Chapter 6 Six, on the road

With the casual pace or trot of the one-eyed magpie, the Dorotai Circus moved around, one place a day, they performed in the afternoon, and wandered around the ancient towns in France at other times, and the girls enjoyed the picturesque scenery to their heart's content : Domfron, Mortain, Avranches, Fougères, Vitrés, feudal manors surrounded by fortifications or towering ancient towers... Dorothea visited all the way with the surging mood of an insider, Looking back at history all the way. She visited alone, walked alone on the main road, and it was obvious that she wanted to keep some distance from everyone, so the others just watched her uncomfortably, begging mother pitifully to look at them, and no one talked to her. say.

A week passed in this way, a very miserable week for the children.The pale Saint-Quentin drives the one-eyed magpie as if pulling a hearse.Castor and Pollux no longer fight. As for the Captain, he absorbed himself in his textbook, racking his brains for his additions and subtractions.He knew that Dorothy, the cultural teacher of the whole circus, was usually very sensitive to the students' hard work.However, all efforts were of no avail, and Dorothei thought about other things. Early in the morning, after passing the first village, she bought a newspaper, browsed through it at a glance, and then crumpled it angrily, as if she couldn't find the news she expected to find.Saint-Quentin immediately picked up the newspaper, which he too read.No.Not the crime of which she had briefly spoken.They had bound the villainous de Estreche to the bed, but there was no news of his arrest.

Finally, on the eighth day, like the sun shining after a long rain, a smile appeared on her face.There is no external reason.this is life.The girl's mind escaped the distant tragedy of her father's death.She re-emerges as the lithe, passionate and gentle Dorothei.She kissed Castor, Pollux, and Montforgon passionately, and shook hands with Saint-Quentin.When she performed under the walls of Vitré, she was astonishingly lively and cheerful.After the audience dispersed, she pushed her four friends into a frenzied dance circle. For them, this was simply the highest reward. Saint-Quentin wept with joy.

"I thought you didn't love us anymore," he said. "How can I not love you four little guys?" "Because you are a princess." "Stupid, wasn't I a princess before?" As she spoke, she led him into the narrow streets of the ancient city of Vitre. Between the row upon row of wooden houses with rough slate roofs, she spoke intermittently about her childhood life for the first time. She has always lived happily, and has never encountered resistance, restraint, or punishment, which are all things that suppress free nature and distort human nature.Eager to learn, she learned from others what she wished to learn, learned his Latin from the good priest of Argona, and returned the catechism to him intact.She learned many things from her teacher, and many other things from books lent to her by her parents, who threw him to a pair of old peasants, and she learned still more from their side.

"I owe them the most," she said. "Without them, I would never know what a bird is, a plant, a tree, what is the meaning of everything." Saint-Quentin joked: "They didn't teach tightrope walking, did they?" "Dancing is something inherent in me. It was passed on to me by my mother, who was not a big star, but just an ordinary little dancer, a 'dancing girl' in cabaret and English circuses!" Although her education was very informal, she lacked the guidance of a mentor, and she only had her parents' life to learn from, but she accepted very high moral values, always maintained a strong self-esteem, and was very sensitive to the right and wrong of conscience. .Bad is bad.There is absolutely no room for advancement or retreat in this regard.

"Only when we connect with upright and kind people can we be happy," she said. "I myself am a man of integrity and kindness." She was eloquent about expressing her views on herself.Saint-Quentin was dumbfounded. "My God! Where did you learn these words? Dorothy, you have always amazed me. Also, how can you guess what you guessed every time? That day, at the Roble Manor, I just don't understand, don't understand at all!" "Ah! Well, that's another matter," she said. "Planning, organizing, directing, but also action and success, it's all a need. When I was a child, I gathered the children of the village and divided them into small groups. We banded together to deal with bad guys, we helped poor women find Return the stolen sheep or ducks, or use your brains together to investigate. Ah! Investigating and solving crimes is my specialty. Before the police get the news, I have solved the case. So, the farmers in the neighborhood come to me A little girl of thirteen or fourteen. They say I'm 'a real little witch'. My God, that's wrong! You know it as well as I do, Saint-Quentin, and I'm sometimes a ghost-seeker. Or fortune-telling with cards, but what I say to everyone comes from observation and analysis of facts... It should be said that part of it comes from intuition, which makes me see the truth of facts from a side that others cannot see immediately. Yes, I often See the facts first, and then slowly understand. Therefore, some very complicated things, for me, seem quite simple at first glance. I always feel strange that some details clearly reflect the truth, but others just pay attention not."

Saint-Quentin was fascinated.He thought and thought, nodded and said: "That's the way, that's the way. Nothing escapes your eyes, you are very thoughtful. So, Saint-Quentin stole the earrings, but let de Estreche has become a thief. It is de Estreche who is going to jail, not Saint-Quentin, and everything is according to your plan." she laughed. "Perhaps it was my plan. But the law doesn't seem to obey my will. There's not a word in the papers. There's no mention of Robleigh at all." "Where did this bastard go?" "have no idea."

