"A Camus - The Stranger" - читать интересную книгу автора (Camus Albert)

Marie came that evening and asked me if IТd marry her. I said I didnТt mind; if she was keen on it, weТd get married.
Then she asked me again if I loved her. I replied, much as before, that her question meant nothing or next to nothingЧbut I supposed I didnТt.
УIf thatТs how you feel,Ф she said, Уwhy marry me?Ф
I explained that it had no importance really, but, if it would give her pleasure, we could get married right away. I pointed out that, anyhow, the suggestion came from her; as for me, IТd merely said, УYes.Ф
Then she remarked that marriage was a serious matter.
To which I answered: УNo.Ф
She kept silent after that, staring at me in a curious way. Then she asked:
УSuppose another girl had asked you to marry herЧI mean, a girl you liked in the same way as you like meЧwould you have said СYesТ to her, too?Ф
УNaturally.Ф
Then she said she wondered if she really loved me or not. I, of course, couldnТt enlighten her as to that. And, after another silence, she murmured something about my being Уa queer fellow.Ф УAnd I daresay thatТs why I love you,Ф she added. УBut maybe thatТs why one day IТll come to hate you.Ф
To which I had nothing to say, so I said nothing.
She thought for a bit, then started smiling and, taking my arm, repeated that she was in earnest; she really wanted to marry me.
УAll right,Ф I answered. УWeТll get married whenever you like.Ф I then mentioned the proposal made by my employer, and Marie said sheТd love to go to Paris.
When I told her IТd lived in Paris for a while, she asked me what it was like.
УA dingy sort of town, to my mind. Masses of pigeons and dark courtyards. And the people have washed-out, white faces.Ф
Then we went for a walk all the way across the town by the main streets. The women were good-lookers, and I asked Marie if she, too, noticed this. She said, УYes,Ф and that she saw what I meant. After that we said nothing for some minutes. However, as I didnТt want her to leave me, I suggested we should dine together at CщlesteТs. SheТd have loved to dine with me, she said, only she was booked up for the evening. We were near my place, and I said, УAu revoir, then.Ф
She looked me in the eyes.
УDonТt you want to know what IТm doing this evening?Ф
I did want to know, but I hadnТt thought of asking her, and I guessed she was making a grievance of it. I must have looked embarrassed, for suddenly she started laughing and bent toward me, pouting her lips for a kiss.
I went by myself to CщlesteТs. When I had just started my dinner an odd-looking little woman came in and asked if she might sit at my table. Of course she might. She had a chubby face like a ripe apple, bright eyes, and moved in a curiously jerky way, as if she were on wires. After taking off her closefitting jacket she sat down and started studying the bill of fare with a sort of rapt attention. Then she called Cщleste and gave her order, very fast but quite distinctly; one didnТt lose a word. While waiting for the hors dТoeuvre she opened her bag, took out a slip of paper and a pencil, and added up the bill in advance. Diving into her bag again, she produced a purse and took from it the exact sum, plus a small tip, and placed it on the cloth in front of her.
Just then the waiter brought the hors dТoeuvre, which she proceeded to wolf down voraciously. While waiting for the next course, she produced another pencil, this time a blue one, from her bag, and the radio magazine for the coming week, and started making ticks against almost all the items of the daily programs. There were a dozen pages in the magazine, and she continued studying them closely throughout the meal. When IТd finished mine she was still ticking off items with the same meticulous attention. Then she rose, put on her jacket again with the same abrupt, robot-like gestures, and walked briskly out of the restaurant.
Having nothing better to do, I followed her for a short distance. Keeping on the curb of the pavement, she walked straight ahead, never swerving or looking back, and it was extraordinary how fast she covered the ground, considering her smallness. In fact, the pace was too much for me, and I soon lost sight of her and turned back homeward. For a moment the Уlittle robotФ (as I thought of her) had much impressed me, but I soon forgot about her.
As I was turning in at my door I ran into old Salamano. I asked him into my room, and he informed me that his dog was definitely lost. HeТd been to the pound to inquire, but it wasnТt there, and the staff told him it had probably been run over. When he asked them whether it was any use inquiring about it at the police station, they said the police had more important things to attend to than keeping records of stray dogs run over in the streets. I suggested he should get another dog, but, reasonably enough, he pointed out that heТd become used to this one, and it wouldnТt be the same thing.
