OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University

144 MAINLY MAIGRET
though an idea had just struck him, went to the other end of the
room, and returned with a sailor's cap that looked as though it had
weathered more storms than one. Then, speaking with exaggerated
solemnity, he said:
" We've found out who is the owner of this cap. It's the one that
was found in the bath. It belongs to ... to a man we call the Baes.
. .. That means something like the boss...."
Was Maigret even listening?
" We haven't arrested him, as we thought it better to watch his
mfrvements. Besides, he's very popular in the district. ... Do you
know the mouth of the Ems?... Approaching from the North
Sea you come to some litde sandy islands, which are almost completely
submerged by equinoctial tides. They are about seven miles
from here. . . . One of them's called Workum, and it's on this
island that the Baes lives. He has his family there and some men
who work for him. He's taken it into his head to use the place for
cattle-breeding.... He also gets a small income from the Government
for running the lighthouse there. He's even been made Mayor
of Workum, of which he and his people are the only inhabitants.
... He has a motor-boat in which he runs over to Delfzijl...."
If Maigret was interested, he certainly didn't betray it.
" He's a queer fish—a man of about sixty, hard as nails. And his
three sons are each of them as big a brigand as their father. .. .
You see . .. Well, it's like this though we don't say much about
it, as we have to turn a blind eye to it. . .. The ships that come here,
as I dare say you know, are mostly carrying timber from Riga or
Finland. And some of the cargo is stowed on deck. And the skippers
have orders, if they run into bad weather, to throw some of their
deck cargo overboard, so as not to risk the ship. . . . Do you
understand what I'm driving at? "
Perhaps Maigret did, perhaps he didn't.
" He's a cunning fellow, the Baes. He knows the captains of all
the ships that call here, and he can wangle anything with them.
They can generally find a pretext to jettison some of their cargo,
and the next tide washes it up on the Workum sands. The Baes
goes fifty-fifty with the skippers.. .. And that's his cap that was
found in the bath. . . . There's only one thing that doesn't quite
fit. He's a pipe-smoker. Never smokes anything else. . .. Though,
of course, there might have been somebody with him. ..."
"Is that all?"
" Monsieur Popinga, who has friends all over the place—or