L'Argent.
BUTEAU, second son of Pere Fouan; brother of Hyacinthe and of Fanny
Delhomme; cousin and husband of Lise Mouche; father of Jules and Laure.
From early youth he was of violent temper, and having drawn a lucky
number in the conscription, he went away from home, and got work, first
at the farm of La Borderie and later at La Chamade. He was a true son
of the soil, knowing nothing of the world beyond the narrow district in
which he was born, and possessing that fierce passion for the land
which is the characteristic of so many peasants. When Pere Fouan made a
division of his property among his family, Buteau was dissatisfied with
the lot which he drew, and refused to take possession of it. In this
attitude he persisted for two years, until the formation of a new road
gave a greatly increased value to his share. In the same way he refused
to marry his cousin Lise Mouche, by whom he already had a son, until,
after her father's death, she had inherited a share of his property.
Buteau's chief anxiety then became to prevent a division of this land
between his wife and her sister Francoise, and when, after the girl's
marriage to Jean Macquart, this became imminent, he and his wife
eventually murdered her.
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