Respectful silence was then restored, and the company
smiled at each other discreetly. Granoux was swelling with importance.
He was the only one who had seen the insurgent pull the trigger and
smash the mirror; this sufficed to exalt him, and almost made him burst
his skin. On leaving the drawing-room, he took Roudier's arm with the
air of a great general who is broken down with fatigue. "I've been up
for thirty-six hours," he murmured, "and heaven alone knows when I shall
get to bed!"
Rougon, as he withdrew, took Vuillet aside and told him that the party
of order relied more than ever on him and the "Gazette." He would have
to publish an effective article to reassure the inhabitants and treat
the band of villains who had passed through Plassans as it deserved.
"Be easy!" replied Vuillet. "In the ordinary course the 'Gazette'
ought not to appear till to-morrow morning, but I'll issue it this very
evening."
When the leaders had left, the rest of the visitors remained in the
yellow drawing-room for another moment, chattering like so many
old women, whom the escape of a canary has gathered together on the
pavement. These retired tradesmen, oil dealers, and wholesale hatters,
felt as if they were in a sort of fairyland. Never had they experienced
such thrilling excitement before. They could not get over their surprise
at discovering such heroes as Rougon, Granoux, and Roudier in their
midst. At last, half stifled by the stuffy atmosphere, and tired of ever
telling each other the same things, they decided to go off and spread
the momentous news abroad.
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