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In the rest of the journey there was nothing out of the common.
He was sure of
the nobilityof the womans nature; that is the fine side of France.
I have no
doubt you are, replied Fabrizio. Thesoldiers, who were puzzled by my accent,
had me arrested. Then he remembered that he had notwritten to his aunt since
leaving Paris.
Fabrizio was extremely proud of this little speech.
Give it
here, said the corporal in a tone of authority.
It is written that I shall not
see her again, he said tohimself with a sigh, the good, brave woman! There was
no one following him; the building was in flames.
In the rest of the journey
there was nothing out of the common.
Then he remembered that he had notwritten
to his aunt since leaving Paris.
He ran after Fabrizioshorse and plunged the
point of his sabre into the thiefs entrails; hefell. When Fabrizio had gone a
quarter of a league, he turned his head.
And they depositedFabrizio on a litter
of clean straw in the same stall as his horse.
Fortunately, when day broke at
last, theplain was covered by a thick fog. One would think theywere under a
spell, he said to himself.
>From Cambrai on the Scheldt: its a good town and
quite small, if youknow what I mean. During his stay at Amiens hewrote almost
every day to his good friends at the Woolcomb.
As the village clock struck
eleven:Let us cut across the fields again, said the corporal. They marched
on,talking about nothing in particular.
A littlelater, when he thought that the
officer must have gone, he called hishostesses. Fabrizio took aim at himfrom a
distance of six paces.
Altogether, I may have got left thirty napoleons in
gold, and eightor nine five-franc pieces.
At once they set to work; there was
no time to lose. Several complimentsincluded in this conversation carried our
hero to the seventh heaven.
The landlady assented with tears in her eyes. So
saying he went into theinn with his men.
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