LXXVII

And Schmucke? He was busy buying flowers and cakes for Topinard's children, and went home almost joyously.

I am gifing die bresents... he said, and he smiled.

It was the first smile for three months, but any one who had seen Schmucke's face would have shuddered to see it there.

But dere is ein condition—

It is too kind of you, sir, said the mother.

De liddle girl shall gif me a kiss and put die flowers in her hair, like die liddle German maidens—

Olga, child, do just as the gentleman wishes, said the mother, assuming an air of discipline.

Do not scold mein liddle German girl, implored Schmucke. It seemed to him that the little one was his dear Germany. Topinard came in.

Three porters are bringing up the whole bag of tricks, he said.

Oh! Here are two hundred vrancs to bay for eferydings... said Schmucke. "But, mein friend, your Montame Dobinard is ver' nice; you shall marry her, is it not so? I shall gif you tausend crowns, and die liddle vone shall haf tausend crowns for her toury, and you shall infest it in her name.... Und you are not to pe ein zuper any more—you are to pe de cashier at de teatre—"

I?—instead of old Baudrand?

Yes.

Who told you so?

Mennesir Gautissart!

Oh! it is enough to send one wild with joy!... Eh! I say, Rosalie, what a rumpus there will be at the theatre! But it is not possible—

Our benefactor must not live in a garret—

Pshaw! for die few tays dat I haf to lif it ees fery komfortable, said Schmucke. "Goot-pye; I am going to der zemetery, to see vat dey haf don mit Bons, und to order som flowers for his grafe."

Mme. Camusot de Marville was consumed by the liveliest apprehensions. At a council held with Fraisier, Berthier, and Godeschal, the two last-named authorities gave it as their opinion that it was hopeless to dispute a will drawn up by two notaries in the presence of two witnesses, so precisely was the instrument worded by Leopold Hannequin. Honest Godeschal said that even if Schmucke's own legal adviser should succeed in deceiving him, he would find out the truth at last, if it were only from some officious barrister, the gentlemen of the robe being wont to perform such acts of generosity and disinterestedness by way of self-advertisement. And the two officials took their leave of the Presidente with a parting caution against Fraisier, concerning whom they had naturally made inquiries. At that very moment Fraisier, straight from the affixing of the seals in the Rue de Normandie, was waiting for an interview with Mme. de Marville. Berthier and Godeschal had suggested that he should be shown into the study; the whole affair was too dirty for the President to look into (to use their own expression), and they wished to give Mme. de Marville their opinion in Fraisier's absence.

Well, madame, where are these gentlemen? asked Fraisier, admitted to audience.

They are gone. They advise me to give up, said Mme. de Marville.

Give up! repeated Fraisier, suppressed fury in his voice. "Give up! Listen to this, madame:—

At the request of...' and so forth (I will omit the formalities)... 'Whereas there has been deposited in the hands of M. le President of the Court of First Instance, a will drawn up by Maitres Leopold Hannequin and Alexandre Crottat, notaries of Paris, and in the presence of two witnesses, the Sieurs Brunner and Schwab, aliens domiciled at Paris, and by the said will the Sieur Pons, deceased, has bequeathed his property to one Sieur Schmucke, a German, to the prejudice of his natural heirs. Whereas the applicant undertakes to prove that the said will was obtained under undue influence and by unlawful means; and persons of credit are prepared to show that it was the testator's intention to leave his fortune to Mlle. Cecile, daughter of the aforesaid Sieur de Marville, and the applicant can show that the said will was extorted from the testator's weakness, he being unaccountable for his actions at the time. Whereas as the Sieur Schmucke, to obtain a will in his favor, sequestrated the testator, and prevented the family from approaching the deceased during his last illness; and his subsequent notorious ingratitude was of a nature to scandalize the house and residents in the quarter who chanced to witness it when attending the funeral of the porter at the testator's place of abode. Whereas as still more serious charges, of which applicant is collecting proofs, will be formally made before their worships the judges. I, the undersigned Registrar of the Court, etc., etc., on behalf of the aforesaid, etc., have summoned the Sieur Schmucke, pleading, etc., to appear before their worships the judges of the first chamber of the Tribunal, and to be present when application is made that the will received by Maitres Hannequin and Crottat, being evidently obtained by undue influence, shall be regarded as null and void in law; and I, the undersigned, on behalf of the aforesaid, etc., have likewise given notice of protest, should the Sieur Schmucke as universal legatee make application for an order to be put into possession of the estate, seeing that the applicant opposes such order, and makes objection by his application bearing date of to-day, of which a copy has been duly deposited with the Sieur Schmucke, costs being charged to... etc., etc.' I know the man, Mme. le Presidente. He will come to terms as soon as he reads this little love-letter. He will take our terms. Are you going to give the thousand crowns per annum?"

