"I'm going out, Grandpa." "And homework?" "I'll do it tonight." "That's what you say." "But at graduation time you ﬂunk, like Uncle Arthur." "Arthur gets by anyway." "You said it." "His brother works, he loafs." "All he can do is poach." "I like Uncle André." "I like school, too." "But Arthur is like ... the last of the Mohicans, harder to trail than a quail." "Your Indian is ripe for jail if the game warden catches him." "If I was younger I could teach you some things, too." "Better than Arthur!" "Run along, now." "Don't get too ﬁlthy." "You know how grandma is." "And don't be late." "Today's agenda includes three issues:" "the ﬁre truck, the veterans' dinner and Arthur." "Arthur?" "My brothel's a good-for-nothing." "Now that the war's over, there has to be order." "Arthur even gave the Germans a hard time." "You sorry for the Germans?" "He didn't do it for the Resistance." "He'd have braved the Russians, too." "It's the law he won't respect." "You should talk!" "You didn't even do Sunday school here." "But I'm the opposition leader." "Leader!" "You're a one - man party!" "Don't say "leader," it's not French." "Anyway, pipe down." "You were born in Vimoutiers." "And this is Livarot." "So my mother delivered at her sister's four miles away!" "You're not from here, period!" "Is that democratic?" "I was elected to enforce the law." "So as to Arthur:" "either he stops poaching and raising hell or the gendarmes deal with him." "He has to obey the law." "So you didn't peach and raise hell?" "Not once?" "Can you deny it?" "OK, OK, let's move on." "Item Two: our ﬁre truck." "It's the 20th century." "We can't go on using a hand pump like the Middle Ages." "I move we buy an automatic pump." "I've been offered the latest model, second hand, but like new." "What for?" "We've never had a ﬁre." "That doesn't mean we never will!" "You have an odd way of reasoning." "Law means foresight." "You forgot the Maline and Neuville forest ﬁres." "What's your toy cost?" "100,000 F. We have to hurry." "Vimoutiers wants it, too." "Who'll drive it?" "You have a license, but you're mayor." "My wife has a license." "She drove an ambulance in '39." "But she's just a woman!" "Just a woman!" "Gen. de Caulle gave them the right to vote." "The right to drive ﬁre trucks, too?" "We'll put it to a vote:" "all in favor ... 7" "Fifine." "Now, the veterans dinner." "It has to be before the harvest." "I propose June 9." "Done." "Now for a friendly drink." "Clocu, fetch the glasses!" "I don't drink where I can't debate." "Rene!" "Don't sulk." "He's jealous." "He's like that." "Because Arthur got half their land." "But Arthur doesn't tend to it." "That's his right." "It's a waste." "Anyway, it's no permit to poach on other folks' property." "That remains to be proved." "So long." "A toast to Livarot." "But not Arthur." "I'll give him a toast he'll never forget!" "So, little Fiﬁne, you want some rabbit?" "Come back." "We're gonna taste some rabbit." "You love that white meat, eh?" "And who's gonna chase 'em down the rabbit hole?" "Arthur's sweetie, cutest girl in the region." "You smell 'em!" "You just can't wait!" "Go get 'em!" "But don't bleed 'em down there." "Go on." "Arthur's waiting." "What're you doing here?" "Nothing." "I was just out walking." "You're spying on me!" "No, I wanted to see." "See what?" "How you poach." "None of your business!" "Beat it!" "Before I sic my ferret on you." "Honest, I won't tell anyone." "Not even Uncle André." "Better not!" "That louse!" "Clear out!" "I told you to stay off my land!" "Let's talk." "Sure we'll talk ... with lead." "Put away the artillery, I'm no vermin." "You're worse, you're useless." "You drank everything away, even your bike." "You drank everything away, on my private and public land." "You'd shoot me?" "You bet, you louse." "One move and you're dead!" "What's in your bag?" "Nothing." "Show me!" "It's nothing!" "Ah ha!" "You've been hunting my rabbits with your ferret?" "Put it down!" "Fifine!" "Bastard!" "You'll be off the ladies for awhile." "Get on home." "You saw how dangerous it is here." "You okay?" "He'll pay for this." "I'll plunder his land, I'll bed his wife!" "Should I go for the doctor?" "Not that!" "Help me home, then go tell René." "Where's my cap?" "Help me up." "Is that you?" "René?" "It's Etiennette and Muguette." "René didn't have the guts to come, so he sent his girls." "Yellow-belly." "He's too busy." "We'll take better care of you." "I have to