# ■ 4 The Marquis of Evremonde

The Marquis of Evremonde was a disappointed man. He had waited for hours at the palace of the King of France, but the King had not spoken to him. Angrily, the Marquis got into his coach and told the driver to take him home. Very soon the coach was driving fast out of Paris, and the people in the narrow streets had to run to get out of the way—if they could. At the corner of a street in Saint Antoine, one of the coach wheels hit something, and the people in the street screamed loudly. The horses were frightened and stopped.

What has gone wrong?' asked the Marquis calmly, looking out of the window of the coach. A tall man had picked something up from under the feet of the horses and was crying loudly over it.

Why is that man making that terrible noise?' asked the Marquis impatiently.

I'm sorry, Monsieur the Marquis. It is his child, ' said one of the people.

Dead！Killea！'screamed the man.

The people in the street came close to the coach and looked to the coach and looked at the Marquis with stony, silent faces. The Marquis looked back at them in bored dislike. To him, they were no more than animals.

I can't understand, ' he said coldly, 'why you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children. I hope my horses are not hurt.' And he threw a gold coin to his driver.'Give this to that man！'

Dead！'shouted the father of the child again.

Another man came forward.'Be brave, Gaspard. Your child has died quickly, and without pain. It is better to die like that than to go on living in these terrible times.'

You are a sensible man, ' said the Marquis from his coach.

What is your name?'

They call me Defarge.'

This is for you, ' said the Marquis, and he threw Defarge another gold coin.'Drive on, ' he called to his driver.

Just as the coach was leaving, a coin was thrown back in through the window. The Marquis looked angrily at the corner where Defarge had been standing. Defarge had gone. At the corner there now stood a large, dark－haired woman, knitting. She stared long and hard at the face of the Marquis, but he did not look at her, and drove on.

Later that day, as the sun was going down, the same coach stopped in a village near the Marquis's castle. Several villagers, in poor thin clothes, with thin hungry faces, were standing in the village square. The Marquis looked at their faces and then pointed to one of them.

Bring that man to me, ' he said to his driver.

The man came up to the coach, hat in hand, and the other villagers moved closer to listen.

I passed you on the road just outside the village, ' said the Marquis.'You were looking at my coach in a very strange way. Why was that?'

Monsieur, I was looking at the man, ' came the reply.

What man?' asked the Marquis angrily.

The man who was holding on under your coach, ' said the poor man, trembling with fear.

What was he like?'

Oh, Monsieur, he was white from head to foot. All covered with dust. Just like a ghost.'

Where is he now? What happened to him?'

Oh, he ran away down the hill outside the village.'

The Marquis turned to speak to another man. This was Monsieur Gabelle, the Marquis's official in the village.

Gabelle, ' the Marquis said, 'watch out for this man. If he comes here, put him in prison.'

When the Marquis arrived at his castle, he asked if his nephew, Monsieur Charles, had arrived from England.

Not yet, sir, ' replied the servant, but as the Marquis was eating his dinner, he heard the sound of a coach outside. Soon his nephew entered the room. In England he was known as Charles Darnay.

You've been away for a long time, ' said the Marquis, with his cold, polite smile.

I've had many problems in England. Perhaps because of you, ' Darnay said to his uncle.'I was in great danger.'

No, no, I had nothing to do with your problems, ' replied the Marquis coldly.'Unfortunately, our family no longer has the power that it once had.'

If it still had that power, one word from you would doubtless send me to prison, ' said Darnay.

Possibly. For the good of our family.'

The name of our family is hated everywhere in France. We are hard, cruel landowners. Our miserable people own nothing. They work for us night and day, but they don't even have enough food for themselves and their children. If this land became mine, I would give it away, and go and live somewhere else.'

You seem to be very fond of England, although you are not a rich man there, ' said the Marquis.'I believe you know another Frenchman who has found a safe home there. A Doctor, I believe?'

Yes.'

With a daughter?'

Yes.'

Yes, ' said the Marquis with a secret smile on his face. 'So, a new way of life begins. But you are tired. Goodnight, Charles sleep well. I shall see you in the morning.'

After his nephew had gone to bed, the Marquis went to his room. The castle was surrounded with darkness. In the villages nearby the hungry people dreamt of a better life, with enough good food to eat, and time to rest from their work.

Early in the morning the dreamers awoke and started their day's hard work. The people in the castle did not get up until later, but when they did, why did the great bell start ringing? Why did people ride out of the castle to the village as fast as they could?

The answer lay in the bed of the Marquis. He lay there, like stone, with a knife pushed into his heart. On his chest lay a piece of paper with the words：

Drive him fast to his grave. This is from JACQUES.'