Certainly. I only wish I were paying the first installment now.

It will be done in three days. The summons will come down upon him while he is stupefied with grief, for the poor soul regrets Pons and is taking the death to heart.

Can the application be withdrawn? inquired the lady.

Certainly, madame. You can withdraw it at any time.

Very well, monsieur, let it be so... go on! Yes, the purchase of land that you have arranged for me is worth the trouble; and, besides, I have managed Vitel's business—he is to retire, and you must pay Vitel's sixty thousand francs out of Pons' property. So, you see, you must succeed.

Have you Vitel's resignation?

Yes, monsieur. M. Vitel has put himself in M. de Marville's hands.

Very good, madame. I have already saved you sixty thousand francs which I expected to give to that vile creature Mme. Cibot. But I still require the tobacconist's license for the woman Sauvage, and an appointment to the vacant place of head-physician at the Quinze-Vingts for my friend Poulain.

Agreed—it is all arranged.

Very well. There is no more to be said. Every one is for you in this business, even Gaudissart, the manager of the theatre. I went to look him up yesterday, and he undertook to crush the workman who seemed likely to give us trouble.

Oh, I know M. Gaudissart is devoted to the Popinots.

Fraisier went out. Unluckily, he missed Gaudissart, and the fatal summons was served forthwith.

If all covetous minds will sympathize with the Presidente, all honest folk will turn in abhorrence from her joy when Gaudissart came twenty minutes later to report his conversation with poor Schmucke. She gave her full approval; she was obliged beyond all expression for the thoughtful way in which the manager relieved her of any remaining scruples by observations which seemed to her to be very sensible and just.

I thought as I came, Mme. la Presidente, that the poor devil would not know what to do with the money. 'Tis a patriarchally simple nature. He is a child, he is a German, he ought to be stuffed and put in a glass case like a waxen image. Which is to say that, in my opinion, he is quite puzzled enough already with his income of two thousand five hundred francs, and here you are provoking him into extravagance—

It is very generous of him to wish to enrich the poor fellow who regrets the loss of our cousin, pronounced the Presidente. "For my own part, I am sorry for the little squabble that estranged M. Pons and me. If he had come back again, all would have been forgiven. If you only knew how my husband misses him! M. de Marville received no notice of the death, and was in despair; family claims are sacred for him, he would have gone to the service and the interment, and I myself would have been at the mass—"

Very well, fair lady, said Gaudissart. "Be so good as to have the documents drawn up, and at four o'clock I will bring this German to you. Please remember me to your charming daughter the Vicomtesse, and ask her to tell my illustrious friend the great statesman, her good and excellent father-in-law, how deeply I am devoted to him and his, and ask him to continue his valued favors. I owe my life to his uncle the judge, and my success in life to him; and I should wish to be bound to both you and your daughter by the high esteem which links us with persons of rank and influence. I wish to leave the theatre and become a serious person."

As you are already, monsieur! said the Presidente.

Adorable! returned Gaudissart, kissing the lady's shriveled fingers.

