04-02-03-双城记 [15]
'You will be good to my husband
'asked Lucie, afraid. 'I beg you, as a wife and mother. '
'We have known many wives and mothers, 'said Madame Defarge. 'And we have seen many husbands and fathers put in prison, for many years. What is one more, among so many
'
As the Defarges left, Lucie turned to Mr Lorry. 'I am more afraid of her than of any other person in Paris, 'she whispered. Mr Lorry held her hands；he did not say anything, but he was also very worried.
The Doctor did not come back from La Force for several days. During that time eleven hundred prisoners were killed by the people. Inside the prison Dr Manette had come before a Tribunal, which was a group of judges appointed by the people. These judges made their own laws and threw prisoners out into the streets to be murdered by the crowds. Dr Manette told the Tribunal that he had been a prisoner in the Bastille for eighteen years, and that his son－in－law was now a prisoner in La Force. The Tribunal had agreed to keep Charles Darnay safe from the murdering crowds, but they would not let him leave the prison.
Dr Manette seemed to become stronger as he lived through these terrible days, doing everything he could to save his daughter's husband. He was able to see Darnay regularly, but noblemen and emigrants were hated by the citizens of new France, and the Doctor could not set Darnay free. The Guillotine, that new machine of death, cut off the heads of many, many people—the powerful and the cruel, but also the beautiful, the innocent, and the good. Each day Lucie did not know if her husband would live or die. She lived every moment in great fear, but her father was sure that he could save his son－ in－law.
One year and three months passed and Darnay was still in prison. Dr Manette now had an official job as doctor to three prisons and was able to visit Darnay regularly. He became more and more loved by the rough people of the Revolution. But the Guillotine continued to kill.
'Try not to worry, 'he told Lucie. 'Nothing can happen to Charles. I know that I can save him. 'But Lucie could not see him or visit him；she could not even write to him.
On the day when Charles Darnay was at last called for his trial, Lucie and Dr Manette hurried to Tellson's Bank to tell Mr Lorry. As they arrived, a man got up and disappeared into another room. They did not see who it was, but in fact it was Sydney Carton, just arrived from London.
There were five judges in the Tribunal, and the trials were short and simple. The voices of truth, honesty, and calm reason were never heard at these trials, and most of the prisoners were sent to the Guillotine, which pleased the noisy crowds. Fifteen prisoners were called before Darnay that day, and in no more than an hour and a half, all of them had been condemned to death.
'Charles Evrémonde, who is called Darnay. '
As Darnay walked in front of the judges, he tried to remember the careful advice that Dr Manette had given him.
'Charles Evrémonde, you are an emigrant. All emigrants must die. That is the new law of France. '
'Kill him！'shouted the people. 'Cut off his head！He's an enemy of the people！'
The President of the judges asked Darnay, 'Is it true that you lived many years in England
'
'Yes, that is true, 'replied Darnay.
So you are an emigrant, surely. '
'No, not in the meaning of the law, 'replied Darnay. 'I earn my own living in England. I have never wanted or used the name of Marquis, and I did not want to live by the work of the poor people of France. So I went to live and work in England, long before the Revolution. '
'And did you marry in England
'
'Yes, I married a Frenchwoman. The daughter of Dr Manette, a prisoner of the Bastille and a well－known friend of all good citizens！'
These words had a happy effect on the crowd. Those who had shouted for his death now shouted for his life. Then Monsieur Gabelle and Dr Manette spoke for Charles Darnay. The Doctor spoke well and clearly, and was very popular with the crowd. When he had finished, the judges decided that the prisoner should be set free, and the crowd shouted their agreement loudly. Soon they were carrying Darnay in a chair through the streets of Paris to Dr Manette's house. Lucie was waiting there, and when she ran out and fell into the arms of her husband, the men and women in the crowd kissed one another and danced for happiness Darnay and Lucie were together again, safe and happy.