Beside the coachman, a Prussian officer was revealed in the bright light, a tall, very thin young man with blonde hair. His military uniform was tight, like a girl's corset. He wears a large shiny hat crookedly, which makes him look very much like the waiter in an English hotel. His mustache was overgrown, and his long beard was straight at the roots, stretching out on both sides, getting thinner and thinner, until at last only a golden filament, so thin that the tip of the beard could not be seen. His mustache seemed to be pressed against the corners of his mouth, tugging at his cheeks, and imprinting a drooping fold on his lips.
He asked the passengers to get off the train in Alsatian French, and said bluntly: "Gentlemen, green (women), can you please come here?" ”
The two nuns obeyed first, and the women of the Holy Gate were always accustomed to resign themselves to everything. Then came the Count and the Countess, followed by the textile mill owner and his wife, and then Loiseau, who pushed his tall wife in front. As soon as he landed on his feet, he said to the officer, "Hello, sir. "It's not so much politeness as caution. But the other party was as arrogant as all those in power, glared at him, and ignored him.
Although they sat at the door, they were the last to get out of the car, and they tried to maintain a solemn and solemn look in front of the enemy. The fat girl struggled to keep herself calm; The Democrats, on the other hand, twisted his long red beard with a slightly trembling hand, with some tragic connotations. The two of them understood that in such an encounter, each of them more or less represented his own country, so they both wanted to maintain some dignity; At the same time, they were indignant at the docility of their companions. The sheep fat ball tried to behave more dignified than the noble women around her; Gao Nudai, on the other hand, felt that he should be a role model, and that his gestures should show the vigor of digging holes on the road for defense in the past.
When they entered the large kitchen of the hotel, the Prussians asked them to show the departure permit issued by the commander-in-chief, on which the name, physical characteristics and occupation of each traveler were recorded, and he compared each person with the contents of the documents, and examined them for a long time.
Then, suddenly, he said "Horn (OK)" and left.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and their stomachs became hungry again, so they ordered the inn to prepare dinner. It takes at least half an hour to cook, so while the two maids are busy, they go to see their respective rooms. The rooms are all arranged in a long corridor at the end of which is a glass door with the words "Number One Hundred" written on it.
Finally, just as everyone was about to sit down at the table, the innkeeper himself came. He had worked as a horse trader, was a fat man with asthma, and his throat was always snorting with hoarse phlegm. His father passed the surname Fronville to him.
He asked:
"Which one is Miss Elisabeth Ruse?"
The sheep fat ball was taken aback, turned around and replied:
"It's me."
"Mademoiselle, the Prussian officer wants to talk to you at once."
"And me?"
"Yes, if you are Miss Elisabeth Rousset."
She didn't know what to do, and after thinking about it for a while, she categorically refused:
"Maybe, but I don't want to go."
There was an immediate commotion around her, and everyone began to talk about why there was such an order. The Count went to the ball of mutton fat and said:
"You are not right, ma'am, for your refusal will cause trouble not only for you, but for all your companions. Don't go against those in power. There is certainly no danger in going through the motions, perhaps to make up for something. ”
Everyone agreed with the Count's statement, begged her, urged her, and explained all kinds of reasoning, and finally persuaded her, because everyone was afraid that refusal would cause more trouble. In the end, she said:
"I'm here for you, that's it!"
The Countess took her hand:
"We are all grateful to you."
She walked out, and everyone waited for her to come back before cooking. Everyone's hearts are actually frustrated, why is it not themselves who was invited, but this grumpy girl. At the same time, he silently prepared some sycophants so that he could say them when it was his turn.
However, after only ten minutes, she came back panting, her face flushed, and she scolded angrily, "Phew! Rogue! This rascal! ”
Everyone was anxious to find out, but she was silent. The Count asked again and again, and she replied very solemnly: "No, it has nothing to do with you, I can't say." ”
So everyone sat down around a large soup pot, and the aroma of cabbage wafted from the pot, and despite the previous tension, the dinner was quite pleasant. The cider was great and Mr. and Mrs. Loisso and two nuns ordered it to save money. Others asked for wine. Gonudai ordered beer, and in a strange way, he would open the bottle to let it foam, tilt the glass to look at it, and then raise it between the lamp and his eyes to carefully appreciate the color of the wine. As he drank, his beard, which was similar in color to his favorite drink, trembled with excitement, and his eyes were greedily fixed on the large beer glass, from which it was difficult to pull his gaze, as if he were fulfilling his only mission after coming to earth. It could be said that in his mind's mind he had combined the two great passions of his life—beer and revolution—into one, and while enjoying one, he would never forget the other.
