One morning M. Madeleine was passing through an unpaved alley of M. sur M.; he heard a noise, and saw a group some distance away. He approached. An old man named Father Fauchelevent had just fallen beneath his cart, his horse having tumbled down.
This Fauchelevent was one of the few enemies whom M. Madeleine had at that time. When Madeleine arrived in the neighborhood, Fauchelevent, an ex-notary and a peasant who was almost educated, had a business which was beginning to be in a bad way. Fauchelevent had seen this simple workman grow rich, while he, a lawyer, was being ruined. This had filled him with jealousy, and he had done all he could, on every occasion, to injure Madeleine. Then bankruptcy had come; and as the old man had nothing left but a cart and a horse, and neither family nor children, he had turned carter.
The horse had two broken legs and could not rise. The old man was caught in the wheels. The fall had been so unlucky that the whole weight of the vehicle rested on his breast. The cart was quite heavily laden. Father Fauchelevent was rattling in the throat in the most lamentable manner. They had tried, but in vain, to drag him out. An unmethodical effort, aid awkwardly given, a wrong shake, might kill him. It was impossible to disengage him otherwise than by lifting the vehicle off of him. Javert, who had come up at the moment of the accident, had sent for a jack-screw.
M. Madeleine arrived. People stood aside respectfully.
"Help!" cried old Fauchelevent. "Who will be good and save the old man?"
M.Madeleine turned towards those present:--
"Is there a jack-screw to be had?"
"One has been sent for," answered the peasant.
"How long will it take to get it?"
"They have gone for the nearest, to Flachot's place, where there is a farrier; but it makes no difference; it will take a good quarter of an hour."
"A quarter of an hour!" exclaimed Madeleine.
It had rained on the preceding night; the soil was soaked.
The cart was sinking deeper into the earth every moment, and crushing the old carter's breast more and more. It was evident that his ribs would be broken in five minutes more.
"It is impossible to wait another quarter of an hour," said Madeleine to the peasants, who were staring at him.
"We must!"
"But it will be too late then! Don't you see that the cart is sinking?"
"Well!"
"Listen," resumed Madeleine; "there is still room enough under the cart to allow a man to crawl beneath it and raise it with his back. Only half a minute, and the poor man can be taken out. Is there any one here who has stout loins and heart? There are five louis d'or to be earned!"
Not a man in the group stirred.
"Ten louis," said Madeleine.
The persons present dropped their eyes. One of them muttered: "A man would need to be devilish strong. And then he runs the risk of getting crushed!"
"Come," began Madeleine again, "twenty louis."
The same silence.
"It is not the will which is lacking," said a voice.
M. Madeleine turned round, and recognized Javert. He had not noticed him on his arrival.
Javert went on:--
"It is strength. One would have to be a terrible man to do such a thing as lift a cart like that on his back."
Then, gazing fixedly at M. Madeleine, he went on, emphasizing every word that he uttered:--
"Monsieur Madeleine, I have never known but one man capable of doing what you ask."
Madeleine shuddered.
Javert added, with an air of indifference, but without removing his eyes from Madeleine:--
"He was a convict."
"Ah!" said Madeleine.
"In the galleys at Toulon."
Madeleine turned pale.
Meanwhile, the cart continued to sink slowly. Father Fauchelevent rattled in the throat, and shrieked:--
"I am strangling! My ribs are breaking! a screw! something! Ah!"
Madeleine glanced about him.
"Is there, then, no one who wishes to earn twenty louis and save the life of this poor old man?"
No one stirred. Javert resumed:--
"I have never known but one man who could take the place of a screw, and he was that convict."
"Ah! It is crushing me!" cried the old man.
Madeleine raised his head, met Javert's falcon eye still fixed upon him, looked at the motionless peasants, and smiled sadly. Then, without saying a word, he fell on his knees, and before the crowd had even had time to utter a cry, he was underneath the vehicle.
A terrible moment of expectation and silence ensued.
They beheld Madeleine, almost flat on his stomach beneath that terrible weight, make two vain efforts to bring his knees and his elbows together. They shouted to him, "Father Madeleine, come out!" Old Fauchelevent himself said to him, "Monsieur Madeleine, go away! You see that I am fated to die! Leave me! You will get yourself crushed also!" Madeleine made no reply.
All the spectators were panting. The wheels had continued to sink, and it had become almost impossible for Madeleine to make his way from under the vehicle.
Suddenly the enormous mass was seen to quiver, the cart rose slowly, the wheels half emerged from the ruts. They heard a stifled voice crying, "Make haste! Help!" It was Madeleine, who had just made a final effort.
They rushed forwards. The devotion of a single man had given force and courage to all. The cart was raised by twenty arms. Old Fauchelevent was saved.
Madeleine rose. He was pale, though dripping with perspiration. His clothes were torn and covered with mud. All wept. The old man kissed his knees and called him the good God. As for him, he bore upon his countenance an indescribable expression of happy and celestial suffering, and he fixed his tranquil eye on Javert, who was still staring at him.