"Is there really no way to know?" "I'll know," she replied firmly. "In what way?" "By Raoul Darvernoy." "Are you going to see him?" "I wrote him a letter." "Send to where?" "Robley Manor." "Did he write back?" "Here, I went to the post office before the show and got a telegram." "He came to see us?" "Yes. He left Robery and went home, at three o'clock, and met us at Vitre. It was three o'clock." They came to a high point in the city, and saw the road winding its way between meadows and woods.

"Well," she said, "his car will show up soon... this is the road..." "Are you really sure?..." "I believe that this upright young man will not miss the opportunity to meet me." She said with a smile. St. Quentin was a bit jealous, and he felt unhappy when encountering small things. He sighed: "Everyone who talks to you is so...polite...gracious." They waited for several minutes.A car came between two rows of bushes.They walked towards the car and also approached the caravan with three children playing beside it. After a while.The car climbed up the hill and came out of a bend, driven by Raoul Davernoy.Dorothei rushed up and told him not to get out of the car with gestures, and at the same time shouted loudly: "Hey, how are you? Have you caught it?"

"Who? Is de Ess waiting for Reche?" Raoul asked, and he was taken aback by the similar reception. "Well, de Estreche ... handed him over to the police, didn't he? Locked him up?" "No." "why?" "Run for him." This answer gave her a blow to the head. "De Estreche is gone! . . . can do as he pleases again! . . . Ah! Terrible!" Then, through gritted teeth, she said, "My God... My God! Why don't I stay? I can stop him from escaping..." However, just complaining won't help, and Dorotai is not a woman who likes to complain.She immediately asked the young man: "Why did you stay at the castle?"

