OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University

THE SAILORS' RENDEZVOUS 325
He didn't permit of the least reply. He got angry merely if a man's
expression didn't please him. He spied on the men as if he was trying
to guess whether any suspicions could have arisen.. . ."
"And you?"
Le Clinche did not reply. He stretched out his arm to reach a
glass of water which stood on the bedside table, and drank greedily.
" You prowled round the cabin more than ever, didn't you?
You wanted to see this woman who'd put the captain in such a
state? ... Was that on the following night? . .."
" Yes ... I met her for a moment. Then the next night... I
had noticed that the key to the radio-room and the captain's cabin
were the same. . .. The captain was on watch. ... I crept in like
a thief. . . ."
" You became her lover? . . ."
The operator's face hardened.
" I swear you won't understand! The whole atmosphere had no
connection whatsoever with everyday realities. That kid . . . And
the whole business of the previous night. . . . And yet, when I
thought of it, it was always the same image that came to my mind:
that of a woman different from all other women, a woman whose
body, whose flesh could so change a man. ..."
" Did she encourage you? "
" She was lying on the bed, half-naked. . . ."
He blushed violently and turned away his head.
" How long did you remain in the cabin? "
" Perhaps two hours ... I don't know. When I came out there
was a buzzing in my ears and the captain was at the door. He said
nothing. ... He watched me go past. I nearly threw myself on
my knees and cried out that it wasn't my fault and begged his forgiveness.
But his face was frozen. I walked off. . . back to my
post.
" I was afraid. ... From then on I kept my revolver loaded in
my pocket, because I was convinced he was going to kill me. ...
" He never spoke a word to me except on matters of routine.
What's more, most of the time he sent me written instructions.. •.
" I wish I could explain it better ... I just can't. Each day was
worse than the last. I had the impression that everyone knew about
the tragedy.
" The chief engineer began haunting the cabin too, and the
captain would spend hours shut up inside.
" The men kept giving us anxious, inquiring looks.... They