第46章

THE GREAT REVOLUTIONS OF A LITTLE VALLEY

"Well, Maitre Sibilet," said the general to his steward, the morning after his arrival, giving him a familiar title which showed how much he appreciated his services, "so we are, to use a ministerial phrase, at a crisis?"

"Yes, Monsieur le comte," said Sibilet, following the general.

The fortunate possessor of Les Aigues was walking up and down in front of the steward's house, along a little terrace where Madame Sibilet grew flowers, at the end of which was a wide stretch of meadow-land watered by the canal which Blondet has described.From this point the chateau of Les Aigues was seen in the distance, and in like manner the profile, as it were, of the steward's lodge was seen from Les Aigues.

"But," resumed the general, "what's the difficulty? If I do lose the suit against the Gravelots, a money wound is not mortal, and I'll have the leasing of my forest so well advertised that there will be competition, and I shall sell the timber at its true value."

"Business is not done in that way, Monsieur le comte," said Sibilet.

"Suppose you get no lessees, what will you do?"

"Cut the timber myself and sell it--"

"You, a wood merchant?" said Sibilet."Well, without looking at matters here, how would it be in Paris? You would have to hire a wood-

yard, pay for a license and the taxes, also for the right of navigation, and duties, and the costs of unloading; besides the salary of a trustworthy agent--"

"Yes, it is impracticable," said the general hastily, alarmed at the prospect."But why can't I find persons to lease the right of cutting timber as before?"

"Monsieur le comte has enemies."

"Who are they?"

"Well, in the first place, Monsieur Gaubertin."

"Do you mean the scoundrel whose place you took?"

"Not so loud, Monsieur le comte," said Sibilet, showing fear; "I beg of you, not so loud,--my cook might hear us."

"Do you mean to tell me that I am not to speak on my own estate of a villain who robbed me?" cried the general.

"For the sake of your own peace and comfort, come further away, Monsieur le comte.Monsieur Gaubertin is mayor of Ville-aux-Fayes."

"Ha! I congratulate Ville-aux-Fayes.Thunder! what a nobly governed town!--"

"Do me the honor to listen, Monsieur le comte, and to believe that I am talking of serious matters which may affect your future life in this place."

"I am listening; let us sit down on this bench here."

"Monsieur le comte, when you dismissed Gaubertin, he had to find some employment, for he was not rich--"

"Not rich! when he stole twenty thousand francs a year from this estate?"

"Monsieur le comte, I don't pretend to excuse him," replied Sibilet.

"I want to see Les Aigues prosperous, if it were only to prove Gaubertin's dishonest; but we ought not to abuse him openly for he is one of the most dangerous scoundrels to be found in all Burgundy, and he is now in a position to injure you."

"In what way?" asked the general, sobering down.

"Gaubertin has control of nearly one third of the supplies sent to Paris.As general agent of the timber business, he orders all the work of the forests,--the felling, chopping, floating, and sending to market.Being in close relations with the workmen, he is the arbiter of prices.It has taken him three years to create this position, but he holds it now like a fortress.He is essential to all dealers, never favoring one more than another; he regulates the whole business in their interests, and their affairs are better and more cheaply looked after by him than they were in the old time by separate agents for each firm.For instance, he has so completely put a stop to competition that he has absolute control of the auction sales; the crown and the State are both dependent on him.Their timber is sold under the hammer and falls invariably to Gaubertin's dealers; in fact, no others attempt now to bid against them.Last year Monsieur Mariotte, of Auxerre, urged by the commissioner of domains, did attempt to compete with Gaubertin.At first, Gaubertin let him buy the standing wood at the usual prices; but when it came to cutting it, the Avonnais workmen asked such enormous prices that Monsieur Mariotte was obliged to bring laborers from Auxerre, whom the Ville-aux-Fayes workmen attacked and drove away.The head of the coalition, and the ringleader of the brawl were brought before the police court, and the suits cost Monsieur Mariotte a great deal of money; for, besides the odium of having convicted and punished poor men, he was forced to pay all costs, because the losing side had not a farthing to do it with.A

suit against laboring men is sure to result in hatred to those who live among them.Let me warn you of this; for if you follow the course you propose, you will have to fight against the poor of this district at least.But that's not all.Counting it over, Monsieur Mariotte, a worthy man, found he was the loser by his original lease.Forced to pay ready money, he was nevertheless obliged to sell on time;

Gaubertin delivered his timber at long credits for the purpose of ruining his competitor.He undersold him by at least five per cent, and the end of it is that poor Mariotte's credit is badly shaken.

Gaubertin is now pressing and harassing the poor man so that he is driven, they tell me, to leave not only Auxerre, but even Burgundy itself; and he is right.In this way land-owners have long been sacrificed to dealers who now set the market-prices, just as the furniture-dealers in Paris dictate values to appraisers.But Gaubertin saves the owners so much trouble and worry that they are really gainers."

"How so?" asked the general.