piss." "Haven't pissed all day." "I'll piss in bed." "I gotta go!" "We'll help you." "No, that's no job for girls." "Hold it in five minutes more." "Go easy!" "I feel like a bag of bones." "Take his other arm, Muguette." "She's not gentle either." "Help us, Arthur." "We'll take off your shoes." "I can piss with shoes on." "Just do it." "Dammit, you're jolting me!" "Easy does it." "You smell awful nice for nurses." "What are you doing?" "Off with your pants." "The hell you will!" "You don't have much experience." "Oh, my God!" "My ... my pot!" "What?" "On the ﬂoor, my chamber pot." "Help me." "Easy!" "It's no joke, I assure you." "No, no." "I've always pissed on my own." "Very funny." "It's all over." "Tell your pa to come by in the morning." "Thanks, girls." "You stay here." "We have to talk." "Don't want the doctor?" "Forget the damn doctor!" "Tell me what you were doing in the woods tonight." "I've trailed you for ages." "Nobody trails me." "Even the Krauts couldn't." "Those ducks in the barn, you got them at the ford last Thursday." "Maybe 50." "Yesterday, you laid traps at the Memillon warren." "Last week, you caught a sackful of eels." "You sold them Thursday to the inn at ..." "Livarot." "You're getting too smart." "Become a cop." "Never." "I'd rather be like you." "A poacher never starves." "Since you know it all, go and empty my traps, since you know where they are." "Mustn't lose the goods." "Not now, I have to get home for supper." "Go in the morning." "Just do the Memillon warren." "I put out 10 traps, but watch out for the game warden." "It's on his beat." "I know, I've seen him." "You'll do it?" "Off you go, now." "You saw your mama's letter?" "I'm talking to you, Jean." "Yes, I read it." "She worries about school." "You have three years to go." "I'm ﬁrst in my class." "But if you want to graduate you have to do your homework now." "Clumsy!" "What a mess you've made!" "Never mind, I'll clean it up." "It wasn't on purpose." "I'll heat more milk." "I'm not hungry anymore." "Can I go out?" "Where are you going on an empty stomach?" "To see the guys." "I won't be home too late." "I don't want to worry you." "Want your cough syrup?" "I'm all right." "What did his mother's letter say?" "She'll be back before winter." "Well, I didn't read it." "Of course not." "You can't read." "True, but I can read hearts." "Our boy's never been happier than with us." "My dear, he's not our boy." "He's our daughter's." "And André's nephew." "Those two!" "You're right." "But in the three years he's been here, he's sort of become ours." "Mornin', Mayor." "Hot day today." "Another week and we bring in the crops." "Arthur at it again?" "As usual." "You gave him a thrashing?" "Like a big brother would in any respectable family." "An assault charge would look bad for a mayor." "He complained?" "He wouldn't." "But we hear he's in bad shape." "Who told you?" "A local?" "Relax." "Nobody from around here." "I only did my duty." "In a town preserve, hunting is illegal." "So is poaching with a ferret." "I only did my duty." "Not very delicately." "Even as kids, force was all he knew." "Still, be careful." "You've outgrown the schoolyard." "You could wind up in court." "He started it!" "For me it was self defense." "That's legal, isn't it?" "Your Honor ..." "What're you up to?" "Nothing, sir." "And that?" "That's nothing?" "You kidding me?" "What's your name?" "Jean." "Jean?" "Jean what?" "Who's Jean?" "Germain Fréon's my grandpa." "He lets you wander around alone?" "No school today." "Whose traps are these?" "I dunno." "Don't you know this is private property?" "You want to go to jail?" "Can you afford to pay the ﬁne?" "Does your grandpa want to pay for Arthur?" "Wise guy!" "You know that Arthur set these traps." "No, sir, I swear I don't." "Where're you going?" "To my room." "Let's have a look at you." "What'd I do?" "What'd I do?" "Just like Arthur." "That's the problem." "I haven't done anything." "Ever seen this?" "I think so." "Know whose it is?" "Yes." "It's Arthur's." "The game warden brought it." "Do you realize what you've done?" "I was doing him a favor." "He's stuck in bed." "It was nice of you to help Uncle Arthur." "But you shouldn't have got caught." "You're lucky he let you go." "He took Arthur's rabbit." "Listen to him!" "Arthur's rabbit!" "Illegal game, rather." "You could've been arrested." "Gendarmes are hard on poachers." "Hardly." "During the war, everyone poached." "But the