old man goriot

Chapter 25
"I'll go with you, Vadoline," muttered Mrs. Courtier.

Speaking of which, the two of them ran away without hats or shawls.Before leaving, Vidoline looked at Eugene with tears in her eyes, implying: "I didn't expect our happiness to make me cry!"

"Hey! Are you so good at knowing things, Monsieur Vautrin?" said Madame Vauquer.

"It's more than a god." Jacques Corin said.

"It's unbelievable!" Madame Vauquer went on talking nonsense about the matter. "Death calls us, and doesn't consult us. The young always go before the old. We women are lucky, and don't fight; but we have diseases that men don't. We have children, and the misery of motherhood It's been a long time! Vadoline has won the lottery! Her father will have to recognize her now."

"No!" said Vautrin, looking at Eugene. "Yesterday she was empty-handed, and this morning she has millions."

"Well, Monsieur Eugene," exclaimed Madame Vauquer, "you have made the right bet."

Hearing this sentence, old man Gao looked at the college student, and saw that he was still holding the crumpled letter in his hand.

"You haven't read the letter yet! What does this mean? Are you like everyone else?" Old Man Gao asked him.

"Madame, I will never marry Mademoiselle de Védoline," Eugene said to Madame Vauquer, with the expression of resentment and disgust that surprised those present.

Old man Gao grabbed the college student's hand and held it, wishing he could kiss it.

"Oh, oh!" said Vautrin, "the Italians say it well: col tempo!"

"I'm waiting for an answer," said Madame Nucingen's footman to Rastignac.

"Just say I'm going."

People come and go.Eugene was so restless that he could no longer be cautious. "What to do?" he said aloud to himself, "There is no proof!"

Vautrin smiled slightly.At this time, the potion had already exploded in his stomach.The fugitive, however, was strong enough to stand upright. He glanced at Rastignac and said to him in a hollow voice: "Young man, luck comes when we sleep."

After all, he suddenly passed out.

"God has eyes." Eugene said.

"Oh! what's the matter with him? The poor dear M. Vautrin."

"Having had a stroke," Miss Michno cried.

"Well, Sylvie, good girl, send for the doctor," said the widow, "Monsieur Rastignac, hurry to Monsieur Bianchon; maybe Sylvie won't find our Dr. Glenprell." .”

Rastignac was glad to take this opportunity to leave this dreadful den, and ran away.

"Christopher, go to the pharmacy and get some medicine for stroke."

Christopher is out.

"Hey, old man Gao, help us get him upstairs to his room."

Everyone grabbed Vautrin, hurried up the stairs, and put him on the bed.

"I can't help you, I'm off to see my daughter," said M. Goriot.

"Selfish old fellow!" cried Madame Vauquer, "go, and may you die like a dog."

"Go and see if you have ether," said Mademoiselle Michnot to Madame Vauquer, who, with Poiret's help, undressed Vautrin.

Madame Vauquer went downstairs to her bedroom, and Mademoiselle Michnot could do as she pleased.

"Come on, take off his shirt, and turn him over! You must be of some use, before I see you naked," she said to Poiret, "you look like a fool there. "

Vautrin turned over, and Miss Mixuno slapped the unconscious guy hard on the shoulder, and the two fatal white letters suddenly appeared in the center of the reddened part.

"Well, you've got your reward of three thousand francs very easily," cried Poiret, holding Vautuo cold while Mademoiselle Michnot put his shirt on for him. "Oh! He's so heavy." He put the man down as he spoke.

"Keep quiet. Is there a cash box?" said the old girl hastily, her eyes longing to see through the wall, greedily inspecting every piece of furniture in the room. "Can you find some reason to look inside this desk?" she said again.

"I'm afraid not," replied Poiret.

"Nothing. The money was stolen from everyone, and it is impossible to tell whose it is now. But we are too late," she continued. "I heard Madame Vauquer's voice."

"Here comes the ether," said Madame Vauquer. "Well, what a troubled day today. My God! The fellow can't be sick, he's as white as a chicken."

"Like a chicken?" repeated Poiret.

"The heartbeat is normal," said the widow, putting her hand on Vautrin's chest.

"Normal?" Poiret said in surprise.

"It's pretty good."

"Do you think so?" asked Poiret.

"Of course! He seems to be asleep. Sylvie has sent for the doctor. Say, Miss Michno, he's smelling ether. It's just a cramp. The pulse is good; he's as strong as a Turk. Miss, Look how much hair he has on his chest; he must live to be a hundred years old, this guy! He didn't take off his hair. Oh, it was glued on, and he wore a wig, because his hair is red. It is said that red hair The man is either very good or very bad! Is he good?"

"Okay, it's easy to hang up." Poiret said.

