Granville's estate

Marie, coaxed by Villiers du Turner, walked out of 79 Rue Saint-Georges by herself.

At that time, Alred took Louis and Joseph to the post office, and Papa Martin drove for them, so there were only her, Moina, Papa Tonsal, the janitor, and Peter, the coachman, in 79 St. George Street. Father; Father Peter called Moina to the stables in the backyard to help (and monitor her movements) because he wanted to bathe the horses, and while the porter sat in the porterhouse snuffing drunkenly, the young maid He walked out from 79 St. George Street by himself.

Papa Tongsal later complained for himself that he did see Mary going outside, but he thought she was going to the grocery store to buy something because she had just told him the day before that "the candles at home are about to run out." ’ In that case, that’s why he didn’t ask anything; even if she didn’t come back, the porter only thought that it was Villiers du Turner who came again, because the student always stumbled on her every time he came. Footsteps—who would have imagined that Villiers' heart would be so vicious, and who would have imagined that a college student with a university education who would surely have a decent status in the future would do such a beastly thing?

Complaints and regrets afterwards are of no avail. All in all, when Moina wanted to find Mary after she was busy, the two careless men discovered that their little girl hadn't appeared for a long time; When looking for her trace, the janitor of the neighbor's house ran over, and he gloated and asked Father Tongsar: "Are you looking for your maid here?"

"Of course!"

"Oh, that's too bad, I saw her get into a cab with a man." said the doorman of the neighbor's house, and he made an obscene gesture: "It's the man who usually comes to see her." , hey, she said hello to me and said they were going to the vaudeville and asked me to tell you she ain't coming back later--well, come on, I've seen a lot of that sort of thing, They must have eloped and won't be coming back!"

"This is impossible!"

Both Papa Tonsart and Papa Peter thought that the janitor of the neighbor's house was talking nonsense. How could it be possible for Mary to follow Villiers without telling anyone?However, as time passed and Mary still didn't show up, everyone panicked.

And when Alred and Louis came back and learned the unbelievable news, Alred's first reaction was to question the only other woman in the room: "How could you let her follow Villiers?" Go? You should watch her!"

"Does her foot grow on my body?" Moina answered him annoyed, "She is much more free than I am, at least there are so many people here, no one wants to see what she is doing !"

The two almost quarreled because of this, but luckily Louis pulled them away in time. He tried his best to suppress the vague premonition in his heart, and discussed with Alred: "We must get Mary back quickly, and we can't leave her alone. To be alone with Villiers at night."

What he didn't say was that he was very worried about what Evillier's lustful nature would do to Mary. Alred also took this factor into consideration, and he immediately decided to let Louis take the others to the Varsity Theater Looking for traces of Marie and Villiers, and he took Joseph to find them at Villiers' rented place in the Latin Quarter.

This was another fatal mistake. That night Louis failed to find Mary at the vaudeville theater, and when Alred took Joseph to find Villiers' landlord, the yawning landlord who was knocked on the door and shouted was sleepy. Tell them sleepily that Villiers du Turner moved out of here a few days ago.

"So where did he move to?"

"Who knew? He seems to have made a fortune, and he treated his friends to dinner at Brown's, and I'm told they ordered a whole five tenderloin steaks!"

If the matter of Mary and Villiers was just an ominous premonition before, it has become a cloud over everyone's mind. Alred immediately went to the place that Mary had mentioned, The Journal de Longchamp, where Villiers was to work, however, like any newspaper, had no journalists there day and night: they would only be there when they were paid each month.

"It's over, it's over!" When he learned that Du Turner had already moved away, Father Tongsar yelled immediately, and he kept crossing his chest with his fingers: "They eloped, they eloped , Lord, bless them they eloped!"

If all elopements that are not recognized by the world have to pray for God's blessing, then what else is there to pray for?The people who reunited at 79 St. George Street did not dare to speculate on the more terrifying possibility. Joseph had already lost his mind, and he was crying all the time, begging his master: "Sir, my sister can't leave me behind, please. Please, bring her back!"

However, God did not hear Father Tunsar's prayer and Joseph's cry. A whole night passed without any miracle. At dawn the next day, Alred, who hadn't slept all night, immediately went to visit Dumont with Louis. Monsieur, he gave Dumont's servant a hundred francs, which made the servant wake up M. Dumont at the risk of offending his master.

