Volume Ii Part 17 (1/2)
”Bless my soul! Guillot,” he rejoined; ”don't lose your temper; I may have said one word when I meant another; my tongue must have taken a twist. I never intended to attack your honesty; but of course you understand that I must get back what I have advanced.”
”I only owe you four hundred and eighty francs, monsieur.”
”Of princ.i.p.al, yes; but the interest, which never stops running--and interest on interest--all that counts up; so that you owe me to-day eight hundred and seventy-five francs, besides the costs of the execution and sale; it will amount to a thousand francs.”
”My G.o.d!”
”That's why I am obliged to sell your cottage, as well as your furniture.”
”But suppose it should bring more, monsieur?”
”Oh! if it should bring more than your debt and the costs, the surplus would go to you--that's your right; but unluckily, instead of going above a thousand francs, I'm afraid it will fall far short of it.”
”But, monsieur, if you're going to sell a house you must have buyers; and to bring them together it is necessary for them to know beforehand that it's to be sold.”
”Don't be afraid, all the formalities have been attended to; the notices were posted.”
”I didn't see them.”
”That isn't my fault.”
”Among all these people that I see here, there isn't one who will buy my house.”
”Pshaw! there's sure to be someone; at a pinch, I'll buy it myself.”
”You, monsieur!”
”Bless me! if no other purchaser comes forward, I shall have to take it; it will embarra.s.s me a good deal, but I shall be driven to it!”
As he said this, Monsieur Jarnouillard rubbed his hands, thinking:
”There won't be any other purchaser and I shall get the house for almost nothing. Then I can let it to Guillot, and it will add just so much to my income.”
The farmer moved away from his creditor, with death in his heart and despair on his face. But, before joining his family, he tried to dissemble his suffering to some extent in order not to increase his wife's grief. Luckily for the poor people, little Claudine came running toward them, followed by her cousin Poucette. And the child, pointing to Honorine and Agathe, who had stopped a short distance away, said:
”Don't cry any more, mamma; there's Poucette's two mistresses; they've come with us and they're very kind; they're sorry for us.”
”Yes,” chimed in Poucette. ”Don't cry, aunt. My mistress told me to tell you that everything she bought would be for you; and she'll buy all she can!”
The farmer's wife felt as if she were coming to life again; she started to rise, to go with her husband to thank the lady who was so kindly disposed to them; but Poucette detained her.
”Madame don't want you to say anything to her now,” she said; ”for if anyone should guess she was doing it for you, the dealers are so mean, they're quite capable of bidding against her and making her pay more for everything; you mustn't look as if you knew anything about it; you can thank her afterward.”
Meanwhile the notables of the neighborhood, those who are commonly called the _bourgeois_ in the country, began to arrive for the sale. The slightest novelty is an event which one is careful not to miss when one lives in a small village.
Moreover, Monsieur Jarnouillard, being interested in the success of the sale, had not failed to say to all his acquaintances:
”It's always well to go to a sale; you often find something you need and that you had forgotten about; there are sure to be good opportunities; and you should seize opportunities; they don't come twice.”
The Droguet family soon appeared on the scene, in the person of its tall, bulky mistress, who leaned familiarly on the arm of friend Luminot, the jovial dealer in wines. Little Monsieur Droguet walked behind his wife, taking measured steps, almost in rhythm.