Les miserables (Abridged) - Victor Hugo [337]
“There is a cab.”
At the same time he saw a pale girl standing before him.
The man felt that commotion which is always given by the unexpected. He bristled up hideously; nothing is so frightful to see as ferocious beasts which are startled, their appearance when terrified is terrifying. He recoiled, and stammered:
“What is this creature?”
“Your daughter.”
It was indeed Eponine who was speaking to Thénardier.
On the appearance of Eponine the five others, that is to say, Claquesous, Gueulemer, Babet, Montparnasse, and Brujon, approached without a sound, without haste, without saying a word, with the ominous slowness peculiar to these men of the night.
In their hands might be distinguished some strangely hideous tools. Gueulemer had one of those crooked crowbars which the prowlers call fanchons.
“Ah, there, what are you doing here? what do you want of us? are you crazy?” exclaimed Thénardier, as much as one can exclaim in a whisper. “What do you come and hinder us in our work for?”
Eponine began to laugh and sprang to his neck.
“I am here, my darling father, because I am here. Is there any law against sitting upon the stones in these days? It is you who shouldn’t be here. What are you coming here for, since it is a biscuit? I told Magnon so. There is nothing to do here. But embrace me now, my dear good father! What a long time since I have seen you! You are out then?”
Thénardier tried to free himself from Eponine’s arms, and muttered:
“Very well. You have embraced me. Yes, I am out. I am not in. Now, be off.”
But Eponine did not loose her hold and redoubled her caresses.
“My darling father, how did you do it? You must have a good deal of wit to get out of that! Tell me about it! And my mother? where is my mother? Give me some news of mamma.”
Thénardier answered:
“She is well, I don’t know, let me alone, I tell you to be off.”
“I don’t want to go away just now,” said Eponine, with the pettishness of a spoiled child, “you send me away when here it is four months that I haven’t seen you, and when I have hardly had time to embrace you.”
And she caught her father again by the neck.
“Ah! come now, this is foolish,” said Babet.
“Let us hurry!” said Gueulemer, “the coqueurs may come along.”
The ventriloquist sang this distich:
Nous n’ sommes pas le jour de l‘an,
A bécoter papa maman.fw
Eponine turned towards the five bandits.
“Why, this is Monsieur Brujon. Good-day, Monsieur Babet. Good-day, Monsieur Claquesous. Don’t you remember me, Monsieur Gueulemer? How goes it, Montparnasse?”
“Yes, they recognise you,” said Thénardier. “But good-day, good-night, keep off! don’t disturb us!”
“It is the hour for foxes, and not for pullets,” said Montparnasse.
“You see well enough that we are going to goupiner icigo, ”fx added Babet.
Eponine took Montparnasse’s hand.
“Take care,” said he, “you will cut yourself, I have a lingrefy open.”
“My darling Montparnasse,” answered Eponine very gently, “we must have confidence in people. I am my father’s daughter, perhaps. Monsieur Babet, Monsieur Gueulemer, it is I who was charged with finding out about this affair.”
It is noteworthy that Eponine was not speaking argot. Since she had known Marius, that horrid language had become impossible to her.
She pressed in her little hand, as bony and weak as the hand of a corpse, the great rough fingers of Gueulemer, and continued:
“You know very well that I am not a fool. Ordinarily you believe me. I have done you service on occasion. Well, I have learned all about this, you would expose yourself uselessly, do you see. I swear to you that there is nothing to be done in that house.”
“There are lone women,” said Gueulemer.
“No. The people have moved away.”
“The candles have not, anyhow!” said