有一天早晨，马德兰先生经过滨海蒙特勒伊的一条没有铺石块的小街。他听见一阵嘈杂的声音，还远远望见一堆人。他赶到那里。一个叫割风伯伯的老年人刚摔在他的车子下面，因为那拉车的马滑了一交。
这位割风伯伯是当时一贯歧视马德兰先生的那少数几个冤家之一。割风从前当过乡吏，是一个粗通文墨的农民，马德兰初到那里时，他的生意正开始走上逆运。割风眼见这个普通工人日益富裕，而他自己，一个大老板却渐渐衰败下来，他满腔嫉妒，一遇机会，便竭力暗算马德兰。后来他破了产，年纪老了，又只有一辆小车和一匹马，并无家室儿女，为了生活，只好驾车。
那匹马的两条后腿跌伤了，爬不起来，老头子陷在车轮中间。那一交摔得很不巧，整个车子的重量都压在他的胸口上。车上的东西相当重。割风伯伯急得惨叫。别人试着拖他出来，但是没有用。如果乱来，帮助得不得法，一阵摇动还可以送他的命。除非把车子从下面撑起来，就别无他法能把他救出来。
沙威在出事时赶来了，他派了人去找一个千斤顶。
马德兰先生也来了。大家都恭恭敬敬地让出一条路。
“救命呀！”割风老头喊着说，“谁是好孩子？救救老人吧。”
马德兰先生转身向着观众说：
“你们有千斤顶吗？”
“已经有人去找了。”一个农民回答说。
“要多少时候才找得来？”
“是到最近的地方去找的，到福拉肖，那里有个钉马蹄铁的工人，但是无论如何，总得整整一刻钟。”
“一刻钟！”马德兰大声说。
前一晚，下了雨，地浸湿了，那车子正在往地下陷，把那老车夫的胸口越压越紧了。不到五分钟他的肋骨一定会折断。
“等一刻钟，那不行！”马德兰向在场的那些农民说。
“只有等！”
“不过肯定来不及了！你们没看见那车子正在往下陷吗？”
“圣母！”
“听我讲，”马德兰又说，“那车子下面还有地方，可以让一个人爬进去，用背把车子顶起来。只要半分钟就可以把这个可怜的人救出来。这儿有一个有腰劲和良心的人吗？有五个金路易①好赚！”
①路易，金币名，每枚合二十法郎。
在那堆人里谁都没有动。
“十个路易。”马德兰说。
在场的人都把眼睛低了下去，其中有一个低声说：
“那非得是有神力的人不行。并且弄得不好，连自己也会压死。”
“来吧！”马德兰又说，“二十路易！”
仍旧没有动静。
“他们并不是没有心肝。”一个人的声音说。
马德兰先生转过身，认出了沙威。他来时没有看见他。
沙威继续说：
“他们缺少的是力气。把这样一辆车扛在背上，非有一个特别厉害的人不行。”
随后，他眼睛盯住马德兰先生，一字一字着重地说下去：
“马德兰先生，我从来只认得一个人有能力照您的话去做。”
马德兰吃了一惊。
沙威用一副不在意的神气接着说下去，但是眼睛不离开马德兰。
“那个人从前是个苦役犯。”
“呀！”马德兰说。
“土伦监牢里的苦役犯。”
马德兰面无人色。
那时，那辆车慢慢地继续往下陷。割风伯伯喘着气，吼着说：
“我吐不出气！我的肋骨要断了！来个千斤顶！或者旁的东西！哎哟！”
马德兰往四面看。
“竟没有一个人要赚那二十路易，来救这可怜的老人一命吗？”
在场没有一个人动。沙威又说：
“我从来只认得一个能替代千斤顶的人，就是那个苦役犯。”
“呀！我被压死了！”那老人喊着说。
马德兰抬起头来，正遇到沙威那双鹰眼始终盯在他的脸上，马德兰望着那些不动的农民，苦笑了一下。随后，他一言不发，双膝跪下，观众还没来得及叫，他已到了车子下面了。
有过一阵惊心动魄的静候辰光。
大家看见马德兰几乎平伏在那一堆骇人的东西下面，两次想使肘弯接近膝头，都没有成功。大家向他喊着说：“马德兰伯伯快出来！”那年老的割风本人也对他说：“马德兰先生！请快走开！我命里该死呢，您瞧！让我去吧！您也会压死在这里！”
马德兰不回答。
观众惊惶气塞。车轮又陷下去了一些，马德兰已经没有多大机会从车底出来了。
忽然，大家看见那一大堆东西动摇起来了，车子慢慢上升了，轮子已从泥坑里起来了一半。一种几乎气绝的声音叫道：“赶快！帮忙！”叫的正是马德兰，他刚使尽了他最后一点气力。
大家涌上去。一个人的努力带动了所有的人的力气和勇敢。那辆车子竟被二十条胳膊抬了起来。割风老头得免于难。
马德兰站起来，尽管满头大汗，脸色却是青的。他的衣服撕破了，满身污泥。大家都哭了。那个老头子吻着他的膝头，称他为慈悲的上帝。至于他，他脸上显出了一种说不出的至高至上、快乐无比的惨痛，他把恬静自如的目光注射在沙威的面上，沙威也始终望着他。