war's over." "You have to obey the law now, and keep off private preserves." "Arthur may be my son, but he's a bad example." "Look at André, he's a hard worker." "In his way, Arthur's no idler." "You're always on his side." "I like Uncle Arthur." "Why are he and André like that?" "Ever since they learned how to ﬁght, they've been like cats and dogs." "Foxes and dogs." "Foxes poach, dogs guard the home." "But Arthur won't teach you French history." "For once, grandma's not rambling, she's right." "Today you were caught like a pup." "Like a hooligan." "Give me a hand here." "He's crazy to ask you to do that." "I offered to." "Arthur's no example for you." "He always creates a ruckus." "André's not always right." "True." "It's his character." "But he knows how to run his estate." "He makes money off his land." "Your time's come, Hector." "Admiring your uncle's bull?" "What's he weigh?" "I don't know..." "a ton, maybe more." "He's proud of his bull, huh?" "You bet he's proud." "If it was Hector or me, I wonder..." "He got it as a calf, bought it at the farm show." "He dreamed of having one." "Now he lends it right and left." "But it's more than that." "For him, a farm's not a farm without a bull." "That's how André is." "So, back on your feet." "Why should I stay in bed?" "Will you stop acting the fool?" "Listen to André ..." "I listen to you both." "When my boys ﬁght, I don't take sides." "But it's got to end." "It will if I give him my land." "That'd be best." "Never!" "He killed my ferret." "He once shot at my dog." "I don't condone that, but just the same." "He's the mayor, and that's something." "He ran to serve his own interests." "You're just jealous." "He's the jealous one." "It began with girls at school." "I could've had Virginia, if I'd wanted." "You know it!" "She's his wife now." "Don't you chase after her." "He deserves to be two-timed." "I won't allow it!" "In this family, there's respect." "Anyway, I know how to get back at him." "That'll do, Arthur." "Drop it!" "And now   there's something else." "You took Jean poaching with you." "He followed me the other day." "And you let him." "But André turned up just then." "Well, next time send him packing." "He has to graduate." "Think of your sister." "She's struggling so he can be somebody." "And wear a collar and tie." "You don't go poaching in a collar and tie." "That's something." "You can still go to jail." "You wicked boy!" "I brought you apples from the garden." "And some butter." "Goub, show me what you're doing." "I didn't do anything!" "That's just the trouble." "Let's see it." "Hey, come look!" "Arthur's back." "Line up, good people, and see divine justice pass." "You have five minutes to finish your arithmetic problem!" "Hector ..." "Look what I've got for you." "You won't cut out   so to speak." "Here I come ..." "And two brandies on me." "Gents, some new balls!" "Try 'em out." "What's that?" "They're testicles, or, to be more correct:" "How many are there?" "One pair." "I didn't castrate a whole herd." "I just avenged Fiﬁne." "If you doubt it, look inside." "Damn!" "The moron cut 'em off..." "both of 'em!" "There'll be hell to pay!" "Do you realize Hector was a stud?" "And free to folks in the town!" "I know you voted for Hector, not André." "You went to the polls for a pair of balls." "You shouldn't have!" "Take 'em back." "He'll get Virginia to sew 'em back on." "Out of my way!" "The jerk!" "They're like big marbles!" "That's no game for you, get on home!" "So what did the vet say?" "What do you think?" "I had a bull, now I have a steer." "Arthur is going to pay for this in spades." "I'll gut the louse." "Now, it's me or him." "One of you will end up in jail, the other in his grave." "Hector's only a bull, Arthur's your brother!" "He's a wild animal!" "We can't let him get away with it." "The town's behind me." "You'll destroy everything around you." "I'll do a Hector on him, and send them to the vet." "What'll that get you?" "Nothing." "I'll have his hide." "You know Arthur's really not all that bad." "Just a little crazy." "Sometimes you do talk nonsense!" "He humps the Florentine, and her man's still a deportee." "Even if he's reported missing, right?" "Robert may be dead." "I say he'll come back." "There'll be hell to pay." "You'd like that, huh?" "I'm not waiting for Robert to settle his hash." "Arthur's presence in Livarot, is worse than the Krauts for me." "You did okay with them for chickens, eggs ... not to mention butter." "You're forgetting I joined the Resistance." "After the Americans came." "Then everyone joined." "OK, drop it!" "Listen to you, defending him!" "You're on his side!" "I'd better go, if not ..." "Hell, I'd better go!" "Learn to walk quietly." "You sound like a beetle in church." "Go home." "I don't want any trouble because of you." "Just for tonight, Uncle Arthur." "Grandma came to warn me." "You can't follow me." "I promised her." "I'm here already." "It'll be my last night." "I'll never come again." "Say, Arthur ..." "Now what?" "Why'd you cut off Hector's balls?" "Everyone's talking." "Those aren't words for a kid!" "If I can't say them, how come you can cut them off?" "That's different." "I cut them clean, and politely." "Some say that's worse than if you'd disﬁgured him." "If it's a matter of aesthetics, he can mount them as trinkets," "and call 'em the family jewels." "He's laughing." "Even if he doesn't understand." "Still a half -pint and already a wise guy." "I'm nearly five feet tall!" "You're still a half-pint." "OK, we had a good laugh, now get on home." "Poaching is wrong." "Then why do you do it?" "I am me!" "You have to be a city man, a bureaucrat." "I don't want to live behind a desk." "Be an ace." "I'm no ace." "I'm a joker, a wild card." "But since you're here, stay." "But it's the last time." "Thanks, Unk." "Wrap these up." "Easier to handle than a pair of eels." "That you?" "Come in." "You prefer someone else?" "Idiot!" "He's with you?" "Follows me around like a dog." "You're crazy." "You ought to be in bed." "I brought eels for your boss." "Share with them both." "Sit down, you must be hungry." "Have some bread and butter." "Warm milk?" "Here, some warm milk." "It's chilly this morning." "I'll put on a sweater." "You do that!" "Hold on!" "Wait until the kid leaves." "He's seen a bull mount a cow." "Speaking of bulls, what's this business about André?" "Now he can watch the trains go by and not mind the cows." "He weighed a ton." "He'll feel lighter now." "I see why André's so mad." "Don't mention André, OK?" "Don't get sore." "Your family quarrels don't concern me." "Can I have some more bread and butter, please?" "Not now." "Now you go home." "If your granny learns you're out, there'll be trouble." "You stink of ﬁsh, Arthur." "It's OK, it's fresh ﬁsh." "Leave things to me." "You could take off your cap." "Hi, everybody." "Hi, Arthur." "Cheers!" "We have to talk." "I saw your brother." "Not by chance." "I have no brother." "He had a drink here, then went to another bar." "Not by chance." "He was pretty sore at you." "He can do as he likes." "He went to the cops." "The sergeant said it was about poaching." "That doesn't interest me." "You remember my package?" "Sure." "That'll be 550." "550." "I skinned 'em." "Skinning's no fun." "That's the extra 50." "Here." "Same thing next time." "If I can't poach, there won't be a next time." "So long!" "Bye, Arthur!" "See you tomorrow." "As usual?" "We'll see." "Mr. Arthur Fréon?" "That's me, same as when I was born!" "Show us what's in your pouch?" "It's empty." "I've got a right to an empty pouch." "Show us anyway." "I can't go around with an empty pouch?" "Everybody here does that." "Right, guys?" "Then follow us to the post." "Like a thief?" "You have no right!" "No one called you a thief." "Just obey." "You want to see my pouch?" "Okay, look." "Paper to light my ﬁre, that's legal." "We'll meet again, Mr. Fréon." "Sure." "Who sent you?" "Nobody." "Tell Mr. Nobody to go to hell!" "Insulting an ofﬁcer   in the course of duty ..." "Drop it, Marshall, we'll meet again." "Aren't they cute!" "Closing time, gents." "Let us drink up." "After midnight I can lose my license." "Greetings, gentlemen." "It's your friend Arthur." "And now him!" "No, Arthur, I'm closing." "You don't love me." "I said, beat it!" "I love you, Lulu." "I even brought you something." "How's this for modern equipment?" "It must have been modern, a long time ago." "A very long time ago." "Tires look good, anyway." "Sure." "So clean you can't see the tread." "Get off there, you kids, it's no toy." "Gotta sell lots of milk to pay for that water pump." "Next time there's a ﬁre, you'll be happy to see my pump truck." "So far, it's pumped the town for all its money." "No, sir!" "This automatic pump is a symbol." "It's bringing the 20th century into the town." "And I say this from the height of my pump truck:" "The only thing it can't