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Full download BUSN 7 7th Edition Kelly Solutions Manual all chapter 2024 pdf
Full download BUSN 7 7th Edition Kelly Solutions Manual all chapter 2024 pdf
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Chapter Seven
Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship: Economic Rocket Fuel
Review Questions
1. Review the benefits an entrepreneur might seek in starting a new business. Which
benefits are most appealing to you? Why?
The key benefits that entrepreneurs might seek in launching a new business are greater
financial success, independence, flexibility, and challenge (although a smaller segment of
entrepreneurs—at least in the U.S.—simply seek survival in the face of few other
alternatives). Student answers will vary in terms of which benefits are most appealing,
but most younger students seem to cite greater financial success, while older students
often gravitate more towards flexibility.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Knowledge and Comprehension
Topic: Launching a New Venture: What’s in It for Me?
Difficulty Level: Easy
Learning Objective: 7-1
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Knowledge and Analysis
Topic: The Entrepreneur: A Distinctive Profile
Difficulty Level: Easy
Learning Objective: 7-2
3. What role does failure sometimes play in entrepreneurial success? What can an
entrepreneur gain from failure?
Failure can play a key role in entrepreneurial success by providing valuable lessons
about what not to do and by spurring creativity in the effort to recover. Experience with
failure can also strengthen other key entrepreneurial characteristics such as self
reliance. Increasingly, the stigma of failure has diminished with recognition that people
who have experienced failure may be more likely to eventually succeed because they are
willing to take risks. Some students may point out that business icons such as Walt Disney
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
and Steve Jobs experienced dramatic failure at various junctures in their careers, but
were clearly successful overall.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Topic: Entrepreneurial Characteristics
Difficulty Level: Easy
Learning Objective: 7-2
4. How could you convince family and friends to support your new business launch? What
kind of assurances would they need? What could you do to keep the funding
relationships professional? If you were to launch a new business would you start from
scratch, buy an established independent business, or buy a franchise? Why or why not?
Students will have different ideas on how to approach this, but the possibilities include
developing a strong business plan, sharing research results, offering to share profits, and
establishing a cutoff point for discontinuing the business if profits don’t materialize. Most
experts recommend keeping funding relationships professional by documenting the
agreements in detail and sticking to the terms. As students explore how they will launch
a new business, their answers should include insights about how their own character
compares to the approach they favor or reject. For instance, students with a high
tolerance for risk might be more interested in starting from scratch than in buying a
franchise.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Topic: Finding the Money: Funding Options for Small Businesses
Difficulty Level: Easy
Learning Objective: 7-3
5. Beyond personal resources, what are other funding options for small businesses? Why
don’t more entrepreneurs tap into these resources?
Other funding options for entrepreneurs include loans, angel investors, and venture
capital firms. But many entrepreneurs—especially at the initial launch of their
business—find trouble tapping into these resources since they lack the track record that
many lenders or investors require. In some cases the Small Business Administration can
help firms jump this hurdle by partially guaranteeing loans from commercial lenders.
The SBA also has a microloan program that can help start-up businesses through
community nonprofit organizations.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Topic: Finding the Money: Funding Options for Small Businesses
Difficulty Level: Easy
Learning Objective: 7-3
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
6. Compare the opportunities and threats that small businesses face. Which opportunities are
most compelling? Which threats are most intimidating? Why?
Opportunities:
• Market niches: Because of their size, many small firms are uniquely positioned to
exploit small but profitable corners of the market
• Personal customer service: With a small customer base, small firms can develop
much more personal relationships with individual customers.
• Lower overhead costs: With entrepreneurs wearing so many hats, many small
firms have lower overhead costs.
• Technology: The Internet has played a powerful role in opening new
opportunities for small businesses.
Threats:
• High risk of failure: Starting a new business involves a lot of risk, especially in
the first five years.
• Lack of knowledge and experience: Entrepreneurs often have in-depth knowledge
in a specific areas, but lack expertise in running a business.
• Too little money: Lack of sufficient start-up money is a major issue for most new
firms.
