章节正文
appeared.
Pere Merlier was there, seated upon the bench beside the well. He
was smoking. The young girl again begged, wept, sank on her knees.
She wished to gain time. The hope of seeing the French return had
increased in her, and while lamenting she thought she heard in the
distance, the measured tramp of an army. Oh, if they would come, if
they would deliver them all?
"Listen, monsieur," she said: "an hour, another hour; you can grant
us another hour!"
But the officer remained inflexible. He even ordered two men to
seize her and take her away, that they might quietly proceed with
the execution of the old man. Then a frightful struggle took place
in Francoise's heart. She could not allow her father to be thus
assassinated. No, no; she would die rather with Dominique. She was
running toward her chamber when Dominique himself entered the
courtyard.
The officer and the soldiers uttered a shout of triumph. But the
young man, calmly, with a somewhat severe look, went up to
Francoise, as if she had been the only person present.
"You did wrong," he said. "Why did you not bring me back? It
remained for Pere Bontemps to tell me everything. But I am here!"
CHAPTER V
THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH
It was three o'clock in the afternoon. Great black clouds, the
trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky. The
yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley
of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full
of sinister gloom. The Prussian officer had contented himself with
causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he
reserved for him. Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible
anguish. Despite her father's entreaties she would not quit the
courtyard. She was awaiting the French. But the hours sped on;
night was approaching, and she suffered the more as all the time
gained did not seem to be likely to change the frightful denouement.
About three o'clock the Prussians made their preparations for
departure. For an instant past the officer had, as on the previous
day, shut himself up with Dominique. Francoise realized that the
young man's life was in balance. She clasped her hands; she prayed.
Pere Merlier, beside her, maintained silence and the rigid attitude
of an old peasant who does not struggle against fate.
"Oh, MON DIEU! Oh, MON DIEU!" murmured Francoise. "They are going
to kill him!"
The miller drew her to him and took her on his knees as if she had
been a child.
At that moment the officer came out, while behind him two men
brought Dominique.
"Never! Never!" cried the latter. "I am ready to die!"
"Think well," resumed the officer. "The service you refuse me
another will render us. I am generous: I offer you your life. I
want you simply to guide us through the forest to Montredon. There
must be pathways leading there."
Dominique was silent.
"So you persist in your infatuation, do you?"
"Kill me and end all this!" replied the young man.
Francoise, her hands clasped, supplicated him from afar. She had
forgotten everything; she would have advised him to commit an act of
cowardice. But Pere Merlier seized her hands that the Prussians
might not see her wild gestures.
"He is right," he whispered: "it is better to die!"
The platoon of execution was there. The officer awaited a sign of
weakness on Dominique's part. He still expected to conquer him. No
one spoke. In the distance violent crashes of thunder were heard.
Oppressive heat weighed upon the country. But suddenly, amid the
silence, a cry broke forth:
"The French! The French!"
Yes, the French were at hand. Upon the Sauval highway, at the edge
of the wood, the line of red pantaloons could be distinguished. In
the mill there was an extraordinaryagitation. The Prussian
soldiers ran hither and thither with guttural exclamations. Not a
shot had yet been fired.
"The French! The French!" cried Francoise, clapping her hands.
She was wild with joy. She escaped from her father's grasp; she
laughed and tossed her arms in the air. At last they had come and
come in time, since Dominique was still alive!
A terrible platoon fire, which burst upon her ears like a clap of
thunder, caused her to turn. The officer muttered between his
teeth:
"Before everything, let us settle this affair!"
And with his own hand pushing Dominique against the wall of a shed
he ordered his men to fire. When Francoise looked Dominique lay
upon the ground with blood streaming from his neck and shoulders.
She did not weep; she stood stupefied. Her eyes grew fixed, and she
sat down under the shed, a few paces from the body. She stared at
it, wringing her hands. The Prussians had seized Pere Merlier as a
hostage.
It was a stirringcombat. The officer had rapidly posted his men,
comprehending that he could not beat a retreat without being cut to
pieces. Hence he would fight to the last. Now the Prussians
defended the mill, and the French attacked it. The fusillade began
with unusualviolence. For half an hour it did not cease. Then a
hollow sound was heard, and a ball broke a main branch of the old
elm. The French had cannon. A battery, stationed just above the
ditch in which Dominique had hidden himself, swept the wide street
of Rocreuse. The struggle could not last long.
Ah, the poor mill! Balls pierced it in every part. Half of the
roof was carried away. Two walls were battered down. But it was on
the side of the Morelle that the destruction was most lamentable.