extinguish is the stupidity of fools and reactionaries." "You know the reactionaries' answer." "You know, all right." "So you were there?" "How do you like it." "A beauty, eh?" "It's a beauty, all right." "Can I get up on it?" "Sure, when you stop hanging out with hooligans." "Arthur's no hooligan." "You see?" "I didn't name him but you instantly knew he's the hooligan." "He was hurt sol helped him." "To thank you he gave you a rabbit, poached, on the Taillepied preserve." "I just happened by." "Look, Jean, your mother, didn't leave you here to become a crook." "So stay away from Arthur." "Stick with him and you'll end up in trouble." "What'll happen?" "That's all I have to say." "Seems Arthur ﬁshes with dynamite." "I doubt it." "He always says that's lousy." "Folks say he does." "Maybe you were with him." "Last night I was home in bed." "Ask my grandma." "Inline!" ""The news spread" "Within moments, the whole village had gathered in the meadow, but Bruno was already far away." "All the farmers could do was to shake their ﬁsts."" "Firsts?" "Fists." "Oh, ﬁsts!" "Mr. Goub, keep your eyes on your own paper." ""Some men spoke of organizing a beating."" "Period." "What's up?" "Fishing with dynamite." "A witness saw you." "I don't need dynamite." "You're offtrack here." "Just come along quietly." "Useless to resist." "If you don't mind, I'll tidy up ﬁrst." "A drink, ofﬁcer?" "Not on duty." "No dynamite in the sugar jar." "You can look around." "We'd need a search warrant." "I'll put on a tie." "To dress right for the guillotine." "Nonsense!" "With dynamite, you could've hurt someone." "You kidding?" "Catch eels with dynamite!" "Where's your witness?" "Let him say it to my face!" "You ready?" "For anything." "Even to hear rubbish." "Awfully sorry." "Regulations." "You sleep with the book." "Prefers it to women." "It's a vice." "Don't make things worse for yourself." "We're just taking him in for questioning, son." "It's just a formality." "Why'd they handcuff you?" "Regulations." "Now let us do our job." "Let me talk to him?" "I'm going away, I don't know for how long." "But you'll be back?" "Sure, but it won't be like before." "Why not?" "That's how it is." "You shouldn't have followed me." "Understand?" "I'm a loner, a bad seed, a scalawag, not ﬁt company." "So back to your homework and your grandma." "Forget me!" "Understand?" "Let's go." "And don't shove!" "This is a miscarriage of justice." "There's no proof, like in the war." "Remember the denunciations?" "It's a new Dreyfus Affair." "I won't shut up!" "It wasn't him ﬁshing with dynamite last night." "Then who?" "You know as well as I do, you idiot!" "Out-of-town rascals." "I saw two get caught last year in Medarville." "So-called ex-Freedom Fighters who sold the ﬁsh in Paris." "So Arthur's no scoundrel?" "And André's bull?" "That's different." "Arthur's arrest may even be connected to Hector." "I'll say no more." "Anyway, Arthur's a scoundrel." "He is not, whatever you say." "Clocu, you're a real ass!" "Say that again!" "What are you doing here, son?" "You're down." "Your buddy's in jail." "He's no buddy anymore." "His dog doesn't seem to agree." "That's his business." "I'm just talking." "But if I know my Arthur," "I'd say you two connected." "He's wild, but wouldn't hurt a ﬂy, or a kid like you." "I don't care." "If he's in jail without proof, and his brother turned him in..." "you still wouldn't care?" "Know where he was last night?" "Maybe." "You can't say anymore?" "No." "As you like." "Florentine?" "Evening, Florentine." "Oh, it's you, René." "They put Arthur in jail." "He's a poacher, it had to happen." "He'll be out quick." "It's nothing." "This is serious:" "ﬁshing with dynamite." "That's not his style." "Last night ..." "Last night?" "You happen to see him last night?" "If I said yes, he'd be sore I said it." "So no, I didn't." "An innocent man in jail doesn't bother you?" "He won't stay long." "Trust him." "So, Arthur, how are things?" "They'd be better if you freed me." "I don't believe you're guilty." "Why hold me?" "If you told us where you were on the night of Sunday to Monday, it would help." "I already told you: home in bed." "If you'd been in another bed, that'd settle it." "A bed that would testify on your behalf." "Finding a bed to go to the mat for me!" "Not a cushy job!" "What would you say," "If I let you out overnight?" "To do what?" "The captain's kid is taking communion." "The captain would be pleased