Gaston Leroux

“ My dear old Dodger, you must never speak of her or her child. Our lips are not pure enough for us to dare utter her name; and as to her child, I fear lest we should bring bad luck upon him. I am dead, actually dead. You must never forget that. Chéri-Bibi may be alive, but Monsieur le Marquis is dead. And Chéri-Bibi himself is dead to them so long as they have no need of him. I know that at the present moment they are abroad and happy. Her son is growing up by her side, and she is making of him one of the finest and best of the sons of men. ”

“ The moon—Captain and Madame d'Haumont's honeymoon—rose with its soft refulgence over the silver waves at Villefranche, at the extremity of Cape Ferrat, between Nice and Monte Carlo. It was here, in the seclusion of the fragrant gardens of "Thalassa," the splendid villa which M. de la Boulays possessed on the azure coast of the Mediterranean, that they had hidden their great and new-found happiness.
Leaning on the beflowered balcony the happy couple listened in silence to the moaning of the sea breaking itself at the foot of the hills which watched over this enchanted bay. ”

“ That particular necklace—the fact had been repeated often enough during the trial for the Nut to remember it—contained sixty pearls. Such was the necklace which, if the Public Prosecutor was to be believed, Raoul de Saint Dalmas had stolen, and to obtain which he had not scrupled to murder his employer!
It was enough to strike any man to the very heart suddenly to see before his eyes, after fifteen years, a necklace like it . . . exactly like it . . . for after all, suppose it were one and the same?
"I am wandering in my mind," he thought, Nina Noha! A pearl necklace! Raynaud's murder! . . ”

“ Have you forgotten me, Dodger?"
At these words Hilaire, who was deathly pale, stretched out his arms and fell upon the immense chest of the man whom he loved more than any being in the world.
Chéri-Bibi gave signs of a certain degree of satisfaction.
"You show me at this moment," he said in his gruff voice, which quivered with an agitation that he strove to control, "you show me that there are still honest men in the world. Prosperity has not shriveled up your heart, my dear Dodger."
"I am the happiest man alive now that I see you again, Monsieur le Marquis." ”

“ He failed to perceive the Nut, who stood hidden behind a tree. "That's a magician, a piaye, who is calling upon Yoloch or Goudon," said the Nut to himself. But he had no desire to break in upon the man's supplications.
Suddenly the piaye was surrounded by a band of infuriated redskins, whose leaping shadows appeared enormous to the Nut and filled him with affright. They seemed to be bounding as high as the trees, and the play of the moonlight through the branches lent itself to the fancies of a man who had been listening all day to exciting and fantastic stories of the forest. ”

“ And as Chéri-Bibi's thoughts seemed to have reverted to the other end of the world, Hilaire, in order to give him the opportunity of coming back to him, uttered this pithy maxim:
"Ingratitude is met with everywhere and always."
"I don't expect gratitude from anybody, and I owe no gratitude to anybody," growled Chéri-Bibi. "In this world it's each for himself and God against us all." ”

“ For men like the Nut, who had been laid low by the hand of fate, the hours spent in the dormitory, however popular they might be with other men because of the absence of all restraint, were undoubtedly the most merciless which human justice could inflict. The herding together of these men was an abominable sight. Every passion and vice, kept alive by drink and gambling, had full rein. It was a veritable inferno. Fortunately for the Nut fate, which was so cruel in other respects, had vouchsafed Chéri-Bibi to him as his comrade. ”

“ The dark mass of two vessels lay heavily asleep on their gleaming bed in the beautiful night.
Only the faint splash of two oars causing a light swirl of glistening foam could be heard from the roadstead, and a boat passed so near as to be almost at their feet.
"How pleasant it would be to have a row on the sea at this delightful hour," murmured Françoise. ”

“ He did not see Mademoiselle de la Boulays again during the whole of the afternoon, but half an hour before dinner, while he was on the terrace lost in sorrowful musings, swinging on a rocking-chair and smoking a cigar, he saw her coming towards him. He threw away his cigar and stopped the movement of his chair.
He saw from the wistful and lovelorn look in her eyes that she was suffering no less than he, and he hated himself for his powerlessness to combat their twofold misery save to disappear from sight. ”

“ Chéri-bibi and the Nut had taken a serious step in entering the primeval forest. How many convicts who had escaped and sought refuge in it had found death; death in its most terrible form? They must needs struggle against all and everything—hunger, fever, wild beasts and men.
It sometimes happened that men who were engaged in clearing a new part of the forest came upon partly devoured remains of human bodies. That was all that was left of an escape which had created some sensation at the time of its occurrence. ”

“ I love it very much and it loves me very much, and yet it would make an end of me as it would make an end of anyone else, because when one is born to commit murder there's no way out of it. Some crime is on foot at the moment when one least suspects it. Be on your guard. You must never take any risks. The forest is full of mysteries; full of fumes which kill; of plants and animals which carry death in their breath. And then there are other things besides plants and animals. . . . There, listen . . ." snorted Chéri-Bibi, as he grasped his rifle and peered into the gloom behind the Nut. ”

“ So Didier also knew her! So Didier used to visit the millinery shops before his marriage! With a charming pout, lifting in mock-seriousness a threatening finger, she remarked upon the fact.
"Don't scold us, Madame," said the elder Mlle. Violette with a smile. "It's a great secret between Captain d'Haumont and me. But as it's the secret of a good action, you must not ask me to tell you about it."
"I insist on knowing what it is," said Françoise gaily. "A husband ought not to have any secrets from his wife." ”

