The Fête At Coqueville | Page 8

with both
hands to descend quickly. Soon the entire village was on the beach as
on the night before.
Margot showed herself for an instant, then she ran back at full speed to
the house, where she wished to forestall her father, who was discussing
an official process with the Emperor. At last La Queue appeared. He
was livid; he said to the garde champêtre: "Hold your peace! It's
Rouget who has sent you here to beguile me. Well, then, he shall not
get it. You'll see!"
When he saw the "Baleine," three hundred metres out, making with all
her oars toward the black dot, rocking in the distance, his fury
redoubled. And he shoved Tupain and Brisemotte into the "Zéphir,"
and he pulled out in turn, repeating: "No, they shall not have it; I'll die
sooner!"
Then Coqueville had a fine spectacle; a mad race between the "Zéphir"
and the "Baleine." When the latter saw the first leave the harbor, she
understood the danger, and shot off with all her speed. She may have
been four hundred metres ahead; but the chances remained even, for the
"Zéphir" was otherwise light and swift; so excitement was at its height
on the beach. The Mahès and the Floches had instinctively formed into
two groups, following eagerly the vicissitudes of the struggle, each
upholding its own boat. At first the "Baleine" kept her advantage, but
as soon as the "Zéphir" spread herself, they saw that she was gaining
little by little. The "Baleine" made a supreme effort and succeeded for a
few minutes in holding her distance. Then the "Zéphir" once more
gained upon the "Baleine," came up with her at extraordinary speed.
From that moment on, it was evident that the two barks would meet in
the neighborhood of the cask. Victory hung on a circumstance, on the
slightest mishap.
"The 'Baleine'! The 'baleine'!" cried the Mahés.
But they soon ceased shouting. When the "Baleine" was almost
touching the cask, the "Zephir," by a bold maneuvre, managed to pass
in front of her and throw the cask to the left, where La Queue

harpooned it with a thrust of the boat-hook.
"The 'Zéphir'! the 'Zéphir!" screamed the Floches.
And the Emperor, having spoken of foul play, big words were
exchanged. Margot clapped her hands. The Abbé Radiguet came down
with his breviary, made a profound remark which abruptly calmed the
people, and then threw them into consternation.
"They will, perhaps, drink it all, these, too," he murmured with a
melancholy air.
At sea, between the "Baleine" and the "Zéphir," a violent quarrel broke
out. Rouget called La Queue a thief, while the latter called Rouget a
good-for-nothing. The men even took up their oars to beat each other
down, and the adventure lacked little of turning into a naval combat.
More than this, they engaged to meet on land, showing their fists and
threatening to disembowel each other as soon as they found each other
again.
"The rascal!" grumbled Rouget. "You know, that cask is bigger than
the one of yesterday. It's yellow, this one--it ought to be great." Then in
accents of despair: "Let's go and see the jambins; there may very
possibly be lobsters in them."
And the "Baleine" went on heavily to the left, steering toward the point.
In the "Zëphir," La Queue had to get in a passion in order to hold
Tupain and Brisemotte from the cask. The boat-hook, in smashing a
hoop, had made a leaking for the red liquid, which the two men tasted
from the ends of their fingers and which they found exquisite. One
might easily drink a glass without its producing much effect. But La
Queue would not have it. He caulked the cask and declared that the first
who sucked it should have a talk with him. On land, they would see.
"Then," asked Tupain, sullenly, "are we going to draw out the
jambins?"

"Yes, right away; there is no hurry!" replied La Queue.
He also gazed lovingly at the barrel. He felt his limbs melt with longing
to go in at once and taste it. The fish bored him.
"Bah!" said he at the end of a silence. "Let's go back, for it's late. We
will return to-morrow." And he was relaxing his fishing when he
noticed another cask at his right, this one very small, and which stood
on end, turning on itself like a top. That was the last straw for the nets
and the jambins. No one even spoke of them any longer. The "Zéphir"
gave chase to the little barrel, which was caught very easily.
During this time a similar adventure overtook the "Baleine." After
Rouget had already visited five jambins completely empty, Delphin,
always on the watch, cried out that he saw something. But it did