to have pheasant, even venison, for the banquet." "And he wants me to get it." "Not him, me." "The initiative is mine." "No way, sergeant." "It's illegal." "I don't break the law." "Tonight we'll forget to lock the door." "There'll be a bike outside." "Coming to play marbles?" "Don't worry about your uncle Arthur." "It won't come to much." "I met the sergeant." "He's taking it lightly." "The investigation goes on." "Tell your grandparents it'll soon be settled." "Is your grandpa better?" "No, he's coughing and spitting more and more." "He's not eating." "I hear your uncle's in jail." "It was to console you." "Won't you kiss me?" "Don't you like me?" "I don't feel like kissing girls today." "Too bad." "I like kissing you." "Bye, Jean." "Your brothel's in jail, and you're snoring in bed!" "Don't pretend you're asleep, you heard me." "He deserves to be in jail." "I can't help it." "You're the mayor, speak up." "There's no evidence." "He's a poacher, isn't he?" "Dynamite or no, what's the difference?" "It's not the same." "You always ﬁnd excuses for him." "And you're after his land." "I sure am!" "And he's the bastard who wants my wife and boasts about it." "As if the bull wasn't enough." "What's all this?" "It's true, he's always looking at you." "You never look away." "I don't avoid anyone's eyes, Arthur's's or yours." "I was just talking, OK?" "Coming to bed?" "Paws off!" "I have a right!" "I've rights, too." "You're not married to Arthur!" "He doesn't concern us." "I want to sleep in peace." "Where're you going?" "To sleep in the back room." "See if I care ..." "I didn't expect to see you there." "Did you feed the dog?" "Yes." "He won't eat elsewhere." "Don't worry, I'm leaving." "No, stick around." "I'd like to talk to you, but I can't ﬁnd the words." "You found them for the police." "I understood." "I may not be so big, but I'm not dumb, either." "What'd you understand, smartie?" "That you don't like me, you want to be alone, without me in your way." "I'm not used to talking to kids your age." "I never had a kid." "Understand?" "I was giving the gendarmes a lot of bull." "I look dumb, huh?" "I didn't want you to see me... with those damn handcuffs, like a gangster." "So you don't hate me?" "Of course not   little man." "In fact I like you a lot." "Really?" "If I had a son, I'd wish he were like you." "I like you, too, you know." "The cops gave me hell for what I told you." "You see, they're not so bad." "There are worse." "So they let you go?" "Just overnight." "It's a secret." "If folks see light here, I might be in trouble." "You didn't dynamite the river?" "I never have, never will." "But some like to think I did." "What'll you do now?" "Work for the forces of law and order." "Cops like rabbit, venison and pheasant, too." "I'll explain." "Can I come along?" "You bet." "Let me change ﬁrst." "That's a buzzard." "Takes straight off." "Duck under here." "Careful ..." "Want me to help?" "I'm OK." "Why'd you do that?" "To mark where we put the snare." "It's not hard." "When it's frayed, it catches in the thorns." "Visibility's better at night." "You have to use your nose and ears." "You'll run my traps now, you're the boss." "Give the animals to Florentine to pass on." "René will take care of the birds." "All right." "Loop the snare around a branch, tie a double knot   three ﬁngers from the loop." "This height's for rabbit, a bit higher is for hare." "You set it right on the track." "Understand?" "Those are baby pheasants, have to let them grow." "Pheasants are easier to catch." "You take a tin can, some sulfur, put the can on a stick and burn it under their nose." "They drop like ripe fruit." "Finding their nests is the hard part." "Can't be easy." "Nothing's easy, fella." "But where there's a will there's away." "If you see Virginia, tell her I'll come by one of these evenings." "You're going back to jail until Sunday?" "I gave the sergeant my word." "Take this to Florentine tomorrow." "Happy?" "Yes, Uncle." "We'll do it again." "We're incorrigible." "Now scat." "You're quite a little poacher!" "It was him!" "I'm not seeing things." "He couldn't be in jail and at home." "So he escaped." "No, the sergeant would've told me." "Maybe they didn't check his cell." "They're not that dumb." "Let's all go look." "Wait, we won't do or say anything." "I'll investigate on my own." "And then?" "If my idea is right, we'll catch him red-handed." "You caught all this alone?" "And ... without