The new landed proprietor had a most delectable dream: he was at his château at last; he was called monseigneur, and was being fêted and congratulated, when he was suddenly and painfully awakened by a heavy weight resting on his chest.
"Who’s that?" he cried, trying to escape from the burden that weighed upon him. But there was no reply, and he felt an additional weight on his shoulder. A cold perspiration stood out on his forehead; he no longer had the strength to cry out, but said in a faltering, trembling voice:
"Who—who is it? In heaven’s name—what do you—want of me?"
There was no reply; the weight did not move but continued to rest on the traveller’s chest and shoulder. Several minutes passed thus. Robineau no longer had the strength to cry out, but waited until he should be at liberty to move, praying fervently meanwhile. But, after some time, surprised to find that the intruder did not stir, he softly raised his head to try to free himself, and his face came in contact with a long beard which seemed to cover almost the whole of his bedfellow’s face. Robineau uttered a loud shriek, thinking that he had the devil upon him, and in his terror threw himself to one side; whereupon he found that he was clear of the object that had held him down, and he sprang to his feet and ran to the middle of the room. But he fancied that he heard footsteps and he was convinced that the devil was pursuing him. In his terror, he ran about at random, came in contact with the curtain that separated the two parts of the room, caught his feet in the straw, fell headlong into it and lay there all huddled up, praying to heaven to protect him.
Meanwhile, tranquillity was reestablished; Robineau concluded that the devil had lost trace of him and had gone to torment one of his companions; so, after remaining a quarter of an hour under the straw, where he was nearly stifled, he turned over to try to get a little air.
When he turned, Robineau’s face found itself once more in contact with something, which, however, did not resemble a beard, for it was large and fat and smooth, soft to the touch, and endowed with a pleasant warmth. Robineau drew back his head and put out his hand to ascertain whether his suspicions were well-founded; but at the same instant the person to whom that plump object belonged turned over, and stretching out an arm and a leg, enlaced Robineau, who was thus caught anew and dared not stir.
This time Robineau was less alarmed than before, for he realized whom he had to do with; he had no doubt that it was Madame Claude who was lying upon him, and he preferred to feel the weight of Madame Claude rather than of the devil. However, he reflected that, if he remained there, the shepherd would find him there, and that he might not be gratified to see him lying under his wife. On the other hand he feared that, if he went away, he would fall once more into the clutches of the long-bearded creature who had waked him; and the fear of the devil was stronger than the fear of the shepherd. So he decided to retain his position until daybreak, when demons cease to be dangerous.
It was decidedly difficult to remain quiet in such a posture. Robineau instinctively remembered that the Auvergnate was still very comely, albeit a little dark; but all women are fair at night, when we choose to consider them so, and Robineau, still instinctively, put out his arms and let his hands run over everything that they came in contact with, until his fear gradually vanished, and his ideas became much less black.
By dint of toying with the Auvergnate, Robineau finally woke her; she supposed that it was her husband who was dallying with her, and like a woman who knew what that meant, she gave him a hearty kiss. Robineau submitted to the caress; he rather liked it; moreover, he did not choose to undeceive the Auvergnate, and to avoid that, it was necessary for him to play the part of the husband. He had been doing so for several minutes, when the same object which had driven him from his bed, came gambolling over the straw and jumped upon the couple who were not asleep. Again Robineau felt the long beard, and he cried out, thinking that the devil meant to punish him for his incontinence. Claude’s wife cried out in her turn; she discovered, rather tardily it is true, that it was not her husband whom she was kissing. The shepherd woke and cried out to ascertain what the matter was with his wife.
This uproar awoke the other inmates of the hovel. Alfred and Edouard rose to find out what was happening; the old man managed to find a little fire and lighted the lamp. The three boys alone continued to snore.