136 4 Les Miserables
Thenardier was right, this detail was correct, although it
had escaped Marius in his agitation. M. Leblanc had barely
pronounced a few words, without raising his voice, and even
during his struggle with the six ruffians near the window he
had preserved the most profound and singular silence.
Thenardier continued:—
‘Mon Dieu! You might have shouted ‘stop thief ’ a bit,
and I should not have thought it improper. ‘Murder!’ That,
too, is said occasionally, and, so far as I am concerned, I
should not have taken it in bad part. It is very natural that
you should make a little row when you find yourself with
persons who don’t inspire you with sufficient confidence.
You might have done that, and no one would have troubled
you on that account. You would not even have been gagged.
And I will tell you why. This room is very private. That’s its
only recommendation, but it has that in its favor. You might
fire off a mortar and it would produce about as much noise
at the nearest police station as the snores of a drunken man.
Here a cannon would make a boum, and the thunder would
make a pouf. It’s a handy lodging. But, in short, you did not
shout, and it is better so. I present you my compliments,
and I will tell you the conclusion that I draw from that fact:
My dear sir, when a man shouts, who comes? The police.
And after the police? Justice. Well! You have not made an
outcry; that is because you don’t care to have the police and
the courts come in any more than we do. It is because,—I
have long suspected it,—you have some interest in hiding
something. On our side we have the same interest. So we
can come to an understanding.’