As
he was about to withdraw, his mother, looking for the knot in his sling,
remarked: "First of all, you must let me take off this rag. It's getting
a little ridiculous, you know!"
Aristide let her remove it. When the silk handkerchief was untied,
he folded it neatly and placed it in his pocket. And as he kissed his
mother he exclaimed: "Till to-morrow then!"
In the meanwhile, Rougon was taking official possession of the mayor's
offices. There were only eight municipal councillors left; the others
were in the hands of the insurgents, as well as the mayor and his two
assessors. The eight remaining gentlemen, who were all on a par with
Granoux, perspired with fright when the latter explained to them the
critical situation of the town. It requires an intimate knowledge of the
kind of men who compose the municipal councils of some of the smaller
towns, in order to form an idea of the terror with which these timid
folk threw themselves into Rougon's arms. At Plassans, the mayor had
the most incredible blockheads under him, men without any ideas of their
own, and accustomed to passive obedience. Consequently, as Monsieur
Garconnet was no longer there, the municipal machine was bound to get
out of order, and fall completely under the control of the man who might
know how to set it working. Moreover, as the sub-prefect had left the
district, Rougon naturally became sole and absolute master of the town;
and thus, strange to relate, the chief administrative authority fell
into the hands of a man of indifferent repute, to whom, on the previous
evening, not one of his fellow-citizens would have lent a hundred
francs.
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