七十七、夺回遗产的办法

那时许模克买了花，买了点心，差不多很高兴地捧着去给多比那的孩子。

“我带点心来啦！……”他微笑着说。

这是他三个月来第一次的笑容，令人看了只觉得不寒而栗。

“可是有个条件。”他补上一句。

“先生，你太好了。”孩子们的母亲说。

“得让我抱一下这小女孩儿，还要她把花编在辫子里，像德国小姑娘一样！”

“奥尔迦，你得听先生的话，他要你怎办就怎办……”母亲沉着脸吩咐。

“别对我的德国娃娃这么凶啊！……”许模克嚷着。他在这个女孩子身上看到了他亲爱的祖国。

“你的东西我已经叫三个挑夫在那里搬来了！……”多比那从外边进来说。

“啊！朋友，”德国人招呼他，“这儿两百法郎是做开销的……你太太真好，将来你要跟她正式结婚的，是不是？我送你三千法郎……再送你女孩儿三千法郎做陪嫁，你给她存起来。你也不用再做当差，马上要升作戏院的出纳了……”

“我？接鲍特朗老头的差事？”

“是啊。”

“谁跟你说的？”

“高狄沙先生。”

“哦！那真要乐疯了！……哎！洛莎丽，戏院里的人不是要忌妒死了吗！……这简直不可能！”

“咱们的恩人怎么可以住在阁楼上？……”

“我活也活不了几天，有这么个地方住也很好了，”许模克说，“再见！我要上公墓去……看看他们把邦斯怎办了……还得给他墓上送些花去。”

加缪索庭长太太那时正焦急到极点。弗莱齐埃在她家里跟公证人贝蒂哀和诉讼代理人高特夏商量了一番。贝蒂哀和高特夏认为那份当着两位公证人和两个见证立的遗嘱，绝对推翻不了，因为汉纳耿起的稿子措辞非常明确。据正派的高特夏说，即使许模克被他现在的法律顾问蒙蔽一时，早晚也会给人点醒，因为想找机会出头而乐于帮忙的律师有的是。贝蒂哀和高特夏，不消说，早已把弗莱齐埃的底细打听清楚，所以等他在邦斯家办妥封存手续回来的时候，特意请庭长太太把他邀到庭长书房里去起草传票底稿；然后他们劝她提防弗莱齐埃。他们觉得加缪索先生以庭长的身份决不宜牵入这种不清不白的事。两人把话说完就走了。

“哎，太太，那两位先生呢？”弗莱齐埃走出来问。

“走啦！……他们劝我放弃这件事！”玛维尔太太回答。

“放弃！”弗莱齐埃勉强抑捺着胸中的怒意说，“太太，您听着……”

于是他念出代执达吏起草的传票底稿：

兹据××××××状称……（套语从略）事缘汉纳耿与克洛泰二公证人，会同两外籍证人勃罗纳与希华勃，将故邦斯先生遗嘱送呈地方法院，请求执管遗产在案。查故邦斯先生将遗产赠予德国人许模克先生之行为，实属侵害具状人之权利；因具状人乃系故邦斯先生之法定的血亲继承人，而邦斯先生生前亦明白表示愿将遗产授予具状人之生女赛西尔小姐。关于此点，具状人可提出社会上素有声望之人士为证。讵许模克先生不惜以卑鄙伎俩，非法手段，乘病人神志昏迷之际赚取遗嘱；甚至于事先禁锢邦斯先生，使其不能接见家属，以遂其夺取遗产之阴谋；而一旦目的达到，于主办邦斯先生丧葬之时，许模克立即忘恩负义，行同禽兽，致引起邻里公愤。此外尚有其他罪行，具状人现方搜集证据，以备日后当庭陈述。基于上述理由，具状人特请求法院宣示撤销故邦斯先生遗嘱，并将其遗产判归血亲继承人依法执管。据此，本执达吏依法当面票传许模克于×月×日到庭，听候审理撤销故邦斯遗嘱一案。本执达吏并根据具状人请求，反对许模克取得受遗赠人之身份，并反对其执管遗产……（下略） [1]

