"It is I," he commenced.
Maxence stepped forward.
"Have you heard any thing from my father, sir?"
"No," answered the old merchant, "I confess I have not; and I was just coming to see if you had yourselves. Oh, I know very well that this is not exactly the hour to call at a house; but I thought, that, after what took place this evening, you would not be in bed yet. I could not sleep myself. You understand a friendship of twenty years" standing! So I took Mme. Desclavettes home, and here I am."
"We feel very thankful for your kindness," murmured Mme. Favoral.
"I am glad you do. The fact is, you see, I take a good deal of interest in the misfortune that strikes you,-a greater interest than any one else. For, after all, I, too, am a victim. I had intrusted one hundred and twenty thousand francs to our dear Vincent."
"Alas, sir!" said Mlle. Gilberte.
But the worthy man did not allow her to proceed. "I have no fault to find with him," he went on-"absolutely none. Why, dear me! haven"t I been in business myself? and don"t I know what it is? First, we borrow a thousand francs or so from the cash account, then ten thousand, then a hundred thousand. Oh! without any bad intention, to be sure, and with the firm resolution to return them. But we don"t always do what we wish to do. Circ.u.mstances sometimes work against us, if we operate at the bourse to make up the deficit we lose. Then we must borrow again, draw from Peter to pay Paul. We are afraid of being caught: we are compelled, reluctantly of course, to alter the books. At last a day comes when we find that millions are gone, and the bomb-sh.e.l.l bursts. Does it follow from this that a man is dishonest? Not the least in the world: he is simply unlucky."
He stopped, as if awaiting an answer; but, as none came, he resumed, "I repeat, I have no fault to find with Favoral. Only then, now, between us, to lose these hundred and twenty thousand francs would simply be a disaster for me. I know very well that both Chapelain and Desormeaux had also deposited funds with Favoral. But they are rich: one of them owns three houses in Paris, and the other has a good situation; whereas I, these hundred and twenty thousand francs gone, I"d have nothing left but my eyes to weep with. My wife is dying about it. I a.s.sure you our position is a terrible one."
To M. Desclavettes,-as to the baker a few moments before, "We have nothing," said Maxence.
"I know it," exclaimed the old merchant. "I know it as well as you do yourself. And so I have come to beg a little favor of you, which will cost you nothing. When you see Favoral, remember me to him, explain my situation to him, and try to make him give me back my money. He is a hard one to fetch, that"s a fact. But if you go right about it, above all, if our dear Gilberte will take the matter in hand."
"Sir!"
"Oh! I swear I sha"n"t say a word about it, either to Desormeaux or Chapelain, nor to any one else. Although reimbursed, I"ll make as much noise as the rest,-more noise, even. Come, now, my dear friends, what do you say?"
He was almost crying.
"And where the deuse," exclaimed Maxence, "do you expect my father to take a hundred and twenty thousand francs? Didn"t you see him go without even taking the money that M. de Thaller had brought?"
A smile appeared upon M. Desclavettes" pale lips.
"That will do very well to say, my dear Maxence;" he said, "and some people may believe it. But don"t say it to your old friend, who knows too much about business for that. When a man puts off, after borrowing twelve millions from his employers, he would be a great fool if he had not put away two or three in safety. Now, Favoral is not a fool."
Tears of shame and anger started from Mlle. Gilberte"s eyes.
"What you are saying is abominable, sir!" she exclaimed.
He seemed much surprised at this outburst of violence.
"Why so?" he answered. "In Vincent"s place, I should not have hesitated to do what he has certainly done. And I am an honest man too. I was in business for twenty years; and I dare any one to prove that a note signed Desclavettes ever went to protest. And so, my dear friends, I beseech you, consent to serve your old friend, and, when you see your father-"
The old man"s tone of voice exasperated even Mme. Favoral herself.
"We never expect to see my husband again," she uttered.
He shrugged his shoulders, and, in a tone of paternal reproach, "You just give up all such ugly ideas," he said. "You will see him again, that dear Vincent; for he is much too sharp to allow himself to be caught. Of course, he"ll stay away as long as it may be necessary; but, as soon as he can return without danger, he will do so. The Statute of Limitations has not been invented for the Grand Turk. Why, the Boulevard is crowded with people who have all had their little difficulty, and who have spent five or ten years abroad for their health. Does any one think any thing of it? Not in the least; and no one hesitates to shake hands with them. Besides, those things are so soon forgotten."
