Maurice Leblanc

“ And he understood, as it were physically, the sacrifice of those who go to their death smiling, when a great idea uplifts them.
But in what respect would death have settled things? He must either speak—and speak against Suzanne: a torture infinitely more exquisite than death—or else resign himself. It was this or that: there was no alternative.
He walked to and fro, as though tormented by the fire that devoured him. Was he to fling himself on his knees before Marthe and ask for mercy or to fold his hands before Le Corbier? ”

“ Philippe met her eyes, the eyes of a hunted fawn, a pair of poor eyes pleading for help.
"You admit it! You admit it!" shouted Jorancé.
And he made a sudden rush at her; and Philippe, as in a nightmare, saw Suzanne flung back, shaken by her father, struck by Marthe, who, she too, in an abrupt fit of fury, demanded the useless confession.
It was a horrible and violent scene. Le Corbier and M. de Trébons interfered, while Morestal, shaking his fist at Philippe, cried:
"I curse you! You're a criminal! Let her be, Jorancé. She couldn't help it, poor thing. He is the one to blame.... ”

“ And Philippe, who had never ceased watching him, replied, within himself:
"Why not, father? What would that little falsehood signify, compared with the magnificent result that would be obtained? If you would tell a lie, father, or if only you would assert so fatal a truth less forcibly, France could give way without the least disgrace, since it is your evidence alone that compels her to make her demand! ”

“ Marthe herself told Philippe to uncork a bottle of boracic. He did so. His hand touched Suzanne's. Neither he nor Suzanne felt a thrill.
Around them continued the uninterrupted work of the men, each of whom obeyed orders and executed them according to his own initiative, without fuss or confusion. The servants were all in the drawing-room. The women aided in the work. Amid the great anguish that oppressed every heart at the first formidable breath of war, no one thought of anything but his individual task, that contribution of heroism which fate was claiming from one and all. ”

“ She hid her face again, as though seized with a sudden feeling of bashfulness, and Philippe saw, between her fingers, her crimson forehead and cheeks.
His pity swelled within him. Through those desultory confidences, he saw Suzanne as she was, ignorant, ill-informed about herself and about the realities of life, troubled with desires which she took for unsatisfied feelings, torn by the implacable duel between contrary instincts and possessing nothing to counteract her woman's nature but a wayward and melancholy virtue. ”

“ And, besides, what she wants, what the other Suzanne wants does not appear to me so very unreasonable. It is an immense longing to love somebody, but to love madly, boundlessly, to love too well.... Then it seems to me that life has no other object ... and all the rest bores me.... You know, Philippe, even when I was ever so small, that word love used to upset me. ”

“ At three o'clock in the morning, Philippe distinguished the angry voice of Farmer Saboureux.
At daybreak, there was a lull. Philippe, exhausted by so many sleepless nights, ended by dozing off and, while still asleep, heard the sound of footsteps coming and going over the pebbles in the garden. Then, suddenly, pretty late in the morning, he was awakened by a clamour outside.
He sprang out of bed. In front of the steps, Victor leapt from his horse, shouting:
"The ultimatum is rejected. It's war. It's war!" ”

“ Jorancé repeated:
"A spark ... and the thing's done."
"Well, let it be done!" said Morestal, with an angry gesture.
Philippe gave a start:
"What are you saying, father?"
"Well, what! There must be an end to all this."
"But the end need not be in blood."
"Nonsense ... nonsense.... There are injuries that can only be wiped out in blood. And, when a great country like ours has received a slap in the face like that of 1870, it can wait forty years, fifty years, but a day comes when it returns the slap in the face ... and with both hands!"
"And suppose we are beaten?" said Philippe. ”

“ The father's whole dream was shattered, his great [Pg 20] dream of seeing Philippe in uniform, with his sword at his side and the gold braid on the sleeve of his loose jacket.
It came as a violent and painful shock; and Morestal was stupefied to find himself faced by an obstinate, deliberate Philippe, a Philippe wholly master of himself and firmly resolved to lead his life according to his own views and his own ambitions. For a week on end, the two argued, hurt each other's feelings, made it up again, only to fall out once more. ”

“ Mme. Morestal came up from the garden and he heard her moaning:
"War! Oh, heaven, war, like last time! And your poor father forced to keep his bed! Ah, Philippe, it's the end of all things!"
She shifted a few chairs in their places, wiped the table-cover with her apron and, when the drawing-room seemed tidy to her eyes, went to the door:
"Perhaps he is awake.... What will he want to do, when he hears?... If only he keeps quiet! A man of his age ..." ”

“ Marthe's little sentence evoked that light. Le Corbier, from the beginning of the scene, had noticed the young woman's strange attitude, her silence, her fevered glances that seemed to probe Philippe Morestal's very soul. He understood the full value of the question from her accent. No more vain declamations and eloquent theories! It was no longer a matter of knowing which of the two, the father or the son, thought the more justly and served his country with the greater devotion. [Pg 209] One thing alone carried weight; and Marthe had stated it in undeniable fashion. ”

“ Marthe answered indignantly:
"It's the laughter of a Frenchman, Philippe, of a Frenchman hiding his anguish under a little light chaff. A glorious laughter, which forms the pride of our race!"
"One does not laugh in the presence of the death of others." ”

“ But you can't go. Your whole being refuses to go. Your legs have not the strength for flight."
The Col du Diable was pouring forth troops and more troops, whose swarming masses showed along the slope. Others must be coming by the Albern Road; and, on every side, along every path and through every gap, the men of Germany were invading the soil of France.
The vanguard reached the high-road, at the end of the Étang-des-Moines.
There was a dull roll of the drum; and, suddenly, in the near silence, a hoarse voice barked out a German word of command.
Philippe started as though he had been struck. ”