• Bigger regulatory burden: Complying with federal regulations can be an
overwhelming challenge for small firms.
• Higher health insurance costs: The costs for small health plans are much higher,
making it tough to offer the coverage that top employees expect.
Student answers will differ regarding which opportunities are most compelling, but many
seem to cite technology. And most students find too little money to be the most daunting
threat.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Comprehension and Analysis
Topic: Opportunities and Threats for Small Business: A Two-Sided Coin
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Learning Objective: 7-4
7. Review the definition of niche marketer, and cite three examples of niche marketers.
How has technology affected niche marketing?
A niche marketer is a firm that targets a sparsely occupied space in the market.
Examples include Anything Left Handed (products for left-handed people), Kool Dog
Kafe (gourmet dog treats), and Scrappin’ Twins (scrapbooking products for mothers of
twins and triplets). Students will most likely cite niche marketers that are local to your
campus. Technology—particularly the Internet—has played a powerful role in supporting
niche marketers by expanding their reach. Scrappin’ Twins, for instance, may not have
gotten off the ground with only its local market of mothers of twins and triplets with an
intense interest in scrapbooking. But nationwide—worldwide—there’s a big enough
market to support a small business.
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Topic: Opportunities and Threats for Small Business: A Two-Sided Coin
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Learning Objective: 7-4
8. If you were to launch a new business, would you start from scratch, buy an established
independent business, or buy a franchise? Why?
Student responses to this will vary, but most students seem to prefer the idea of starting
from scratch, despite the higher risk—creating their own concept seems to hold
enormous appeal. A frequent exception is the children of parents who own franchises.
Having seen the profit potential of franchises first hand, they often gravitate in that
direction.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Topic: Launch Options: Reviewing the Pros and Cons
Difficulty Level: Easy
Learning Objective: 7-5
9. What are the key contributions of small business to the U.S. economy? Rank the benefits
in terms of importance, and provide the reasons for your ranking.
Key contributions:
• Creating new jobs: Small businesses with employees generate about 70% of the
new jobs in today’s economy.
• Fueling innovation: Small businesses develop innovations at about twice the rate
of their large business counterparts.
• Vitalizing inner cities: Small businesses comprise more than 99% of inner city
establishments, providing a springboard for development.
Student opinions will differ about which contribution is most important, although most
seem to rank new jobs at the top.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Comprehension and Evaluation
Topic: Small Business and the Economy: An Outsized Impact
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Learning Objective: 7-6
10. What factors account for the dramatic differences in entrepreneurship rates around the
world? Do you think entrepreneurship will continue to grow worldwide? Why or why
not?
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Factors that account for much of the differences in entrepreneurship rates:
• Per capita income: In very low income countries the entrepreneurship rate is
high because many people have no other option.
• Opportunity costs: Entrepreneurship rates tend to be lower in countries where
employment protection and unemployment insurance is strong.
• Cultural/political environment: Extensive regulation can be a barrier to
entrepreneurship, while government and cultural support can be a boon.
Many experts believe that entrepreneurship rates will continue to grow worldwide given
the growth of market economies and free trade, the dramatic, high-profile successes of
entrepreneurs in the last couple of decades, and the growing worldwide Internet
penetration rate.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Comprehension and Evaluation
Topic: Entrepreneurship Around the World
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Learning Objective: 7-6
Application Questions
1. A huge number of successful businesses—such as Apple, The Cheesecake Factory, and
eBay—were built around the personal passions of their founders. Consider your own
personal passions. What do you love to do? What are you great at doing? Can you shape
any of your interests into a business opportunity? Why or why not? Be sure to think big.
For instance, if you love hanging out with friends and listening to music, a club
promotion business might make sense for you. Write a one–two page paper outlining the
specific steps you need to take over the next few years to make your “dream business”
real?
Answers will clearly vary depending on student interests, but responses should include a
close tie between personal passions and business opportunities. Possibilities for how to
make the business actually happen include doing research, developing a business plan,
seeking an internship or job opportunity in the field, and networking with as many
possible contacts as possible.
