UNKNOWN UNKNOWN

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2036, 25 July 1885, Page 2 (Supplement)

UNKNOWN UNKNOWN

Ey EMILB SOLA.

(concluded.) His cwh bocimo lost In » rattle. 11 0 now only iiunibmil <ii.so<.twneet<3»l wurds, foaming sit (.be mouth, hie cLun wot wltbi saliva. Tins dootor ruM*«l his nota with Ilia iiogcr, tt inoM.uu'iic no ijoutt. habitual with him in the pr> R"iv}t} itl HeiloxvH «i»ses. H$ firm dto tbp fmutc I'Ui'^un, aud Hiked him in h low voici : " Aua tho temperature, tslill tho huudred dngri'iM, i» it not? 1 ' * Yea. fir." Tho I'octor pouted. Ho continued there another two ininuti>,.i, his eyes fixed on Cjupeau. Then he ehrugged his shoulders, addim: " The same treatment, broth, milk, lemonade, and tbc potion of extract of quinine. Do not leive him, and call ma if necessary." xL.- wen 5 oat, asd Girvaiso followed him, to ■i»k him if thoro was aoy hope. But he walked so atiilly along' the aorridor, that she did not dire approach, him. She sbood roofed there fi minute, hesitating whether to return and look ut bsr husband. The dime she had already parsed there had been far from plaasant. An she agam heard him calling out that tho lcnonacle flmolt tf brand/, she hurried "away, having had enough of the performance. In the sticots, the galloping of tho horses and the noi<-e of the vehicles Jiad'i hor fanoy that •ill the in/oates of »S.iinte Anne were afc her hteN. And that dootor who had fchre&tenud her 1 11 wily, she already thought '.he had the COlLpltthlt. I-n the line dc la Goutte-d'Or, the Boohes and tiic others were naturally awaiting hor. She moment she appeared, they called her into tho doorkeeper's room. Well 1 waa old Coupeau still in the land of the living ? Good heavens 1 yes, ho utill li\cd. Bocbe seemed amazed and confounded ; he had bet a bottle that Old Goupeuu would not last till the eu>n ing. What I he still livad 1 And they all oxhibitetl their a*»onUnnieut, and slapped their thiahe. Tnero was s fellow who lasted 1 M-uUme Lcrilleuz reckoned up the houn : Lhuty-Bix houro and twenty-four hours, sixty hours. By Jovo 1 Already sixty hour* that lie had been performing with hit) mouth aud lt?fjs I Such a feat ol (strength had never been teen bdtoiu. Luc Bouhe, who was laughing ou the wrong Bi<le ot hid mouth bfc.uise. of hid b<4, questioned Garvais9 with an air of doubt, awliing her if fJie waa quite sure he had not filed oil behind her bauk. Oh 1 no, he had no dtsue to, he jumped about too much. On the morrow, the Bodies saw her Rtart off at twelve, the same as on the two previous dajs. They wished her a pleasant afternoon. That day tha corridor »t StintsAnne positively shook with Coupeau'n y«ll8 and luck-". She had not left the utairj, when she heard him bellow : 11 What a lot of bugH I— Cumo this way again that I may equnsh you I — Ah ! they want to kill me I ah 1 tho bugs !—l'm! — I'm e> bigger swell than the lot of ycu 1 Clfar out, damnation I clutir out I " For u moment Hhe sfcon] panting before the door. Was ho then fighting ftgiiiust an nrmy 7 When nhe rntercd, tho performance had inortftiui and cmbflliahed. Coupciu wa« r. rnvin-; mulnian, tho :<ame as one soes at the Char'.nton ni.'