登陆注册
5431700000101

第101章

"That I will not," replied Patience sternly; "you are not worthy to hear any words from that mouth, and I shall certainly never repeat them to you. Why do you want to know them? Do you hope to hide anything from men hereafter? God saw you; for Him there are no secrets. Leave this place; stay at Roche-Mauprat; keep quiet there;and when your uncle is dead and your affairs are settled, leave this part of the country. If you take my advice, you will leave it this very day. I do not want to put the law on your track, unless your actions force me. But others besides myself, if they are not certain of the truth, have at least a suspicion of it. Before two days have passed a chance word said in public, the indiscretion of some servant, may awaken the attention of justice, and from that point to the scaffold, when a man is guilty, is but a single step. I used not to hate you; I even had a liking for you; take this advice, then, which you say you are ready to follow. Go away at once, or remain in hiding and ready for flight. I do not desire your ruin; Edmee would not desire it either--so--do you understand?""You must be insane to think that I could listen to such advice. I, hide myself! or flee like a murderer! You can't dream of that! Come on! come on! I defy the whole of you! I know not what fury and hatred are fretting you and uniting you all against me; I know not why you want to keep me from seeing my uncle and cousin; but I despise your follies. My place is here; I shall not quit it except by order of my cousin or uncle; and this order, too, I must take from their own lips;I cannot allow sentence to be brought me by any outsider. So, thanks for your wisdom, Monsieur Patience; in this case my own will suffice.

I am your humble servant, sir."

I was preparing to leave the cottage when he rushed in front of me, and for a moment I saw that he was ready to use force to detain me. In spite of his advanced age, in spite of my height and strength, he might still have been a match, perhaps more than a match, for me in a struggle of this kind. Short, bent, broad-shouldered, he was a Hercules.

He stopped, however, just as he was about to lay hands on me, and, seized with one of those fits of deep tenderness to which he was subject in his moments of greatest passion, he gazed at me with eyes of pity, and said, in a gentle tone:

"My poor boy! you whom I loved as a son (for I looked upon you as Edmee's brother), do not hasten to your ruin. I beseech you in the name of her whom you have murdered, and whom you still love--I can see it--but whom you may never behold again. Believe me, but yesterday your family was a proud vessel, whose helm was in your hands; to-day it is a drifting wreck, without either sail or pilot--left to be handled by cabinboys, as friend Marcasse says. Well, my poor mariner, do not persist in drowning yourself; I am throwing you a rope; take it --a day more, and it may be too late. Remember that if the law gets hold of you, the man who is trying to save you to-day, to-morrow will be obliged to appear against you and condemn you. Do not compel me to do a thing the very thought of which brings tears to my eyes. Bernard, you have been loved, my lad; even to-day you may live on the past."I burst into tears, and the sergeant, who returned at this moment, began to weep also; he implored me to go back to Roche-Mauprat; but Isoon recovered and, thrusting them both away, said:

"I know that both of you are excellent men, and both most generous;you must have some love for me too, since, though you believe me blackened with a hideous crime, you can still think of saving my life.

But have no fears on my account, good friends; I am innocent of this crime, and my one wish is that the matter may be fully investigated, so that I may be acquitted--yes, this is inevitable, I owe it to my family to live until my honour has been freed from stain. Then, if Iam condemned to see my cousin die, as I have no one in the world to love but her, I will blow my brains out. Why, then, should I be downcast? I set little store by my life. May God make the last hours of her whom I shall certainly not survive painless and peaceful--that is all I ask of Him."Patience shook his head with a gloomy, dissatisfied expression. He was so convinced of my crime that all my denials only served to alienate his pity. Marcasse still loved me, though he thought I was guilty. Ihad no one in the world to answer for my innocence, except myself.

"If you persist on returning to the chateau," exclaimed Patience, "you must swear before you leave that you will not enter your cousin's room, or your uncle's, without the abbe's permission.""What I swear is that I am innocent," I replied, "and that I will allow no man to saddle me with a crime. Back, both of you! Let me pass! Patience, if you consider it your duty to denounce me, go and do so. All that I ask is that I may not be condemned without a hearing; Iprefer the bar of justice to that of mere opinion."I rushed out of the cottage and returned to the chateau. However, not wishing to make a scandal before the servants, and knowing quite well that they could not hide Edmee's real condition from me, I went and shut myself up in the room I usually occupied.

But in the evening, just as I was leaving it to get news of the two patients, Mademoiselle Leblanc again told me that some one wished to speak with me outside. I noticed that her face betrayed a sense of joy as well as fear. I concluded that they had come to arrest me, and Isuspected (rightly, as it transpired) that Mademoiselle Leblanc had denounced me. I went to the window, and saw some of the mounted police in the courtyard.

