The Eight Strokes of the Clock Maurice Leblanc (android e book reader .txt) đ
- Author: Maurice Leblanc
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They reached the esplanade in front of the Hauville chalets, with the capstans by which the fishermen haul up their boats to the beach. A number of inquisitive persons were standing outside the door of one of the chalets. Two coastguards, posted at the door, prevented them from entering.
The mayor shouldered his way eagerly through the crowd. He was back from the post-office, where he had been telephoning to Le Havre, to the office of the procurator-general, and had been told that the public prosecutor and an examining-magistrate would come on to Ătretat in the course of the afternoon.
âThat leaves us plenty of time for lunch,â said RĂ©nine. âThe tragedy will not be enacted before two or three oâclock. And I have an idea that it will be sensational.â
They hurried nevertheless. Hortense, overwrought by fatigue and her desire to know what was happening, continually questioned RĂ©nine, who replied evasively, with his eyes turned to the esplanade, which they could see through the windows of the coffee-room.
âAre you watching for those two?â asked Hortense.
âYes, the brother and sister.â
âAre you sure that they will venture?â ââ âŠâ
âLook out! Here they come!â
He went out quickly.
Where the main street opened on the seafront, a lady and gentleman were advancing with hesitating steps, as though unfamiliar with the place. The brother was a puny little man, with a sallow complexion. He was wearing a motoring-cap. The sister too was short, but rather stout, and was wrapped in a large cloak. She struck them as a woman of a certain age, but still good-looking under the thin veil that covered her face.
They saw the groups of bystanders and drew nearer. Their gait betrayed uneasiness and hesitation.
The sister asked a question of a seaman. At the first words of his answer, which no doubt conveyed the news of dâOrmevalâs death, she uttered a cry and tried to force her way through the crowd. The brother, learning in his turn what had happened, made great play with his elbows and shouted to the coastguards:
âIâm a friend of dâOrmevalâs!â ââ ⊠Hereâs my card! FrĂ©dĂ©ric Astaing.â ââ ⊠My sister, Germaine Astaing, knows Madame dâOrmeval intimately!â ââ ⊠They were expecting us.â ââ ⊠We had an appointment!â ââ âŠâ
They were allowed to pass. RĂ©nine, who had slipped behind them, followed them in without a word, accompanied by Hortense.
The dâOrmevals had four bedrooms and a sitting-room on the second floor. The sister rushed into one of the rooms and threw herself on her knees beside the bed on which the corpse lay stretched. ThĂ©rĂšse dâOrmeval was in the sitting-room and was sobbing in the midst of a small company of silent persons. The brother sat down beside her, eagerly seized her hands and said, in a trembling voice:
âMy poor friend!â ââ ⊠My poor friend!â ââ âŠâ
RĂ©nine and Hortense gazed at the pair of them: and Hortense whispered:
âAnd sheâs supposed to have killed him for that? Impossible!â
âNevertheless,â observed RĂ©nine, âthey are acquaintances; and we know that Astaing and his sister were also acquainted with a third person who was their accomplice. So that.â ââ âŠâ
âItâs impossible!â Hortense repeated.
And, in spite of all presumption, she felt so much attracted by ThĂ©rĂšse that, when FrĂ©dĂ©ric Astaing stood up, she proceeded straightway to sit down beside her and consoled her in a gentle voice. The unhappy womanâs tears distressed her profoundly.
RĂ©nine, on the other hand, applied himself from the outset to watching the brother and sister, as though this were the only thing that mattered, and did not take his eyes off FrĂ©dĂ©ric Astaing, who, with an air of indifference, began to make a minute inspection of the premises, examining the sitting-room, going into all the bedrooms, mingling with the various groups of persons present and asking questions about the manner in which the murder had been committed. Twice his sister came up and spoke to him. Then he went back to Madame dâOrmeval and again sat down beside her, full of earnest sympathy. Lastly, in the lobby, he had a long conversation with his sister, after which they parted, like people who have come to a perfect understanding. FrĂ©dĂ©ric then left. These manoeuvers had lasted quite thirty or forty minutes.
It was at this moment that the motorcar containing the examining-magistrate and the public prosecutor pulled up outside the chalets. RĂ©nine, who did not expect them until later, said to Hortense:
âWe must be quick. On no account leave Madame dâOrmeval.â
Word was sent up to the persons whose evidence might be of any service that they were to go to the beach, where the magistrate was beginning a preliminary investigation. He would call on Madame dâOrmeval afterwards. Accordingly, all who were present left the chalet. No one remained behind except the two guards and Germaine Astaing.
Germaine knelt down for the last time beside the dead man and, bending low, with her face in her hands, prayed for a long time. Then she rose and was opening the door on the landing, when RĂ©nine came forward:
âI should like a few words with you, madame.â
She seemed surprised and replied:
âWhat is it, monsieur? I am listening.â
âNot here.â
âWhere then, monsieur?â
âNext door, in the sitting-room.â
âNo,â she said, sharply.
âWhy not? Though you did not even shake hands with her, I presume that Madame dâOrmeval is your friend?â
He gave her no time to reflect, drew her into the next room, closed the door and, at once pouncing upon Madame dâOrmeval, who was trying to go out and return to her own room, said:
âNo, madame, listen, I implore you. Madame Astaingâs presence need not drive you away. We have very serious matters to discuss, without losing a minute.â
The two women, standing face to face, were looking at each other with the same expression of implacable hatred, in which might be read the same confusion of spirit and
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