.d houao ! flu wai throwing hiutfolf ftbviit in the watro of the cell, placing hn liands fevnr> where, on himself, on the svalW, on tho tl ior, turning heft'l over tKclg, hittuiK into pjiftcc; »mt ho wanted to op>jn t'>e iwitTow, aud ho hid hirn3(lf, defended himself, calle'l, answered, produced all hits uproar without the least assißtanco, in the exaHpcrated w&y of a man beset by a mob of people. Then Gervaiae understood that he fancii d be was on a roof, laying down sheetß of zinc. He imitated the bellows with his j mouth, ho moved the iion about in the fire, and knelt down so as to pass his thumb along the edgo of the mat, thinking that ha was soldering it. Yes, his handicraft returned to him at the moment of croaking ; and if he yelled so loud, if he fought on his roof, it waa because ugly scoundrels were preventing him doing his work properly. On »11 the neighbouring roofs were villains mockinc* and tormenting him. Basidc3 that, tho jokers weio letting troops of rats loo^e aboift bin lepK. Ah ! tho filthy beasts, ho saw them always! Though he kept crushing them, bringing his foot down with all his strength, froah strings of them continued pss-ing, until they quite oovored the roof. And there were Fpideis there too I Ho roughly pressed his trousers agiinst his thigh to Rquaoh some big spiders which had crept up his leg. Jove's thunder I ho would never finish his day's work, they wanted to destroy him, his employer would cpnd him to the Mazas prison. Then, whlUt making haste, he suddenly imagined ho had a steam-engine in his stomach; with his mouth wide open, he puffed out the smoke, a dense smoke which filled the cell, and found an outlet by the window; and, bending forward, still puffing he looked outside at the oloud of smoke as it unrolled and ascended to the sky, where it hid the sun. " Hallo 1 " erisd he, " there's the band of the Chaussca Clignancourt, disguised as bears, with drums." He remained croaching before the window, as though he had been watching a procession in a street, from some house-top. " There's the cavalcade, lfonß and panthers making grimaoes — there's brats dressed up as dogs and cats — there's tall Clomence, with her wig full of feathers. I say, ducky, let's Elope— Eh 1 you confounded asses, just you leave hor alone I — don't fire, thunder 1 don't fire- 11 His voice rose, hoarse and terrified, and bo stooped down quickly, saying that tho police and the military were below, men who were aiming at him with rifles. In the wall, ho saw tbe barrel of a pistol pointed at his chest. They had come to take the girl from him. "Don't five, damnation 1 don't fire—" Then, the homes were falling in, he imitating tho cracking of a whole neighborhood collapsing; and all disappeared, all flew oft Bat he had no time to take brcith, other pictures passed with extraordinary rapidity. A furious desire to speak flUo.l hia mouth full of words whioh he uttered without any connection, and with a gurgling sound in his throat, fie continued to raise his voice. " Hallo, it's you ? Good day I— No jokes 1 don't make mo swallow your hair." And he p*;sed his hand before his face, be blow to send tho hairs away. The hou6c surgeon questioned him. " Who is it you see ?" 11 My wife, of oourre I" He was looking at the wall, with his back to Gervaise. The latter had a rare fright, and she examined the wall, to eec if she also could not catch sight of herself there. He continued talking. " Now, you know, none of your wheedling — I won't be tied up — Jupiter I you are smart, you have got a fine dress. Where did you get it from, cowl Wait a bit and I'll do for you!— Taking a terrible spring, he went head first against the wall ; but (he padding deadened the blow. One only heard his body rcbouuding on to the matting, where tho ehook had Bent him. "Who is it you see?" repeated the house surgeon. " The hatter ! tho hatter 1" yelled Coupcau. And the house surgeon questioning Gervaise, the latter stuttered without being able to answer, for this scene stirred up wi*ihin her all the worries of her life. The zino-workor thrust out hit fists. " We'll eettle this between us, young 'un 1

