The mouth of hell, p.35
THE MOUTH OF HELL, page 35
And yet they saw nothing.
Julius, at the risk of slipping into the gulf, supported himself by a root, and, in order to see better, let his head and shoulders be suspended in empty space.
“Oh! father,” said he, “I see something.”
Fifty fathoms down, the trunk of a tree projected from the side of the precipice. On one of its large branches fluttered some shreds of the gown which Christiane had worn that morning, also a silk scarf of brilliant colours which belonged to her, and which she had bought in Greece.
“Farewell, father,” said Julius. And he loosed his hold of the root. But already the baron had forcibly seized him by the arm.
He dragged him on to “terra firma,” making a sign to the servants to stand near him, for fear that Julius should wrench himself out of his grasp.
“My son! my son! be a man, be a Christian!” he said.
“Ah! father! “Julius cried, bursting into heavy sobs, “what am I to do? I come home to find my wife killed, my son dead. Some people will say that I come back a millionaire.”
Meanwhile the baron approached Gretchen.
“Gretchen,” he said in a low voice, “you know something about all this. Samuel is mixed up in it. Gretchen, I adjure you to speak.”
But Gretchen looked him straight in the face, and replied firmly and coldly:
“I know nothing — I have nothing to say.”
Either she was absolutely ignorant, or unalterably determined.
The Baron von Hermelinfeld shook his head, and approached his son. Then, half dragging him, half coaxing him, he succeeded in leading him towards the castle.
The servants followed.
Gretchen remained alone on the brink of the Mouth of Hell.
“Yes,” she said, “I will keep my oath, and I will be as secret and as unfathomable as thou, thou grim abyss. All the same, you have done wrong, Christiane; you have gone to challenge the justice of God above. I await it here on earth!”
THE END
Alexandre Dumas, THE MOUTH OF HELL
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Julius, at the risk of slipping into the gulf, supported himself by a root, and, in order to see better, let his head and shoulders be suspended in empty space.
“Oh! father,” said he, “I see something.”
Fifty fathoms down, the trunk of a tree projected from the side of the precipice. On one of its large branches fluttered some shreds of the gown which Christiane had worn that morning, also a silk scarf of brilliant colours which belonged to her, and which she had bought in Greece.
“Farewell, father,” said Julius. And he loosed his hold of the root. But already the baron had forcibly seized him by the arm.
He dragged him on to “terra firma,” making a sign to the servants to stand near him, for fear that Julius should wrench himself out of his grasp.
“My son! my son! be a man, be a Christian!” he said.
“Ah! father! “Julius cried, bursting into heavy sobs, “what am I to do? I come home to find my wife killed, my son dead. Some people will say that I come back a millionaire.”
Meanwhile the baron approached Gretchen.
“Gretchen,” he said in a low voice, “you know something about all this. Samuel is mixed up in it. Gretchen, I adjure you to speak.”
But Gretchen looked him straight in the face, and replied firmly and coldly:
“I know nothing — I have nothing to say.”
Either she was absolutely ignorant, or unalterably determined.
The Baron von Hermelinfeld shook his head, and approached his son. Then, half dragging him, half coaxing him, he succeeded in leading him towards the castle.
The servants followed.
Gretchen remained alone on the brink of the Mouth of Hell.
“Yes,” she said, “I will keep my oath, and I will be as secret and as unfathomable as thou, thou grim abyss. All the same, you have done wrong, Christiane; you have gone to challenge the justice of God above. I await it here on earth!”
THE END
Alexandre Dumas, THE MOUTH OF HELL
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