The ivy, torn from the tottering edifice, hung like rags; the river
was encumbered with wrecks of all kinds, and through a breach was
visible Francoise's chamber with its bed, the white curtains of
which were carefully closed. Shot followed shot; the old wheel
received two balls and gave vent to an agonizing groan; the buckets
were borne off by the current; the framework was crushed. The soul
of the gay mill had left it!
Then the French began the assault. There was a furious fight with
swords and bayonets. Beneath the rust-colored sky the valley was
choked with the dead. The broad meadows had a wild look with their
tall, isolated trees and their hedges of poplars which stained them
with shade. To the right and to the left the forests were like the
walls of an ancient ampitheater which enclosed the fighting
gladiators, while the springs, the fountains and the flowing brooks
seemed to sob amid the panic of the country.
Beneath the shed Francoise still sat near Dominique's body; she had
not moved. Pere Merlier had received a slight wound. The Prussians
were exterminated, but the ruined mill was on fire in a dozen
places. The French rushed into the courtyard, headed by their
captain. It was his first success of the war. His face beamed with
triumph. He waved his sword, shouting:
"Victory! Victory!"
On seeing the wounded miller, who was endeavoring to comfort
Francoise, and noticing the body of Dominique, his joyous look
changed to one of sadness. Then he knelt beside the young man and,
tearing open his blouse, put his hand to his heart.
"Thank God!" he cried. "It is yet beating! Send for the surgeon!"
At the captain's words Francoise leaped to her feet.
"There is hope!" she cried. "Oh, tell me there is hope!"
At that moment the surgeon appeared. He made a hasty examination
and said:
"The young man is severely hurt, but life is not extinct; he can be
saved!" By the surgeon's orders Dominique was transported to a
neighboringcottage, where he was placed in bed. His wounds were
dressed; restoratives were administered, and he soon recovered
consciousness. When he opened his eyes he saw Francoise sitting
beside him and through the open window caught sight of Pere Merlier
talking with the French captain. He passed his hand over his
forehead with a bewildered air and said:
"They did not kill me after all!"
"No," replied Francoise. "The French came, and their surgeon saved
you."
Pere Merlier turned and said through the window:
"No talking yet, my young ones!"
In due time Dominique was entirely restored, and when peace again
blessed the land he wedded his beloved Francoise.
The mill was rebuilt, and Pere Merlier had a new wheel upon which to
bestow whatevertenderness was not engrossed by his daughter and her
husband.
End
Pere Merlier was there, seated upon the bench beside the well. He
was smoking. The young girl again begged, wept, sank on her knees.
She wished to gain time. The hope of seeing the French return had
increased in her, and while lamenting she thought she heard in the
distance, the measured tramp of an army. Oh, if they would come, if
they would deliver them all?
"Listen, monsieur," she said: "an hour, another hour; you can grant
us another hour!"
But the officer remained inflexible. He even ordered two men to
seize her and take her away, that they might quietly proceed with
the execution of the old man. Then a frightful struggle took place
in Francoise's heart. She could not allow her father to be thus
assassinated. No, no; she would die rather with Dominique. She was
running toward her chamber when Dominique himself entered the
courtyard.
The officer and the soldiers uttered a shout of triumph. But the
young man, calmly, with a somewhat severe look, went up to
Francoise, as if she had been the only person present.
"You did wrong," he said. "Why did you not bring me back? It
remained for Pere Bontemps to tell me everything. But I am here!"
CHAPTER V
THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH
It was three o'clock in the afternoon. Great black clouds, the
trail of some neighboring storm, had slowly filled the sky. The
yellow heavens, the brass covered uniforms, had changed the valley
of Rocreuse, so gay in the sunlight, into a den of cutthroats full
of sinister gloom. The Prussian officer had contented himself with
causing Dominique to be imprisoned without announcing what fate he
reserved for him. Since noon Francoise had been torn by terrible
anguish. Despite her father's entreaties she would not quit the
courtyard. She was awaiting the French. But the hours sped on;
night was approaching, and she suffered the more as all the time
gained did not seem to be likely to change the frightful denouement.
About three o'clock the Prussians made their preparations for
departure. For an instant past the officer had, as on the previous
day, shut himself up with Dominique. Francoise realized that the
young man's life was in balance. She clasped her hands; she prayed.
Pere Merlier, beside her, maintained silence and the rigid attitude
of an old peasant who does not struggle against fate.
"Oh, MON DIEU! Oh, MON DIEU!" murmured Francoise. "They are going
to kill him!"
The miller drew her to him and took her on his knees as if she had
been a child.
At that moment the officer came out, while behind him two men
brought Dominique.
"Never! Never!" cried the latter. "I am ready to die!"
