OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University

306 MAINLY MAIGRET
" Wliat about an operator? "
" They got a kid from school.... A Technical College they call
it "
" Is the second officer back? "
" They've wired him. He'll be here by morning...."
" And the crew? "
" It's always the same thing. They collect anyone hanging round
the port. They'll always do, you know."
" Have they got a cabin-boy? "
The other gave him a sharp look.
" Yes," he said dryly.
" And you're glad to be going? "
No answer. The chief engineer ordered another grog. And L6on
said in an undertone:
" They've just got news of the Pacific, which was due back this
week. It's a ship of the same class as the Ocian. In less than three
weeks it had struck a rock and gone down. The whole crew is lost.
I've got the wife of the second officer up there. She came from
Rouen to meet her husband. She spends her whole time on the
jetty. She knows nothing yet—the Company is awaiting confirmation
before they publish the news. ..."
" A run of ill-luck! " growled the chief engineer, who had heard
what he said.
The Negro yawned and rubbed his eyes, but did not dream of
leaving. The abandoned dominoes made a complicated pattern on
the grey rectangle of the table.
" In short," said Maigret slowly, " nobody knows why the
operator tried to kill himself? "
His words met with an obstinate silence. Did all those men
know? Did they carry even to this point the freemasonry of seafaring
people who don't like to see landsmen interfering in their
affairs? "
" What do I owe you, Julie? "
He rose, paid, and went heavily to the door. Ten pairs of eyes
followed him. He turned, but met only sealed or scornful faces.
Even Leon, in spite of all his goodwill, formed a united front with
his clients.
The tide was out. Of the trawler, only the funnel and the derricks
were to be seen. The trucks had disappeared. The quay was
deserted.
A fishing-boat, its white light balanced on the top of the mast,