
a very white skin, fair beard, and hair that shone like gold in
the sun.
So one fine morning, Françoise declared to her father
that she loved Dominique, and that she would never consent to
marry any one else.
You can imagine what a blow old Merlier received that day.
He said nothing, as usual. He always looked thoughtful in the
face; only his internal jollity stopped sparkling in his eyes. The
two did not speak for a week. Françoise too was very grave.
## p. 16300 (#654) ##########################################
16300
ÉMILE ZOLA
What bothered old Merlier was to make out how in the world
that rascal of a poacher could have bewitched his daughter.
Dominique had never come to the mill. The miller began to
watch him, and espied the gallant on the other side of the Mo-
relle, lying in the grass and pretending to be asleep. The thing
was clear: they must have fallen in love, making sheep's-eyes at
each other across the mill-wheel.
Meanwhile another week passed by. Françoise looked more
and more solemn. Old Merlier still said nothing. Then one
evening he brought Dominique home with him, without a word.
Françoise was just setting the table. She did not seem aston-
ished; she only added another plate and knife and fork: but
the little dimples appeared once more in her cheeks, and her
laugh came back again. That morning old Merlier had gone
after Dominique to his hut on the outskirts of the wood. There
the two men had talked for three hours, with closed doors and
windows.
No one
ever knew what they found to say to each
other. What was certain was, that on coming out, old Merlier
already treated Dominique like his own son. No doubt the old
man had found the man he was after a fine fellow - in this
lazybones who lay in the grass to make the girls fall in love
with him.
All Rocreuse gossiped. The women in the doorways did not
run dry of tittle-tattle about old Merlier's folly in taking a scape-
grace into his household. He let them talk on. Perhaps he
remembered his own marriage. Neither had he a red sou, when
he married Madeleine and her mill; but that did not prevent
his making a good husband. Besides, Dominique cut the gossip
short by going to work with such a will that the whole country
marveled at it. It so happened that the miller's boy had just
been drafted; and Dominique would never hear of his hiring
another. He carried the sacks, drove the cart, struggled with
the old wheel when it had to be begged hard before it would
turn; and all with such a will that people would come to look at
him, for sheer pleasure. Old Merlier laughed his quiet laugh.
He was very proud of having scented out this fellow. There is
nothing like love for putting heart into young people.
In the midst of all this hard work, Françoise and Dominique
adored each other. They hardly ever spoke, but they looked at
each other with smiling tenderness. So far, old Merlier had not
said a single word about the marriage; and they both respected
## p. 16301 (#655) ##########################################
ÉMILE ZOLA
16301
this silence, awaiting the old man's pleasure. At last, one day
about the middle of July, he had three tables set out in the
court-yard under the big elm, inviting his friends in Rocreuse
to come and take a drink with him in the evening. When the
court-yard was full, and every one had his glass in his hand, old
Merlier raised his very high, saying: -
« This is for the pleasure of announcing to you that Fran-
çoise will marry that fellow there in a month, on St. Louis's
day. ”
Then they clinked glasses noisily. Everybody laughed. But
old Merlier, raising his voice, went on:-
Dominique, kiss your intended. That must be done. "
And they kissed each other, very red, while the crowd laughed
still louder. It was a real jollification. A small cask was emp-
tied. Then when only the intimate friends were left, they chat-
ted quietly. Night had come,-a starlit and very clear night.
Dominique and Françoise, sitting side by side on a bench, said
nothing. An old peasant spoke of the war the Emperor had
declared with Prussia. All the boys in the village were already
gone. The day before, troops had passed through. There would
be hard knocks going.
“Bah! ” said old Merlier, with a happy man's egoism.
<< Dom-
inique is a foreigner,- he won't go. And if the Prussians come,
he will be here to defend his wife. ”
This notion that the Prussians might come seemed a good
joke. They were to be given an A i thrashing, and it would be
soon over.
“I've seen 'em, I've seen 'em,” the old peasant said over and
over again.
There was a silence. Then they clinked glasses once more.
Françoise and Dominique had heard nothing; they had taken
each other softly by the hand, behind the bench, so that no one
could see them; and it seemed so good that they stayed there,
their eyes lost in the depths of the darkness.
How warm and splendid a night! The village was falling
asleep on both sides of the road, tranquil as a child.
You only
heard from time to time the crowing of some cock, waked too
From the great woods hard by came long breaths that
passed like caresses over the roofs. The meadows with their
black shadows put on a mysterious and secluded majesty, while
all the running waters that gushed forth into the darkness
I
soon.