I was seated on my bed, with my legs up, and Salamano on a chair beside the table, facing me, his hands spread on his knees. He had kept on his battered felt hat and was mumbling away behind his draggled yellowish mustache. I found him rather boring, but I had nothing to do and didnТt feel sleepy. So, to keep the conversation going, I asked some questions about his dogЧhow long he had had it and so forth. He told me he had got it soon after his wifeТs death. HeТd married rather late in life. When a young man, he wanted to go on the stage; during his military service heТd often played in the regimental theatricals and acted rather well, so everybody said. However, finally, he had taken a job in the railway, and he didnТt regret it, as now he had a small pension. He and his wife had never hit it off very well, but theyТd got used to each other, and when she died he felt lonely. One of his mates on the railway whose bitch had just had pups had offered him one, and he had taken it, as a companion. HeТd had to feed it from the bottle at first. But, as a dogТs life is shorter than a manТs, theyТd grown old together, so to speak.
УHe was a cantankerous brute,Ф Salamano said. УNow and then we had some proper set-tos, he and I. But he was a good mutt all the same.Ф
I said he looked well bred, and that evidently pleased the old man.
УAh, but you should have seen him before his illness!Ф he said. УHe had a wonderful coat; in fact, that was his best point, really. I tried hard to cure him; every mortal night after he got that skin disease I rubbed an ointment in. But his real trouble was old age, and thereТs no curing that.Ф
Just then I yawned, and the old man said heТd better make a move. I told him he could stay, and that I was sorry about what had happened to his dog. He thanked me, and mentioned that my mother had been very fond of his dog. He referred to her as Уyour poor mother,Ф and was afraid I must be feeling her death terribly. When I said nothing he added hastily and with a rather embarrassed air that some of the people in the street said nasty things about me because IТd sent my mother to the Home. But he, of course, knew better; he knew how devoted to my mother I had always been.
I answeredЧwhy, I still donТt knowЧthat it surprised me to learn IТd produced such a bad impression. As I couldnТt afford to keep her here, it seemed the obvious thing to do, to send her to a home. УIn any case,Ф I added, Уfor years sheТd never had a word to say to me, and I could see she was moping, with no one to talk to.Ф
УYes,Ф he said, Уand at a home one makes friends, anyhow.Ф
He got up, saying it was high time for him to be in bed, and added that life was going to be a bit of a problem for him, under the new conditions. For the first time since IТd known him he held out his hand to meЧrather shyly, I thoughtЧand I could feel the scales on his skin. Just as he was going out of the door, he turned and, smiling a little, said:
УLetТs hope the dogs wonТt bark again tonight. I always think itТs mine I hear. ...Ф

VI
IT was an effort waking up that Sunday morning; Marie had to jog my shoulders and shout my name. As we wanted to get into the water early, we didnТt trouble about breakfast. My head was aching slightly and my first cigarette had a bitter taste. Marie told me I looked like a mourner at a funeral, and I certainly did feel very limp. She was wearing a white dress and had her hair loose. I told her she looked quite ravishing like that, and she laughed happily.
On our way out we banged on RaymondТs door, and he shouted that heТd be with us in a jiffy. We went down to the street and, because of my being rather under the weather and our having kept the blind down in my room, the glare of the morning sun hit me in the eyes like a clenched fist.
Marie, however, was almost dancing with delight, and kept repeating, УWhat a heavenly day!Ф After a few minutes I was feeling better, and noticed that I was hungry. I mentioned this to Marie, but she paid no attention. She was carrying an oilcloth bag in which she had stowed our bathing kit and a towel. Presently we heard Raymond shutting his door. He was wearing blue trousers, a short-sleeved white shirt, and a straw hat. I noticed that his forearms were rather hairy, but the skin was very white beneath. The straw hat made Marie giggle. Personally, I was rather put off by his getup. He seemed in high spirits and was whistling as he came down the stairs. He greeted me with, УHello, old boy!Ф and addressed Marie as УMademoiselle.Ф
On the previous evening we had visited the police station, where I gave evidence for RaymondЧabout the girlТs having been false to him. So they let him off with a warning. They didnТt check my statement.
After some talk on the doorstep we decided to take the bus. The beach was within easy walking distance, but the sooner we got there the better. Just as we were starting for the bus stop, Raymond plucked my sleeve and told me to look across the street. I saw some Arabs lounging against the tobacconistТs window. They were staring at us silently, in the special way these people haveЧas if we were blocks of stone or dead trees. Raymond whispered that the second Arab from the left was Уhis man,Ф and I thought he looked rather worried However, he assured me that all that was ancient history. Marie, who hadnТt followed his remarks, asked, УWhat is it?Ф
I explained that those Arabs across the way had a grudge against Raymond. She insisted on our going at once. Then Raymond laughed, and squared his shoulders. The young lady was quite right, he said. There was no point in hanging about here. Halfway to the bus stop he glanced back over his shoulder and said the Arabs werenТt following. I, too, looked back. They were exactly as before, gazing in the same vague way at the spot where we had been.