同类推荐
  • 重阳全真集

    重阳全真集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 袁督师诗集

    袁督师诗集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 题云际寺准上人房

    题云际寺准上人房

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 文殊师利佛土严净经

    文殊师利佛土严净经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 离俗览

    离俗览

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 绿山墙的安妮

    绿山墙的安妮

    绿山墙农舍的马修和马瑞拉兄妹,本想从孤儿院领养一个男孩来帮忙干农活,没想到却阴差阳错接来了红头发女孩安妮。安妮,拥有玫瑰般绚丽的想象力,一张小嘴巴永远讲个不停,给身边所有的事物取可爱的名字,无心犯下的错误常常让人忍俊不禁,活泼开朗的性格、勤奋好强的天性使她在学校里赢得了很多朋友,并获得了学业上的极大成功。安妮的到来使原本沉闷的绿山墙焕发出诱人的生机与活力,也给古老的村庄带来了无穷的欢乐。这《绿山墙的安妮》是一部真善美的启蒙,主人公安妮活泼、纯真的天性自然甜美地流淌在每个孩子的心里。
  • 收徒才能变强

    收徒才能变强

    高三学生傅一凡觉醒了灵魂异能,道心种魔,从此走上疯狂收徒强大自身的旅途。
  • 豪门宠婚:总裁的第32任娇妻

    豪门宠婚:总裁的第32任娇妻

    她,一个平凡的大学女孩。他,一个身世复杂的豪门总裁。一次偶然,他看上了她,从此开始了猫捉老鼠的游戏。这场角逐展开了友情、爱情和亲情的选择,三者不可兼得的时候,他们该何去何从……
  • 人生运势500问:手相100问

    人生运势500问:手相100问

    “摊开你的掌心,让我看看你的玄之又玄的秘密。”无印良品演唱的《掌心》就是希望从掌心中获取爱情的信息。双手还是一本隐藏个人密码的“宝藏”,形状、颜色、线条、纹路等,皆是解开密码的关键之钥,伸出双手、仔细辨识、人生即可尽握掌中。
  • 大叔的骄纵妻

    大叔的骄纵妻

    【依旧宠虐文,虐男宠女】他温文尔雅。她视他为最亲近的、最疼爱自己的长辈。他视她为猎物。十二岁的差距,该肿么办?简之~攻其心,其男友取而代之也。片段一:“恩,作!太作!也不知是哪个没眼的公司给签了这货,就这演技,半点金珠子都没掉的,也好意思演苦情剧!”毛融融腿搭在旁边男人的腿上,嘴里咔吧咔吧咀嚼着男人剥好的开心果。顾薄严随意看了眼电视,上个月刚刚被自个儿公司签了的所谓红透半边天的女明星,问道。“融宝不喜欢?”毛融融点了点头,结果在她有生之年就再也没有在电视上看过那个女人。片段二:“离婚!!”毛融融撕心裂肺的喊道,脸上泪痕更是一道接着一道。“做梦!!”顾薄严脸上未见一丝的愤怒,再去仔细看却可以发现眼眶竟泛已泛起淡淡的红色。“毛融融!就算是我逼他离开的你又怎么样?就算是我骗你跟我借我又怎么样?你随便问你认识的一个人,问谁对你毛融融最好!你他妈的听听他说出来的是不是顾薄严这三个字!我把自个儿的命都给你了,你还有什么不满意的?除了十二岁的差距,我顾薄严哪里配不上你!!”p:裴儿在大学安定下来了,于是抓紧时间的开了新文,掠爱应该短时间内不更了,以后可能会写一两张,希望宝贝儿们支持裴儿的新文呦!爱你们!么么么
  • 网吧诡事

    网吧诡事

    网吧是一个家喻户晓的东西,你肯定也听说过网吧猝死、网吧生孩子等关键新闻词。我是一名网管,我用我亲身经历为大家讲述死亡背后更恐怖的真相,记住,网吧里有些机子可不是给活人坐的……
  • 修行念诵仪轨次第法

    修行念诵仪轨次第法

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 一千零一夜

    一千零一夜

    《一千零一夜》又名《天方夜谭》,是古代阿拉伯文化盛开的一朵文学奇葩,它汇集了古代中东、中亚和其他地区多个民族的神话传说、寓言故事,在世界各国的神话故事中,散发着自己独特的艺术魅力,深深地吸引着世界各国读者……《一千零一夜》以自己那曲折离奇的故事情节和痛快淋漓的文学语言以及优美、动人、独特的阿拉伯和伊斯兰色彩,保持着自己持久的艺术生命力,它的成书不是一个人、两个人写成的,而是历代阿拉伯民间说书艺人以及广大人民群众反复加工、转达、创作的结果。故事最早起源于一部波斯故事集
  • 原来,你也喜欢我

    原来,你也喜欢我

    那年,姜柳风说:“我们在一起吧,因为我喜欢别人。”那年,唐梨月说:“我们分手吧,因为别人。”三年后,姜柳风如约来到唐梨月的城市,她也如约尽了地主之谊,然后两人就开始了没羞没臊的同居生活。然而,唐梨月人生中唯一的一次恋爱,始于她也终于她的那个“她”来了,这一次,他们之间会因为她继续分道扬镳还是尽释前嫌?原来,你也喜欢我,就如我喜欢你一般。原来,时间兜兜转转,我们却仍旧还在一起。原来,时光往复,爱你如初。
  • 人人都能O2O

    人人都能O2O

    本书主要内容包括:O2O模式的另类实践者、海亮:全产业链打造生鲜O2O、嘉光汽修:一家汽车维修店的O2O尝试、车易安:O2O集成服务商、 波奇:从社区出发的全平台宠物电商、易淘食张洋:做外卖O2O的诀窍是打穿商家、黄韬:化妆品O2O需要平衡多方利益、365日历:信息与社区化的新模式、方回春堂溪百川:医药O2O的造粉路等。