Chapter 291 Two Flags - Act Two

They had paid little attention to Father Mabeuf since they came to Corinth and began building the barricades.Father-in-law Ma Bai has never left the team.When he entered the hotel, he went to sit behind the counter in the hall downstairs.It can be said that he has completely disappeared there.He didn't seem to look at anything anymore, and he didn't think about anything anymore.Twice or three times Courfeyrac and others came up to him, told him of the danger, and begged him to avoid it, but he seemed to hear nothing.When no one was talking to him, his lips would open and close frequently, as if he was answering someone, but when someone was talking to him, his lips didn't move at all, and his eyes seemed to lose their life.Hours before the attack on the barricade he had sat there with his fists on his knees and his head bent forward, as if looking at some precipice and abyss, and he had remained so for hours. Posture, has not changed.Nothing can disturb him, and it seems that his spirit is completely out of the barricade.Afterwards everyone rushed to their respective combat posts, and there were only three people left in the hall: Javert who was tied to a post, a rebel soldier who was watching Javert with a saber in his hand, and Mabeuf.When the attack began and the burst occurred, his body was shaken as if awakened, and he rose abruptly and passed through the hall, just as Enjolras was repeating his call, saying: "No one will Go?" People saw the old man appearing in front of the hotel.

His appearance startled the whole procession and caused a cry of exclamation: "This is the voter! This is the representative of the National Convention! This is the representative of the people!" Maybe he didn't hear it. He went straight to Enjolras, and the rebels made way for him in awe. He took the red flag from Enjolras' hand, and Enjolras was also stunned by him, and took a step back. No one else dared to stop him, and no one dared to help him. He, this eighty-year-old man, with a trembling head and neck, walked steadily up the stone steps in the barricade, step by step. .The scene was so majestic and grand that all around him shouted in unison, "Hats off!" Every step he took, his white hair, his withered face, his high, broad, bald, wrinkled forehead The sunken eyes, the stunned open mouth, and the withered arm holding the flag all stretched from the darkness to the bloody light of the torch, gradually rising and expanding, and the image was quite frightening.People thought they saw the Yin spirit of 1993, holding the banner of the horror era, rising from the ground.

When he climbed to the highest level, when this trembling and defiant ghost, faced with twelve hundred invisible muzzles, regarded death as home, sacrificed himself and forgot himself, stood on the top of the pile of wood and lime, the whole barricade fell from the sky. In the dark, I saw an extremely sublime image of Superman. Everyone held their breath, the silence that only happens when miracles happen. In this silence, the old man waved the red flag and shouted: "Long live the Revolution! Long live the Republic! Fraternity! Equality and death!" From the barricade one heard a low, hurried voice, like that of a priest chanting a prayer.Maybe the officer was on the other side of the street, doing his routine capitulation work.

Then, the shrill voice that said "Password?" cried first: "Go down!" Mr. Mabeuf, pale with anger, his eyes blazing with grief and impatience, raised the red flag high above his head, and shouted again: "Long live the Republic!" "Let go!" said the man's voice. The second shot hit the barricade like a cannonball. The old man's knees sank, then stood up again, the flag slipped from his hands, and his body, like a plank, fell backwards on the stone, lying straight on his back with his arms crossed in front of his chest . Strips of blood, like streams, flowed out from under him.His old face was pale and sad, as if he was still looking at the sky.

The rebels were all controlled by a kind of rage beyond human control, and even forgot to defend themselves. They all approached the corpse in horror and horror. "These men who judged the king were fine!" said Enjolras. Courfeyrac approached Enjolras' ear and said: "This is for you alone, because I don't want to throw cold water on you. But this man is quite comparable to those deputies who sentenced the king. I know him. His name is Mr. Ma Baifu. I don't know how he is today. One thing. But he's always been an honest old fool. Look at his head." "An old fool's head, a Brutus' heart," replied Enjolras.

Then he raised his voice and said: "Citizens! This is the example that the older generation sets for the younger generation. We hesitate, he rises up! We step back, he moves forward! Let us see how those who tremble with old age educate trembling with fear Man! This old man is majestic in front of the motherland. He lived a long time and died a glorious death. Now let us protect his body. Each of us should protect this dead body like our own living father. old man. Let him stay among us, and make this barricade a fortress." Behind these words came a low but resolute resonance. Enjolras knelt down and lifted the old man's head, timidly kissed him on the forehead, and then opened his arms, gently and cautiously, as if afraid of hurting the dead, lifted his body, and untied his arms. He pointed out the bullet holes and bloodstains on his clothes, and said:

"Now, that's our red flag."