He kept on as if he never intended to stop; and it was not without trouble that Maxence and Gilberte succeeded in sending him off, very much dissatisfied to see his request so ill received. It was after twelve o"clock. Maxence was anxious to return to his own home; but, at the pressing instances of his mother, he consented to remain, and threw himself, without undressing, on the bed in his old room.
"What will the morrow bring forth?" he thought.
XXIII
After a few hours of that leaden sleep which follows great catastrophes, Mme. Favoral and her children were awakened on the morning of the next day, which was Sunday, by the furious clamors of an exasperated crowd. Each one, from his own room, understood that the apartment had just been invaded. Loud blows upon the door were mingled with the noise of feet, the oaths of men, and the screams of women. And, above this confused and continuous tumult, such vociferations as these could be heard: "I tell you they must be at home!"
"Canailles, swindlers, thieves!"
"We want to go in: we will go in!"
"Let the woman come, then: we want to see her, to speak to her!"
Occasionally there were moments of silence, during which the plaintive voice of the servant could be heard; but almost at once the cries and the threats commenced again, louder than ever. Maxence, being ready first, ran to the parlor, where his mother and sister joined him directly, their eyes swollen by sleep and by tears. Mme. Favoral was trembling so much that she could not succeed in fastening her dress.
"Do you hear?" she said in a choking voice.
From the parlor, which was divided from the dining-room by folding-doors, they did not miss a single insult.
"Well," said Mlle. Gilberte coldly, "what else could we expect? If Bertan came alone last night, it is because he alone had been notified. Here are the others now."
And, turning to her brother, "You must see them," she added, "speak to them."
But Maxence did not stir. The idea of facing the insults and the curses of these enraged creditors was too repugnant to him.
"Would you rather let them break in the door?" said Mlle. Gilberte. "That won"t take long."
He hesitated no more. Gathering all his courage, he stepped into the dining-room. The disorder was beyond limits. The table had been pushed towards one of the corners, the chairs were upset. They were there some thirty men and women,-concierges, shop-keepers, and retired bourgeois of the neighborhood, their cheeks flushed, their eyes staring, gesticulating as if they had a fit, shaking their clinched fists at the ceiling.
"Gentlemen," commenced Maxence.
But his voice was drowned by the most frightful shouts. He had hardly got in, when he was so closely surrounded, that he had been unable to close the parlor-door after him, and had been driven and backed against the embrasure of a window.
"My father, gentlemen," he resumed.
Again he was interrupted. There were three or four before him, who were endeavoring before all to establish their own claims clearly.
They were speaking all at once, each one raising his own voice so as to drown that of the others. And yet, through their confused explanations, it was easy to understand the way in which the cashier of the Mutual Credit had managed things.
Formerly it was only with great reluctance that he consented to take charge of the funds which were offered to him; and then he never accepted sums less than ten thousand francs, being always careful to say, that, not being a prophet, he could not answer for any thing, and might be mistaken, like any one else. Since the Commune, on the contrary, and with a duplicity, that could never have been suspected, he had used all his ingenuity to attract deposits. Under some pretext or other, he would call among the neighbors, the shop-keepers; and, after lamenting with them about the hard times and the difficulty of making money, he always ended by holding up to them the dazzling profits which are yielded by certain investments unknown to the public.
If these very proceedings had not betrayed him, it is because he recommended to each the most inviolable secrecy, saying, that, at the slightest indiscretion, he would be a.s.sailed with demands, and that it would be impossible for him to do for all what he did for one.
At any rate, he took every thing that was offered, even the most insignificant sums, affirming, with the most imperturbable a.s.surance, that he could double or treble them without the slightest risk.
The catastrophe having come, the smaller creditors showed themselves, as usual, the most angry and the most intractable. The less money one has, the more anxious one is to keep it. There was there an old newspaper-vender, who had placed in M. Favoral"s hands all she had in the world, the savings of her entire life,-five hundred francs. Clinging desperately to Maxence"s garments, she begged him to give them back to her, swearing, that, if he did not, there was nothing left for her to do, except to throw herself in the river. Her groans and her cries of distress exasperated the other creditors.