"You mean to hang it on the beautiful woman's neck." Miss Mi Xunuo said loudly. "Go away, Monsieur Poiret. If you are sick and need to be attended to, that is our business. Besides, you are good enough to go for a walk," she continued. "My dear Monsieur Vautrin, I will take care of Madame Vauquer."

Without another word, Poiret walked away quietly, like a dog kicked by its master.Rastignac came out for a walk and a change of air; he was terribly bored.This crime that happened on time, he obviously wanted to stop it yesterday.What happened afterwards?What should he do?He shuddered at the thought of his complicity.Vautrin's nonchalance made him terrified.

"What if Vautrin died without saying anything?" thought Rastignac to himself.

He walked between the sidewalks of the Luxembourg Gardens, and it seemed that a pack of hounds was chasing him, and he could even hear them barking.

"Hi!" Bianchon called to him, "Have you read the Herald?"

The Herald is a radical newspaper sponsored by Mr. Tissot. It publishes another inland edition a few hours after the general morning newspaper, and publishes the news of the day. In other provinces, it is 24 hours earlier than other newspapers.

"There's a big piece of news up there," said the intern at the Cochamps hospital. "The son of Tayfan dueled with the Count Franchesini, ex-Guardian, and got a sword two inches deep in the forehead. Come on, Mademoiselle Vidoline will be the richest bride in Paris. Well! I knew what would happen? Death is like a lottery! You are quite popular with Vidoline, but really?"

"Stop it, Bi Anxun, I will never marry her. I love a beautiful woman, and she loves me, and I..."

"When you say this, it seems that you are swollen to make yourself fat, not to be a heartless man. Let me see which woman is worthy of you sacrificing the wealth of old Taiyifan."

"Are all the devils haunting me?" cried Rastignac.

"So who are you pestering again? Are you crazy? Give me your hand," Bianchon said, "and let me take your pulse. You have a fever."

"Go to Vauguet's apartment," Eugene said to him, "that bastard Vautrin just fainted."

"Ah!" Bianchon said, leaving Rastignac behind and left, "You have confirmed my suspicions. I'm going to have a look."

The law student strolled around solemnly for a while; he examined his conscience, as it were, from the inside out.Although he vacillates, introspects, and hesitates, at least in the fierce and terrifying ideological struggle, he remains innocent, like an iron rod that has withstood all kinds of tests.He remembered the intimate words that old Goriot had said to him yesterday, and the house that had been chosen for him in the Rue d'Artois, near Dafina; he took out the letter and read it again, and kissed him.

"A love like this is my salvation," he thought to himself. "What sorrows the poor old man has had; no one can see it, though he doesn't mention it! Well, from now on I will treat him as Father, let him have a good time. But since he loves me, Finer will often come to my place to spend his time with him. The tall Countess de Resto is not a thing, she will use her father as a door. Boy. Dear Danfina! She is much better to the old man, and worthy of love. Ah! How happy I shall be this evening!"

He took out the watch and admired it.

"So far I've been fine! Two people love each other, love each other forever, and help each other as much as possible, I can accept this gift. Besides, I will definitely be successful and famous, and then I will be able to repay each other. There is no sin in such a combination , and there is nothing that can make the strictest moralists frown. Gentlemen are so good, you can find them everywhere! We don’t deceive anyone; we are humiliated by lying. Isn’t it wrong to lie? She and her husband have been separated for a long time. Besides, I would tell him, to the Alsatian's face, that since he cannot make a woman happy, let me do it."

Rastignac struggled for a long time.Although the young man's kindness still prevailed, at about 04:30, when the sky turned dark, he still couldn't hold back his strong curiosity, and walked towards the Vauguet apartment that he had vowed to move out of.He wanted to see if Vautrin was dead.After Bianxun thought about it, he administered an emetic to Vautrin, and ordered the vomit to be sent to the hospital where he practiced for testing.Miss Mi Xunuo insisted on throwing it away, and she was more suspicious than An Xun when she saw this.Moreover, Vautrin also recovered too quickly, and Bi Anxun had to wonder whether the laughing treasure in the apartment had been plotted against.When Rastignac returned, Vautrin was already standing by the stove in the dining room.The guests had arrived earlier than usual, having learned of the duel of Tyfan's sons, and wishing to inquire into the particulars of the matter, and how it affected the fate of Vidoline; Talking about this anecdote.Eugene walked in, and happened to meet the eyes of the calm Vautrin. The other's eyes looked into the depths of his heart, arousing some evil thoughts, and he couldn't help shivering.

"Well, my dear boy," said the fugitive, "it will be a long time before death concedes to me. According to the ladies, I survived the cerebral congestion just now, and I couldn't even eat a cow. "

"Hey! Don't talk about cows, even bulls can't stand it." The widow Vaugue said loudly.

"Aren't you happy to see that I'm still alive?" Vautrin thought he had read Rastignac's mind, and whispered in his ear. "Then you are too cruel!"

