"Claim the Borderie!" he exclaimed, with even greater violence; "let
him try, and we will see. It was waste land when my father bought
it--covered with briers; even a goat could not have found pasture there.
We have cleared it of stones, we have scratched up the soil with our
very nails, we have watered it with our sweat, and now they would try to
take it from us! Ah! they shall have my last drop of blood first!"
"I do not say but----"
"But what? Is it any fault of ours that the nobles fled to foreign
lands? We have not stolen their lands, have we? The government offered
them for sale; we bought them, and paid for them; they are lawfully
ours."
"That is true; but Monsieur de Sairmeuse is the great friend of the
king."
The young soldier, whose voice had aroused the most noble sentiments
only a moment before, was forgotten.
Invaded France, the threatening enemy, were alike forgotten. The
all-powerful instinct of avarice was suddenly aroused.
"In my opinion," resumed Chanlouineau, "we should do well to consult the
Baron d'Escorval.
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