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第3章 the neckce(第4页)

"I&aos;llgooverallthegroundwewalked,

"hesaid,

"andseeifIcanfindit。

"

Andhewentout。Sheremainedinhereveningclothes,lackingstrengthtogetintobed,huddledonachair,withoutvolitionorowerofthought。

Herhusbandreturnedaboutseven。Hehadfoundnothing。

Hewenttotheolicestation,tothenewsaers,toofferareward,tothecabcomanies,everywherethatarayofhoeimelledhim。

Shewaitedalldaylong,inthesamestateofbewildermentatthisfearfulcatastrohe。

Loiselcamehomeatnight,hisfacelinedandale;hehaddiscoverednothing。

"Youmustwritetoyourfriend,

"hesaid,

"andtellherthatyou&aos;vebrokentheclasofhernecklaceandaregettingitmended。Thatwillgiveustimetolookaboutus。

"

Shewroteathisdictation。

Bytheendofaweektheyhadlostallhoe。Loisel,whohadagedfiveyears,declared:

"Wemustseeaboutrelacingthediamonds。

"

Nextdaytheytooktheboxwhichhadheldthenecklaceandwenttothejewellerswhosenamewasinside。Heconsultedhisbooks。

"ItwasnotIwhosoldthisnecklace,Madame;Imusthavemerelysuliedtheclas。

"

Thentheywentfromjewellertojeweller,searchingforanothernecklacelikethefirst,consultingtheirmemories,bothillwithremorseandanguishofmind。

InashoatthePalais-Royaltheyfoundastringofdiamondswhichseemedtothemexactlyliketheonetheywerelookingfor。Itwasworthfortythousandfrancs。Theywereallowedtohaveitforthirty-sixthousand。

Theybeggedthejewellernottosellitforthreedays。Andtheyarrangedmattersontheunderstandingthatitwouldbetakenbackforthirty-fourthousandfrancs,ifthefirstonewerefoundbeforetheendofFebruary。

Loiselossessedeighteenthousandfrancslefttohimbyhisfather。Heintendedtoborrowtherest。Hedidborrowit,gettingathousandfromoneman,fivehundredfromanother,fivelouishere,threelouisthere。Hegavenotesofhand,enteredintoruinousagreements,didbusinesswithusurersandthewholetribeofmoney-lenders。Hemortgagedthewholeremainingyearsofhisexistence,riskedhissignaturewithoutevenknowingifhecouldhonourit,and,aalledattheagonisingfaceofthefuture,attheblackmiseryabouttofalluonhim,attherosectofeveryossiblehysicalrivationandmoraltorture,hewenttogetthenewnecklaceandutdownuonthejeweller&aos;scounterthirty-sixthousandfrancs。

WhenMadameLoiseltookbackthenecklacetoMadameForestier,thelattersaidtoherinachillyvoice:

"Yououghttohavebroughtitbacksooner;Imighthaveneededit。

"

Shedidnot,asherfriendhadfeared,oenthecase。Ifshehadnoticedthesubstitution,whatwouldshehavethought?Whatwouldshehavesaid?Wouldshenothavetakenherforathief?

MadameLoiselcametoknowtheghastlylifeofabjectoverty。Fromtheveryfirstshelayedherartheroically。Thisfearfuldebtmustbeaidoff。Shewouldayit。Theservantwasdismissed。Theychangedtheirflat;theytookagarretundertheroof。

Shecametoknowtheheavyworkofthehouse,thehatefuldutiesofthekitchen。Shewashedthelates,wearingoutherinknailsonthecourseotteryandthebottomsofans。Shewashedthedirtylinen,theshirtsanddish-cloths,andhungthemouttodryonastring;everymorningshetookthedustbindownintothestreetandcarrieduthewater,stoingoneachlandingtogetherbreath。And,cladlikeaoorwoman,shewenttothefruiterer,tothegrocer,tothebutcher,abasketonherarm,haggling,insulted,fightingforeverywretchedhalfennyofhermoney。Everymonthnoteshadtobeaidoff,othersrenewed,timegained。

Herhusbandworkedintheeveningsatuttingstraightamerchant&aos;saccounts,andoftenatnighthedidcoyingattwo-ence-halfennyaage。

Andthislifelastedtenyears。

Attheendoftenyearseverythingwasaidoff,everything,theusurer&aos;schargesandtheaccumulationofsuerimosedinterest。

MadameLoisellookedoldnow。Shehadbecomelikealltheotherstrong,hard,coarsewomenofoorhouseholds。Herhairwasbadlydone,herskirtswereawry,herhandswerered。Shesokeinashrillvoice,andthewatersloedalloverthefloorwhenshescrubbedit。Butsometimes,whenherhusbandwasattheoffice,shesatdownbythewindowandthoughtofthateveninglongago,oftheballatwhichshehadbeensobeautifulandsomuchadmired。

Whatwouldhavehaenedifshehadneverlostthosejewels。Whoknows?Whoknows?Howstrangelifeis,howfickle!Howlittleisneededtoruinortosave!

OneSunday,asshehadgoneforawalkalongtheChams-Elyseestofreshenherselfafterthelaboursoftheweek,shecaughtsightsuddenlyofawomanwhowastakingachildoutforawalk。ItwasMadameForestier,stillyoung,stillbeautiful,stillattractive。

MadameLoiselwasconsciousofsomeemotion。Shouldsheseaktoher?Yes,certainly。Andnowthatshehadaid,shewouldtellherall。Whynot?

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