who was equally annoyed at having been awakened in the middle of the night after a pleasant Christmas Eve with his grandchildren for such a trivial case. He spoke quickly and firmly to the sergeant, who snapped his heels together and hurried away. The men listened to his hurried steps in the hall. Then they heard him speaking with great authority to someone at the front desk.
“Why is this man being detained?” Bell’s voice was still truculent but careful. He knew that Vaugirard was the chief of police, a much-needed hero of the disastrous Prussian war and a favorite of the conservatives of the Third Republic. But Bell was outraged that an American had been arrested; he also felt a certain amount of guilt that he had not done more to contact the Buffalo Bill show before Charging Elk left the hospital. He had waited three days before he wired Barcelona—he had more pressing problems involving a disagreement between a Marseille soap manufacturer and an American distributor—but by then, the company was on its way by ship to Rome. And Charging Elk had left the hospital and was nowhere to be seen. It had surprised Bell that Charging Elk, sick with influenza, and with two broken ribs on top of that, could disappear so completely during the four days he had been on the loose. It didn’t surprise him that the police would pick him up at the first opportunity. But now it seemed that Charging Elk was being charged with some sort of crime.
Chief Vaugirard opened a small leather case and offered Bell one of his slender black cigars. Bell said, “Non, merci,” and he watched the chief light one with a silver lighter. He looked at Charging Elk and saw that the Indian was looking at the cigar. On an impulse he said, “You might offer one to your guest.”
But Vaugirard returned the leather case and lighter to his tunic pocket. At that moment the sergeant returned to the room. “My man is bringing food,” he said.
“Why is this American being held?”
“Vagabondage, Monsieur Vice-Consul,” the sergeant said. “My man found him wandering in Place St-Victor outside the Basilique. He behaved suspiciously, he could produce no papers. My man acted according to his authority.”
Bell had become accustomed to this authority during his tenure in Marseille. One of the unpleasant parts of his job as vice-consul was acting on behalf of Americans, usually sailors, who ran afoul of this authority. They were guilty unless they could prove their innocence. Napoleonic Code. Unfortunately, the French system was just as rigid as the American. “And did your man ask him for his papers?
“Of course, Monsieur Vice-Consul. He did his duty in a very correct and professional manner.”
“And did this man understand what was being asked of him?”
“I don’t follow, monsieur ...”
“Do you understand this man?”
“But he has said nothing—not one word—”
“This man, Charging Elk, is a member of the Wild West show of America. Perhaps you took your family to a performance? Or read about it in the newspaper?”
“Ah, yes, Monsieur Vice-Consul. I did not have the honor to attend a performance, but my brother-in-law—”
“Monsieur Charging Elk is a very important American. He took ill during a performance and was hospitalized. He was still in the hospital when the show left for Spain. I was in the process of reconnecting him to the show when I learned of his detention.” Bell felt uncomfortable in the small, sterile room. He had been here before, trying to get a sailor released so he could sail with his ship the next day. He hadn’t been successful—the sailor had gone to trial for public drunkenness and destruction of property and had served six months in jail. It had cost the consulate sixty dollars to send the sailor home on a steamship. And their budget didn’t provide for such random expenditures.
Bell looked at Vaugirard, who had not said a word and seemed quite content to let his sergeant take care of the matter. Bell would not let him get away with it. “As you may have deduced, Chief Vaugirard, Monsieur Charging Elk is not a vagrant. He is an important member of the Wild West show who had the misfortune to fall ill in your city, a victim of the influenza epidemic. Now he wishes nothing more than to repatriate with his American comrades, who are performing in Rome. If you would be good enough to release him to my custody, the consulate will guarantee his immediate passage to Italy.”
The sergeant set an ashtray he had retrieved from the top of the filing cabinet on the table before the chief of police. Vaugirard looked up at him and said, “What do you think, Borely?”
Sergeant Borely’s eyebrows lifted in surprise as he watched the chief tap the ashes from the little cigar into the ashtray. But he was quick-witted and recovered his composure. “Monsieur Charging Elk is charged with vagabondage. And it has been reported to us that he left the Hopital de la Conception without permission. These are serious offenses, I think, chef. Especially with the influenza epidemic in full bloom. Perhaps he is contagious, yes? To leave the hospital before he is pronounced well and to wander our streets—it is very dangerous to our citizens, I think.”
Vaugirard continued to tap the little cigar on the lip of the ashtray as he digested this information. He was a deliberate man and now he had to make a decision. On the one hand, it would be easy to hand over the Peau-Rouge to the vice-consul. It would be a quick resolution and within his power, with a little fudging on the official report. And it would be good for relations with the Americans, who were great consumers of the products of France. On the other hand, the law was the law, and by rights, the man should stand before the legal system. And too, Vaugirard was known for his faith in the professionalism of his officers. He very seldom interceded in their actions or countermanded their decisions. The morale of the Marseille Police Department was very high as a result. He saw no reason to throw his weight around now.
“As you can see, Monsieur Vice-Consul, my sergeant has given a great deal of thought to this matter and I have to agree with him. If it was just the vagabondage, I think we could look the other way. But to leave the hospital without being properly discharged is a very serious matter.” Vaugirard stubbed out the cigar arid looked at Charging Elk for the first time since a cursory glance when they had entered the room. “We have no choice but to hold your citizen in detention until he can appear in court. You see, it is the only way.”
“May we at least take him back to the hospital where he can receive proper care? It would be a courtesy to an American citizen and his government.” It occurred to Bell that Charging Elk wasn’t a citizen of the United States. Because of the treaties, the Indian tribes were their own nations within the United States. But the individuals were wards of the government and as such were entitled to diplomatic representation in foreign countries. He had read the directive only some months ago in conjunction with the Wild West show’s appearances in France. “I’m sure my superior, the consul general, would be most amenable to placing Monsieur Charging Elk under a doctor’s care. Then, when he is pronounced fit, we will send him at once to Italy.” Bell tried to act hearty, as though his suggestion put the matter to rest, the end of it, they could all go home well satisfied with such a just resolution to this surprisingly sticky problem.
But Vaugirard was up to the bluff. “No, no, that is not possible, Monsieur Vice-Consul. He has already left the hospital once. No, I think it would be best if Monsieur Charging Elk remained with us.”
“But it is Christmas. ...”
“I am aware of that, monsieur,” Vaugirard said with more force than he meant to. He pulled out his watch. Three-thirty in the morning. His grandchildren would be up in a few hours to open the presents that they hadn’t torn open last night. His only son was a poor surgeon in Orléans and he very seldom had time or money to bring the family to visit. Vaugirard was damned
