"What! she is not dead?" exclaimed Julien, beside himself.
"What, you know nothing?" said the gaoler, with a stupid air which soon turned into exultant cupidity.
"It would be very proper, monsieur, for you to give something to the surgeon, who, so far as law and justice go, ought not to have spoken.
But in order to please you, monsieur, I went to him, and he told me everything."
"Anyway, the wound is not mortal," said Julien to him impatiently, "you answer for it on your life?"
The gaoler, who was a giant six feet tall, was frightened and retired towards the door.
Julien saw that he was adopting bad tactics for getting at the truth.
He sat down again and flung a napoleon to M. Noiraud.
As the man's story proved to Julien more and more conclusively that madame de Renal's wound was not mortal, he felt himself overcome by tears.
"Leave me," he said brusquely.
The gaoler obeyed.
Scarcely had the door shut, than Julien exclaimed:
"Great God, she is not dead," and he fell on his knees, shedding hot tears.
In this supreme moment he was a believer.
What mattered the hypocrisies of the priests?
Could they abate one whit of the truth and sublimity of the idea of God?
It was only then that Julien began to repent of the crime that he had committed.
By a coincidence, which prevented him falling into despair, it was only at the present moment that the condition of physical irritation and semi-madness, in which he had been plunged since his departure from Paris for Verrieres came to an end.
His tears had a generous source. He had no doubt about the condemnation which awaited him.
"So she will live," he said to himself. "She will live to forgive me and love me."
Very late the next morning the gaoler woke him up and said,
"You must have a famous spirit, M. Julien.
I have come in twice, but I did not want to wake you up.
Here are two bottles of excellent wine which our cure, M. Maslon, has sent you."
"What, is that scoundrel still here?" said Julien.
"Yes, monsieur," said the gaoler, lowering his voice.
"But do not talk so loud, it may do you harm."
Julien laughed heartily.
"At the stage I have reached, my friend, you alone can do me harm in the event of your ceasing to be kind and tender. You will be well paid," said Julien, changing his tone and reverting to his imperious manner.
This manner was immediately justified by the gift of a piece of money.
M. Noiraud related again, with the greatest detail, everything he had learnt about madame de Renal, but he did not make any mention of mademoiselle Elisa's visit.
The man was as base and servile as it was possible to be.
An idea crossed Julien's mind.
"This kind of misshapen giant cannot earn more than three or four hundred francs, for his prison is not at all full. I can guarantee him ten thousand francs, if he will escape with me to Switzerland.
The difficulty will be in persuading him of my good faith."
The idea of the long conversation he would need to have with so vile a person filled Julien with disgust. He thought of something else.
In the evening the time had passed.
A post-chaise had come to pick him up at midnight.
He was very pleased with his travelling companions, the gendarmes.
When he arrived at the prison of Besancon in the morning they were kind enough to place him in the upper storey of a Gothic turret.
He judged the architecture to be of the beginning of the fourteenth century. He admired its fascinating grace and lightness.
Through a narrow space between two walls, beyond the deep court, there opened a superb vista.
On the following day there was an interrogation, after which he was left in peace for several days.
His soul was calm.
He found his affair a perfectly simple one.
"I meant to kill. I deserve to be killed."
His thoughts did not linger any further over this line of reasoning.
As for the sentence, the disagreeableness of appearing in public, the defence, he considered all this as slight embarrassment, irksome formalities, which it would be time enough to consider on the actual day.
The actual moment of death did not seize hold of his mind either.
"I will think about it after the sentence."