"Precisely...precisely because of de Estreche." "Even so. But after he has escaped, you should start home within an hour." "why?" "Your grandfather... I have reminded you at Robleigh Manor." Raoul Darvernoy argued: "I've written to him to be careful, and I'll explain why when I get back. To be honest, it's more or less a question of whether there is any danger." "Why! He possesses the indispensable treasure of the gold medal. De Estreche knows it. You don't believe in the danger yet." "But de Estreche himself has this treasure, which he stole the day he killed your father." The girl stood in front of the car door, held the handle to prevent Raoul from opening it, and said firmly: "Go, I beg you. Yes, there are things I don't quite understand. De Estreche already has one." Medal, will he steal the second one? Will the medal he stole from my father be taken by his party? I don't know anything about it. But I'm sure that the real battle in the future There, at your house. So, I'm on my way. Well, here's a road map. Hilltop Manor, not far from Clison... 150 kilometers away. The caravan is eight stops there. Go, you can get there to-night. I'll be there in a week." He was completely overwhelmed, and had no other way out but to obey. "Perhaps you are right. I should be thinking of these things. Especially tonight when my grandfather is alone at home." "one person?" "Yes. A servant got married in a neighboring village, and the others went to the wedding." She jumped up nervously. "Does de Estreche know?" "I think he knows. I was at Robleigh Park, and I seem to have mentioned it to him." "When did he run away?" "The day before yesterday." "It's been two days?" Before she could finish her sentence, she ran quickly to the caravan, and brought a small suitcase and a piece of clothing from it. "I'll go right away," she said. "I will go with you. There must be no further delay." She started the car herself and at the same time ordered: "Saint-Quentin, I leave you with the caravan and the three children. You follow the red line drawn on the map. Two stops merge into one, and the show is cancelled. Within five days." , you can get there." He sat down beside Darvernoy.The car was already moving, and she picked up the captain who was reaching out to her, and put him in the luggage pile in the back seat of the car. "Stay there...don't move...goodbye, Saint-Quentin. Castor and Pollux, you two are not allowed to fight." She waved them goodbye again. The whole process took less than two or three minutes. Raoul Davernoy's car is a bit like what we usually call a "classic car".Raoul was delighted to travel with this relative, a charming young lady whom a series of accidents had suddenly brought so close.The car was not going too fast, and he took the opportunity to tell in detail what happened, how they found de Estreche, and what happened after they captured him. "He escaped this time because of a wound on his head," he said. "That day, he was tightly bound with ropes. He struggled desperately and hit the iron frame with his head, causing a deep gash. He bleeds profusely, then develops a fever, M. de Charny, whose timid character you must know, immediately said to us: 'This buys us time.' "I ask him why? "He said, we can think about it. You understand that this is going to be an unprecedented sensation and it is best for the sake of our family's honor to avoid it. "I object to any delay. I request that the police be called immediately. But Shani is the one to call the shots, isn't it? Time passes and I wait for his decision, but he hesitates. On the other hand, the prisoner has So weak! How can you even think of guarding against a wounded person?" Dorothy asked, "How does he explain his actions?" "He didn't explain it and deliberately didn't let us ask him." "Didn't he say anything about me? Didn't he try to accuse me?" "No. He pretended to be exhausted with fever and pain, while Shani wrote to Paris to find out about him. Because, anyway, he and Shani were involved. It has only happened since 1915. Three days ago, we received a telegram: This man is extremely dangerous, and the police are looking for it. "Chany made up his mind, and the morning before yesterday he called the police station. By the time the captain arrived, it was too late. De Estreche escaped through the window of a small room that opened onto the valley." "And what about his identity?" "Very serious. Antoine de Estreche, a former naval officer, was dismissed for aggravated theft. He was later charged with a murder and released for lack of evidence. He Desperate at the beginning of the war. Today there is ample evidence—the preliminary hearing had begun a fortnight ago—that during the war he took the identity of a relative who had been dead for many years, and switched to Maxime de This new name, Estreche, is the one the police are looking for." Dorothy shrugged. "What a pity! Such a robber! What he caught, let him run away again!" "We can still catch him." "Of course, I hope it's not too late!" Raoul accelerated the car.They drove fairly fast, through villages at full speed, regardless of the bumps of the gravel roads in the towns.It was getting dark when they stopped at Nantes to refuel. "An hour more," said Raoul. Along the way, she asked Raoul to give an accurate introduction to the topography of Mount Dome, the direction of the road leading to the house through the orchard, the location of the vestibule and the stairs.He also had to give details of his grandfather's habits, his age (seventy-five), his dog Goliath (a shepherd dog with a vicious look and a frightening bark, but not aggressive or protective. Owner). As soon as you enter the large town of Clison, you are in the Vendée.Raoul wanted to take a detour to the village where the servants held their wedding, and take the people from the two villas with them.However, Dorothy opposed this. "What the hell is going on," he said aloud, "what are you worried about?" "I worry about everything," she replied. "I'm afraid that man can do anything. We have no right to waste a single minute." They left the main road and took a country road, not exactly a road, but two deep wheel marks. "Here comes the front," he said... "There are lights in the room from the windows." Almost at the same time, he jumped out of the car after it stopped.A gate and two corner towers are historical relics left over from a long time ago, erected in the middle of the high wall surrounding the villa.The door is closed.Just as Raoul opened the door, in addition to the muffled sound of motors, there was the sound of dogs barking.Judging by the distance and strength of the sound, Raoul concluded that Goliath was not inside the house, but outside the house under the stone steps, barking wildly outside the closed house. "Hey!" Dorothy called to him, "Can't you open it?" He hurried back. "This is trouble. The safety pin is on, and someone has turned the key." "Isn't it usually like this?" "Never. Someone must have done it... And, did you hear the dog bark?" "What's the matter?" "There is another door two hundred meters away from here." "What if it's closed too? No, we have to act now." She grabbed the steering wheel and leaned the car to the right of the door, parallel to the wall.Then she stacked four leather cushions and stood on them. "Monforgon!" she cried. The captain understood immediately.After three or two efforts, he first climbed onto Dorotai's knee, and then onto her shoulder.His hands quickly touched the wall. With Dorotai's help, he held onto it tightly, and then slowly climbed up.When he had mounted the wall, Raoul threw him a rope, which he tied around his waist, and the girl held the other end of the rope.In a few seconds, the child hit the ground, and before Raoul could return to the door, the key clicked in the lock and the safety catch opened. Raoul rushed into the orchard. Dorothy followed him, and said to Montfortón: "Go around the house, and if you see a ladder standing against the wall, put it down." Sure enough, they saw Goliath at the stone steps, clawing at the closed gate.They made it quiet, and in the silence, the sounds of struggling and moaning were heard from upstairs. It was too late, but it was too late. In order to deter the mob, the young man fired a shot.Then he unlocked the door with the key, and they hurried up the stairs. Two electric lights were on in the front room, and Raoul's grandfather was lying face down on the floor, still convulsing and breathing hoarsely. Raoul knelt down quickly, and Dorothy picked up a flashlight, saw an open door to a room on the opposite side of the corridor, and immediately ran to it. There was no one in the room.The upper end of a ladder can be seen through the window. Dorothy leaned over and called out the window: "Monforgon!" "I'm here, Mom," the child responded. "Did you see someone run off the ladder?" "When I just turned to this side, I saw it from a distance." "Do you recognize that man?" "It's two people, Mom." "Ah! Are there two?" "Yeah...another person...and that villain..." Raoul's grandfather is not dead or in mortal danger.From certain circumstances of the struggle, it is believed that de Estreche had blackmailed the old man and compelled him by force to reveal what he knew and, of course, to hand over his gold medal.There were blood marks on his neck especially from his fingers. Did the robber and his accomplices succeed? The servants returned soon.The doctor arrived when he was notified, and he said there was no need to worry about complications.However, throughout the day, people found that no matter what they asked, the old man didn't answer, as if he couldn't hear anything, and his mouth was muttering, but no one understood what he wanted to say? From the shock, the fear, the pain... he went mad.