"Think well," resumed the officer. "The service you refuse me
another will render us. I am generous: I offer you your life. I
want you simply to guide us through the forest to Montredon. There
must be pathways leading there."
Dominique was silent.
"So you persist in your infatuation, do you?"
"Kill me and end all this!" replied the young man.
Francoise, her hands clasped, supplicated him from afar. She had
forgotten everything; she would have advised him to commit an act of
cowardice. But Pere Merlier seized her hands that the Prussians
might not see her wild gestures.
"He is right," he whispered: "it is better to die!"
The platoon of execution was there. The officer awaited a sign of
weakness on Dominique's part. He still expected to conquer him. No
one spoke. In the distance violent crashes of thunder were heard.
Oppressive heat weighed upon the country. But suddenly, amid the
silence, a cry broke forth:
"The French! The French!"
Yes, the French were at hand. Upon the Sauval highway, at the edge
of the wood, the line of red pantaloons could be distinguished. In
the mill there was an extraordinaryagitation. The Prussian
soldiers ran hither and thither with guttural exclamations. Not a
shot had yet been fired.
"The French! The French!" cried Francoise, clapping her hands.
She was wild with joy. She escaped from her father's grasp; she
laughed and tossed her arms in the air. At last they had come and
come in time, since Dominique was still alive!
A terrible platoon fire, which burst upon her ears like a clap of
thunder, caused her to turn. The officer muttered between his
teeth:
"Before everything, let us settle this affair!"
And with his own hand pushing Dominique against the wall of a shed
he ordered his men to fire. When Francoise looked Dominique lay
upon the ground with blood streaming from his neck and shoulders.
She did not weep; she stood stupefied. Her eyes grew fixed, and she
sat down under the shed, a few paces from the body. She stared at
it, wringing her hands. The Prussians had seized Pere Merlier as a
hostage.
It was a stirringcombat. The officer had rapidly posted his men,
comprehending that he could not beat a retreat without being cut to
pieces. Hence he would fight to the last. Now the Prussians
defended the mill, and the French attacked it. The fusillade began
with unusualviolence. For half an hour it did not cease. Then a
hollow sound was heard, and a ball broke a main branch of the old
elm. The French had cannon. A battery, stationed just above the
ditch in which Dominique had hidden himself, swept the wide street
of Rocreuse. The struggle could not last long.
Ah, the poor mill! Balls pierced it in every part. Half of the
roof was carried away. Two walls were battered down. But it was on
the side of the Morelle that the destruction was most lamentable.
The ivy, torn from the tottering edifice, hung like rags; the river
was encumbered with wrecks of all kinds, and through a breach was
visible Francoise's chamber with its bed, the white curtains of
which were carefully closed. Shot followed shot; the old wheel
received two balls and gave vent to an agonizing groan; the buckets
were borne off by the current; the framework was crushed. The soul
of the gay mill had left it!
Then the French began the assault. There was a furious fight with
swords and bayonets. Beneath the rust-colored sky the valley was
choked with the dead. The broad meadows had a wild look with their
tall, isolated trees and their hedges of poplars which stained them
with shade. To the right and to the left the forests were like the
walls of an ancient ampitheater which enclosed the fighting
gladiators, while the springs, the fountains and the flowing brooks
seemed to sob amid the panic of the country.
Beneath the shed Francoise still sat near Dominique's body; she had
not moved. Pere Merlier had received a slight wound. The Prussians
were exterminated, but the ruined mill was on fire in a dozen
places. The French rushed into the courtyard, headed by their
captain. It was his first success of the war. His face beamed with
triumph. He waved his sword, shouting:
"Victory! Victory!"
On seeing the wounded miller, who was endeavoring to comfort
Francoise, and noticing the body of Dominique, his joyous look
changed to one of sadness. Then he knelt beside the young man and,
tearing open his blouse, put his hand to his heart.
"Thank God!" he cried. "It is yet beating! Send for the surgeon!"
At the captain's words Francoise leaped to her feet.
"There is hope!" she cried. "Oh, tell me there is hope!"
At that moment the surgeon appeared. He made a hasty examination
and said:
"The young man is severely hurt, but life is not extinct; he can be
saved!" By the surgeon's orders Dominique was transported to a
neighboringcottage, where he was placed in bed. His wounds were
dressed; restoratives were administered, and he soon recovered
consciousness. When he opened his eyes he saw Francoise sitting
beside him and through the open window caught sight of Pere Merlier
talking with the French captain. He passed his hand over his
forehead with a bewildered air and said:
"They did not kill me after all!"
"No," replied Francoise. "The French came, and their surgeon saved
you."