## p. 16302 (#656) ##########################################
16302
ÉMILE ZOLA
seemed to be the cool and rhythmic breathing of the sleeping
country. At moments the mill-wheel, fast asleep, seemed to be
dreaming, like those old watch-dogs that bark while snoring. It
creaked, it talked all by itself, lulled by the falls of the Morelle,
whose sheet of water gave forth the sustained and musical note
of an organ-pipe. Never had more wide-spread peace fallen over
a happier corner of the earth.
II
Just a month later, day for day, on St. Louis's eve, Ro-
creuse was in dismay. The Prussians had beaten the Emperor,
and were advancing toward the village by forced marches. For
a week past, people passing along the road had announced the
Prussians,—« They are at Lormière; they are at Novelles: ” and
hearing that they were approaching so fast, Rocreuse thought
every morning to see them come down by the Gagny woods.
Still they did not come: this frightened the inhabitants still
more. They would surely fall upon the village at night, and cut
everybody's throat.
The night before, a little before daybreak, there had been an
alarm. The inhabitants had waked up, hearing a great noise
of men
on the road.
The women were just falling on their
knees and crossing themselves, when red trousers were recognized
through cracks of windows prudently opened. It was a detach-
ment of French. The captain immediately asked for the mayor
of the place, and stayed at the mill, after talking with old Mer-
lier.
The sun rose gayly that day. It would be hot at noon. Over
the woods floated a yellow light; while in the distance above the
meadows, rose white vapors. The clean, pretty village awoke in
the cool air; and the country, with its river and springs, had
the dew-sprinkled loveliness of a nosegay. But this fine weather
made no one laugh. They had just seen the captain walk round
about the mill, examine the neighboring houses, cross to the
other side of the Morelle, and from there study the country
through a spyglass; old Merlier, who was with him, seemed to
be explaining the country to him. Then the captain stationed
soldiers behind walls, behind trees, in holes in the ground. The
bulk of the detachment was stationed in the court-yard of the
## p. 16303 (#657) ##########################################
ÉMILE ZOLA
16303
C
(
mill. So there was to be a fight? And when old Merlier came
back, he was plied with questions. He gave a long nod with his
head, without speaking. Yes, there was to be a fight.
Françoise and Dominique were in the court-yard, looking at
him. At last he took his pipe out of his mouth and said sim-
ply:--
"Ah! my poor children, there will be no wedding for you to-
morrow! »
Dominique, his lips set, a line of anger across his forehead,
raised himself up on tiptoe from time to time, with his eyes fixed
on the Gagny woods, as if he longed to see the Prussians come.
Françoise, very pale, serious, came and went, supplying the sol-
diers with what they needed. They were making their soup in
a corner of the court-yard, and joking while waiting for their
meal.
Meanwhile the captain seemed delighted. He had examined
the rooms and the great hall of the mill, looking out upon the
river. Now, sitting by the well, he was talking with old Merlier.
“You have a real fortress here,” said he. “We ought to hold
out till evening. The beggars are late. They should be here by
this time.
The miller looked serious. He saw his mill flaming like a
torch; but he did not complain, thinking it useless.
He only
opened his mouth to say:--
“ You ought to have some one hide the boat behind the wheel.
There is a hole there that will hold her. Perhaps she may be
of use. "
The captain gave an order, This captain was a handsome
man of about forty, tall and with a kindly face. The sight of
Françoise and Dominique seemed to please him. He was inter-
ested in them, as if he had forgotten the coming struggle. He
followed Françoise about with his eyes, and his look told plainly
that he found her charming. Then turning to Dominique:
“So you're not in the army, my boy? ” he asked abruptly.
"I'm a foreigner,” the young man answered.
The captain seemed only half pleased with this reason. He
winked and smiled. Françoise was pleasanter company than can-
non. Then, seeing him smile, Dominique added:-
“I'm a foreigner, but I can put a bullet into an apple at five
hundred metres. — See, my gun's there, behind you. "
>>
(
## p. 16304 (#658) ##########################################
16304
ÉMILE ZOLA
(
was
« It may be of use to you,” the captain replied simply.
Françoise had come up, trembling a little. And without
minding the people there, Dominique took both the hands she
held out to him, and pressed them in his, as if to take her under
his protection. The captain smiled again, but added not a word.
He remained sitting, his sword between his legs, his eyes looking
at vacancy, as if in a dream.
It was already two o'clock. It was growing very hot. There
a dead silence. In the court-yard, under the sheds, the
soldiers had fallen to eating their soup. Not a sound came
from the village, in which the people had barricaded their houses,
doors, and windows. A dog left alone in the road was howling.
