OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University

i38 MAINLY MAIGRET
used now, since the Ems canal had been made to join Delfzijl and
Groningen; for the latter was much bigger.
This one, the Amsterdiep, a winding, muddy canal, shaded by
beautiful trees, was hardly used at all except for lumber and by
some of the smaller craft.
Farms scattered here and there. A shipwright's yard . . .
Leaving the Popingas' house for the Liewens's, you would first
of all come to the Wienands's villa, which was only thirty yards
away. Then a house that was being built. Then a large piece of
waste land, and after that the timber-yard with its piles of treetrunks.
Beyond the latter was a bend in the canal, and then came another
empty space. From here you could distinctly see the windows of
the Popingas' house and—a little to the left—the white lighthouse
over on the other side of the town.
Maigret looked up at the lighthouse, then asked: " Does the light
shine this way? "
" Yes, when it comes round. It's a revolving light."
" So at night it lights up this bit of the towing-path? "
" Yes," she said again, with a little laugh, as though reminded
of something which tickled her.
" Given away many a spooning couple, I dare say! " grunted
Maigret.
She left him just before they reached the Popingas' on the pretext
of taking a short cut, but really so as not to be seen with him.
Maigret did not stop. It was a modern brick-built house with a
little garden in front and a vegetable garden behind. A path on the
right-hand side, and on the left a patch of empty ground.
He preferred to go back to the town, which was only five hundred
yards away. Coming to the lock which separated the canal from the
harbour, he stopped. The latter was alive with boats, ranging from
one to three hundred tons, made fast alongside each other.
To the left the Hotel Van Hasselt. He went in.
•
A large dark room with varnished panelling in which floated
a complex smell of beer, schnapps, and floor-polish. A full-sized
billiard-table. A brass-railed table covered by newspapers.
As soon as Maigret entered, a man rose to his feet and came
forward from his corner.