"Oh, that's right!" said Bianchon, "Miss Michno was talking about a person the day before yesterday, and she was nicknamed a ghost; that name suits you quite well."

These words were like a bolt from the blue to Vautrin, and he turned pale, swayed, and his captivating eyes, like a ray of sunlight, fell on Mademoiselle Michnot; He slumped down on a chair.Knowing that Michno was in danger, Poiret hurried forward, putting himself between her and Vautrin.The escaped prisoner tore off his usually friendly mask, revealing his hideous and terrifying true face.All the guests didn't know what was going on in the play, and they were inexplicably stunned.At this time, there were several people's footsteps outside, and the sound of soldiers' guns hitting the street.Just as Ke Leng was looking at the windows and walls, looking for a way out instinctively, four people appeared at the door of the living room.The chief of the police station was the head of the police station, and the other three were security police officers.

"In the name of the law and the king," said one of the police officers, and the words were drowned out by a groan of astonishment.

After a while, the dining room fell silent.The guests stepped aside; made way for three of them; all of them held loaded pistols with their hands in their pockets.Two gendarmes who followed guarded the living room door; two others appeared at the door leading to the stairs.The footsteps of several soldiers and the sound of guns sounded on the gravel road in front of the main entrance.There is no hope of escape for the ghost, and all eyes can't help but look at him.The director went straight to him, and suddenly slapped him on the head, and the wig fell down, exposing Keran's ugly head immediately.The short brick-red hair looks strong and cunning, with a head and face that are in harmony with the upper body, showing a shrewd look, as if illuminated by the fire of hell.The whole of Vautrin, his past, present, and future, his stubborn opinions, his outlook on life, his cynical thoughts and actions, and his physical strength to adapt to everything, gave him the momentum, everyone understood.Blood from all over his body rushed to his face, and his eyes were shining like wild cats.He roused himself with brute strength, and roared so loudly that all the guests screamed in fright.Seeing this lion-like movement, the people in the police station took out their pistols together through the shouts of the crowd.As soon as Ke Leng saw the shiny fire door on the gun, he knew that he was in danger, and suddenly showed his greatest willpower.What a thrilling and majestic scene!The expression on his face can only be compared with one phenomenon, as if the boiler is full of steam enough to lift a mountain, and it is dissolved by a drop of cold water in the blink of an eye.The drop of water that cooled his rage was but a thought as fast as lightning.He smiled slightly and looked at his wig.

"You are less polite than usual today," he said to the Superintendent of Police.As he spoke, he nodded to the gendarmes and stretched out his hands. "Gendarmerie gentlemen, handcuff me. I call on those present to testify that I did not resist."

A living person is like a volcano, lava and tongues of flame have sprung out, but they have shrunk back, and the rapid change has attracted people in the room to watch, and they can't help but whisper in admiration.

"It's a miscalculation, Mr. Quick." The fugitive looked at the famous director and said.

"Come on, take off your clothes," the figure on Santa Ana Street said to him contemptuously.

"Why?" Crane said. "There's a lady here. I'm not bad. I surrender."

He stopped for a while and looked at the audience, as if an orator was about to make a big splash.

"You write, Monsieur La Chapelle," he said to a little old man with white hair.The old man had already taken out the arrest transcript from his briefcase and sat down at the end of the table. "I admit that it is Jacques Collin, who is called a ghost, and has been sentenced to twenty years of hard labor. I have just proved that I am not deserving of my nickname. If I only lift my hand a little," he said to the crowd, " These three spies will splatter my mother's floor with blood. These guys love to set traps!"

Madame Vauquer felt uncomfortable hearing this. "My God! It's sickening; I was with him at the Funky Theater yesterday," she said to Sylvie.

"See through it, mother," said Collin again, "was it unlucky to sit in my box at the Happy Theater yesterday?" He asked loudly: "Are you better than us? The ugliness on our shoulders Not so much as you, soft bones of depraved society; the best of you haven't resisted me." He rested his eyes on Rastignac, and gave him a friendly smile, which was in keeping with his brutality. The expressions form a strange contrast. "My darling, our little deal goes on just as it is, if it's accepted! You know that?" And he sang:

my fanchet is so charming
And unpretentious...

"Don't be confused," he added, "I know how to collect my bills. People are afraid of me, and they will never cheat me!"

This man, these words, suddenly expressed the customary prison slang, moody, sometimes majestic, sometimes indecent.He was no longer a mere man, but a type, representing a whole degenerate race, savage and rational, rough and smooth.In a blink of an eye, Coron was transformed into a poem of hell, full of all human emotions except repentance.He has the eyes of a fallen angel, and like it, he always wants to fight.Rastignac lowered his eyes, acquiescing to this sinful connection as atonement for his evil thoughts.

(End of this chapter)