"This is what I found," said he; "the cave was empty, only in the middle of it there was the carcase of a beast as white as snow—no doubt some fox who had died there of old age—the beggar had found out the passage before me. He slept here soundly enough; who the devil would ever have thought of following him? At that time, Jean-Claude, I was only twelve years old. The thought instantly struck me that some day or other this hiding-place might be useful to me. I did not then know for what; but, in after-times, when I had my first bouts of smuggling at Landau, Kiel, and Bâle with Jacob Zimmer, and when all the custom-house officers were at my heels, the idea of my old cavern began to haunt me day and night. I had made the acquaintance of Hexe-Baizel, who was at that time servant at the farm of Bois-de-Chênes, where Catherine's father then lived. She brought me twenty-five louis as her marriage portion, and we came and settled ourselves in our cavern of Arbousiers."
Divès was silent, and Hullin, after musing a moment, said: "You are very fond of this hole, then, Marc?"
"Fond of it? I'll tell you what, I wouldn't change it for the finest house in Strasburg, with two thousand livres a year to boot. For twenty-three years have I hidden my merchandize here; sugar, coffee, gunpowder, tobacco, brandy, all finds its way here. I have eight horses always on the road."
"But you don't enjoy yourself."
"I don't enjoy myself! You think, then, it's nothing to trick the gendarmes, the custom-house officers, the excise; to spite them, gull them, hear them say everywhere, 'That beggar of a Marc, what a cunning rogue it is! what a dance he leads you! he sets the law and all its agents at defiance;' and so on, and so on. He! he! he! I'll answer for it, that it's the greatest pleasure in life. And then, the people all round adore you; I sell them everything at half-price. You can afford to be good to the poor, and keep your own belly warm."
"But what danger, what risks!"
"Bah! not an exciseman in the world will ever think of passing that gap."
"I believe you!" thought Hullin, as he reflected that he should have to make his way back over the precipice.
"But for all that," continued Marc, "you are not altogether wrong, Jean-Claude. In the beginning, when I had to come here with one of those little barrels on my shoulder, I used to sweat great drops of perspiration; but I am used to it now."
"And if your foot were to slip?"