Habituated as Martial was to the ferocious bombast of his mother, he could not refrain from shuddering. She resumed, with increasing fury, "Oh! coward, still more 'creatur' than coward! You wish to be honest. Honest? is it that you shall not always be despised, as the son of a murderer, brother of a galley-slave; but you, instead of hugging vengeance, you are afraid; instead of biting, you fly; when they cut off your father's head, you left us, coward! And you knew we could not leave the island without being hunted and howled after like mad dogs. Oh, they shall pay for it, they shall pay for it!" "One man--ten men can't make me afraid! but to be pointed at by everybody as the son and brother of condemned criminals--well, no! I could not stand it. I preferred to go and poach with Pierre the game-seller." "Why did you not remain in your woods?" "I came back on account of my affair with the guard, and above all, on account of the children, because they were of an age to be ruined by bad example!" "What is that to you?" "To me? because I do not wish to see them become like Ambrose, Nicholas, and Calabash." "Not possible!" "And alone with you all, they would not have failed, I made myself an apprentice to try to earn something, to take them with me, and leave the island; but at Paris every one knew it; it was always son of the guillotined, brother of the galley slave. I had continual fights. It tired me." "And that did not tire you to be honest; that succeeded so well, instead of having the heart to return to us, to do as we do--as the children shall do in spite of you--yes, in spite of you. You think you will stuff them with your preachings, but we are here. Francois already belongs to us nearly--the first occasion, and he shall be of the band." "I tell you no." "You will see. I know it. There is vice at the bottom; but you restrain him. Amandine, when she is once fifteen, will go alone. Ah! they have thrown stones at us, they have hunted us like mad dogs. They shall see what our family is--except you, coward; for you alone make us blush!" "It is a pity." "And as you may be spoiled here with us, to-morrow you will go from this never to return." Martial looked at his mother with surprise; after a moment's pause he said, "You tried to get up a quarrel at supper to arrive at this." "Yes, to show you what you may expect if you will stay here in spite of us--a hell--do you understand?--a hell upon earth. Every day disputes, blows, fights; and we shall not be alone like to-night; we will have friends to help us; you'll not hold on a week." "You think to frighten me?" "I tell you what will happen to you." "No matter. I remain." "You will remain here?" "Yes." "In spite of us?" "In spite of you, and Calabash, and Nicholas, and all others of the same kidney." "Stop; you make me laugh."