"
"You see, then, there's force mentioned; that means armed forces, of
course."
"What do people say then?"
"Well, you know, folks are beginning to feel rather frightened; they say
that this delay on the part of the soldiers isn't natural, and that the
insurgents may well have slaughtered them."
A cry of horror resounded through the cafe. Rougon was inclined to go in
and tell those bourgeois that the proclamation had never announced the
arrival of a regiment, that they had no right to strain its meaning
to such a degree, nor to spread such foolish theories abroad. But he
himself, amidst the disquietude which was coming over him, was not quite
sure he had not counted upon a despatch of troops; and he did, in fact,
consider it strange that not a single soldier had made his appearance.
So he reached home in a very uneasy state of mind. Felicite, still
petulant and full of courage, became quite angry at seeing him upset by
such silly trifles. Over the dessert she comforted him.
"Well, you great simpleton," she said, "so much the better, if the
prefect does forget us! We shall save the town by ourselves. For my
part, I should like to see the insurgents return, so that we might
receive them with bullets and cover ourselves with glory. Listen to
me, go and have the gates closed, and don't go to bed; bustle about all
night; it will all be taken into account later on."
Pierre returned to the town-hall in rather more cheerful spirits.
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