Attwoo’clockshehurriedtoLeon，andknockedatthedoor。Nooneanswered。Atlengthheappeared。
“Whatbringsyouhere？“
“DoIdisturbyou？“
“No；but——“Andheadmittedthathislandlorddidn’tlikehishaving“women“there。
“Imustspeaktoyou，“shewenton。
Thenhetookdownthekey，butshestoppedhim。
“No，no!Downthere，inourhome!“
AndtheywenttotheirroomattheHoteldeBoulogne。
Onarrivingshedrankoffalargeglassofwater。Shewasverypale。Shesaidtohim——
“Leon，youwilldomeaservice？“
And，shakinghimbybothhandsthatshegraspedtightly，sheadded“Listen，Iwanteightthousandfrancs。“
“Butyouaremad!“
“Notyet。“
Andthereupon，tellinghimthestoryofthedistraint，sheexplainedherdistresstohim；forCharlesknewnothingofit；
hermother-in-lawdetestedher；oldRouaultcoulddonothing；buthe，Leon，hewouldsetaboutfindingthisindispensablesum。
“HowonearthcanI？“
“Whatacowardyouare!“shecried。
Thenhesaidstupidly，“Youareexaggeratingthedifficulty。
Perhaps，withathousandcrownsorsothefellowcouldbestopped。“
Allthegreaterreasontotryanddosomething；itwasimpossiblethattheycouldnotfindthreethousandfrancs。Besides，Leon，couldbesecurityinsteadofher。
“Go，try，try!Iwillloveyouso!“
Hewentout，andcamebackattheendofanhour，saying，withsolemnface——
“Ihavebeentothreepeoplewithnosuccess。“
Thentheyremainedsittingfacetofaceatthetwochimneycorners，motionless，insilence。Emmashruggedhershouldersasshestampedherfeet。Heheardhermurmuring——
“IfIwereinyourplace_I_shouldsoongetsome。“
“Butwhere？“
“Atyouroffice。“Andshelookedathim。
Aninfernalboldnesslookedoutfromherburningeyes，andtheirlidsdrewclosetogetherwithalasciviousandencouraginglook，sothattheyoungmanfelthimselfgrowingweakbeneaththemutewillofthiswomanwhowasurginghimtoacrime。Thenhewasafraid，andtoavoidanyexplanationhesmotehisforehead，crying——
“Morelistocomebackto-night；hewillnotrefuseme，Ihope“
thiswasoneofhisfriends，thesonofaveryrichmerchant；
“andIwillbringityouto-morrow，“headded。
Emmadidnotseemtowelcomethishopewithallthejoyhehadexpected。Didshesuspectthelie？Hewenton，blushing——
“However，ifyoudon’tseemebythreeo’clockdonotwaitforme，mydarling。Imustbeoffnow；forgiveme!Goodbye!“
Hepressedherhand，butitfeltquitelifeless。Emmahadnostrengthleftforanysentiment。
Fouro’clockstruck，andsherosetoreturntoYonville，mechanicallyobeyingtheforceofoldhabits。
Theweatherwasfine。ItwasoneofthoseMarchdays，clearandsharp，whenthesunshinesinaperfectlywhitesky。TheRouenfolk，inSunday-clothes，werewalkingaboutwithhappylooks。ShereachedthePlaceduParvis。Peoplewerecomingoutaftervespers；thecrowdflowedoutthroughthethreedoorslikeastreamthroughthethreearchesofabridge，andinthemiddleone，moremotionlessthanarock，stoodthebeadle。
Thensherememberedthedaywhen，allanxiousandfullofhope，shehadenteredbeneaththislargenave，thathadopenedoutbeforeher，lessprofoundthanherlove；andshewalkedonweepingbeneathherveil，giddy，staggering，almostfainting。
“Takecare!“criedavoiceissuingfromthegateofacourtyardthatwasthrownopen。
Shestoppedtoletpassablackhorse，pawingthegroundbetweentheshaftsofatilbury，drivenbyagentlemaninsablefurs。Whowasit？Sheknewhim。Thecarriagedartedbyanddisappeared。
Why，itwashe——theViscount。Sheturnedaway；thestreetwasempty。Shewassooverwhelmed，sosad，thatshehadtoleanagainstawalltokeepherselffromfalling。