That the cashier of the Mutual Credit should have embezzled millions, they could well understand, they said. But that he could have robbed this poor woman of her five hundred francs,-nothing more low, more cowardly, and more vile could be imagined; and the law had no chastis.e.m.e.nt severe enough for such a crime.
"Give her back her five hundred francs;" they cried. For there was not one of them but would have wagered his head that M. Favoral had lots of money put away; and some went even so far as to say that he must have hid it in the house, and, if they looked well, they would find it.
Maxence, bewildered, was at a loss what to do, when, in the midst of this hostile crowd, he perceived M. Chapelain"s friendly face.
Driven from his bed at daylight by the bitter regrets at the heavy loss he had just sustained, the old lawyer had arrived in the Rue St. Gilles at the very moment when the creditors invaded M. Favoral"s apartment. Standing behind the crowd, he had seen and heard every thing without breathing a word; and, if he interfered now, it was because he thought things were about to take an ugly turn. He was well known; and, as soon as he showed himself, "He is a friend of the rascal!" they shouted on all sides.
But he was not the man to be so easily frightened. He had seen many a worse case during twenty years that he had practised law, and had witnessed all the sinister comedies and all the grotesque dramas of money. He knew how to speak to infuriated creditors, how to handle them, and what strings can be made to vibrate within them. In the most quiet tone, "Certainly," he answered, "I was Favoral"s intimate friend; and the proof of it is, that he has treated me more friendly than the rest. I am in for a hundred and sixty thousand francs."
By this mere declaration he conquered the sympathies of the crowd. He was a brother in misfortune; they respected him: he was a skilful business-man; they stopped to listen to him.
At once, and in a short and trenchant tone, he asked these invaders what they were doing there, and what they wanted. Did they not know to what they exposed themselves in violating a domicile? What would have happened, if, instead of stopping to parley, Maxence had sent for the commissary of police? Was it to Mme. Favoral and her children that they had intrusted their funds? No! What did they want with them then? Was there by chance among them some of those shrewd fellows who always try to get themselves paid in full, to the detriment of the others?
This last insinuation proved sufficient to break up the perfect accord that had hitherto existed among all the creditors. Distrust arose; suspicious glances were exchanged; and, as the old newspaper woman was keeping up her groans, "I should like to know why you should be paid before us," two women told her roughly. "Our rights are just as good as yours!"
Prompt to avail himself of the dispositions of the crowd, "And, moreover," resumed the old lawyer, "in whom did we place our confidence? Was it in Favoral the private individual? To a certain extent, yes; but it was much more to the cashier of the Mutual Credit. Therefore that establishment owes us, at least, some explanations. And this is not all. Are we really so badly burned, that we should scream so loud? What do we know about it? That Favoral is charged with embezzlement, that they came to arrest him, and that he has run away. Is that any reason why our money should be lost? I hope not. And so what should we do? Act prudently, and wait patiently for the work of justice."
Already, by this time, the creditors had slipped out one by one; and soon the servant closed the door on the last of them.
Then Mme. Favoral, Maxence, and Mlle. Gilberte surrounded M. Chapelain, and, pressing his hands, "How thankful we feel, sir, for the service you have just rendered us!"
But the old lawyer seemed in no wise proud of his victory.
"Do not thank me," he said. "I have only done my duty,-what any honest man would have done in my place."
And yet, under the appearance of impa.s.sible coldness, which he owed to the long practice of a profession which leaves no illusions, he evidently felt a real emotion.
"It is you whom I pity," he added, "and with all my soul,-you, madame, you, my dear Gilberte, and you, too, Maxence. Never had I so well understood to what degree is guilty the head of a family who leaves his wife and children exposed to the consequences of his crimes."
He stopped. The servant was trying her best to put the dining-room in some sort of order wheeling the table to the centre of the room, and lifting up the chairs from the floor.
"What pillage!" she grumbled. "Neighbors too,-people from whom we bought our things! But they were worse than savages; impossible to do any thing with them."
"Don"t trouble yourself, my good girl," said M. Chapelain: "they won"t come back any more!"