From the neighboring woods and meadows, motionless in the
heat, came a far-off voice, long sustained, made up of every sep-
arate breath of air. A cuckoo was singing. Then the silence
spread itself over the country also.
And in this slumbering air a shot suddenly burst forth. The
captain sprang up quickly; the soldiers dropped their plates of
soup, still half full.
In a few seconds every man was at his post
for the fight; the mill was occupied from top to bottom. Yet
the captain, who had gone out upon the road, could make out
nothing: to the right and left the road stretched out, empty and
all white. A second shot was heard, and still nothing, not a
shadow; but on turning round, he espied, over towards Gagny,
between two trees, a light cloudlet of smoke wafted away like
gossamer. The wood was still profoundly quiet.
« The rascals have taken to the forest,” he muttered. (They
know we are here. ”
Then the firing kept up, harder and harder, between the
French soldiers stationed round the mill and the Prussians hidden
behind the trees. The bullets whistled across the Morelle, with-
out occasioning any loss on one side or the other. The shots
were irregular, coming from every bush; and all you saw was
still the little clouds of smoke gently wafted away by the wind,
This lasted for nearly two hours. The officer hummed a tune, as
if indifferent. Françoise and Dominique, who had stayed in
the court-yard, raised themselves up on tiptoe and looked over
the wall. They were particularly interested in watching a little
soldier, stationed on the brink of the Morelle, behind the hulk of
an old boat; he was flat on his belly, watched his chance, fired
## p. 16305 (#659) ##########################################
ÉMILE ZOLA
16305
his shot, then let himself slide down into a ditch a little behind
him, to reload his rifle; and his movements were so droll, so
cunning, so supple, that it made one smile to see him. He must
have espied the head of some Prussian, for he got up quickly
and brought his piece to his shoulder; but before he fired,
he gave a cry, turned over upon himself, and rolled into the
ditch, where his legs stiffened out with the momentary convuls-
ive jerk of those of a chicken with its neck wrung. The little
soldier had received a bullet full in the breast. He was the first
man killed.
Instinctively Françoise seized hold of Dominique's
hand and squeezed it with a nervous grip.
“Don't stay there,” said the captain. « The bullets reach
here. "
As he spoke, a little sharp stroke was heard in the old elm,
and a branch fell in zigzags through the air; but the young peo-
ple did not stir, riveted there by anxiety at the sight. On the
outskirts of the wood, a Prussian came out suddenly from behind
a tree, as from a side scene, beating the air with his arms, and
tumbling over backwards. And then nothing stirred: the two
dead men seemed to sleep in the dazzling sunshine; you saw
one in the torpid landscape. Even the crack of the shots
stopped. Only the Morelle kept up its silver-toned whispering.
Old Merlier looked at the captain in surprise, as if to ask if
it were over.
"Here it comes,” the latter muttered. “Look out! Don't stay
there. "
He had not finished speaking when there came
a terrific
volley. It was as if the great elm were mowed down; a cloud
of leaves whirled about them. Luckily the Prussians had fired
too high. Dominique dragged, almost carried Françoise away;
while old Merlier followed them, crying out:-
«Go down to the little cellar: the walls are solid. ”
But they did not mind him; they went into the great hall
where ten soldiers or so were waiting in silence, with shutters
closed, peeping through the cracks. The captain had stayed
alone in the court-yard, crouched down behind the little wall,
while the furious volleys continued. The soldiers he had sta-
tioned outside yielded ground only foot by foot. Yet they came
in, one by one, crawling on their faces, when the enemy had
dislodged them from their hiding-places. Their orders were to
no
»
XXVI-I020
## p. 16306 (#660) ##########################################
16306
ÉMILE ZOLA
gain time, not to show themselves; so that the Prussians might
not know what numbers they had before them. Another hour
went by; and as a sergeant came up, saying that there were
only two or three men left outside, the officer looked at his
watch, muttering:-
« Half after two. Come, we must hold out four hours. ”
He had the gate of the court-yard shut, and all preparations
were made for an energetic resistance. As the Prussians were
on the other side of the Morelle, an immediate assault was not
to be feared. To be sure, there was a bridge, a little over a
mile off, but they doubtless did not know of its existence; and it
was hardly probable that they would try to ford the river. So
the officer merely had the road watched. The whole effort was
to be made on the side toward the fields,
The firing had once more ceased. The mill seemed dead
beneath the hot sun. Not a shutter was opened, not a sound
came from the inside. Little by little, meanwhile, the Prussians
showed themselves at the outskirts of the Gagny wood. They
stretched forth their heads, grew more daring. In the mill, sev-
eral soldiers had already leveled their rifles, but the captain cried
out:
No, no, wait. Let them come up. ”
They were very cautious about it, looking at the mill with
evident distrust. This old dwelling, silent and dismal, with its
curtains of ivy, made them uneasy. Still they kept advancing.
