Gold: the marvellous history of General John Augustus Sutter
Page 11
'I am the General. Yes. I am the General. . . ral. . .'
All of a sudden, a child of about seven rushes down the great marble staircase, four steps at a time. It is Dick Price, the little match-seller, the General's favourite.
'General! General!' he shouts to Sutter, hurling himself on his neck. 'General! You've won! Congress has just delivered its verdict! They're giving you a hundred million dollars!'
'Is it true? Is it really true? Are you sure?' Sutter asks him, holding the child tightly in his arms.
'Of course, General, and it seems it's already in the papers. Jim and Bob have gone to get some to sell! Me, too, I'm going to sell lots of newspapers this evening, heaps of them!'
Sutter does not notice seven little guttersnipes who are splitting their sides with laughter beneath the tall portico of Congress and who are making signs at their little pal. Sutter rises to his feet, holds himself very erect, says but two words, 'Thank you!' then beats the air with his arms and falls down like a log.
General John Augustus Sutter died on the 17th of June, 1880, at three o'clock in the afternoon.
Congress was not even in session that day.
The urchins run away.
The hour strikes in the immense deserted square and before long, as the sun descends, the gigantic shadow of the Capitol falls over the General's corpse.
* * *
SIXTEENTH CHAPTER
* * *
74
John Augustus Sutter died at the age of seventy-three.
Congress never delivered a verdict.
His descendants never took any action, they abandoned the case.
His inheritance remains unclaimed.
Today, in 1925, and for just a few more years, there will still be time to come forward, take action, stake a claim.
Gold. Gold. Who wants gold?
Paris, 1910-1922.
Paris, 1910-1911.
Paris, 1914.
Paris, 1917.
Le Tremblay-sur-Mauldre,
from November 22nd, 1924
to December 31st, 1924.