Nobody's Girl Page 6

  CHAPTER IV

  A HARD ROAD TO TRAVEL

  The last prayers had been uttered. Perrine still stood before the grave.The Baroness, who had not left her, gently took her arm.

  "Come," she said; "you must come away," she added more firmly as Perrineattempted to resist her.

  Holding her tightly by the arm, she drew her away. They walked on forsome moments, Perrine not knowing what was passing around her, norunderstanding where they were leading her. Her thoughts, her spirit, herheart, were with her mother.

  At last they stopped in one of the side paths; then she saw standinground her the Baroness, who had now let go of her arm, Grain-of-Salt andthe candy man, but she saw them only vaguely. The Baroness had blackribbons on her bonnet; Grain-of-Salt was dressed like a gentleman andwore a high silk hat; Carp had replaced his leather apron by a blackPrince Albert which came down to his feet, and the candy man had castaside his white blouse for a cloth coat. For, like the real Parisian whopractises the cult of the dead, they had dressed themselves up in theirbest to pay respect to the one they had just buried.

  "I want to tell you, little one," commenced Grain-of-Salt, who thoughtthat he should speak first, being the most important person present; "Iwant to tell you that you can stay as long as you like in Guillot Fieldswithout paying."

  "If you'd like to sing with me," said the Baroness, "you can earn enoughto live on. It's a nice profession."

  "If you'd like to go into the candy business, I'll teach you; that's areal trade and a nice one," said the candy man.

  Carp said nothing, but with a smile and a gesture he let her understandthat she could always find a bowl of soup at his place ... and goodsoup, too!

  Perrine's eyes filled with fresh tears, soft tears which washed away thebitterness of the burning ones which for two days had flowed from hereyes.

  "How good you all are to me," she murmured.

  "One does what one can," said Grain-of-Salt.

  "One should not leave an honest little girl like you on the streets ofParis," said the Baroness.

  "I must not stay in Paris," replied Perrine; "I must go at once to myrelations."

  "You have relations?" exclaimed Grain-of-Salt, looking at the otherswith an air which said that he did not think that those relations couldbe worth much. "Where are your relations?"

  "Near Amiens."

  "And how can you go to Amiens? Have you got money?"

  "Not enough to take the train, but I'm going to walk there."

  "Do you know the way?"

  "I have a map in my pocket...."

  "Yes, but does that tell you which road you have to take from here, herein Paris?"

  "No, but if you will tell me...."

  They all were eager to give her this information, but it was all soconfused and contradictory that Grain-of-Salt cut the talk short.

  "If you want to lose yourself in Paris, just listen to what they aresaying," he said. "Now, this is the way you must go," and he explainedto her which road she should take. "Now, when do you want to go?"

  "At once; I promised my mother," said Perrine.

  "You must obey her," said the Baroness, solemnly, "but not before I'vekissed you; you're a good girl."

  The men shook hands with her.

  She knew she must leave the cemetery, yet she hesitated and turned oncemore towards the grave that she had just left, but the Baroness stoppedher.

  "As you are obliged to go, go at once; it is best," she said.

  "Yes, go," said Grain-of-Salt.

  When she had climbed into the car on the belt line she took an old mapof France from her pocket which she had consulted many times alone sincethey left Italy. From Paris to Amiens the road was easy; she had only totake the Calais road; this was indicated on her map by a little blackline. From Amiens she would go to Boulogne, and as she had learned alsoto calculate distances, she thought that to Maraucourt it ought to beabout one hundred and fifty-eight miles.

  But could she do all those miles, regularly ... go on day after day? Sheknew that to walk four or five miles by chance on one day was a verydifferent matter to taking a long, continuous journey like she wascontemplating. There would be bad days ... rainy days ... and how longwould her money last? She had only five francs thirty-five centimesleft. The train pulled up at the station at which she had to get out.Now she had to turn to the right, and as the sun would not go down fortwo or three hours she hoped to be far away from Paris by night, andfind a place in the open country where she could sleep.

  Yet as far as her eyes could see there was nothing but houses andfactories, factories with great tall chimneys sending forth clouds ofthick, black smoke, and all along the road wagons, tramways and carts.Again she saw a lot of trucks bearing the name that she had noticedwhile waiting to pass through the Gates: "Maraucourt Factories, VulfranPaindavoine."

