Nobody's Girl by Hector Malot Chapter 31
THE GRATEFUL PEOPLE
Fabry had left the room, leaving the grandfather and his granddaughtertogether. For a long time the old man and the girl sat with their armsabout each other. They only spoke now and again, just to exchange a wordof affection.
"My little granddaughter ... my boy's little girl," murmured the blindman, stroking her curls.
"My grandpapa," murmured Perrine, rubbing her soft cheek against his.
"Why didn't you tell me who you were?" he asked at last.
"But didn't I try several times?" replied Perrine. "Do you remember whatyou said to me the last time I spoke of dear mother and myself. Yousaid: 'Understand, never speak to me again of those wretchedcreatures.'"
"But could I guess that you were my granddaughter?" he said.
"If I had come straight to you, don't you think you would have driven meaway and not have listened to me?" asked Perrine.
"Ah," said the blind man, sadly, "who knows what I would have done!"
"I thought so," said Perrine, "and I thought it best not to let youknow me until, like mama said, 'you would get to love me.'"
"And you have waited so long, and you had so many proofs of myaffection."
"But was it the affection of a grandfather? I did not dare think so,"said Perrine.
"When I began to suspect that you were my son's child, I then quicklygot positive proofs, and I gave you every chance to tell me that youwere. Finally I employed Fabry, who, with his investigations, forced youto throw yourself into my arms. If you had spoken sooner, my littledarling, you would have spared me many doubts."
"Yes," said Perrine sweetly, "but we are so happy now, and doesn't thatprove that what I did was all for the best?"
"Well, all is well. We will leave it at that. Now tell me all about yourfather ... my boy."
"I cannot speak to you of my father without speaking of my mother," saidPerrine gravely. "They both loved me so much, and I loved them just thesame."
"My little girl," said the blind man, "what Fabry has just told me ofher has touched me deeply. She refused to go to the hospital where shemight have been cured because she would not leave you alone inParis...."
"Oh, yes; you would have loved her," cried Perrine; "my darling mother."
"Talk to me about her," said the old man, "about them both."
"Yes," said Perrine; "I will make you know her and then you will loveher."
Perrine told about their life before they lost all their money; thenabout their travels through the various countries and the wanderingsover the mountains; then of her father's illness and his death, and howshe and her sick mother journeyed through France with the hope that theycould reach Maraucourt in time before the sick woman died.
While they were talking they could hear vague sounds outside in thegarden.
"What is the matter out there?" asked M. Vulfran. Perrine went to thewindow. The lawns and drive were black with a crowd of men, women andchildren. They were dressed in their Sunday clothes; many of themcarried banners and flags. This crowd, between six and seven thousandpeople, reached outside the grounds to the public park, and the murmurof their voices had reached the ears of the blind man and had turned hisattention from Perrine's story, great though it was.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It is your birthday today," said Perrine, smiling, "and all your menare here to celebrate it and to thank you for all you have done for themand their families."
"Oh!..."
The blind man walked to the window as though he could see them. He wasrecognized and a murmur ran through the crowd.
"_Mon Dieu_," he murmured, "how terrible they would be if they wereagainst us." For the first time he realized the strength of the masseswhich he controlled.
"Yes," said Perrine, "but they are with us because we are with them."
"Yes, little girl, and it is all due to you," he replied. "This is verydifferent from the day when the service for your dear father was held inthat empty church."
"Yes, they are all here now," said Perrine, "and this is the Order ofthe Day, grandpapa dear: I am to guide you to the steps exactly at twoo'clock. From there everyone will be able to see you. A man representingeach village where you have your factories will come up the steps, andfatherly old Gathoye in the name of all is to make a speech."
At this moment the clock struck two.
"Now give me your hand, grandpapa, dear," said Perrine.
They reached the top of the steps and a great cheer broke out. Then thedear old Gathoye, who was the oldest employe, came forward alone. He wasfollowed by the five delegates. Ten times the old man had been made togo over his speech that morning.
"Monsieur Vulfran, sir," he began, "it is to wish you ... it is tocongratulate you ... to congratulate you on...."
Here he stopped short and began gesticulating with his hands, and thecrowd, who saw his eloquent gestures, thought that he making anelaborate speech.
After some vain efforts, during which he scratched his head severaltimes, he said: "This is how it is: I had a fine speech all ready, butI've gone and forgot all I got to say. I had to congratulate you andthank you in the name of all from the bottom of our hearts...."
He raised his hand solemnly.
"I swear that's so on the faith of your oldest employe, Gathoye."
Although the speech was very incoherent, nevertheless it touched M.Vulfran deeply. With his hand on Perrine's shoulder, he moved forward tothe balustrade. There all could see him from below.
"My friends," he called out in a loud voice, "your sincere kind wishesgive me the greatest pleasure, all the more so as you bring them to meon the happiest day of my life, the day when I have found my littlegranddaughter, the daughter of my only son whom I have lost. You knowher; you have seen her at the factory. She will go on with the work wehave already begun, and I promise you that your future, and yourchildren's future, is in good hands."
Thereupon he leaned down towards Perrine and before she could protest helifted her up in his arms that were still strong, and presented her tothe crowd, then kissed her tenderly.
Then a deafening cheer rang out. It was continued for several minutes.Cheers came from the mouths of seven thousand men, women and children.Then, as the Order of the Day had been previously arranged, a line wasformed and in single file they passed before their old chief and hisgranddaughter. With a bow and a hearty wish each man passed by.