2. Identify a person in your neighborhood who started a business from scratch, a person
who bought an existing business, and a person who bought a franchise (your local
chamber of commerce can probably help you identify candidates). Interview each of the
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
entrepreneurs to learn more about their experiences. What were the pros and cons of each
approach? Would they use the same approach if they could do it over again? Why or why
not? What are their long term goals? How did the actual experiences of the entrepreneurs
you interviewed compare to the material in the book? Did you hear anything surprising?
Responses will vary significantly, but students will likely find a strong correlation
between the actual experiences of each type of business owner and the issues outlined in
the chapter.
3. Imagine for a moment that you’ve finally taken the leap and launched your dream
business – whatever it may be – hair salon, retail shop, restaurant, tattoo parlor, or
anything else. Suddenly you find that friends and family are coming out of nowhere in
“desperate” need of your product or service, and everyone expects a discount. What will
your discount policy be (if any), and how will you communicate it?
Responses will vary, but students should understand that the most effective way to
communicate their policy would probably be face-to-face, rather than in writing or
through employees, in order to maintain flexibility and minimize relationship issues. To
avoid people taking advantage of them, students might want to consider barter as part of
their policy, or at least as a starting point for negotiations.
4. In many developing countries, the majority of citizens make their living through
microenterprises—informal, tiny businesses that barely yield enough to survive. Without
financial services, most of these entrepreneurs find growth simply impossible. Professor
Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank, established in Bangladesh in 1976, stepped
into the gap by providing micro-loans ($50–$500) to the poorest of the poor
entrepreneurs, through village cooperatives that are administered by the people they
serve. The Grameen Bank has been amazingly successful at breaking the vicious cycle of
poverty for its clients. In 2006, Prof. Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank received the
Nobel Peace Prize, which sent a message to the world that we cannot have peace if
billions live in abject poverty. The Prize Committee credited Prof. Yunus and Grameen
Bank for showing “that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own
development.” Check out the Grameen Bank story on the Web at
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
www.grameenfoundation.org. Why has the micro lending approach worked so well? Do
you think it would work in poor communities in the United States? Why or why not?
Students will have different ideas about why microloan programs are effective, but most
will probably cite the need for even just a small financial boost to break through poverty,
the importance of community and local leadership, and the value of empowering women.
Students will also have different opinions about whether a similar program would work
in the U.S., but they should certainly consider the difference in the cost of living.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Comprehension and Evaluation
Topic: Entrepreneurship Around the World
Difficulty Level: Challenging
Learning Objective: 7-6
5. The Small Business Administration (SBA) maintains a rich, vibrant website, and
supports a number of high impact programs to support small business growth. In fact,
every state has at least one local SBA office. Log onto the SBA website at www.sba.gov,
and spend a few moments browsing. Be sure to check out the sections on business
opportunities and training. Then find the page for the SBA office nearest your school.
How would this information be helpful for local small businesses? If you started a
business, would you personally be likely to use any of the SBA resources? If so, which
ones? Why do you think the government spends so much money supporting small
business growth by providing this array of resources?
Here, too, responses will vary, especially with regard to how the SBA resources would be
helpful. Answers might include loans, consulting, training, networking, and information
about issues from how to write a business plan to how to comply with federal regulations.
The government spends so much money supporting small business growth in order to
increase the level of competition in our economy, which ultimately increases the standard
of living by generating more choices, better quality, and better prices.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Topic: Small Business and the Economy: An Outsized Impact
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Learning Objective: 7-6
Team Project
Making Lemonade from Lemons
Take a moment to write down 3 to 5 things that you find frustrating about daily life on a fairly
regular basis (e.g., “It takes forever to find a parking spot on campus,” “I hate waiting online at
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
the post office,” “My roommate borrows my favorite jeans way too often.”). Be honest . . . and
use real problems.