  Would Paris ever end? Would she ever get out of this great city? She wasnot afraid of the lonely fields, nor the silence of the country atnight, nor the mysterious shadows, but of Paris, the crowd, the lights.She was now on the outskirts of the city. Before leaving it (althoughshe had no appetite), she thought she would buy a piece of bread sothat she would have something to eat before going to sleep. She wentinto a baker shop.

  "I want some bread, please," she said.

  "Have you any money?" demanded the woman, who did not seem to put muchconfidence in Perrine's appearance.

  "Yes, and I want one pound, please. Here is five francs. Will you giveme the change?"

  Before cutting the bread the woman took up the five franc piece andexamined it.

  "What! that!" she exclaimed, making it ring on the marble slab.

  "It's a five franc piece," said Perrine.

  "Who told you to try and pass that off on me?" asked the woman, angrily.

  "No one, and I am asking you for a pound of bread for my supper."

  "Well, then, you won't get any bread, and you'd better get out of hereas quickly as you can before I have you arrested."

  "Arrested! Why?" she stammered in surprise.

  "Because you're a thief!"

  "Oh!..."

  "You want to pass counterfeit money on me. You vagabond ... you thief!Be off! No, wait; I'll get a policeman."

  Perrine knew that she was not a thief, whether the money was real orfalse, but vagabond she was. She had no home, no parents. What would sheanswer the policeman? They would arrest her for being a vagabond.

  She put this question to herself very quickly, but although her fear wasgreat, she thought of her money.

  "If you don't wish to sell me the bread, at least you can give me backmy money," she said, holding out her hand.

  "So that you can pass it on someone else, eh? I'll keep your money. Ifyou want it, go and fetch the police," cried the woman, furiously. "Beoff, you thief."

  The woman's loud cries could be heard in the street, and several peopleby now had gathered round the door.

  "What's the matter?" someone cried.

  "Why, this girl here is trying to rob my till," shouted the woman."There never is a cop when one wants one."

  Terrified, Perrine wondered how she could get out, but they let her passas she made for the door, hissing her and calling her names as she ran.She ran on and on, too afraid to turn round to see if anyone wasfollowing her.

  After a few minutes, which to her seemed hours, she found herself in thecountry, and was able to stop and breathe. No one was calling after her;no one following her.

  After her fears had calmed down she realized that she had nothing to eatand no money. What should she do? Instinctively she glanced at thefields by the wayside. She saw beets, onions, cabbages, but there wasnothing there ready to eat, and besides, even if there had been ripemelons and trees laden with fruit, what good would they have been toher; she could not stretch out her hand to pick the fruit any more thanshe could stretch it out to beg of the passersby. No, little Perrine wasnot a thief, nor a beggar, nor a vagabond.

  She felt very depressed. It was eventide
, and in the quietness of thetwilight she realized how utterly alone she was; but she knew that shemust not give way; she felt that while there was still light she mustwalk on, and by the time night fell perhaps she would have found a spotwhere she could sleep in safety.

  She had not gone far before she found what she thought would be the veryplace. As she came to a field of artichokes she saw a man and womanpicking artichoke heads and packing them in baskets, which they piled upin a cart that stood by the roadside. She stopped to look at them attheir work. A moment later another cart driven by a girl came up.

  "So you're getting yours all in?" called out the girl.

  "Should say so, and it's none too soon," replied the man. "It's no funsleeping here all night to watch for those rogues. I at least shallsleep in my bed tonight."

  "And what about Monneau's lot?" grinned the girl.

  "Oh, Monneau's a sly dog," answered the man; "he counts on us otherswatching out for his. He's not going to be here tonight. Serve himright if he finds all his gone!"

  All three laughed heartily. They were not over-anxious that Monneaushould prosper. Didn't he profit by their watch to take his own slumbersin peace?

  "That'll be a joke, eh?"

  "Wait for me," said the girl. "I won't be a jiffy; then we'll gotogether."