Mr. and Mrs. Franvi ate at the top of the table, and the husband panted hoarsely like a broken locomotive, and the air pumped through his chest so violently that he could not speak while eating, but the wife could not finish talking. She told all the impressions that the Prussians had made of her, what they said and what they did. She hated the Prussians, first because they had caused her a lot of money, and secondly because she had two sons in the army. She spoke to the Countess, for she was encouraged to speak with a noblewoman.
Then she lowered her voice and said something sensitive, and her husband interrupted her:
"You'd better shut up, Mrs. Franvie."
But she ignored it and continued:
"Yes, ma'am. These people, they will only eat potatoes and roast pork, or pork and potatoes. Don't think they're clean. Not really! They everywhere, forgive me for being disrespectful. If only you had seen them practice, they would have been practicing for hours, or even days. All of them gathered in a clearing: forward, backward, this way, that way. At least they can plant land in their own country, or build roads! But no, ma'am, these soldiers have brought no good! Could it be that the poor common people feed them so that they can learn to kill and do nothing else! Yes, I'm just an old woman who hasn't read a book, but when I saw them walking from morning till night, and I was tired enough, I said to myself: Is it true that someone has invented so many good things to benefit everyone, and after everyone has benefited, there must be some other people who concentrate on doing evil and enduring all kinds of hardships to harm others! Whether it was a Prussian, an Englishman, a Pole, or a Frenchman, killing was always a hateful thing, right? If someone hurts you and you avenge yourself to get revenge on him, it's not right, you will be sentenced; But it is a righteous act for someone to kill our children with a gun like a hunting, otherwise why give a medal to the person who kills the most people? - No, you see, I can't figure it out! ”
Gaonudai raised his voice and said:
"Such a war is barbaric when attacking a peace-loving neighbour; If it is to defend the Motherland, it is a sacred duty. ”
The old woman bowed her head:
"Yes, it's another thing when it's time to defend yourself. But shouldn't we kill all the emperors who treat war as a game? ”
Konudai's eyes shone brightly:
"Well said, female citizen!"
Mr. Carré-Ramadon was in deep thought, and though he fanatically admired the great leaders, the peasant woman's opinion made him think of how much wealth would be created if so many forces were not used in production in a country that was on the verge of collapse because too many people were idle.
Loisso left his seat and went to whisper to the innkeeper. The fat boss laughed, coughed, and kept spitting; The other party's joke made his belly tremble. Eventually, he ordered six barrels of Bordeaux from Loisau, to be delivered the following spring when the Prussians were gone.
After they were full of wine and food, everyone went to bed because they were already tired.
However, Loisau noticed something strange, and after settling his wife into bed, he occasionally put his ears and eyes on the keyhole, trying to discover what he called "corridor secrets".
After about an hour, he heard a rustling sound and hurried through the keyhole to look. I saw that the sheep fat ball was wearing a blue cashmere nightgown with white lace, which looked more plump and colorful than during the day. With a candlestick in her hand, she walked towards the toilet at the end of the hallway, but a door was hidden next to it. A few minutes later, as she walked back, Takanuyo, who was wearing only suspenders, followed. They whispered, and then stood, and the ball seemed determined not to let Gonudai into her room, but Loisso could not hear the conversation. Eventually, though, as they raised their voices, he finally heard a few words. Gaunudai asked warmly, saying:
"Look, you're stupid, what does this mean to you?"
She looked angry and replied:
"No, dear, there are times when you can't do that. It would be even more humiliating to do it here. ”
He probably didn't understand at all, and asked why again. So she got angry and raised her voice even higher:
"Why? You don't understand why? There are Prussians in this house, there are enemies! Maybe it's in the room next door to us, don't you know why? ”
He stopped talking. With foreign enemies on his side, prostitutes will not be touched, and this patriotic shame should awaken the shaky dignity in his heart. He only hugged her for a moment, and then tiptoed back to his room.