When there were about fifty of them in the meadow opposite,
the officer said a single word:-
« Fire ! »
A tearing sound was heard, followed by single shots. Fran-
çoise, shaken with a fit of trembling, put her hands up to her
ears, in spite of herself. Dominique, behind the soldiers, looked
on; and when the smoke had blown away a little, he saw three
Prussians stretched on their backs in the middle of the field.
The rest had thrown themselves down behind the willows and
poplars; and the siege began.
For over an hour the mill was riddled with bullets. They
whipped its old walls like hail. When they struck stone, you
beard them flatten out and fall back into the water. Into wood
they penetrated with a hollow sound. Now and then a cracking
told that the wheel had been hit. The soldiers inside husbanded
>
## p. 16307 (#661) ##########################################
ÉMILE ZOLA
16307
>>>
their shots,- fired only when they could take aim. From time to
—
time the captain would look at his watch; and as a ball split a
shutter and then lodged in the ceiling:-
Four o'clock,” he muttered. « We shall never hold out. "
It was true: this terrible firing of musketry was shivering
the old mill. A shutter fell into the water, riddled like a piece
of lace, and had to be replaced by a mattress. Old Merlier
exposed himself every moment, to make sure of the injury done
to his poor wheel, whose cracking went to his heart. It was all
over with it this time: never would he be able to repair it.
Dominique had implored Françoise to go, but she would stay
with him; she had sat down behind a great oak clothes-press, the
sides of which gave out a deep sound. Then Dominique placed
himself in front of Françoise. He had not fired yet; he held his
gun in his hands, not being able to get up to the windows, whose
entire width was taken up by the soldiers. At every discharge
the floor shook.
"Look out! look out! ” the captain cried of a sudden.
'He had just seen a whole black mass come out from the
wood. Immediately a formidable platoon fire was opened. It
was as if a waterspout had passed over the mill. Another shut-
ter gave way; and by the gaping opening of the window the
bullets came in. Two soldiers rolled upon the floor. One did
not move; they pushed him up against the wall, because he was
The other squirmed on the ground, begging them
to make an end of him; but no one minded him: the balls kept
coming in; every one shielded himself, and tried to find a loop-
hole to fire back through. A third soldier was wounded; he said
not a word, he let himself slide down by the edge of a table,
with fixed and haggard eyes. Opposite the dead men, Fran-
çoise, seized with horror, had pushed her chair aside mechanically,
to sit down on the ground next the wall; she felt smaller there,
and in less danger. Meanwhile they had gone after all the mat-
tresses in the house, and had half stopped up the window. The
hall was getting filled with rubbish, with broken weapons, with
gutted furniture.
“Five o'clock," said the captain. « Keep it up.
They are
going to try to cross the water. »
At this instant Françoise gave a shriek. A rebounding ball
had just grazed her forehead. A few drops of blood appeared.
Dominique looked at her; then stepping up to the window, he
in the way.
>>
## p. 16308 (#662) ##########################################
16308
ÉMILE ZOLA
fired his first shot, and kept on firing. He loaded, fired, without
paying any attention to what was going on near him; only from
time to time he would give Françoise a look. For the rest, he
did not hurry himself, - took careful aim. The Prussians, creep-
ing along by the poplars, were attempting the passage of the
Morelle, as the captain had foreseen; but as soon as one of
them risked showing himself, he would fall, hit in the head by a
ball from Dominique. The captain who followed this game was
astonished. He complimented the young man, saying that he
would be glad to have a lot of marksmen like him. Dominique
did not hear him. A ball cut his shoulder, another bruised his
arm; and he kept on firing.
There were two more men killed. The mattresses, all slashed
to bits, no longer stopped up the windows. A last volley seemed
as if it would carry away the mill. The position was no longer
tenable. Still the officer repeated:-
« Stick to it. Half an hour more. ”
Now he counted the minutes. He had promised his superior
officers to hold the enemy there until evening, and would not
draw back a sole's breadth before the time he had set for the
retreat. He still had his gracious manner; smiling at Françoise,
to reassure her. He himself had just picked up a dead soldier's
rifle, and was firing.
There were only four soldiers left in the hall. The Prussians
showed themselves in a body on the other bank of the Morelle,
and it was evident that they might cross the river at any time.
A few minutes more elapsed. The captain stuck to it obsti-
nately, and would not give the order to retreat; when a sergeant
came running up saying: -
« They are on the road: they are going to take us in the
rear. »
The Prussians must have found the bridge. The captain
pulled out his watch.