“庭长太太，我知道那个人的，他一收到这张请帖就会让步。他跟泰勃罗一商量，泰勃罗就会劝他接受我们的办法！您愿不愿意送他三千法郎的终身年金呢？”

“当然愿意，我恨不得现在就把第一期的款子付了。”

“哦，三天之内一定办妥……他悲痛之下，拿到这张传票会大吃一惊的，因为这可怜虫的确在那里哀悼邦斯。他把朋友的死看作很大的损失。”

“传票送了出去还能收回吗？”庭长太太问。

“当然能收回，太太，案子随时可以撤销的。”

“那么，先生，行了！……你去办吧！……你替我张罗的那份家私值得我们这样干的！我已经把维丹先生退休的事给安排好了，只要你给他六万法郎；这笔钱将来在邦斯的遗产项下支付。所以瞧……我们非成功不可！……”

“他已经答应辞职了吗？”

“答应了，维丹绝对听庭长的话……”

“好吧，太太，我早先预备给西卜太太，那个下流的看门女人，六万法郎，现在我替您省掉了。可是梭伐女人的烟草牌照一定得给的，还有我朋友波冷，希望能补上养老院主任医师的缺。”

“没有问题，都预备好了。”

“那么万事齐备了……为这件事大家都在替您出力，就是戏院的经理高狄沙也很帮忙。昨天我去看他，因为戏院里有个当差可能跟我们捣乱，高狄沙答应把他压下去。”

“哦！我知道。高狄沙完全是包比诺家的人！”

弗莱齐埃走了。可是他没有碰到高狄沙，那份催命符一般的传票马上给送了出去。

二十分钟以后，高狄沙来报告他和许模克的谈话，那时庭长太太心中的欢喜，是一切贪心的人都能了解，一切诚实的人都切齿痛恨的。她完全赞成高狄沙的办法，觉得他的话入情入理，而且自己的顾虑也给他一扫而空了，更对他感激不尽。

“庭长太太，”他说，“我来的时候就想到，那可怜虫有了钱还不知道怎办呢。他的忠厚淳朴，简直像古时的长老。那种天真，那种德国人脾气，竟可以把他放在玻璃罩底下，像蜡制的小耶稣般供起来！我看他拿了两千五年金已经为难死了，要不荒唐一下才怪呢……”

“戏院里的当差追悼我们的舅舅，他就送他一笔钱，足见他宅心仁厚。当初就怪那件小事，造成了我跟邦斯先生的误会；要是他再到我们家来的话，一切都会原谅他的。你真不知道我丈夫多么想念他。这一回没有得到他的死讯，庭长心里难过得不得了；他对亲属之间的礼数看得极重，要是知道了邦斯舅舅故世，一定要上教堂，要去送丧，连我也会去参加他的弥撒祭的……”

“那么，美丽的太太，”高狄沙说，“请你教人把和解据预备起来；准四点，我替你把德国人带来……太太，希望你在令爱包比诺子爵夫人面前为我吹嘘吹嘘；也希望她对她的公公，对我那位显赫的老朋友，对这个大政治家提一句，说我对他所有的亲属都愿意尽心出力，请他继续高抬贵手，提拔提拔我。他那个当法官的叔叔救过我的命，这几年他又让我发了财……太太，像你跟令爱这样有权有势的人，当然是众望所归，万人景仰，我很想沾点儿光。我的计划是想脱离戏院，做个有作为的人。”

“你现在不是很有作为了吗，先生？”

“你太好了！”高狄沙说着，吻着庭长太太那只干枯的手。

注解：

[1]　法国执达吏的职权，除执行法院判决，为强制执行及假扣押等以外，得签发诉讼案件及非诉讼案件的传票，并负责送达。又以许模克委托泰勃罗为代表而论，执达吏似亦能接受私人委托代办非诉讼案件，但此点在现代法国诉讼程序上无可查考。又执达吏另有事务所，雇有书记等等助理其事。