Loisau's desire was aroused. He left the keyhole, made a kick-hop in the room, put on his Madras turban, lifted the sheet over his wife's hard body, and woke her up with a deep kiss, while asking softly, "Do you love me, darling?" ”
The whole house fell silent. But not long after, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, perhaps in the cellar or in the attic, a monotonous, regular, and loud snoring sounded. The sound was dull, long, and shook like the pressure of a boiler under steam—it was Mr. Franvi asleep.
The next day, as it had been decided in advance to set out at eight o'clock in the morning, everyone met in the kitchen; But the carriage was parked in the middle of the yard, covered with a layer of snow, and there were no horses or coachmen. Everyone went to the stables, hay houses, and carports to find people, but it was all in vain. So the men decided to go out and look for it in town. They came to the square, at the end of which there was a church, lined with low houses, in which some Prussian soldiers could be seen. They saw the first soldier peeling potatoes; The second was a little further away, helping to clean the barbershop; There was also a beard that reached his sideburns, and he put a crying baby on his lap and shook and kissed him, trying to calm him down. The men were fighting in the army, and the fat peasant women who stayed behind were gesturing the victors to do their work: chopping firewood, dipping bread in soup, grinding coffee. One of them even washed the shirt for his landlady, an old woman with trouble with her hands and feet.
The Count was astonished at this, and asked a deacon who had come out of the parish priest's house, to which the devout old believer replied: "Oh! These are not bad people, I heard that they are not Prussians. They came from further afield, I don't know where, and they all left their wives and children in their hometowns. Ahem, war is no fun for them! I bet their wives and children are also weeping for these men, whose country is as full of suffering as ours. We're not too bad here yet, because they're not doing anything bad, they're working like they're in their own home. You see, sir, the poor should help each other...... Zhang Luo is only fighting those big shots. ”
Angered by the fact that the victor and the loser could get along so well, Gonudai turned away and preferred to stay alone in the hotel. Loisso joked: "They fill the population here." Mr. Carré-Ramadon put it in a serious way: "They are making amends." However, they still couldn't find the driver. Eventually, in the town's café, they found him sitting intimately at a table with the Prussian officer's lieutenant.
The Count stepped forward and asked:
"Didn't we tell you to set up the car at eight o'clock?"
"Oh! That's true, but then someone gave me a new order. ”
"What order?"
"No leashing."
"And who gave this order?"
"Needless to ask, Prussian officers, of course."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Ask him yourself. He ordered me not to take the car, and I didn't do it — that's all. ”
"Did he tell you personally?"
"No, sir, it was the innkeeper who conveyed it."
"When?"
"Last night, when I was about to go back to bed."
The three men went back to the inn worriedly.
They tried to go to Monsieur Franvi, but the maid replied that he would never get out of bed until ten o'clock because he had asthma. He even made it clear that he should never be woken up in advance unless there was a fire.
They also wanted to see the Prussian officers, but they never saw them. Although the officer was staying in the inn, only Mr. Franvie, who had been granted permission, could go to him and say something. All that's left is to wait. The women went back to their rooms and went about their trivial chores.
Beneath the tall chimney of the kitchen, Gonudai sat down, the fire blazing. He had a small coffee table brought in, asked for a small bottle of beer, and smoked a pipe. His pipe is held in almost equal esteem among the Democrats, as if it were playing for the country as if it were playing for the country. This wonderful sepiolite pipe was as black as its owner's teeth, with a thick, admirable layer of smoke, but it was a rich, curved, oily pipe that Gao Nudai always played with and became part of his image. Gonudai sat motionless, his eyes fixed sometimes on the fire, sometimes at the foam floating in the cup. After each sip, he had to contentedly run his long greasy hair with his long thin fingers, while sniffing the foamy mustache with his nose.
Under the pretext of going out to move his legs, Loisso went to a small local hotel to promote his wines. The counts and the textile mill owners began to talk about politics, and they predicted the future of France. One has faith in the Orleans party, the other in the presence of an unknown savior, a hero who has risen to the occasion in a desperate situation: a Du Guecland, perhaps a Joan of Arc? Or another Napoleon I? Alas! Who knows, if only the crown prince weren't so young! Gonudai listened silently as they talked, smiling like a man of the heavens, the smell of tobacco filling the kitchen.