It's full tiaie I did for yon ! Woll 1 I'm Tnlnjr 1o ttiroUio you — jkr, ye>, W aivA •wi\V l omi l<uU'O£ any gloves on utVr! I'll ntop ynm Nwtif,eiiiig — Take t-hat. A-hI hill It it. I hit T" If o hili about in np'iei*. Then rcge too.< pn^i'^wn of him. Flavng bumpcl iv»i\in»t Hio wiill in walli'PK backward, M though hn v, >n boinu attiitikml h* Jurul. Ila turned iftimd, nii'l fie*c?lv hammerd ;iway at tbc padding. l!ii fpraiK aSiuf, j'unpsd frfcm one <>jrner to another, knocr^H his stomach, hits b'ic'c, hiti bhuu'd' r, i'»ll(>.i over, ami picked himeelf up »K»i». U.u. oonoi eoftenwj, hh flosh had a aouad ot damp tow. AiU ho accompanied thia pretty gfu»n with atfocioua threat**, and wild and grfttnral cftca. However thuo battle mudt hive E^Pti going badly f<s* him, for hfa breathing beoahlo quicker, his eyes were farting out 0! Jim bc»d, and ho scorned little by little to ba seized with (ho cowardice of a chlU. " Murder I murder I — Tie off with ,tou both. Oh I the brutes, they're laughing. She must give in, ii'n settled. Ah! the brigand, *o'a murdering her 1 He's cutting off her leg with his knife. The other leg'n on the ground, the stomach's in two, it's full of blriod. Oh 1 my God— oh Imy God — oh Imy Gpd— " And, covered with perspirtltidn, his hair atmidiog on end, looking a mghuul object, ho retired btiokwards, violofitly waring h:s arms, as though to send tho abominable sight from him. He uttered two heart-rdncftng wails, and pnd fell fiat on his back on the mattress, against whioh his heels bad caught. •' Hp'h dead, sir, no's dead 1 " said Gervaifte, clasping her hands. The house surgeon had drawn near, and was palling Goupeau into the middle of the mattress. No, he wa« not dead. They had taken his Bhoes off. His bare feet projected at the ond, and they were dancing all by themselves, one beside the other, in time, a little hurried and regular dance. Juat then the head doctor entered. He had brought two of his colleßgues— one thin, tho other fat, and both decorated like himself. All three stooped down without saying a word, and cxamiued the man ail over ; then they rapidly conversed toßether in a low vsice. They had uncovered Ooupeau from his thighs to his shoulders, and by atonding on tiptoe Gsrvnise could see the naked trunk spread out. Well lif wis complete. Tiie trembling had descended from the arms and ascended from the legs, and now the trunk itself wa» getting lively ! The puppet was positively wriggling its stomach about ai well. There were smiles alonjj the ribs, a brettthlesenesn of the bread-basket, which seemed splitting with laughter. And everything was moving, there was no denying it. The muscles were dancing quadrilles, the skin was vibrating like a drum, the haire were bowing to encfi other as they waltzed. In short, it wat? probably tho great oloar out, similar to tho final gallop, when day breaks and all the dancers hold each other by the band, and stamp their heels on the floor. 11 He's sleeping," murmured the head doctor. And ho called the two others' attention to the man's countenance. Ooupeau, his. eyes closed, had little nervou3 twinges which drew up all his face. He was more hideous aCill, thus flattenod out, with his jaw projecting, and his visage deformed like a corpso'H that had eufercd from nightmare ; but the dootors, having caught sight of tho feet, went and pokerl their noses over them, with an air of profound interest. Tho feet were still danoing. Though Ooupoau slept the feet danced. Oh I ttieir night unore, that did not conoarn them, they continued their little occupation without rither hurrying or slackening, lisgular mechanical feet, foot which took their pl-ftsure wherever they found it. Gervaine, having seen tho doctors place their hands on her old man, wishod to feel him also. Sne approached gently, and laid a hand on his shoulder, and she kept it theie a minute. Good heavens ! whatever was taking plnco inside ? It danced down into the very clr«pthn of the flesh, tho bones themselves must have been jumping. Quiverings, undalationc, coming from afor, flowed like a river beneath the skin. When she pressed a little she felt she distinguished the suffering cries of the marrow. With tho naked eyo one only saw the little waving motions forming dimples, like on the snrface of an eddy ; but inside there must have been a precious devastation going on. What confounded work, a work worthy of a mole 1 It was the •• vitriol" of the "Assommoir" pickaxing away in there. The whole body was soaked with it, and well 1 the work had to be finished, crumbling up Ooupeau, and carrying him off in the general and continuous trembling of the entire oaroass. The dootors had gone away. At the cad of an hour Gervaise, who had remained with the house surgeon, repeated in a low voice, 11 He's dead, sir-he's doad 1 " But the house surgeon, who was wntohing the feet, shook his head. Tho bare feet, projeotiog beyond the mattress, still danced on. They were not particularly clean, and the nails were long. Several more hours passed. All on a sudden they stiffened and became motionless. Then the hou?e surgeon turned towards Gervaise, saying, " It's over now." ' Death alone had boen able to stop those feet.