OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University
OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University
308 MAINLY MAIGRET 9. Two Men on the Bridge THERE was a tinny note from the direction of the cliff: the clock of the Benedictine abbey striking one. Maigret walked towards the Hotel de la Plage, his hands behind his back, but, as he got nearer, his steps became slower and finally stopped altogether, right in the middle of the quay. Before him was the hotel, his room, his bed, everything that was peaceful and reassuring. Behind ... He turned. He looked back at the funnel of the trawler from which smoke was coming gently, for die furnaces had been lit. Fecamp was asleep. There was a great pool of moonlight in the middle of the dock. A breeze had arisen from the water, almost icy, like the breath of the sea. Maigret turned, heavily, regretfully. He again strode over the hawsers coiled round the bollards and found himself at the edge of the quay with his eyes fixed on the Ocian. His eyes were narrowed, his mouth threatening, his fists in the depths of his pockets. This was the solitary, discontented Maigret, sunk within himself, doggedly persistent, caring nothing for ridicule. The tide was low. The deck of the trawler far below the level of the dock. But a plank had been thrown from the quay to the bridge. A thin, narrow plank. The sound of the surf was becoming more distinct. The tide must have turned, and die foamy water was gradually encroaching on the beach. Maigret went on to the plank, which curved in the middle under his weight. His steps grated on the iron bridge. But he did not go any farther. He let himself down on the quarter-deck opposite the steering-wheel, where Captain Fallut's huge sea-mittens dangled from the compass. In the same way dogs ensconce themselves, surly and obstinate, in a place where they have smelt out something. The letter from Jorissen, his liking for Le Clinche, Marie Leonnec's importunity, were no longer his concern. This was a purely personal matter. Maigret had reconstructed for himself the figure of Captain Fallut. He had made the acquaintance of the operator, of Adele and the cliief engineer. He had done his best to get the feel of the general life on board the trawler.
THE SAILORS' RENDEZVOUS 309 And yet this wasn't enough, something eluded him, he had the impression that he understood everything but the very essence of the drama. Fecamp was asleep. On board, the sailors were in their bunks. The inspector rested his full weight on the quarter-deck, his back rounded, his knees slightly apart, his elbows on his knees. And here and there his glance collected some detail: the gloves, for instance, huge, shapeless, worn by Fallut only when he was on watch, and left there by him.... By turning half round he could see the poop. In front of him he could see the whole bridge, the fo'c's'le and, quite near, the radio-room. The water slapped the sides of the ship, which was imperceptibly getting up steam. And now that the furnaces were lit and the boilers filled with water, the ship seemed much more alive than on the previous days. Was P'tit Louis sleeping down below beside heaps of coal? On the right was a lighthouse. At the end of one jetty was a green light: a red one at the end of the odier. The sea was a great black hole which gave out a strong smell. It wasn't exactly an effort of thought that Maigret was making, but slowly and ponderously he took everything in, trying to feel the setting, to bring it to life. And gradually he worked himself into a sort of feverish condition. "It was on such a night as this—colder, because spring had scarcely begun. . . . " The trawler was in the same place, a thread of smoke coming from the funnel, a few men sleeping below. " Pierre Le Clinche at Quimper had dined with his fiancee in the family circle. Marie Leonnec had probably seen him to the door to give him a kiss. " Then he had sped through the night in a third-class compartment. He would be back in three mondis. He would see her again. .. . Then another trip, and in winter, round about Christmas, they would get married. . . . " He didn't sleep. His kitbag was up on the rack.... In it were the provisions his mother had prepared. . .. " At the same time Captain Fallut was coming out of the little house in the Rue d'Etretat where Madame Bernard was sleeping. " He was probably very nervous and worried, tortured in advance by remorse. Wasn't there a tacit understanding that some day he would marry his landlady?
- Page 274 and 275: 258 MAINLY MAIGRET as he approached
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THE SAILORS' RENDEZV<strong>OU</strong>S 309<br />
And yet this wasn't enough, something eluded him, he had the<br />
impression that he understood everything but the very essence of<br />
the drama.<br />
Fecamp was asleep. On board, the sailors were in their bunks.<br />
The inspector rested his full weight on the quarter-deck, his back<br />
rounded, his knees slightly apart, his elbows on his knees.<br />
And here and there his glance collected some detail: the gloves,<br />
for instance, huge, shapeless, worn by Fallut only when he was on<br />
watch, and left there by him.... By turning half round he could<br />
see the poop. In front of him he could see the whole bridge, the<br />
fo'c's'le and, quite near, the radio-room.<br />
The water slapped the sides of the ship, which was imperceptibly<br />
getting up steam. And now that the furnaces were lit and the boilers<br />
filled with water, the ship seemed much more alive than on the<br />
previous days.<br />
Was P'tit Louis sleeping down below beside heaps of coal?<br />
On the right was a lighthouse. At the end of one jetty was a green<br />
light: a red one at the end of the odier. The sea was a great black<br />
hole which gave out a strong smell.<br />
It wasn't exactly an effort of thought that Maigret was making,<br />
but slowly and ponderously he took everything in, trying to feel<br />
the setting, to bring it to life. And gradually he worked himself<br />
into a sort of feverish condition.<br />
"It was on such a night as this—colder, because spring had<br />
scarcely begun. . . .<br />
" The trawler was in the same place, a thread of smoke coming<br />
from the funnel, a few men sleeping below.<br />
" Pierre Le Clinche at Quimper had dined with his fiancee in<br />
the family circle. Marie Leonnec had probably seen him to the door<br />
to give him a kiss.<br />
" Then he had sped through the night in a third-class compartment.<br />
He would be back in three mondis. He would see her again.<br />
.. . Then another trip, and in winter, round about Christmas, they<br />
would get married. . . .<br />
" He didn't sleep. His kitbag was up on the rack.... In it were<br />
the provisions his mother had prepared. . ..<br />
" At the same time Captain Fallut was coming out of the little<br />
house in the Rue d'Etretat where Madame Bernard was sleeping.<br />
" He was probably very nervous and worried, tortured in<br />
advance by remorse. Wasn't there a tacit understanding that some<br />
day he would marry his landlady?