Mme. Favoral looked as if she wished to drop on her knees before the old lawyer.
"How, very kind you are!" she murmured: "you are not too angry with my poor Vincent!"
With the look of a man who has made up his mind to make the best of a disaster that he cannot help, M. Chapelain shrugged his shoulders.
"I am angry with no one but myself," he uttered in a bluff tone. "An old bird like me should not have allowed himself to be caught in a pigeon-trap. I am inexcusable. But we want to get rich. It"s slow work getting rich by working, and it"s so much easier to get the money already made out of our neighbor"s pockets! I have been unable to resist the temptation myself. It"s my own fault; and I should say it was a good lesson, if it did not cost so dear."
XXIV
So much philosophy could hardly have been expected of him.
"All my father"s friends are not as indulgent as you are," said Maxence,-"M. Desclavettes, for instance."
"Have you seen him?"
"Yes, last night, about twelve o"clock. He came to ask us to get father to pay him back, if we should ever see him again."
"That might be an idea!"
Mlle. Gilberte started.
"What!" said she, "you, too, sir, can imagine that my father has run away with millions?"
The old lawyer shook his head.
"I believe nothing," he answered. "Favoral has taken me in so completely,-me, who had the pretension of being a judge of men, -that nothing from him, either for good or for evil, could surprise me hereafter."
Mme. Favoral was about to offer some objection; but he stopped her with a gesture.
"And yet," he went on, "I"d bet that he has gone off with empty pockets. His recent operations reveal a frightful distress. Had he had a few thousand francs at his command, would he have extorted five hundred francs from a poor old woman, a newspaper-vender? What did he want with the money? Try his luck once more, no doubt."
He was seated, his elbow upon the arm of the chair, his head resting upon his hands, thinking; and the contraction of his features indicated an extraordinary tension of mind.
Suddenly he drew himself up.
"But why," he exclaimed, "why wander in idle conjectures? What do we know about Favoral? Nothing. One entire side of his existence escapes us,-that fantastic side, of which the insane prodigalities and inconceivable disorders have been revealed to us by the bills found in his desk. He is certainly guilty; but is he as guilty as we think? and, above all, is he alone guilty? Was it for himself alone that he drew all this money? Are the missing millions really lost? and wouldn"t it be possible to find the biggest share of them in the pockets of some accomplice? Skilful men do not expose themselves. They have at their command poor wretches, sacrificed in advance, and who, in exchange for a few crumbs that are thrown to them, risk the criminal court, are condemned, and go to prison."
"That"s just what I was telling my mother and sister, sir," interrupted Maxence.
"And that"s what I am telling myself," continued the old lawyer. "I have been thinking over and over again of last evening"s scene; and strange doubts have occurred to my mind. For a man who has been robbed of a dozen millions, M. de Thaller was remarkably quiet and self-possessed. Favoral appeared to me singularly calm for a man charged with embezzlement and forgery. M. de Thaller, as manager of the Mutual Credit, is really responsible for the stolen funds, and, as such, should have been anxious to secure the guilty party, and to produce him. Instead of that, he wished him to go, and actually brought him the money to enable him to leave. Was he in hopes of hushing up the affair? Evidently not, since the police had been notified. On the other hand, Favoral seemed much more angry than surprised by the occurrence. It was only on the appearance of the commissary of police that he seems to have lost his head; and then some very strange things escaped him, which I cannot understand."
He was walking at random through the parlor, apparently rather answering the objections of his own mind than addressing himself to his interlocutors, who were listening, nevertheless, with all the attention of which they were capable.
"I don"t know," he went on. "An old traveler like me to be taken in thus! Evidently there is under all this one of those diabolical combinations which time even fails to unravel. We ought to see, to inquire-"
And then, suddenly stopping in front of Maxence, "How much did M. de Thaller bring to your father last evening?" he asked.
"Fifteen thousand francs."
"Where are they?"
"Put away in mother"s room."
"When do you expect to take them back to M. de Thaller?"
"To-morrow."
"Why not to-day?"
"This is Sunday. The offices of the Mutual Credit must be closed."
"After the occurrences of yesterday, M. de Thaller must be at his office. Besides, haven"t you his private address?"