Angels -- Fiction; French fiction -- Translations into English; French wit and humor -- Translations into English
"So you want to be taken up, do you?" shouted Inspector Grolle, clapping
his great hand on Prince Istar's shoulder.
The Kerûb was indignant at this vile contact, and with one blow from his
formidable fist sent the Inspector flying into the gutter. But Constable
Fesandet was already running to his comrade's aid, and they both fell
upon the Prince, whom they belaboured with mechanic fury, and whom,
notwithstanding his strength and weight, they would perchance have
dragged all bleeding to the police station, had not the Japanese angel
overset them one after the other without effort, and reduced them to
writhing and shrieking in the mud, before Maurice, Arcade, and Zita had
time to intervene. As to the angelic musician, he stood apart trembling,
and invoked the heavens.
At this moment two bakers who were kneading their dough in a
neighbouring cellar ran out at the noise, in their white aprons,
stripped to the waist. With an instinctive feeling for social solidarity
they took the side of the downfallen police. Théophile conceived a just
fear at the sight of them, and fled away; they caught him and were about
to hand him over to the guardians of the peace, when Arcade and Zita
tore him from their hands. The fight continued, unequal and terrible,
between the two angels and the two bakers. Like an athlete of Lysippus
in strength and beauty, Arcade smothered his heavy adversary in his
arms. The beautiful archangel drove her dagger into the baker who had
attacked her. A dark stream of blood flowed down over his hairy chest,
and the two white-capped supporters of the law sank to the ground.
Constable Fesandet had fainted face downwards in the gutter. But
Inspector Grolle, who had got up, blew a blast on his whistle loud
enough to be heard at the neighbouring police-station, and sprang upon
young Maurice, who, having but one arm with which to defend himself,
fired his revolver with his left hand at the inspector, who put his hand
to his heart, staggered, and dropped down. He gave a long sigh, and the
shadows of eternity darkened his eyes.
Meanwhile, windows opened one by one, and heads looked out on the
street. A sound of heavy steps approached. Two policemen on bicycles
debouched upon the street. Thereupon Prince Istar flung a bomb which
shook the ground, put out the gas, shattered some of the houses, and
enveloped the flight of young Maurice and the angels in a dense smoke.
Arcade and Maurice came to the conclusion that the safest thing to do
after this adventure was to return to the little flat in the Rue de
Rome. They would certainly not be sought for immediately and probably
not at all, the bomb thrown by the Kerûb having fortunately wiped out
all witnesses of the affair. They fell asleep towards dawn, and they had
not yet awoke at ten o'clock in the morning when the concierge brought
their tea. While eating his toast and butter and slice of ham, young
d'Esparvieu remarked to the angel:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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