“Five minutes more,” said he. “They won't be here for five
minutes. »
Then at the stroke of six, he at last consented to order his
men out by a little door opening upon an alley-way. From there
they threw themselves into a ditch; they reached the Sauval for-
est. Before going, the captain saluted old Merlier very politely,
excusing himself; and he even added:
“Make them lose time. We shall be back again. ”
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Meanwhile Dominique stayed on in the hall. He still kept
firing, hearing nothing, understanding nothing. He only felt
that he must defend Françoise. The soldiers were gone, without
his suspecting it the least in the world. He took aim and killed
his man at every shot. Suddenly there was a loud noise. The
Prussians, from the rear, had just overrun the court-yard. He
fired his last shot, and they fell upon him as his piece was still
smoking.
Four men held him. Others shouted round him in a fright-
ful language. They all-but cut his throat off-hand. Françoise
threw herself before him in supplication; but an officer came in
and took charge of the prisoner. After a few sentences ex-
changed in German with the soldiers, he turned to Dominique
and said roughly, and in very good French:-
“You will be shot in two hours. »
>>>
III
It was a rule made by the German staff: every Frenchman
not belonging to the regular army, and taken with arms in his
hands, should be shot. Even the guerrilla companies were not
recognized as belligerents. By thus making terrible examples
of the peasants who defended their own firesides, the Germans
wished to prevent the uprising of the whole country en masse,
which they dreaded.
The officer, a tall lean man of about fifty, put Dominique
through a brief examination. Although he spoke very pure
French, he had quite the Prussian stiffness.
“ You belong in these parts ? ”
“No, I am a Belgian. ”
“Why have you taken up arms? All this can't be any of
your business. »
Dominique did not answer. At this moment the officer caught
sight of Françoise, standing upright and very pale, listening; her
slight wound put a red bar across her white forehead. He looked
at the young people, one after the other, seemed to understand,
and contented himself with adding: -
« You don't deny that you were firing ? ”
"I fired as long as I was able,” Dominique answered quietly.
This confession was needless; for he was black with powder,
covered with sweat, spotted with some drops of blood that had
run down from the scratch on his shoulder.
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>>
a
“Very well,” the officer repeated. « You will be shot in two
hours. ”
Françoise did not cry out. She clasped her hands together,
and raised them in a gesture of mute despair. The officer noticed
this gesture. Two soldiers had led Dominique away into the next
room, where they were to keep him in sight. The young girl
had dropped down upon a chair, her legs giving way under her;
she could not cry, she was choking. Meanwhile the officer kept
looking at her closely. At last he spoke to her.
“That young man is your brother? he asked.
She shook her head. He stood there stiff, without a smile.
Then after a silence:
«He has lived a long while in these parts ? ”
She nodded yes, still dumb.
« Then he must know the woods round here very well ? »
This time she spoke.
“Yes, sir,” she said, looking at him in some surprise.
He said no more, and turned on his heel, asking to have the
mayor of the village brought to him. But Françoise had risen, a
faint flush on her face, thinking to have caught the drift of his
questions, and seeing fresh hope in them. It was she who ran to
find her father.
Old Merlier, as soon as the shots had ceased, had run quickly
down the wooden steps to look at his wheel. He adored his
daughter, he had a stout friendship for Dominique, his intended
son-in-law; but his wheel also held a large place in his heart.
As the two young ones, as he called them, had come safe and
sound out of the scrimmage, he thought of his other love, and
this one had suffered grievously. And bending over the huge
wooden carcass, he investigated its wounds, the picture of distress.
Five paddles were in splinters, the central framework was rid-
dled. He stuck his fingers into the bullet-holes to measure their
depth; he thought over how he could repair all this damage.
Françoise found him already stopping up cracks with broken bits
of wood and moss.
Father,” she said, "you are wanted. ”
And at last she wept, telling him what she had just heard.
Old Merlier shook his head. You didn't shoot people that way.
He must see. And he went back into the mill with his silent,
pacific air.
When the officer asked him for victuals for his men,
he answered that the people in Rocreuse were not accustomed
to being bullied, and that nothing would be got from them by
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»
violence. He took everything upon himself, but on the condition
of being allowed to act alone. The officer showed signs, at first,
of getting angry at this cool manner; then he gave in to the old
man's curt and business-like way of talking. He even called him
back to ask him :-
“What do you call those woods there, opposite ? ”
« The Sauval woods. "
"And what is their extent ? »
The miller looked at him fixedly.
“I don't know,” he answered.
