OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University
OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University
228 MAINLY MAIGRET hard as I could.... He followed, talking all the time. But he couldn't catch up with me, and all I heard was: " ' Beetje! ... Beetje! ... Do listen '" " Is that all? " " When he saw that I'd reached the gate of the farm he turned round. ... I looked back at him and saw him riding off. He seemed to be hunched over his handle-bars. ... I thought he looked miserable." " And you jumped on your bicycle again and rode after him? " " No. I was too angry with him for trying to throw me into Cor's arms. And I could see why. He wanted to be left in peace. . . . It was only when I reached the front door that I noticed that I'd dropped my scarf. I was afraid it might be found by the wood-pile, so I went off to look for it. ... I saw nobody about. But I was surprised, when I finally got home, to find my father was still out. He came back a little later. He was pale and there was an ugly look in his eye. He didn't say good night to me, and I guessed he'd been watching us. He could easily have been hiding in the timber-yard too.. .. " The next day he must have searched my room and found Conrad's letters, for I never saw them again . . . and then—well, you know the rest." " Come along." " Where? " Maigret didn't trouble to answer, and they rode back in silence to the Popingas' house. There was a light in Madame Popinga's window, but there was no sign of her. " Do you really think she did it? " But the inspector was thinking of Popinga. He had retraced his steps, upset by the scene he had come from. Jumping off his bicycle, he had wheeled it round to the back. . .. He was tempted by Beetje, but incapable of taking the plunge. Maigret alighted, saying: " Stay there, Beetje." He wheeled his bicycle along the path which ran down the side of the house. He crossed the yard towards the shed. Jean Duclos's window was lit up, and it was just possible to make out his figure sitting at the little table. Two yards further on was the bathroom window, slightly open, but showing no light. " I don't suppose he was in any hurry to get indoors," thought
A CRIME IN HOLLAND 229 Maigret, his mind going back once more to Popinga. " He bent his head just as I am doing as he wheeled his machine in under the roof/' Was he deliberately dawdling? He seemed to be waiting for something to happen. And, as a matter of fact, something did happen: a little noise above, coming from the bathroom window, a metallic sound, the click of an unloaded revolver. It was immediately followed by a scuffle ... the thud of a body, perhaps two bodies, falling to the flpor. Maigret nipped into the house by the kitchen door, and dashing upstairs switched on the bathroom light. On the floor two men were wrestling. One of them was Pijpekamp, the other Cornelius Barens. As Maigret entered the room the latter went limp, and his hand dropped a revolver. It was the revolver Jean Duclos had been told to replace on the bathroom window-sill, the revolver that had killed Conrad. 11. The Unwanted Solution "FOOL!..." With that one word, Maigret grasped the boy by the collar and literally picked him up from the floor, holding him for a moment as, had he let go sooner, the limp body would merely have sunk down again. Doors were opening, steps approaching. " Everybody in the drawing-room! " roared Maigret. He picked up the revolver too. He did not need to handle it gingerly, as he had himself made arrangements for it to be loaded with dummy cartridges. Pijpekamp was straightening his jacket and flicking the dust off his trousers with the back of his hand. Pointing to Barens, the professor asked: " Was it him? " The young cadet looked more piteous than ever. He didn't look like a criminal at all, but simply like a guilty schoolboy. He looked down, avoiding everybody's eye. He fidgeted, not knowing what to do with his hands. They all went downstairs into the drawing-room. Any came in
- Page 191 and 192: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 177 It was diffi
- Page 193 and 194: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 179 man to belie
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- Page 199 and 200: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 185j of impulsiv
- Page 201 and 202: A CRIME IN HOLLAND I87 we know abou
- Page 203 and 204: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 189 He washed th
- Page 205 and 206: A CRIME IN HOLLAND I91 " At ten o'c
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- Page 209 and 210: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 195 Maigret was
- Page 211 and 212: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 197 " Did he fol
- Page 213 and 214: A CRIME IN HOLLAND I99 8. Beetje an
- Page 215 and 216: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 201 " Do you kno
- Page 217 and 218: A CRIME. IN HOLLAND 203 " I asked i
- Page 219 and 220: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 205 "You brute!"