Then break into groups of 3 to 5 students, and exchange papers. Take about 3 minutes to choose
one problem on the list that you received, and to develop a product or service idea that could
solve that problem. Then, together with your team, review each person’s idea and choose the one
with the most potential. Working together take twenty minutes to further develop the idea into a
business concept. Create a logo and a slogan for your business, and present your idea to the class,
along with the problem that your business will solve. After you’ve heard the ideas from each
team, vote with your classmates for the best new business idea.
The responses to this challenge will clearly vary, but typically are quite creative.
BUSPROG: Analytic
Bloom’s: Synthesis
Topic: Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Economic Rocket Fuel
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Learning Objectives: 7-1- 7-6
Case Connections
Girl Scout Cookies build girls of courage, confidence, and character…Let’s take a look.
Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, and Do-di-dos…just reading the names probably makes your
mouth water for Girl Scout Cookies. Once a year, girls of all ages fan out across the country
selling tasty boxes of cookies to neighbors and friends in an effort to raise money for their Girl
Scout troops. Local Girl Scout councils set the price per box for the cookies, which ranges from
$3.50 to $4.00. About 70% of the proceeds stay in the local Girl Scout council and with troops
to provide a portion of the resources needed to support Girl Scouting in that area. The remainder
goes to the baker to pay for the cookies. Nationwide an average of 10-20% of the purchase price
goes to the individual troop selling the cookies to fund their activities. None of the money goes
to the national Girl Scouts organization or to any other group, unless the local troop decides to
spend it in that manner. Demand for Girl Scout cookies tends to be high, with many customers
eagerly anticipating the annual sale. Nevertheless, not everyone believes that Girl Scout cookie
selling is a net positive business experience for the girls who participate. Some of the key pros
and cons:
• The program is designed to help girls learn five critically important skills that could help
them become better entrepreneurs at the appropriate time. The five skills: goal setting,
decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics
• Most troops encourage the girls themselves to do everything possible to run the sales to
maximize hands-on experience and learning.
• The experience helps them learn the fundamentals of the retail sales process.
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
• Many local Girl Scout councils choose to collect donations of cookies for military
personnel serving overseas, learning firsthand the potential power of socially responsible
business.
• Positioning young girls as cookie hucksters, exploiting family and friends for profits,
does not showcase either them or business in a positive light.
• Girl Scouts have been spotted engaging in somewhat shady sales tactics (e.g. “Buy one
box for $4, or take today’s special, which is five boxes for $20”), encouraged by adult
leaders.
• Since childhood obesity remains a significant long term threat to the health of America’s
youth, does selling caloric treats continue to make sense as a fundraiser?
You decide:
• Overall, do you think the Girl Scout cookie program is positive or negative for the girls?
(As you answer the question, try to leave aside your feelings about the cookies
themselves, which almost everyone seems to love.)
Sources: Girl Scout Cookies The Five Skills and FAQs, Girl Scouts USA website,
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/the_five_skills.asp, and
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/faq.asp accessed May 5, 2013
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Comme il y avait, à l’endroit où le bâtiment avait touché, trois pieds
d’eau à peine, le prince et sa suite sautèrent à la mer, tenant leurs
armes au-dessus de leurs têtes, et espérant arriver au village qu’ils
voyaient s’élever à une demi-lieue à peu près dans les terres, sans
avoir besoin d’en faire usage. Mais à peine furent-ils débarqués,
qu’une autre troupe de corsaires qui, prévoyant cette manœuvre,
avait remonté avec une barque le Bufaidone, sortit des roseaux au
milieu desquels le fleuve coule, et coupa au prince la retraite sur
laquelle il comptait. Le combat s’engagea aussitôt; mais tandis que
les campieri du prince avaient affaire à cette première troupe, la
seconde arriva, et toute résistance devenant visiblement inutile, le
prince se rendit, demandant la vie sauve et promettant de payer
rançon pour lui et pour toute sa suite. Au moment où les prisonniers
venaient de déposer leurs armes, on aperçut une troupe de paysans
qui accouraient armés de fusils et de faux. Les corsaires, maîtres de
la personne du prince, et ayant par conséquent atteint le but qu’ils
désiraient, n’attendirent pas les nouveaux arrivans, et
s’embarquèrent avec une telle rapidité qu’ils laissèrent sur le champ
de bataille trois hommes de leur équipage, qu’ils croyaient morts ou
blessés mortellement.