And when the senior bank executive, who was still in his pajamas, heard the ins and outs of Mary's story, he told Louis and Alred directly: "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but maybe you need a little mental preparation. From my experience , that girl is in danger, we can only pray that she is still alive, as for other things, it is impossible to count on."

He is right.

Mr. Dumont's men ended up finding the missing maid in a notorious lover's house.

When Louis saw Mary being sent back again, he couldn't believe his eyes: the girl who was talking and laughing the day before was curled up in the rental carriage, her hair was disheveled, her face was gray, and she hysterically refused anyone special. It was the approach of a strange man; her face and hands were covered with bruises and wounds, and the skirt she was wearing had been torn. Anyone only needed to take a look to understand what kind of terrible things happened to this girl.

"Sister!"

As soon as Joseph saw his sister in this state, he threw himself on the shaft of the carriage and burst into tears. He tried in vain to reach out and touch his sister, but Mary screamed and waved her hands wildly to resist him. close.

"God! God!"

Even the hard-hearted old Tungsar couldn't help but trembled when he saw this miserable scene. He kept crossing his chest with his fingers. If it wasn't for old Peter supporting him, he would almost collapse; Alred gritted his teeth loudly. He held Louis' hand tightly, and his eyes almost burst into flames.

In the chaos, lamentation, anger and crying, only Moina who was standing next to Louis and Alred looked very calm. She stood on the stone steps, tightly pursed her lips, and stared at the taxi. A girl curled up in a ball.

"Lord," Moina said, her voice very, very softly, as if afraid to alarm anyone: "This child is ruined."

She walked slowly to the cab, pushed aside the coachman who was helpless against Mary who would not get out, and climbed up the steps of the cab; then, kneeling in the cab, she approached little by little the unfortunate The girl of fate gently held those waving hands, and finally hugged the maid in her arms.

"Mary, Mary," said Moina, holding the battered girl in her arms, without seeming to feel the latter's grip on her arm: "Good boy, it's me, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, good boy .”

She gently comforted the frightened girl, just like a mother comforting a child who had a nightmare, but if all this was really just a nightmare, how wonderful it would be!

Then Mr. Dumont, who drove over in a carriage, also saw this scene. He sighed and watched Moina take Mary out of the carriage, and then took the girl back to Mary's narrow room at No. 79 St. George Street. A dark and damp storage room—except for her, no one can approach Mary, not even Mary's younger brother Joseph.

"What kind of world is this!" Dumont said to Louis and Alred when he walked into 79 St. George Street. Weeping Joseph: "Lord, what kind of world is this! The most despicable prostitute is much more moral than our so-called highly educated college students!"

"I found that girl in Madame Lessing's flower shop."

The informant sent by Mr. Dumont to find Mary told his employer that he seemed to be used to such things, completely turning a blind eye to Joseph's crying and Alred's anger, and narrated with a rationality that was almost cold: "There They said that a provincial man with a Loyan accent had sold the girl to them for fifteen hundred francs, a price which had been negotiated a week earlier, assuring them that she 'was rich. The lady of the family has not been picked before, and her personality is obedient'; but that girl is disobedient, and she is going to kill herself after picking up a customer, and she will be beaten to death. Take her for a thousand francs—Monsieur Dumont, you must give me that money with my fee, or the woman is mine."

"I'll give you a bill, and you go to the bank to draw it yourself."

Mr. Dumont said wearily, he hastily signed a check and handed it to the informant: "If you can find the person who sold the girl inside, come and tell me, and I will pay you the same amount again .”

The informant shrugged that he knew, took the check, and walked out; and as soon as he left, Alrede couldn't take it anymore, and he slammed his fist on the hard table and let out a loud thud. A loud bang: "Villiers Turner! That damned bastard, bastard! Disgusting, vile pig!"

"We must call the police immediately and arrest Villiers du Turner." Louis said weakly, he had to hold on to the edge of the table to keep himself from falling: "We have to send him to prison Go and bring him to justice."

This should have been the correct approach, but Mr. Dumont made a gesture immediately, preventing Louis from continuing.

"No, gentlemen." Du Meng said, his expression was very serious: "You must not call the police, otherwise, it will be that poor girl who will be caught and taken to prison."