The works of Guy de Maupassant, Vol. 5: Une Vie and Other StoriesMaupassant, Guy de
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The works of Guy de Maupassant, Vol. 5: Une Vie and Other Stories
Maupassant, Guy de
French fiction -- Translations into English; Short stories, French -- Translations into English
When she had finished her supper, she went to the window and watched
the crowded street. She would have liked to go out if she had dared, but
she thought she should be sure to lose herself, so she went to bed. But
she had hardly yet got over the bustle of the journey, and that, and the
noise and the sensation of being in a strange place, kept her awake. The
hours passed on, and the noises outside gradually ceased, but still she
could not sleep, for she was accustomed to the sound, peaceful sleep of
the country, which is so different from the semi-repose of a great city.
Here she was conscious of a sort of restlessness all around her; the
murmur of voices reached her ears, and every now and then a board
creaked, a door shut, or a bell rang. She was just dozing off, about two
o'clock in the morning, when a woman suddenly began to scream in a
neighboring room. Jeanne started up in bed, and next she thought she
heard a man laughing. As dawn approached she became more and more
anxious to see Paul, and as soon as it was light, she got up and
dressed.
He lived in the Rue du Sauvage, and she meant to follow Rosalie's advice
about spending as little as possible, and walk there. It was a fine day,
though the wind was keen, and there were a great many people hurrying
along the pavements. Jeanne walked along the street as quickly as she
could. When she reached the other end, she was to turn to the right,
then to the left; then she would come to a square, where she was to ask
again. She could not find the square, and a baker from whom she inquired
the way gave her different directions altogether. She started on again,
missed the way, wandered about, and in trying to follow other
directions, lost herself entirely. She walked on and on, and was just
going to hail a cab when she saw the Seine. Then she decided to walk
along the quays, and in about an hour she reached the dark, dirty lane
called Rue du Sauvage.
When she came to the number she was seeking, she was so excited that she
stood before the door unable to move another step. Poulet was there, in
that house! Her hands and knees trembled violently, and it was some
moments before she could enter and walk along the passage to the
doorkeeper's box.
"Will you go and tell M. Paul de Lamare that an old lady friend of his
mother's, is waiting to see him?" she said, slipping a piece of money
into the man's hand.
"He does not live here now, madame," answered the doorkeeper.
She started.
"Ah! Where--where is he living now?" she gasped.
"I do not know."
She felt stunned, and it was some time before she could speak again.
"When did he leave?" she asked at last, controlling herself by a violent
effort.
The man was quite ready to tell her all he knew.
"About a fortnight ago," he replied. "They just walked out of the house
one evening and didn't come back. They owed all over the neighborhood,
so you may guess they didn't leave any address."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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