Volume III Part 26 (2/2)
”Ordinarily, the jailers do not agree with that description. But Roussel is another bird; he deserves it. Just now he whispered in my ear, 'Pique-Vinaigre, my boy, do you know Germain well?' 'Yes; the b.u.t.t of the yard,' I answered.” Then, interrupting himself, Pique-Vinaigre said to Germain, ”Pardon, excuse me, if I have called you a b.u.t.t. Do not think of it; wait for the end. 'Yes, then,' I answered, 'I know Germain, the b.u.t.t of the prison.' 'And yours also, perhaps, Pique-Vinaigre?' asked the keeper, in a severe tone. 'I am too cowardly and too good-natured to allow myself any kind of a b.u.t.t black, white, or gray, and Germain still less than any other for he does not appear wicked, and they are unjust toward him.'
'Well, Pique-Vinaigre, you have reason to be on Germain's side, for he has been good to you.' 'To me? How so?' 'That is to say, not to you; but, saving that, you owe him great grat.i.tude,' answered old Roussel.”
”Let us see; explain yourself a little more clearly,” said Germain, smiling.
”That is exactly what I said to the keeper: 'Do speak more clearly.' Then he answered, 'It is not Germain, but his pretty little visitor, who has been full of kindness for your sister. She overheard her relate to you her misfortunes, and, as she was about leaving, the girl offered her any a.s.sistance she could render.'”
”Good Rigolette!” cried Germain, affected. ”She took good care not to mention it.”
”'Oh, then,' I answered the keeper, 'I am only a gander. You are right; Germain has been good to me; for his visitor is, as may be said, himself, and my sister Jeanne is myself and much more.'”
”Poor little Rigolette!” said Germain. ”This does not surprise me; she has a heart so generous and susceptible!”
”The keeper went on; 'I heard all this without pretending to listen. Now you know, if you do not try to render a service to Germain; if you do not warn him in case of any plot against him, you will be a finished scoundrel, Pique-Vinaigre.' 'Keeper, I am a scoundrel,' commenced I, 'it is true; but not a finished scoundrel. In fine, since Germain's visitor wished to do some good to my poor Jeanne, who is a good and honest girl, I will do for Germain what I can; unfortunately, that will be no great things.'”
”'Never mind, do what you can; I am also going to give you some good news for Germain; I have just heard it.'”
”What is it, then?” asked Germain.
”'To-morrow there will be a separate cell vacant,' the keeper told me to inform you.”
”Can it be true? Oh, what happiness!” cried Germain. ”The good man was right; it is good news you tell me.”
”I think so; for your place is not with rough-scuff like us, Germain.” Then he added hastily, and in a low tone, as he pretended to stoop for something, ”Germain, look at the prisoners, how they stare at us; they are astonished to see us talking together. I leave you; be on your guard. If they pick a quarrel, do not answer; they only want a pretext to engage you in a dispute, and beat you. Barbillon is to begin the dispute--look out for him; I will try to turn them from this notion.” And Pique-Vinaigre lifted up his head as if he had found what he pretended to look for. Only informed of the conspiracy of the morning, which was to provoke a quarrel in which Germain would be roughly handled, in order to force the governor to change his ward, not only was Pique-Vinaigre ignorant of the murderous project, but he was also ignorant that they counted on his story of Gringalet to deceive and distract the attention of the keeper.
”Come along, lazybones!” said Nicholas to Pique-Vinaigre, going to meet him; ”leave your ration of flesh there; we have a merry-making and feasting. I invite you.”
”Whereabouts? To the Panier-Fleuri? to the Pet.i.t Ramponneau?”
”No, in the hall; the table is set on a bench. We have some ham, eggs, and cheese--my treat.”
”That suits me; but it is a pity to lose my ration, and still more that my sister cannot profit by it. Neither she nor her children often see meat, except at the butcher's door.”
”Come, come quick, Skeleton is making a beast of himself; he is capable of devouring the whole with Barbillon.”
Nicholas and Pique-Vinaigre entered the hall; seated astride on the end of the bench where the feast was spread, Skeleton swore and cursed while waiting for the giver of the banquet.
”Here you are at last, snail, laggard!” cried the bandit, at the sight of Pique-Vinaigre; ”what have you been doing then?”
”He was chatting with Germain,” said Nicholas, carving the ham.
”Oh! talking with Germain?” said Skeleton, looking attentively at Pique-Vinaigre, without pausing in his mastication.
”Yes!” answered the patterer. ”Oh! here is another who never invented bootjacks and hard eggs (I say eggs, because I adore them). Isn't he a fool! this Germain! I used to think that he was a spy, but he is too much of a flat for that!”
”Oh! you think so?” said Skeleton, exchanging a rapid and significant glance with Nicholas and Barbillon.
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