Parmi ceux qui accouraient ainsi se trouvait Pascal Bruno, que
sa vie nomade conduisait vaguement tantôt d’un côté, tantôt d’un
autre, et que son esprit inquiet jetait dans toutes les entreprises
aventureuses. Arrivés sur la plage où le combat avait eu lieu, les
paysans trouvèrent un domestique du prince de Paterno mort, un
autre blessé légèrement à la cuisse, et trois corsaires étendus dans
leur sang, mais respirant encore. Deux coups de fusil eurent bientôt
fait justice de chacun d’entre eux, et un coup de pistolet allait
envoyer le troisième rejoindre ses camarades, lorsque Bruno,
s’apercevant que c’était un enfant, détourna le bras qui allait le
frapper, et déclara qu’il prenait le blessé sous sa protection.
Quelques réclamations s’élevèrent sur cette pitié, qui semblait
intempestive; mais quand Bruno avait dit une chose, il maintenait ce
qu’il avait dit: il arma donc sa carabine, déclara qu’il ferait sauter la
cervelle au premier qui s’approcherait de son protégé; et, comme on
le savait homme à exécuter à l’instant sa menace, on lui laissa
prendre l’enfant dans ses bras et s’éloigner avec lui. Bruno marcha
aussitôt vers le rivage, descendit dans une barque avec laquelle il
faisait habituellement ses excursions aventureuses, et dont il
connaissait si bien la manœuvre qu’elle semblait lui obéir comme un
cheval à son cavalier, déploya sa voile et cingla vers le cap d’Aliga-
Grande.
A peine eut-il vu que la barque était dans sa route, et qu’elle
n’avait plus besoin de son pilote, qu’il s’occupa de son blessé,
toujours évanoui. Il écarta le burnous blanc dans lequel il était
enveloppé, détacha la ceinture à laquelle était passé encore son
yatagan, et vit, aux dernières lueurs du soleil couchant, que la balle
avait frappé entre la hanche droite et les fausses côtes, et était
ressortie près de la colonne vertébrale: la blessure était dangereuse,
mais n’était pas mortelle.
La brise du soir, la sensation de fraîcheur produite par l’eau de
mer avec laquelle Bruno lavait la plaie, rappelèrent l’enfant à lui; il
prononça sans ouvrir les yeux quelque mots dans une langue
inconnue; mais Bruno, sachant que l’effet habituel d’un coup de feu
est de causer une soif violente, devina qu’il demandait à boire et
approcha de ses lèvres une flasque pleine d’eau; l’enfant but avec
avidité, poussa quelques plaintes inarticulées, et retomba dans son
évanouissement. Pascal le coucha le plus doucement qu’il put au
fond de sa barque, et, laissant la blessure à l’air, il continua de
presser, de cinq minutes en cinq minutes, au-dessus d’elle, son
mouchoir imbibé d’eau de mer, remède que les marins croient
efficace à toutes leurs blessures.
Vers l’heure de l’Ave Maria, nos navigateurs se trouvèrent à
l’embouchure de la Ragusa: le vent venait d’Afrique: Pascal n’eut
donc qu’une légère manœuvre à faire pour s’engager dans le fleuve,
et trois heures après, laissant Modica à droite, il passait sous le pont
jeté sur la grande route qui va de Noto à Chiaramonti. Il fit encore
une demi-lieue ainsi; mais alors le fleuve cessant d’être navigable, il
tira sa barque dans les lauriers-roses et les papyrus qui bordent le
rivage, et, reprenant l’enfant dans ses bras, il l’emporta à travers les
terres. Bientôt il atteignit l’entrée d’une vallée dans laquelle il
s’enfonça, et il ne tarda pas à trouver à sa droite et à sa gauche la
montagne taillée à pic comme une muraille, et creusée de distance
en distance, car dans cette vallée sont les restes d’une ancienne cité
de Troglodytes, ces premiers habitans de l’île que civilisèrent les
colonies grecques. Bruno entra dans l’une de ces cavernes, qui
communiquait par un escalier à un étage supérieur, auquel un seul
trou carré, en forme de fenêtre, donnait de l’air; un lit de roseaux
était amassé dans un coin, il y étendit le burnous de l’enfant, le
coucha sur le bournous; puis, redescendant pour allumer du feu, il
remonta bientôt avec une branche de sapin enflammée, qu’il fixa
dans le mur, et, s’asseyant sur une pierre, près de la couche du
blessé, il attendit qu’il revînt à lui.
