OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University

130 MAINLY MAIGRET
" Donne^-moi de la Here. . . . Bier ! "
Having sat down, he once more scanned Professor Duclos's list.
Somehow the last name seemed to him the most hopeful. He showed
it to the proprietor, and two or three times pronounced the name:
" Liewens."
The three men began talking together. Then one of them stood
up, a huge fellow wearing a fisherman's cap, who beckoned Maigret
to follow. The inspector had not yet provided himself with Dutch
money. When he offered a hundred-franc note the proprietor
waved it aside.
" Morgen! . . . Morgen! "
Tomorrow! So he'd have to come back! .. .
Yes, the atmosphere was certainly one of intimacy; it was all
so simple and candid. Without a word, Maigret's guide led him
through the streets of the little town. On the left, a large shed was
full of old anchors, rope, lengths of cable, buoys, and compasses.
The gear was even spreading on to the pavement. Further on, a
sail-maker was working on his doorstep.
A confectioner's window exhibited a great choice of chocolates
and complicated sweetmeats.
" Speak English? "
Maigret shook his head.
"Deutschi"
And Maigret shook his head again, at which the man relapsed
into silence. At the end of the street the open country began. Green
meadows. A canal, the greater part of whose surface was broken by
floating tree-trunks from northern countries waiting to be towed
to their various destinations inland.
In the distance, a long roof of glazed tiles.
" Liewens! " said the man, pointing to it. " Dag, mijnheer! ..."
Maigret went on alone after doing his best to thank his guide,
who had come nearly a quarter of an hour's walk to do a perfect
stranger a good turn.
The sky was clear, the air extraordinarily limpid. The inspector
skirted a timber-yard in which piles of lumber—oak, mahogany,
and teak—rose high as houses.
There was a boat moored to the bank. Children were playing
close by. Then solitude for over half a mile. More tree-trunks in
die canal. White railings round the fields, where here and there
magnificent cows were grazing. Then Liewens's farm.
And here was something else Maigret hadn't bargained for. The