cellar he had seen the insurgents arrest
the postmaster, whose offices were near his bookshop. At daybreak,
therefore, at the moment when Rougon was comfortably seated in the
mayor's arm-chair, he had quietly installed himself in the postmaster's
office. He knew the clerks; so he received them on their arrival,
told them that he would replace their chief until his return, and that
meantime they need be in nowise uneasy. Then he ransacked the morning
mail with ill-concealed curiosity. He examined the letters, and seemed
to be seeking a particular one. His new berth doubtless suited his
secret plans, for his satisfaction became so great that he actually gave
one of the clerks a copy of the "Oeuvres Badines de Piron." Vuillet, it
should be mentioned, did business in objectionable literature, which he
kept concealed in a large drawer, under the stock of heads and
religious images. It is probable that he felt some slight qualms at
the free-and-easy manner in which he had taken possession of the post
office, and recognised the desirability of getting his usurpation
confirmed as far as possible. At all events, he had thought it well to
call upon Rougon, who was fast becoming an important personage.

"Why! where have you been?" Felicite asked him in a distrustful manner.

Thereupon he related his story with sundry embellishments. According to
his own account he had saved the post-office from pillage.

"All right then! That's settled! Stay on there!" said Pierre, after a
moment's reflection. "Make yourself useful."

This last sentence revealed the one great fear that possessed the
Rougons. They were afraid that some one might prove too useful, and
do more than themselves to save the town. Still, Pierre saw no serious
danger in leaving Vuillet as provisional postmaster; it was even a
convenient means of getting rid of him. Felicite, however, made a sharp
gesture of annoyance.

The consultation having ended, the three accomplices mingled with the
various groups that filled the drawing-room. They were at last obliged
to satisfy the general curiosity by giving detailed accounts of recent
events. Rougon proved magnificent. He exaggerated, embellished, and
dramatised the story which he had related to his wife. The distribution
of the guns and cartridges made everybody hold their breath. But it was
the march through the deserted streets and the seizure of the town-hall
that most amazed these worthy bourgeois. At each fresh detail