Ce n’était pas la première fois que Bruno visitait cette retraite:
souvent, dans ces voyages sans but qu’il entreprenait à travers la
Sicile pour distraire sa vie solitaire, calmer l’activité de son esprit et
chasser ses mauvaises pensées, il était venu dans cette vallée, et il
avait habité cette chambre creusée dans le roc depuis trois mille
ans; c’est là qu’il se livrait à ces rêveries vagues et incohérentes qui
sont habituelles aux hommes d’imagination auxquels la science
manque. Il savait que c’était une race disparue de la terre qui, dans
des temps reculés, avait creusé ces retraites, et, dévot aux
superstitions populaires, il croyait, comme tous les habitans des
environs, que ces hommes étaient des enchanteurs: au reste, cette
croyance, loin de l’écarter de ces lieux redoutés, l’y attirait
irrésistiblement: il avait dans sa jeunesse entendu raconter nombre
d’histoires de fusils enchantés, d’hommes invulnérables, de
voyageurs invisibles, et son âme, sans crainte et avide de
merveilleux n’avait qu’un désir, c’était celui de rencontrer un être
quelconque, sorcier, enchanteur ou démon, qui, moyennant un pacte
infernal, lui accordât un pouvoir surnaturel qui lui donnerait la
supériorité sur les autres hommes. Mais c’était toujours en vain qu’il
avait évoqué les ombres des anciens habitans de la vallée de
Modica; aucune apparition n’avait répondu à ses désirs, et Pascal
Bruno était resté, à son grand désespoir, un homme comme les
autres hommes; plus cependant, la force et l’adresse, que peu de
montagnards possédaient à un degré qui pût lui être comparé.
Il y avait une heure à peu près que Bruno rêvait ainsi près de son
jeune blessé, lorsque celui-ci sortit de l’espèce de léthargie dans
laquelle il était plongé; il ouvrit les yeux, regarda autour de lui avec
égarement, et arrêta son regard sur celui qui venait de le sauver,
mais sans savoir encore s’il voyait en lui un ami ou un ennemi.
Pendant cet examen, et par un instinct vague de défense, l’enfant
porta la main à sa ceinture pour chercher son fidèle yatagan; mais
ne l’y trouvant pas, il poussa un soupir.
—Souffres-tu? lui dit Bruno, employant pour se faire entendre de
lui cette langue franque qui est l’idiome universel des côtes de la
Méditerranée, depuis Marseille jusqu’à Alexandrie, depuis
Constantinople jusqu’à Alger, et à l’aide duquel on peut faire le tour
du vieux monde.
—Qui es-tu? répondit l’enfant.
—Un ami.
—Ne suis-je donc pas prisonnier?
—Non.
—Alors comment me trouvé-je ici?
Pascal lui raconta tout, l’enfant l’écouta attentivement; puis,
lorsque le narrateur eut fini son récit, il fixa ses yeux sur ceux de
Bruno, et avec un accent de reconnaissance profonde:
—Alors, lui dit-il, puisque tu m’as sauvé la vie, tu veux donc être
mon père?
—Oui, dit Bruno, je le veux.
—Père, dit le blessé, ton fils s’appelle Ali; et toi, comment
t’appelles-tu?
—Pascal Bruno.
—Allah te protége! dit l’enfant.
—Désires-tu quelque chose?
—Oui, de l’eau; j’ai soif.