“ CHAPTER VI THE BUTTE-AUX-LOUPS
Whatever might be the eventual outcome of this last effort, it was a respite granted to the two nations. It gave a gleam of hope, it left a loop-hole, a chance of an arrangement.
And old Morestal, seized with fresh confidence and already triumphant, rejoiced, as he could not fail to do:
"Why, of course," he concluded, "it will all be settled! Didn't I tell you so from the beginning, Philippe? It only wanted a little firmness.... We have spoken clearly; and, at once, under a show of conciliation which will deceive no one, the enemy forms a plan of retreat. ”

“ Philippe did not stir. Marthe felt that he was, if not shaken, at least anxious, uneasy. But, [Pg 277] suddenly, he uncrossed his arms and, striking the table with his fist:
"I must! I must! I promised to!... And I was right to promise! And I will keep my oath! What you call deserting is fighting, but fighting the real fight! I too am going to wage war, but it will be the war of independence and brains; and my comrades in heroism are waiting for me. There, Marthe, I won't listen to you any longer!" ”

“ But I cannot see that she would be any the less great or admirable for admitting that one of her officials was captured twenty yards to the right of the frontier."
"Why should she admit it, if it is not true?" said Morestal.
"Why should she not admit it, if peace should be the outcome?" retorted Philippe.
"Peace! There's the great word at last!" sneered Morestal. "Peace! You too have allowed yourself to be poisoned by the theories of the day! Peace at the price of disgrace: that's it, is it not?" ”

“ Thereupon they made a bend to the right, hesitated for a moment, careful not to cross the road, and then set off again; and, still tracked by the men, whom they felt close upon their heels, they reached the acclivity of the Butte-aux-Loups. At that moment, surrounded on all hands and utterly blown, they had to stop to take breath.
"Arrest them!" said the leader of the men, in whom they recognized the German commissary, Weisslicht. "Arrest them! We are in Germany."
"You lie!" roared Morestal, fighting with wild energy. "You have not the right.... It's a dirty trap!" ”

“ It is the beauty of a nation to raise itself above those miserable questions. And France is worthy of it. You do not know it, father, but since the last forty years, since that execrable date, since that accursed war the memory of which obsesses your mind and closes your eyes to every [Pg 206] reality of life, a new France has come into existence, a France whose gaze is fixed upon other truths, a France that longs to shake off the evil past, to repudiate all that remains to us of the ancient barbarism and to rid herself of the laws of blood and war. ”

“ Philippe is not a man whom one can forgive. He is a conscious man, who knows what he is doing, incapable of a weakness; and no forgiveness would absolve him. Besides, I myself could not ... no ... I could not indeed." And she added, "I have too much pride."
The phrase was gravely and simply uttered and revealed a haughtiness of soul which Suzanne had not suspected. ”

“ Your duty is to join your regiment, now that war is declared, and to fight, yes, to fight for France, like every other Frenchman ... like the first peasant that comes along, who may tremble with all his poor human flesh, it is true, and whose heart sinks within him and whose stomach turns cold, but who believes that his duty lies in being there ... and who goes ahead, come what may! March on, as he does, Philippe! ”

“ My love of humanity does not stop at the boundaries of the country in which I was born; and I do not hate those who are on the other side of the frontier. I am one of those men who will not have war, who will not have it at any price and who would give their life-blood to save the world the horror of that scourge.' How could I say such things as that to my father? ”

“ You believe that you do not doubt, father! You believe blindly in your certainty! And you believe because you do not see clearly. You have [Pg 204] within you a sentiment that soars above all your thoughts and all your actions, an admirable sentiment, a sentiment that makes you great: it is your love for France. You think that France is always in the right against one and all, come what may, and that she would be disgraced if she were ever in the wrong. That was the frame of mind in which you gave your evidence before the examining-magistrate. ”

“ If it should no longer be possible to prevent anything?"
"That," said Le Corbier, "is a thing which we cannot foretell.... It may, as a matter of fact, be too late...."
This was the hardest thought of all for Philippe. Deep hollows appeared in his cheeks. The minutes seemed to age him like long years of sickness. The sight of him suggested the faces of the dying martyrs in certain primitive pictures. Nothing short of physical pain can thus convulse the features of a man's countenance. And he really suffered as much as if he were being stretched on the rack and burnt with red-hot pincers. ”

“ It is a love that sometimes moves me to tears, when I think of what she has been, of what she is, so beautiful, so intelligent, so great, so adorable for her charm and her good faith! I love her because she is the mother of every lofty idea. ”

“ The captain ordered the soldiers to set out bags at the foot of the wall so as to make the top accessible from the inside.
But a sound of shouting recalled the captain to the drawing-room. The gardener's son came tumbling down from his observatory, yelling:
"Saboureux's Farm is on fire! You can see the smoke! You can see the flames!"
The captain leapt out on the terrace.
The smoke was whirling above the barn. Gleams kindled, faint as yet and hesitating. And, suddenly, as though set free, the flames shot up in angry spirals. The wind at once beat them down again. ”

“ And that was why Suzanne, at the mere sight of Philippe's attitude, had suddenly realized the [Pg 87] imprudence which she had committed in speaking: Philippe, once warned, was escaping her. He was one of those men who become conscious of their duty at the very moment when they perceive their fault.
"Philippe!" she said, once more. "Philippe!"
As he did not reply, she took his hand again and whispered:
"You love me, though ... you love me.... Well, then, if you love me ..."
The tears did not disfigure her exquisite face. ”