“ Next morning the Nut could not be sufficiently grateful, nor did he know how to express the feelings of friendship with which his heart was overflowing. He was quite at a loss.
"Never mind about that," said Chéri-Bibi, as they broke camp. "That's a matter between me and the good Lord. He has been rather hard upon me, and we have not always got on well together. But the good Lord allowed you to cross my path, and I am thankful for it. You know that in my particular sphere of life, one doesn't come across a mug like yours every day. Yours is not the mug of a bad lot. That's all. ”

“ Chéri-Bibi took the Dodger to a restaurant, in the old town, famous for its tripe and light white wines. Hilaire was in the highest spirits. After dinner he lit a cigar which Chéri-Bibi gave him and he puffed away at it with great gusto as he threw himself back in his chair.
"You've told me your program," said Chéri-Bibi, putting his elbows on the table, while the coffee was being served, "and I'm now going to speak of mine, if you don't mind. I promise you that it will make another man of you, my dear old Dodger, and you'll fancy we're back again to the best days of our youth." ”

“ He did not stand on ceremony when he wanted to pass through her attic on his way over the roofs to some nocturnal frolic of his own, which was detrimental to no one, except perhaps Virginie; but for some time the saucy young gypsy had greatly amused him. She amused him all the more as Virginie wearied him all the more. Madame Hilaire abused the right which a wife possesses to make herself disagreeable, and if M. Hilaire found some amount of pleasure in the fantastic ideas and the humorous sallies of Mademoiselle Zoé, the fault lay to a great extent in Virginie and her bad temper. ”

“ Giselle was old enough to protect herself from the annoyance of a chance wayfarer or even from the deep-laid plots of a rascal.
Indifference or contempt on the one hand and a feeling of weariness and wounded pride on the other are enough, as a general rule, to cool the first ardor of a villain who, in his self-complacency, thinks that no one is able to resist him. ”

“ In spite of the Parisian's bragging—he was never at a loss in telling the story of his successes with the fair sex in high circles and crying up his relations in society—he seemed, compared with the Nut, none the less to be what he was to begin with—a shopman in a small firm bowing and scraping to the customers.
The Nut resumed his original posture on the beach, and it was as though he did not hear the Joker, who squeaked:
"He lacks most who sighs most." ”

“ He felt sure that Didier was very jealous of Count de Gorbio, for he could not imagine anyone coming near Françoise without falling in love with her on the spot. Count de Gorbio was in love with his daughter. She should choose for herself, do as she pleased. It suited her to smile that evening on the Count; and M. de la Boulays would be delighted if his daughter decided to marry him, for he was a considerable personage, reckless, perhaps, in business, but one of those men with whom, generally speaking, everything succeeds. ”

“ The Nut grew pale. A threatening murmur swept through the ranks. The guards enforced silence by drawing their revolvers. Nevertheless one of the men could not refrain from shouting:
"Give us a rifle and you'd soon see that we know how to die like other men."
"You are not fit to shoulder a rifle," retorted the officer, and he walked away.
The door closed after him. The convicts raised their clenched fists in the air. A tumult of oaths filled the dormitory. The Nut flung himself into his hammock and covered his face with his hands. ”

“ Under the canopy of the high forest trees and in the dense entanglement of creepers and parasitical vegetation of all sorts, they forged their way in murky darkness.
"Have you anything to light a fire with?" said Chéri-Bibi in answer to the Nut's proposal. "No, of course you haven't. Well, I've got three matches left, and I needn't tell you that after our dip in the river they won't light, so what then, old man? To go to sleep at night in the forest without having a fire beside you is to stand a pretty good chance of waking up in the jaws of a jaguar. ”

“ That's not the old Didier. Think of the confidence that I have in you. We go into a shop and the first mannequin that we see throws herself into your arms and I don't scratch her eyes out."
"That would have been a pity, for they are very nice eyes," said Didier.
"Yes, she has extremely nice blue eyes and an expression of gentle sadness which haunts one, it's true. Oh, you're an excellent judge. I congratulate you! All the same, you must admit that I am a good sort. Do I know what you did before our marriage?"
"Françoise!" rapped out Didier in a muffled voice. ”

“ Mlle. Violette, realizing how graceful she was, sometimes took her away from the cash desk and dressed her as her most valuable mannequin, for she set off to advantage their most sensational "confections."
"And now, my dear Françoise, you know as much as I do about Giselle."
"You always will be the best of men," returned Françoise, affectionately pressing his arm. "Men are only as good as that in popular novels and plays," she added with an arch smile.
"You are laughing at me," said the Nut in a tone of surprise, slightly vexed. But she grew entirely serious again. ”

“ Chéri-Bibi and the Nut did not find themselves alone. Two bodies and two heads lay in a basket; two heads which had fallen that very morning. . . .
And then Pernambouc, the prison executioner, came in, closing the door after him.
He was in a merry mood.
He had returned from the canteen where he had been entertaining his friends. He had been standing treat to them throughout the day. He was very pleased with himself.
Pernambouc was a man of a cheerful disposition, and he found that life had its pleasant side. The pleasant side of life for him was the execution of other men. ”