  The man and the woman waited, and in a few minutes the girl had finishedher task and the two carts, laden with artichokes, went towards thevillage. Perrine stood in the deserted road looking at the two fields,which presented such a difference in appearance. One was completelystripped of its vegetables; the other was filled with a splendid crop.At the end of the field was a little hut made of branches where the manwho watched the field had slept. Perrine decided that she would staythere for the night, now that she knew it would not be occupied by thewatch. She did not fear that she would be disturbed, yet she dared nottake possession of the place until it was quite dark. She sat down by aditch and waited, thankful that she had found what she wanted. Then atlast, when it was quite dark and all was quiet, she picked her waycarefully over the beds of artichokes and slipped into the hut. It wasbetter inside than she had hoped, for the ground was covered with strawand there was a wooden box that would serve her for a pillow.

  Ever since she had run from the baker's shop it had seemed to her thatshe was like a tracked animal, and more than once she had looked behindher with fear, half expecting to see the police on her heels.

  She felt now in the hut that she was safe. Her nerves relaxed. After afew minutes she realized that she had another cause for anxiety. She washungry, very hungry. While she was tramping along the roads, overwhelmedby her great loss, it had seemed to her that she would never want to eator drink again. She felt the pangs of hunger now and she had only onesou left. How could she live on one sou for five or six days? This was avery serious question. But then, had she not found shelter for thenight; perhaps she would find food for the morrow.

  She closed her eyes, her long black lashes heavy with tears. The lastthing at night she had always thought of her dead father; now it was thespirits of both her father and her mother that seemed to hover aroundher. Again and again she stretched out her arms in the darkness to them,and then, worn out with fatigue, with a sob she dropped off to sleep.

  But although she was tired out, her slumbers were broken. She turned andtossed on the straw. Every now and again the rumbling of a cart on theroad would wake her, and sometimes some mysterious noise, which in thesilence of the night made her heart beat quickly. Then it seemed to herthat she heard a cart stop near the hut on the road. She raised herselfon her elbow to listen.

  She had not made a mistake; she heard some whispering. She sprang to herfeet and looked through the cracks of the hut. A cart had stopped at theend of the field, and by the pale light from the stars she could dimlysee the form of a man or woman throwing out baskets to two others, whocarried them into the field. This was Monneau's lot. What did it mean atsuch an hour? Had Monneau come so late to cut his artichokes?

  Then she understood! These were the thieves! They had come to stripMonneau's field! They quickly cut the artichoke heads and heaped them upin the baskets. The woman had taken the cart away; evidently they didnot want it to stay on the road while they worked for fear of attractingthe attention of anyone passing by.

  What would happen to her if the thieves saw her? She had heard thatthieves sometimes killed a person who caught them at their work. Therewas the chance that they would not discover her. For they certainly knewthat the hut would not be occupied on this night that they had plannedto strip the field. But if they caught her? And then ... if they werearrested, she would be taken with them!

  At this thought cold beads of perspiration broke out on her forehead.Thieves work quickly; they would soon have finished!

  But presently they were disturbed. From the distance could be heard thenoise of a cart on the paved road. As it drew nearer they hidthemselves, lying down flat between the artichoke beds.

  The cart passed. Then they went on with their work even more quickly. Inspite of their feverish haste it seemed to little Perrine that theywould never be finished. Every moment she feared that someone would comeand catch them and she be arrested with them.

  If she could only get away. She looked about her to see if it werepossible for her to leave the hut. This could easily be done, but thenthey would be sure to see her once she was on the road. It would bebetter to remain where she was.

  She lay down again and pretended to sleep. As it was impossible for herto go out without being seen, it was wiser to pretend that she had notseen anything if they should come into the hut.

  For some time they went on cutting the artichokes. Then there wasanother noise on the road. It was their cart coming back. It stopped atthe end of the field. In a few minutes the baskets were all stowed inthe cart and the thieves jumped in and drove off hurriedly in thedirection of Paris.

  If she had known the hour she could have slept until dawn, but notknowing how long she had been there, she thought that it would be betterif she went on her way. In the country people are about at an earlyhour. If, when day broke, the laborers going to work saw her coming outof the hut, or even if they saw her round about the field, they mightsuspect her of having been with the thieves and arrest her.

  So she slipped out of the hut, ears on the alert for the slightestnoise, eyes glancing in every direction.

  She reached the main road, then hurried off. The stars in the skiesabove were disappearing, and from the east a faint streak of light litthe shadows of the night and announced the approach of day.