"Ah, grandpapa, if you could only see their kind faces!" cried Perrine.
But there were some faces that were not exactly radiant. The two nephewscertainly looked very glum when, after the ceremony, they came up totheir cousin to offer their congratulations.
"As for me," said Talouel, who did not mean to lose any time in payingcourt to the young heiress, "I had always supposed...."
The excitement of the day proved too much for M. Vulfran. The doctor wascalled in.
"You can understand, doctor," said the blind man anxiously, "how much Iwant to see my little granddaughter. You must get me into a state sothat I can have this operation."
"That is just it," said the doctor cheerily, "you must not have all thisexcitement. You must be perfectly calm. Now that this beautiful weatherhas come, you must go out, but you must keep quiet, and I guarantee thatas soon as your cough has gone we shall be able to have a successfuloperation."
And the doctor's words came true. A month after M. Vulfran's birthdaytwo specialists came down from Paris to perform the operation.
When they wished to put him under an anesthetic he refused.
"If my granddaughter will have the courage to hold my hand," he said,"you will see that I will be brave. Is it very painful?"
They would use cocaine to alleviate the pain.
The operation was over. Then came five or six days of waiting. Thepatient was kept in a dark room. Then at last the grandfather wasallowed to see his little granddaughter.
"Ah, if I had only had my eyes," he cried as he gazed at Perrine'sbeautiful little face, "I should have recognized her at the firstglance. What fools! Couldn't anyone have seen the likeness to herfather? This time Talouel would have been right if he had said that he'supposed'...."
They did not let him use his eyes for long. Again the bandage was put onand was kept on for thirty days. Then one of the oculists who hadremained at the chateau went up to Paris to select the glasses whichwould enable him to read and see at a distance.
What M. Vulfran desired most, now that he had seen Perrine's sweet face,was to go out and see his works, but this needed great precaution, andthe trip had to be postponed for a time, for he did not wish to beclosed up in a landau with the windows up, but to use his old phaetonand be driven by Perrine and show himself with her everywhere. For thatthey had to wait for a warm, sunny day.
At last the day they wanted came. The sky was blue, the air soft andwarm. After luncheon Perrine gave the order to Bastien for the phaetonwith old Coco to be at the door.
"Yes, at once, mademoiselle," he said with a smile.
Perrine was surprised at the tone of his reply and his smile; but shepaid no more attention to it, as she was busy fussing about hergrandfather so that he would not take cold.
Presently Bastien came to say that the phaeton was ready. Perrine's eyesdid not leave her grandfather as he walked forwards and down the stepsalone. When they reached the last step a loud bray made her start. Shelooked up.
There stood a donkey harnessed to a phaeton! A donkey, and that donkeywas like Palikare, a Palikare shiny and glossy, with polished shoes andadorned with a beautiful yellow harness with blue tassels. The donkey,with his neck stretched out, continued to bray. In spite of the groom'shold upon him he turned and tried to get to Perrine.
"Palikare!" she cried.
She flew to him and flung her arms around his neck.
"Oh, grandpapa, what a lovely surprise!" she cried, dancing around herdear Palikare.
"You don't owe it to me," said her grandfather. "Fabry bought it fromthat ragpicker to whom you sold it. The office staff offer it as a giftto their old comrade."
"Oh, hasn't Monsieur Fabry got a good, kind heart!" cried Perrine.
"Yes, he thought of it, but your cousins did not," said M. Vulfran. "Ihave ordered a pretty cart from Paris for him. This phaeton is not thething for him."
They got up into the carriage and Perrine took the reins delightedly.
"Where shall we go first, grandpapa?" she asked.
"Why, to the log cabin," he said. "Don't you think I want to see thelittle nest where you once lived, my darling?"
He referred to the cabin on the island where she had lived for a timethe preceding year. It remained fondly in his mind. She drove on to theentrance and helped her grandfather alight at the path.
The cabin seemed just the same as when Perrine left it.
"How strange," said M. Vulfran, "that only a few steps from a greatindustrial center you were able to live the life of a savage here."
"In India we led a real savage life," said Perrine. "Everything aroundus belonged to us there, but here, I had no right to this and I wasoften very afraid."
After M. Vulfran had inspected the little log hut he wanted to see thecreche at Maraucourt.
He thought that he would easily recognize it, as he had so often discussedthe plans with Fabry, but when he found himself at the entrance, and wasable to see at a glance all the other rooms, the dormitory where thelittle babies were asleep in their rose and blue cribs according to thesex, the playroom where those who could walk were playing, the kitchen,the lavatory, he was surprised and delighted.
Using large glass doors, the architect had cleverly made his plans sothat from the first room the mothers could see all that went on in theother rooms where they were not allowed to enter.
In the nursery the children sprang forward and jumped upon Perrine,showing her the playthings that they had in their hands.
"I see that you are known here," said M. Vulfran.
"Known!" replied Mlle. Belhomme, greeting them. "She is loved by all;she is a little mother to them, and no one can play like she can."
M. Vulfran put his arms affectionately around his granddaughter asthey went on to the carriage.
They returned home slowly as evening fell. Then as they passed from onehill to another, they found themselves overlooking the surroundingcountry, where new roofs and tall chimneys could be seen everywhere.
M. Vulfran took Perrine's hand.
"All that is your work, child," he said; "I only thought of business.See what you have done. But so that this can all be continued in theyears to come, we shall have to find you a husband, one who will beworthy of you, who will work for us. We will not ask anything more of him.I think one day we shall find the right man and we shall all be happy... en famille...."
THE END