OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University

A CRIME IN HOLLAND 133
And in amongst the books the latest works of Claudel, Andre*
Gide, and Valery . . .
Beetje's smile was coquettish,
" Would you like to see my room? "
She watched him closely to see the impression it made on him.
There was no bed, in the ordinary sense of the word, but a divan
covered with blue velvet. The walls were lined with toile de Jouy.
Bookshelves with more books. A doll that had been bought in
Paris, all frills and furbelows.
It could almost have been called a boudoir, though it was a little
heavy, solid, ponderous.
" Quite like Paris, isn't it? "
" Tell me what happened last week."
Beetje's face clouded, though not very much. Not enough to
give one to think that she took the event very tragically.
No, it certainly was not weighing on her mind. Otherwise she
would hardly have shown her room so proudly.
" You'll have some tea, won't you? "
They sat opposite each other. Between them the teapot covered
by a cosy.
Beetje still had to grope for a word now and again. In fact, she
did more than grope. She fetched a dictionary, and sometimes there
were long pauses while she looked for the exact expression she
wanted. t
A boat with a large grey sail glided slowly by on the canal.
There was hardly any wind, so she was being punted along, threading
her way through the timber which partially blocked up the
stream.
" You haven't yet been to the Popingas'? "
" I only arrived an hour ago, and so far my time has been devoted
to cattle-breeding."
" Yes. . . . Conrad was a charming man, really very charming.
... He'd been many years at sea, and been to every country. Soon
after he got his master's ticket, he married. It was for his wife's
sake that he gave up the sea and accepted a post in the training-ship.
Rather dull — At first he had a yacht, only Madame Popinga was
frightened of the water, and in the end he sold it. . . . Since then
he's only had a little boat on the canal. . . . Did you see mine as
you came? ... His is practically identical.... In the evening he
used to give private lessons to some of his pupils. He worked very
hard."