OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University

132 MAINLY MAIGRET
" Did you want to speak to my father? "
" No. To you."
She nearly burst out laughing.
" I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me ... my father's gone to
Groningen and he won't be back before this evening. Our two men
are by the canal, fetching a load of coal. And the maid's out shopping
... And this is the moment that this wretched cow has chosen
to have her calf. We weren't expecting it at all, or I should never
have been left all alone."
She was leaning against a windlass which she had all ready in
case it was needed to assist the calf's delivery.
Outside, the sun was shining brightly, reflected by her boots,
which glistened in the dim light as though they had been varnished.
She had pink plump hands, the nails of which were carefully
manicured.
" It's about Conrad Popinga . . ." began Maigret.
But she frowned. The cow had painfully scrambled to its feet
and then sunk to the ground again.
" Here we are! .. . Would you like to help me? "
She snatched up her rubber gloves that were lying all ready.
Thus Maigret began his investigations by aiding a pure-bred
Frisian calf to come into the world, or rather by acting as assistant
to this capable girl whose easy movements showed her as well
versed in athletics as in farming.
Half an hour later he and Beetje were bending over a copper tap
lathering their hands and arms right up to the elbow.
" I dare say this is the first time you've put your hand to that
job .. ."
" It is."
She was eighteen years old. At least that's what Duclos had said.
When she took off her white overall, her silk dress outlined her
rounded figure. Perhaps the sunshine was showing her off to advantage,
but she certainly seemed just tne sort to turn a man's head.
" Come indoors. We can talk over a cup of tea."
The maid had returned. The drawing-room was austere, even a
little sombre, but elegant and comfortable. The glass of the small
window-panes was faintly tinted with pink, another detail that was
new to Maigret.
A bookcase full of books. Numerous works on cattle-breeding,
handbooks of veterinary surgery. On the walls, gold medals and
diplomas that had been won in international exhibitions.