dynamite." "Let's drink to it." "Good." "Then I'll get some sleep." "And the venison?" "You didn't see any deer?" "Catching a deer takes preparation." "It's like making an arrest:" "quiet, no cock-ups." "A deer would be great." "I all but promised the captain." "He'll have his deer." "I've set it up." "But, captain or no, he'll have to pay for it." "It's OK." "We're chipping in to surprise him." "Don't worry, Mr. Fréon." "It's not too good, but not too bad, either." "There's not much I can do for him." "In a sanatorium, he'd have been treated, maybe cured." "Meanwhile, keep up the syrup and the pills." "Would cupping him help?" "Pour some brandy in the cups." "That's not a good idea." "You can't refuse what gives him pleasure." "A little brandy won't hurt him." "Good bye, Mr. Fréon." "Good bye, doctor." "Funny, it's not like him to sleep till noon." "He played cards with the sergeant." "Wore him out." "He set for the city?" "We haven't enough evidence to send him for trial." "You don't?" "No one saw him." "Not formally." "We found no dynamite at his home." "What'll you do?" "The investigation is continuing." "To each his own:" "We investigate, you administer." "His imprisonment would be a boon for the town." "The best thing would be ... to ban him from the town." "Get me?" "You get me." "Have a good day, Mr. Mayor." "You wouldn't think they were brothers." "It's that age-old story about enemy brothers," "Cain and Abel." "Not those brothers we nabbed in Vimoutiers?" "No, Cain and Abel were biblical." "I'll tell you about it someday." "Attention, citizens of Livarot and vicinity!" "By decision of the Mayor, the following has been decided:" "The Mayor has been informed that Arthur Fréon is capable of escaping at night from his cell despite the vigilance of our local gendarme post." "To clear up this mystery," "Mayor André Fréon will organize a nighttime beat." "He asks for armed volunteers to end the scandal of poaching by dynamite, a crime we must handle with maxi mum severity." "Volunteers should report to the town hall at 6 p.m." "Signed: the Town Council, represented by André Fréon, Mayor of Livarot." "Why the beat, Mr. Mayor?" "To track a dangerous animal." "Trust me we'll clear up this dynamite business." "With Arthur in jail, no one's used dynamite." "Clocu saw him all right." "Something's ﬁshy." "If he's out of jail, we'll snare him." "Say, ladies, seen young Jean?" "He went to play with your girls at Duchemin's." "Hey, René, if you're worried about their virtue, forget Jean, he's too short." "Very funny!" "Sir, can I talk to Uncle Arthur?" "No one can talk to the prisoners." "It's urgent." "I can't authorize it and the sergeant's not here." "OK." "Tell him not to let Arthur out tonight." "That's all we need." "Never mind, I know everything." "The Mayor's formed a posse." "The whole village is in on it." "Listen, we're not here to get drunk!" "It's too early." "He'll wait till midnight." "Meanwhile, I'll patrol the Taillepied woods." "Who's with me?" "Me." "Two of us is enough." "Is it far?" "We're almost there." "Shut up and move." "It's him!" "Who?" "That's not Arthur." "Look!" "Another one!" "I say it's Arthur!" "Let's nab them." "We have no right." "Get the gendarmes." "You can see it's not Arthur." "Arthur, might be a poacher ... not a criminal." "Oh, yeah?" "That's worse than a poacher." "It's a vermin!" "And you know what I do to vermins?" "Shit!" "You asshole!" "Damn!" "What've they done?" "They're crazy!" "It's at Clacaudier's!" "Back to the car, quick!" "They set a ﬁre at the Clacaudiel's." "Let's call the Fire Department." "We'll be our own ﬁremen." "Girls, let's get the ﬁre truck!" "Hang on, here we go!" "What have they done?" "What did those fools do?" "Lucky we got here in time." "Just when we had him!" "Arthur?" "Naturally!" "Dynamiting again." "The police let him out!" "Maybe it wasn't him." "I didn't see him." "It was dark, you didn't recognize him." "But you saw him!" "If you say so, maybe I did see him." "See?" "There's no doubt." "Who is it?" "It's me,Jean." "Come in." "Don't be afraid." "I'm not." "What brings you?" "I saw the dynamite ﬁshers." "You know them?" "No, they're strangers." "From Rouen ... or maybe Paris." "Tell me all about it." "I got the number of their van." "You have to tell the police." "Can we go together?" "Together?" "Why?" "I've got to get a deer to the gendarmes." "I can't make it alone." "You rascal!" "I'm under oath, Mayor." "I