"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?