■ 4 埃弗蒙侯爵

埃弗蒙侯爵很失望。他在法國王宮裡等了好幾個小時了，可是國王一直沒和他說話。侯爵怒氣衝衝地上了馬車並告訴車伕送他回家。很快馬車就快速地駛出巴黎，人們不得不在狹窄的街道上跑著給它讓路——如果他們能做到的話。在聖安東尼的一個街道的拐角處，馬車的一個車輪撞上了什麼東西，街上的人們都尖叫起來。馬匹受了驚嚇，停了下來。

“出了什麼事?”侯爵從車窗探出頭來沉著地問。一個高個子男人已從馬蹄底下撿起了什麼東西並朝它大哭起來。

“那個男人幹嘛弄出那麼可怕的聲音?”侯爵不耐煩地問。

“對不起，侯爵先生，那是他的孩子。”其中一個人說。

“死了！被撞死了！”那個男人哭喊道。

街上的人們走近馬車，帶著冰冷、無言的表情看著侯爵。侯爵不耐煩又厭惡地回頭看著他們。對他來說，他們不過是些動物而已。

“我真不明白，”他冷冷地說，“你們這幫人為什麼不能照顧好自己和你們的孩子。但願我的馬沒有受傷。”接著他把一個金幣扔給車伕。“把它給那個男人！”

“死了呀！”孩子的父親又一次嚷道。

另外一個男人走上前來。“勇敢些，加斯珀，你的孩子很快地就死了，而且沒有痛苦，這樣死掉總比活在這個可怕的年月裡要好些。”

“你是一個通情達理的人，”侯爵在馬車上說。

“你叫什麼名字?”

“他們叫我得法熱。”

“這是給你的。”侯爵說著，將另一枚金幣扔給得法熱。“繼續走。”他對他的車伕喊道。

就在馬車離開時，一枚金幣從車窗扔進了車裡。侯爵憤怒地看著得法熱一直站著的那個拐角處。得法熱已經走了。那個拐角處現在站著一個身材高大、黑頭髮的女人在織著毛線活兒。她長久地死死盯著侯爵的臉，但他並沒有看她而是接著趕路。

那天的晚些時候，太陽落山時，那同一輛馬車停在了侯爵的城堡附近的一個村子裡。幾個衣衫襤褸、面黃飢瘦的村民正站在村裡的場地上。侯爵看著他們的臉龐然後指著其中的一個人。

“把那個男人帶過來。”他對他的車伕說道。

那個人朝馬車走過來，手裡拿著帽子，其餘的村民都走近前來聆聽。

“我在村外的那條路上從你旁邊經過，”侯爵說。“你當時正用一種奇特的眼光看著我的馬車。為什麼要這樣?”

“先生，我那時正看著那個男人。”回答說。

“什麼男人?”侯爵生氣地問。

“就是那個扒在您馬車底下的男人。”這個可憐人說道，身子因為害怕而發抖。

“他長得什麼樣?”

“他現在在哪兒?他怎麼啦?”

“哦，他朝村外的山腳下跑去了。”

侯爵轉過身去和另外一個人說話。那是加貝爾先生，是侯爵在村子裡的官員。

“加貝爾，”侯爵說。“留神這個人。如果他來這兒，就把他送進監獄。”

當侯爵到了他的城堡後，他便問起他侄兒查爾斯先生是否從英格蘭回來了。

“還沒有，先生。”僕人回答說。但是在侯爵吃晚飯時，他聽到外面有馬車的聲音。不久他的侄子便走進屋來。在英國他的名字是查爾斯·代爾那。

“你離開很長時間了，”侯爵帶著冷冷的、有禮貌的微笑說道。

“我在英國遇到了很多麻煩，也許是因為你。”代爾那對他的叔叔說。“我的處境曾經非常危險。”

“不，不，我和你遇到的麻煩沒有關係。”侯爵冷漠地說。“很不幸，我們的家族不再有它以往的權勢了。”

“如果還有那樣的權勢，你的一句話就可以毫無疑問地把我送進監獄了。”

“也許吧。為了家族的利益嘛。”

“我們家族的名字在法國所有的地方都令人痛恨。我們是心狠手辣的地主。我們苦難的人民一無所有。他們日夜為我們工作，可他們和他們的孩子卻食不果腹。如果把這些土地給我，我就把它們分給人，然後離開這兒去別處生活。”

“你似乎很喜歡英國，儘管你在那兒算不上一個有錢人，”侯爵說。“我想你知道另外一個法國人，他已在那兒找到了安身之所。他是個醫生，對嗎?”

“是的。”

“還有一個女兒?”

“是的。”

“啊，”侯爵說，臉上露出神祕的笑容。“那麼，一種新的生活方式開始啦。但是你已經累了。晚安，查爾斯，祝你睡個好覺，我明天早上再見你。”

在他侄兒上床後，侯爵進了自己的房間。城堡被夜色包圍。附近村子裡飢餓的人們在夢想著過上好一點的生活，以便有足夠的好食物吃。還可以工作後有時間休息。

一大早人們便從睡夢中醒來開始他們一天的辛勤勞作。城堡裡的人很晚才會起床的。可等到他們起床時，為什麼那個大鐘開始響了起來呢?人們為什麼騎著馬拼命地從城堡往村子裡跑呢?

答案就在侯爵的床上。侯爵像一塊石頭僵躺在床上。一把尖刀插進了他的心臟，在他的胸前放著一張紙條。上面寫著：

“快把他送進他的墳墓。這是雅克乾的。”