say Arthur was in his cell." "I say I saw him ﬁshing with dynamite." "Why didn't you arrest him?" "You had a gun." "It's not up to me to arrest him!" "It's not my job." "You just sit around, while the land's laid to waste by your protégé." "How dare you!" "Admit it's peculiar ... to let him dynamite the countyside." "That's our business!" "There's no proof of Arthur's guilt." "I maintain he was ﬁshing with dynamite." "I'll take your statement." "Your name, age and profession?" "I'm the town mayor." "Isn't that enough?" "Your Honor will submit to police procedure, if you please!" "Don't you want the priest?" "I'm not dead yet." "I don't want your priest." "Well?" "He's no better." "He's spitting blood." "I came to say hello." "Not feeling better?" "Don't oblige me to lie." "Is that you, Arthur?" "Arthur's still in jail." "Not for long." "He'll be out soon." "What do you know about it, brat?" "I saw the dynamiters." "Shut up!" "You don't know what you're saying." "I do, and I'll tell the police." "André..." "Yes?" "You must ... make peace ... make peace with Arthur." "René!" "Here I am!" "Freedom's ﬁne a clear conscience is better." "Come with me to Florentine's." "You'd better not." "Hi, Arthur, good luck!" "Why not?" "Her husband Robert came home yesterday." "Your brother announced it." "Too bad, she had a sweet ass." "What the hell, that's life!" "Hi, Arthur!" "Hi!" "They haven't forgotten you." "The only brother have is you." "That's nice of you." "Seems the police arrested the dynamiters." "Thanks to Jean." "He's some kid." "Seems the morons did it with their own van." "Jean got their number down." "Go see your dad." "I hear he's bad." "After I say hello to my sister-in-law." "Virginia?" "Why?" "When you get out of jail, you need a pick-me-up." "You can't do that ..." "I can do that!" "Virginia has to want it." "She's wanted it for ages." "I abstained out of family feeling." "That's done with." "The police showed me André's statement." "He behaved badly." "I'm gonna two-time him." "Less dangerous than a gun, and more fun." "All right, old buddy, go to it." "You nuts?" "if André sees you here, he'll kill you." "You know I've wanted that sweet ass for ages." "Say yes." "I'll make peace with André." "He's your brother." "Half an hour ago he wanted to shoot me." "Come closer," "I swear no one will know." "Arthur ..." "What, what, Arthur ... huh?" "Arthur ..." "What?" "The bastard!" "Where's my dog?" "There he is!" "He's happy to see his master." "So's Arthur." "You know why?" "Because André had him jailed." "But I paid him back with Virginia." "What an ass on her!" "You scum!" "Hector wasn't enough, huh?" "You had to have my wife, too." "This time you've earned it." "Don't be dumb!" "My God ..." "You killed the kid, André!" "Brethren, we are gathered here to say farewell to Germain Fréon." "To beg the lord to welcome him in the Kingdom of Heaven." "Indeed, like all of us he was a poor sinner, but the long and fatal sickness, was already a fearful purgatory." "In his ordeal, his loved ones showered him with their affection." "Mrs. Fréon, her oldest son André, our mayor ..." "Affection!" "He only wanted the land." "Shut up, dammit!" "Arthur Fréon, his youngest ..." "The truth hurts!" "I'll bust you one!" "Shut your big mouth!" "That's enough!" "Stop it!" "Scram!" "Butt out!" "Control yourselves!" "This is a cemetery." "What would your dad think?" "We can't ﬂight here!" "We'll save money on the funeral." "Enough!" "It's all over!" "Well done!" "Go on, Father." "Will you carve, André?" "What's this meat?" "Don't like venison?" "That will do!" "You nearly killed my grandson." "That's not a week in jail, that's a life sentence." "You're to blame for this mess, so keep quiet." "You fought beside your father's remains." "Now make peace." "He took advantage of Virginia." "I'll never forgive him." "He's deeding over to you the Valois ﬁelds and the Alisier woods." "That will pay for your wife's honor." "Oh, no!" "Let's end this now." "Very well." "For that, I get to carve the venison." "There isn't enough cider." "I'll get some." "Wait, I'll help you." "Can they be left alone?" "Why not, they reconciled." "That's for Virginia!" "There they go again!" "And that's for the gendarmes!" "That's for Hector!" "Your balls next time!" "You're like crabgrass, no weed killer works!" "They'll always be like that, Grandma." "But, maybe they really love each other." "Subtitled by C.M.C." " Paris"