Pascal prit une tasse de terre, cachée dans un enfoncement du
rocher, et descendit puiser de l’eau à une source qui coulait près de
la maison. En remontant, il jeta les yeux sur le yatagan de l’enfant, et
il vit qu’il n’avait pas même songé à le rapprocher de lui. Ali prit
avidement la tasse et la vida d’un trait.
—Allah te donne autant d’années heureuses qu’il y avait de
gouttes d’eau dans cette tasse, dit l’enfant en la lui rendant.
—Tu es une bonne créature, murmura Bruno; dépêche-toi de
guérir, et quand tu seras guéri, tu pourras retourner en Afrique.
L’enfant guérit et resta en Sicile, car il s’était pris pour Bruno
d’une telle amitié, qu’il ne voulut jamais le quitter. Depuis lors, il était
demeuré constamment avec lui, l’accompagnant dans ses chasses
sur les montagnes, l’aidant à diriger sa barque en mer, et prêt à se
faire tuer sur un signe de celui qu’il appelait son père.
La veille, il l’avait suivi à la villa du prince de Carini; il l’attendait
sous les fenêtres pendant son entrevue avec Gemma, et c’était lui
qui avait poussé le double cri d’alarme, la première fois, lorsque le
prince avait sonné à la grille, et la seconde fois, lorsqu’il était entré
dans le château. Il allait monter lui-même dans la chambre pour lui
porter secours, si besoin était, lorsqu’il vit Bruno s’élancer par la
fenêtre. Il le suivit dans sa fuite. Tous deux arrivèrent au rivage, se
jetèrent dans leur canot qui les attendait, et comme la nuit ils ne
pouvaient gagner la haute mer sans éveiller des soupçons, ils se
contentèrent de venir se confondre parmi les barques de pêcheurs
qui attendaient le point du jour pour sortir du port.
Pendant cette nuit, Ali rendit à son tour, à Pascal, tous les soins
qu’il en avait reçus en pareille circonstance, car le prince de Carini
avait visé juste, et la balle qu’il cherchait vainement dans sa tenture,
avait presque traversé l’épaule de Bruno; de sorte qu’Ali n’eut
qu’une légère incision à faire avec son yatagan, pour la retirer du
côté opposé à celui par lequel elle était entrée. Tout cela s’était
passé presque sans que Bruno s’en mêlât et parût même y penser,
et la seule marque d’attention qu’il donnât à sa blessure, était,
comme nous l’avons dit, de l’humecter de temps en temps avec de
l’eau de mer, tandis que l’enfant faisait semblant de raccommoder
ses filets.
—Père, dit tout-à-coup Ali s’interrompant dans cette feinte
occupation, regarde donc du côté de la terre!
—Qu’y a-t-il?
—Une troupe de gens.
—Où cela?
—Là-bas, sur le chemin de l’église.
En effet, une société assez nombreuse suivait le chemin tortueux
à l’aide duquel on gravit la montagne sainte. Bruno reconnut que
c’était un cortège nuptial qui se rendait à la chapelle de Sainte-
Rosalie.
—Mets le cap sur la terre et rame vivement, s’écria-t-il se levant
tout debout.
L’enfant obéit, saisit de chaque main un aviron, et le petit canot
sembla voler à la surface de la mer. Au fur et à mesure qu’ils
approchaient du rivage, la figure de Bruno prenait une expression
plus terrible; enfin, lorsqu’ils ne furent plus qu’à la distance d’un
demi-mille à peu près...
—C’est Teresa! s’écria-t-il avec un accent de désespoir
impossible à imaginer: ils ont avancé la cérémonie; ils n’ont pas
voulu attendre à dimanche, ils ont eu peur que je ne l’enlevasse d’ici
là!.... Dieu m’est témoin que j’ai fait tout ce que j’ai pu pour que cela
finît bien... Ce sont eux qui n’ont pas voulu; malheur à eux!
A ces mots, Bruno, aidé par Ali, hissa la voile de la petite barque,
qui, tournant le mont Pellegrino, disparut au bout de deux heures
derrière le cap de Gallo.
I V.