OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University

I. A Pedigree Calf
MAIGRET had only a very faint idea what it was all about when he
arrived one May afternoon at Delfzijl, a small town squatting on
the low coast at the extreme north of Holland.
A certain Jean Duclos, a professor at the University of Nancy,
had been on a lecture tour through the countries of Northern
Europe. At Delfzijl he had been the guest of Monsieur Popinga,
who was a teacher in the training-ship, and this Monsieur Popinga
had been murdered; and though the French professor could hardly
have been called a suspect, he had nevertheless been requested not
to leave the town, and to hold himself at the disposal of the police.
That was about all Maigret knew, except for a rather confused
report which Jean Duclos had forwarded himself. He had at once
informed the University of Nancy, whose authorities had asked for
a member of the Police Judiciaire to be sent to the spot.
It was just the job for Maigret, being semi-official rather than
official. He had made it all the less formal by having taken no steps
to warn the Dutch police that he was coming.
At the end of Jean Duclos's report came a list of the principal
characters concerned, and it was this list that Maigret had been
consulting during the last half-hour of his journey:
Conrad Popinga, the victim, aged forty-two, formerly a captain
in the merchant service and now teaching the cadets in the trainingship
at Delfzijl. Married. No children. Spoke English and German
fluently, and fairly good French.
Liesbeth Popinga, his wife. Daughter of the head-master of a
lycee in Amsterdam, a woman of considerable culture, including a
thorough knowledge of French.
Any Van Elst, the latter's younger sister, on a stay of some
weeks at Delfzijl, has recently taken her degree in Law. Twentyfive
years old. Understands a good deal of French, but speaks badly.
The Wienands, the family living next door. Carl W. teaches
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