Pere Merlier turned and said through the window:
"No talking yet, my young ones!"
In due time Dominique was entirely restored, and when peace again
blessed the land he wedded his beloved Francoise.
The mill was rebuilt, and Pere Merlier had a new wheel upon which to
bestow whatevertenderness was not engrossed by his daughter and her
husband.
End
- triumph [´traiəmf]
n.胜利 vi.得胜，战胜 (初中英语单词) - calmly [´kɑ:mli] ad.平静地；无风浪地 (初中英语单词)
- severe [si´viə] a.严厉的；苛刻的 (初中英语单词)
- neighboring [´neibəriŋ] a.邻近的；接壤的 (初中英语单词)
- sunlight [´sʌnlait] n.日光 (初中英语单词)
- despite [di´spait] prep.尽管 (初中英语单词)
- instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)
- peasant [´pezənt] n.农民；庄稼人 (初中英语单词)
- generous [´dʒenərəs] a.慷慨的；丰盛的 (初中英语单词)
- commit [kə´mit] vt.犯(罪)；把...判处 (初中英语单词)
- conquer [´kɔŋkə] v.征服；克服；抑制 (初中英语单词)
- violent [´vaiələnt] a.强暴的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)
- thunder [´θʌndə] n.雷 vi.打雷 vt.吼出 (初中英语单词)
- highway [´haiwei] n.公路，大道 (初中英语单词)
- extraordinary [ik´strɔ:dinəri] a.非常的；额外的 (初中英语单词)
- hither [´hiðə] ad.到此处 (初中英语单词)
- thither [´ðiðə] ad.到那里 a.那边的 (初中英语单词)
- retreat [ri´tri:t] v.&n.退却；撤退；放弃 (初中英语单词)
- unusual [ʌn´ju:ʒuəl] a.不平常的；异常的 (初中英语单词)
- violence [´vaiələns] n.猛烈；暴力(行) (初中英语单词)
- cannon [´kænən] n.大炮 (初中英语单词)
- hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- destruction [di´strʌkʃən] n.破坏，毁灭 (初中英语单词)
- assault [ə´sɔ:lt] vt.袭击；殴打 n.攻击 (初中英语单词)
- furious [´fjuəriəs] a.狂怒的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)
- valley [´væli] n.谷；河谷；流域 (初中英语单词)
- cottage [´kɔtidʒ] n.村舍；小屋；小别墅 (初中英语单词)
- beloved [bi´lʌvd] a.为....所爱的 n.爱人 (初中英语单词)
- whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)
- seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)
- execution [,eksi´kju:ʃən] n.执行；演奏；表演 (高中英语单词)
- frightful [´fraitfəl] a.可怕的；不愉快的 (高中英语单词)
- chamber [´tʃeimbə] n.房间；议院；会议室 (高中英语单词)
- contented [kən´tentid] a.满足的；心满意足的 (高中英语单词)
- persist [pə´sist] vi.坚持；固执；持续 (高中英语单词)
- distinguished [di´stiŋgwiʃt] a.卓越的，著名的 (高中英语单词)
- agitation [,ædʒi´teiʃən] n.鼓动；摇动；焦虑 (高中英语单词)
- combat [´kɔmbæt] v.&n.斗争；战斗；争斗 (高中英语单词)
- battery [´bætəri] n.炮兵连；炮台；电池 (高中英语单词)
- breach [bri:tʃ] n.&v.破坏；违犯 (高中英语单词)
- courtyard [´kɔ:tjɑ:d] n.院子，庭院 (高中英语单词)
- joyous [´dʒɔiəs] a.充满快乐的 (高中英语单词)
- sadness [´sædnis] n.悲哀；悲痛；凄惨 (高中英语单词)
- surgeon [´sə:dʒən] n.外科医生；军医 (高中英语单词)
- severely [si´viəli] ad.剧烈地；严格地 (高中英语单词)
- tenderness [´tendənis] n.娇嫩；柔软；温柔 (高中英语单词)
- sinister [´sinistə] a.阴险的；不吉的 (英语四级单词)
- miller [´milə] n.磨坊主；铣床(工) (英语四级单词)
- stirring [´stə:riŋ] a.活跃的；热闹的 (英语四级单词)
- edifice [´edifis] n.大厦；(知识的)体系 (英语四级单词)
- blouse [blauz] n.女衬衫；短上衣 (英语四级单词)
- extinct [ik´stiŋkt] a.熄灭的；灭绝的 (英语四级单词)
- wedded [´wedid] a.(已)结婚的；献身的 (英语四级单词)
- framework [´freimwə:k] n.骨架；计划；机构 (英语六级单词)
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