Thenshethoughtshehadbeenmistaken。Anyhow，shedidnotknow。
Allwithinherandaroundherwasabandoningher。Shefeltlost，sinkingatrandomintoindefinableabysses，anditwasalmostwithjoythat，onreachingthe“Croix-Rouge，“shesawthegoodHomais，whowaswatchingalargeboxfullofpharmaceuticalstoresbeinghoistedontothe“Hirondelle。“Inhishandheheldtiedinasilkhandkerchiefsixcheminotsforhiswife。
MadameHomaiswasveryfondofthesesmall，heavyturban-shapedloaves，thatareeateninLentwithsaltbutter；alastvestigeofGothicfoodthatgoesback，perhaps，tothetimeoftheCrusades，andwithwhichtherobustNormansgorgedthemselvesofyore，fancyingtheysawonthetable，inthelightoftheyellowtorches，betweentankardsofhippocrasandhugeboars’heads，theheadsofSaracenstobedevoured。Thedruggist’swifecrunchedthemupastheyhaddone——heroically，despiteherwretchedteeth。
AndsowheneverHomaisjourneyedtotown，heneverfailedtobringherhomesomethatheboughtatthegreatbaker’sintheRueMassacre。
“Charmedtoseeyou，“hesaid，offeringEmmaahandtohelpherintothe“Hirondelle。“Thenhehunguphischeminotstothecordsofthenetting，andremainedbare-headedinanattitudepensiveandNapoleonic。
Butwhentheblindmanappearedasusualatthefootofthehillheexclaimed——
“Ican’tunderstandwhytheauthoritiestoleratesuchculpableindustries。Suchunfortunatesshouldbelockedupandforcedtowork。Progress，myword!creepsatasnail’space。Weareflounderingaboutinmerebarbarism。“
Theblindmanheldouthishat，thatflappedaboutatthedoor，asifitwereabagintheliningthathadcomeunnailed。
“This，“saidthechemist，“isascrofulousaffection。“
Andthoughheknewthepoordevil，hepretendedtoseehimforthefirsttime，murmuredsomethingabout“cornea，““opaquecornea，““sclerotic，““facies，“thenaskedhiminapaternaltone——
“Myfriend，haveyoulonghadthisterribleinfirmity？Insteadofgettingdrunkatthepublic，you’ddobettertodieyourself。“
Headvisedhimtotakegoodwine，goodbeer，andgoodjoints。Theblindmanwentonwithhissong；heseemed，moreover，almostidiotic。AtlastMonsieurHomaisopenedhispurse——
“Nowthere’sasou；givemebacktwolairds，anddon’tforgetmyadvice：you’llbethebetterforit。“
Hivertopenlycastsomedoubtontheefficacyofit。Butthedruggistsaidthathewouldcurehimselfwithanantiphlogisticpomadeofhisowncomposition，andhegavehisaddress——“MonsieurHomais，nearthemarket，prettywellknown。“
“Now，“saidHivert，“forallthistroubleyou’llgiveusyourperformance。“
Theblindmansankdownonhishaunches，withhisheadthrownback，whilstherolledhisgreenisheyes，lolledouthistongue，andrubbedhisstomachwithbothhandsasheutteredakindofhollowyelllikeafamisheddog。Emma，filledwithdisgust，threwhimoverhershoulderafive-francpiece。Itwasallherfortune。
Itseemedtoherveryfinethustothrowitaway。
ThecoachhadgoneonagainwhensuddenlyMonsieurHomaisleantoutthroughthewindow，crying——
“Nofarinaceousormilkfood，wearwoolnexttheskin，andexposethediseasedpartstothesmokeofjuniperberries。“
Thesightofthewell-knownobjectsthatdefiledbeforehereyesgraduallydivertedEmmafromherpresenttrouble。Anintolerablefatigueoverwhelmedher，andshereachedherhomestupefied，discouraged，almostasleep。
“Comewhatmaycome!“shesaidtoherself。“Andthen，whoknows？
Why，atanymomentcouldnotsomeextraordinaryeventoccur？
Lheureuxevenmightdie!“