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Updated: May 7, 2025
After that such sounds as reached me were deadened and strangely prolonged, as if the deal coffin had been changed into a huge musical box. The last words spoken in the room of the Rue Dauphine at least the last ones that I heard distinctly were uttered by Mme Gabin. "Mind the staircase," she said; "the banister of the second flight isn't safe, so be careful."
"Quick, make haste," repeated Mme Gabin. "Get it done before the lady comes back." She was speaking to some strangers, who merely answered her with uncouth grunts. "You understand," she went on, "I am not a relation; I'm only a neighbor. I have no interest in the matter. It is out of pure good nature that I have mixed myself up in their affairs. And I ain't overcheerful, I can tell you.
Hold your tongue," vainly repeated the mother, who, as the little girl chattered on, must have pointed to the bed, for I guessed that the child felt perplexed and was backing toward the door. "Is the gentleman asleep?" she whispered. "Yes, yes go and play," said Mme Gabin. But the child did not go. She was, no doubt, staring at me with widely opened eyes, startled and vaguely comprehending.
"No, no!" she cried. "I will remain till the last minute. Remember that I have only him in the world, and when he is gone I shall be all alone!" From the bedside Mme Gabin was prompting the young man. "Don't parley take hold of her, carry her off in your arms." Was Simoneau about to lay his hands on Marguerite and bear her away? She screamed.
I was pretty comfortable inside on account of my diminutive stature. "Stop!" suddenly exclaimed Mme Gabin. "I promised his wife to put a pillow under his head." The men, who were in a hurry, stuffed in the pillow roughly. One of them, who had mislaid his hammer, began to swear.
There came a moment's silence; the doctor was probably bowing to Marguerite, who had turned while Mme Gabin was fastening the window. He left the room, and I heard his footsteps descending the stairs. It was all over; I was condemned. My last hope had vanished with that man. If I did not wake before eleven on the morrow I should be buried alive.
The persistent yearning for a sudden awakening increased my torture, and as the hour for the funeral drew nearer my anguish became more poignant still. It was only at daybreak that I had recovered a fuller consciousness of what was going on around me. The creaking of hinges startled me out of my stupor. Mme Gabin had just opened the window.
As a child I had suffered from syncopes which had lasted several hours, but surely my heart would beat anew, my blood circulate and my muscles relax. Yes, I should wake up and comfort Marguerite, and, reasoning thus, I tried to be patient. Time passed. Mme Gabin had brought in some breakfast, but Marguerite refused to taste any food. Later on the afternoon waned.
The minutes flew by. An inexplicable noise sounded from beyond the door. It seemed as if some people were bringing a bulky piece of furniture upstairs and knocking against the walls as they did so. Suddenly I understood, as I heard Marguerite begin to sob; it was the coffin. "You are too early," said Mme Gabin crossly. "Put it behind the bed." What o'clock was it? Nine, perhaps.
I could follow her movements in the room and divine all her actions. "Poor gentleman," she muttered. "Luckily I heard you sobbing, poor dear!" Suddenly the vague light which my left eye had detected vanished. Mme Gabin had just closed my eyelids, but I had not felt her finger on my face. When I understood this I felt chilled.
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