Then, he raised himself with the intention of hastening towards the Mayor"s residence, but again another thought held him back. If the little girl was still alive, by any chance, he could not leave her lying there in this way. He sank on his knees very gently, a little bit away from her through precaution, and extended his hand towards her feet. It was icy cold, with the terrible coldness which makes the dead flesh frightful, and which leaves us no longer in doubt. The letter-carrier, as he touched her, felt his heart in his mouth, as he said to himself afterwards and his lips were parched with dry spittle. Rising up abruptly he rushed off under the trees towards M. Renardet"s house.
He walked on in double-quick time, with his stick under his arm, his hands clenched, and his head thrust forward, and his leathern bag, filled with letters and newspapers, kept regularly flapping at his side.
The Mayor"s residence was at the end of the wood which he used as a park, and one side of it was washed by a little pool formed at this spot by the Brindelle.
It was a big, square house of gray stone, very old, which had stood many a siege in former days, and at the end of it was a huge tower, twenty meters high, built in the water.
From the top of this fortress the entire country around it could be seen in olden times. It was called the Fox"s tower, without anyone knowing exactly why; and from this appellation, no doubt, had come the name Renardet, borne by the owners of this fief, which had remained in the same family, it was said, for more than two hundred years. For the Renardets formed part of the upper middle cla.s.s all but n.o.ble to be met with so often in the provinces before the Revolution.
The postman dashed into the kitchen where the servants were taking breakfast, and exclaimed:
"Is the Mayor up? I want to speak to him at once."
Mederic was recognized as a man of weight and authority, and it was soon understood that something serious had happened.
As soon as word was brought to M. Renardet, he ordered the postman to be sent up to him. Pale and out of breath, with his cap in his hand, Mederic found the Mayor seated in front of a long table covered with scattered papers.
He was a big, tall man, heavy and red-faced, strong as an ox and was greatly liked in the district, though of an excessively violent disposition. Very nearly forty years old, and a widower for the past six months, he lived on his estate like a country gentleman. His choleric temperament had often brought him into trouble, from which the magistrates of Rouy-le-Tors, like indulgent and prudent friends, had extricated him. Had he not one day thrown the conductor of the diligence from the top of his seat because he was near crushing his retriever, Micmac? Had he not broken the ribs of a gamekeeper, who abused him for having, with a gun in his hand, pa.s.sed through a neighbor"s property?
Had he not even caught by the collar the sub-prefect, who stopped in the village in the course of an administrative round described by M.
Renardet as an electioneering round; for he was against the government, according to his family tradition.
The Mayor asked:
"What"s the matter now, Mederic?"
"I found a little girl dead in your wood."
Renardet rose up, with his face the color of brick.
"Do you say--a little girl?"
"Yes, m"sieur, a little girl, quite naked, on her back, with blood on her, dead--quite dead!"
The Mayor gave vent to an oath:
"My G.o.d, I"d make a bet "tis little Louise Roque! I have just learned that she did not go home to her mother last night. Where did you find her?"
The postman pointed out where the place was, gave full details, and offered to conduct the Mayor to the spot.
But Renardet became brusque:
"No, I don"t need you. Send the steward, the Mayor"s secretary, and the doctor immediately to me, and resume your rounds. Quick, quick, go and tell them to meet me in the woods."
The letter-carrier, a man used to discipline, obeyed and withdrew, angry and grieved at not being able to be present at the investigation.
The Mayor, in his turn, prepared to go out, took his hat, a big soft hat, and paused for a few seconds on the threshold of his abode. In front of him stretched a wide sward, in which three large patches were conspicuous--three large beds of flowers in full bloom, one facing the house and the others at either side of it. Further on, rose skyward the princ.i.p.al trees in the wood, while at the left, above the Brindelle widened into a pool, could be seen long meadows, an entirely green flat sweep of the country, cut by dikes and willow edges like monsters, twisted dwarf-trees, always cut short, and having on their thick squat trunks a quivering tuft of thick branches.
At the right, behind the stables, the outhouses, all the buildings connected with the property, might be seen the village, which was wealthy, being mainly inhabited by rearers of oxen.
Renardet slowly descended the steps in front of his house, and turning to the left, gained the water"s edge, which he followed at a slow pace, his hand behind his back. He went on with bent head, and from time to time he glanced round in search of the persons for whom he had sent.
When he stood beneath the trees, he stopped, took off his hat, and wiped his forehead as Mederic had done; for the burning sun was falling in fiery rain upon the ground. Then the Mayor resumed his journey, stopped once more, and retraced his steps. Suddenly, stooping down, he steeped his handkerchief in the stream that glided at his feet, and stretched it round his head, under his hat. Drops of water flowed along his temples over his ears always purple over his strong red neck, and made their way, one after the other, under his white shirt-collar.
As n.o.body yet appeared he began tapping with his foot, then he called out--
"Hallo! Hallo!"
A voice at his right, answered:
"Hallo! Hallo!"
And the doctor appeared under the trees. He was a thin little man, an ex-military surgeon, who pa.s.sed in the neighborhood for a very skillful pract.i.tioner. He limped, having been wounded while in the service, and had to use a stick to a.s.sist him in walking.
Next came the steward and the Mayor"s secretary, who, having been sent for at the same time, arrived together. They looked scared, and hurried forward out of breath, walking and trotting in turn in order to hasten their progress, and moving their arms up and down so vigorously that they seemed to do more work with them than with their legs.
Renardet said to the doctor:
"You know what the trouble is about?"
"Yes, a child found dead in the wood by Mederic."
"That"s quite correct. Come on."
They walked on side by side, followed by the two men.
Their steps made no noise on the moss, their eyes were gazing downward right in front of them.
The doctor hastened his steps, interested by the discovery. As soon as they were near the corpse, he bent down to examine it without touching it. He had put on a pair of gla.s.ses, as when one is looking at some curious object, and turned round very quietly.
He said without rising up:
"Violated and a.s.sa.s.sinated, as we are going to prove presently. This little girl moreover, is almost a woman--look at her throat."
Her two b.r.e.a.s.t.s, already nearly full-developed, fell over her chest, relaxed by death.
The doctor lightly drew away the handkerchief which covered her face. It looked black, frightful, the tongue protruding, the eyes bloodshot. He went on:
"Faith, she was strangled the moment the deed was done."
He felt her neck:
"Strangled with the hands without leaving any special trace, neither the mark of the nails nor the imprint of the fingers. Quite right. It is little Louise Roque, sure enough!"
He delicately replaced the handkerchief:
"There"s nothing for me to do--She"s been dead for the last hour at least. We must give notice of the matter to the authorities."
Renardet, standing up, with his hands behind his back, kept staring with a stony look at the little body exposed to view on the gra.s.s. He murmured: