crafts; nothing but the best must leave his bench, and
the best could not be achieved in a hurry according
to him, so he took his own time. And meanwhile,
of course, you just had to wait, which frequently
made you feel rather impatient. All the same, many
people employed Benedit, nearly everyone did, he
was quite a tradition. Moreover it seemed foolish
to get into a train and go to Marseille — train
journeys cost money.
'But this Jouse, has he no apprentice?5 asked the
stranger.
'Well, yes, but the poor Anfos is half-witted. He
is willing, but he needs to be treated like a child;
he - cannot do much without Jouse3 s supervision.5
'Then,' said Anatole Kahn, 'it comes to this: if
I wish to obtain . . . now let me see ... say a
drawing room suite upholstered in satin, or a nice
little ornamental clock, or rugs, or pictures, or perhaps
a brass bedstead I must trouble myself to go to
Marseille.5
'Yes, Monsieur.5
'Ah,5 he murmured, 'that seems a real pity.3
He remained for more than a week in Saint Loup,
staying at the small hotel near the station. And
during this time he was joined by three friends who
were thought to be business men of some kind;
and who, judging by the labels on their trunks, came
from Paris. Where he himself came from no one
could guess, since his luggage consisted of a solitary
hand-bag.
But on the whole they aroused little interest, these
strangers, for the weather was unusually oppressive.
A vast indolence had taken hold on Saint Loup so
that even the bells of the church sounded drowsy,
while as for the Cure, he was finding it hard not to
doze as he sat in his airless box hearing those dreary
and monotonous confessions.
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