This search was made with such adroitness that d'Orgemont kept
silence, as if he feared to have been betrayed by some frightened
servant; for, though he trusted his secrets to no one, his habits gave
plenty of ground for logical deductions. Pille-Miche turned several
times sharply to look at his victim, as children do when they try to
guess, by the conscious expression of the comrade who has hidden an
article, whether they are nearer to or farther away from it.
D'Orgemont pretended to be alarmed when the Chouan tapped the ovens,
which sounded hollow, and seemed to wish to play upon his eager
credulity. Just then three other Chouans rushed down the steps and
entered the kitchen. Seeing Marche-a-Terre among them Pille-Miche
discontinued his search, after casting upon d'Orgemont a look that
conveyed the wrath of his balked covetousness.
"Marie Lambrequin has come to life!" cried Marche-a-Terre, proclaiming
by his manner that all other interests were of no account beside this
great piece of news.
"I'm not surprised," said Pille-Miche, "he took the sacrament so
often; the good God belonged to him."
"Ha! ha!" observed Mene-a-Bien, "that didn't stand him in anything at
his death. He hadn't received absolution before the affair at La
Pelerine. He had cheapened Goguelu's daughter, and was living in
mortal sin. The Abbe Gudin said he'd have to roam round two months as
a ghost before he could come to life.
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