- Page 221 and 222: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 207 questions. .
- Page 223 and 224: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 209 revolver wre
- Page 225 and 226: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 211 A few hours
- Page 227 and 228: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 213 The professo
- Page 229 and 230: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 215 " You can st
- Page 231 and 232: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 217 the deck, fr
- Page 233 and 234: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 219 " Just a mom
- Page 235 and 236: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 221 10. The Even
- Page 237 and 238: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 223 " She's in b
- Page 239 and 240: A CRIME IN HOLLAND JU5 " Isn't that
- Page 241: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 227 and the prof
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- Page 247 and 248: A CRIME IN HOLLAND 233 very much at
- Page 249 and 250: A CRIME IN HOLLAND *35 " For her pa
- Page 251: THE SAILORS' RENDEZVOUS Translated
- Page 254 and 255: 238 MAINLY MAIGRET " What shall I d
- Page 256 and 257: 240 MAINLY MAIGRET " We've been at
- Page 258 and 259: 242 MAINLY MAIGRET always like this
- Page 260 and 261: 244 MAINLY MAIGRET " Yes; they took
- Page 262 and 263: 246 MAINLY MAIGRET 2. The Yellow Sh
- Page 264 and 265: 248 MAINLY MAIGRET him. He fingered
- Page 266 and 267: 250 MAINLY MAIGRET " I only noticed
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- Page 270 and 271: 354 MAINLY MAIGRET " Never He had h
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- Page 274 and 275: 258 MAINLY MAIGRET as he approached
- Page 276 and 277: 260 MAINLY MAIGRET And Maigret held
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- Page 282 and 283: 266 MAINLY MAIGRET " Bon appetit! "
- Page 284 and 285: 268 MAINLY MAIGRET and fall of a bo
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228 MAINLY MAIGRET<br />
hard as I could.... He followed, talking all the time. But he<br />
couldn't catch up with me, and all I heard was:<br />
" ' Beetje! ... Beetje! ... Do listen '"<br />
" Is that all? "<br />
" When he saw that I'd reached the gate of the farm he turned<br />
round. ... I looked back at him and saw him riding off. He seemed<br />
to be hunched over his handle-bars. ... I thought he looked<br />
miserable."<br />
" And you jumped on your bicycle again and rode after<br />
him? "<br />
" No. I was too angry with him for trying to throw me into<br />
Cor's arms. And I could see why. He wanted to be left in peace. . . .<br />
It was only when I reached the front door that I noticed that I'd<br />
dropped my scarf. I was afraid it might be found by the wood-pile,<br />
so I went off to look for it. ... I saw nobody about. But I was<br />
surprised, when I finally got home, to find my father was still out.<br />
He came back a little later. He was pale and there was an ugly look<br />
in his eye. He didn't say good night to me, and I guessed he'd been<br />
watching us. He could easily have been hiding in the timber-yard<br />
too.. ..<br />
" The next day he must have searched my room and found<br />
Conrad's letters, for I never saw them again . . . and then—well,<br />
you know the rest."<br />
" Come along."<br />
" Where? "<br />
Maigret didn't trouble to answer, and they rode back in silence<br />
to the Popingas' house. There was a light in Madame Popinga's<br />
window, but there was no sign of her.<br />
" Do you really think she did it? "<br />
But the inspector was thinking of Popinga.<br />
He had retraced his steps, upset by the scene he had come from.<br />
Jumping off his bicycle, he had wheeled it round to the back. . ..<br />
He was tempted by Beetje, but incapable of taking the plunge.<br />
Maigret alighted, saying:<br />
" Stay there, Beetje."<br />
He wheeled his bicycle along the path which ran down the side<br />
of the house. He crossed the yard towards the shed.<br />
Jean Duclos's window was lit up, and it was just possible to make<br />
out his figure sitting at the little table. Two yards further on was<br />
the bathroom window, slightly open, but showing no light.<br />
" I don't suppose he was in any hurry to get indoors," thought