When we were in the bus, Raymond, who now seemed quite at ease, kept making jokes to amuse Marie. I could see he was attracted by her, but she had hardly a word for him. Now and again she would catch my eye and smile.
We alighted just outside Algiers. The beach is not far from the bus stop; one has only to cross a patch of highland, a sort of plateau, which overlooks the sea and shelves down steeply to the sands. The ground here was covered with yellowish pebbles and wild lilies that showed snow-white against the blue of the sky, which had already the hard, metallic glint it gets on very hot days. Marie amused herself swishing her bag against the flowers and sending the petals showering in all directions. Then we walked between two rows of little houses with wooden balconies and green or white palings. Some of them were half hidden in clumps of tamarisks; others rose naked from the stony plateau. Before we came to the end of it, the sea was in full view; it lay smooth as a mirror, and in the distance a big headland jutted out over its black reflection. Through the still air came the faint buzz of a motor engine and we saw a fishing boat very far out, gliding almost imperceptibly across the dazzling smoothness.
Marie picked some rock irises. Going down the steep path leading to the sea, we saw some bathers already on the sands.
RaymondТs friend owned a small wooden bungalow at the near end of the beach. Its back rested against the cliffside, while the front stood on piles, which the water was already lapping. Raymond introduced us to his friend, whose name was Masson. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and thick-set; his wife was a plump, cheerful little woman who spoke with a Paris accent.
Masson promptly told us to make ourselves at home. He had gone out fishing, he said, first thing in the morning, and there would be fried fish for lunch. I congratulated him on his little bungalow, and he said he always spent his week ends and holidays here. УWith the missus, needless to say,Ф he added. I glanced at her, and noticed that she and Marie seemed to be getting on well together; laughing and chattering away. For the first time, perhaps, I seriously considered the possibility of my marrying her.
Masson wanted to have a swim at once, but his wife and Raymond were disinclined to move. So only the three of us, Marie, Masson, and myself, went down to the beach. Marie promptly plunged in, but Masson and I waited for a bit. He was rather slow of speech and had, I noticed, a habit of saying Уand whatТs moreФ between his phrasesЧeven when the second added nothing really to the first. Talking of Marie, he said: УSheТs an awfully pretty girl, and whatТs more, charming.Ф
But I soon ceased paying attention to this trick of his; I was basking in the sunlight, which, I noticed, was making me feel much better. The sand was beginning to stoke up underfoot and, though I was eager for a dip, I postponed it for a minute or two more. At last I said to Masson: УShall we go in now?Ф and plunged. Masson walked in gingerly and only began to swim when he was out of his depth. He swam hand over hand and made slow headway, so I left him behind and caught up with Marie. The water was cold and I felt all the better for it. We swam a long way out, Marie and I, side by side, and it was pleasant feeling how our movements matched, hers and mine, and how we were both in the same mood, enjoying every moment.
Once we were out in the open, we lay on our backs and, as I gazed up at the sky, I could feel the sun drawing up the film of salt water on my lips and cheeks. We saw Masson swim back to the beach and slump down on the sand under the sun. In the distance he looked enormous, like a stranded whale. Then Marie proposed that we should swim tandem. She went ahead and I put my arms round her waist, from behind, and while she drew me forward with her arm strokes, I kicked out behind to help us on.
That sound of little splashes had been in my ears for so long that I began to feel IТd had enough of it. So I let go of Marie and swam back at an easy pace, taking long, deep breaths. When I made the beach I stretched myself belly downward beside Masson, resting my face on the sand. I told him Уit was fineФ here, and he agreed. Presently Marie came back. I raised my head to watch her approach. She was glistening with brine and holding her hair back. Then she lay down beside me, and what with the combined warmth of our bodies and the sun, I felt myself dropping off to sleep.
After a while Marie tugged my arm. and said Masson had gone to his place; it must be nearly lunchtime. I rose at once, as I was feeling hungry, but Marie told me I hadnТt kissed her once since the early morning. That was soЧthough IТd wanted to, several times. УLetТs go into the water again,Ф she said, and we ran into the sea and lay flat amongst the ripples for a moment. Then we swam a few strokes, and when we were almost out of our depth she flung her arms round me and hugged me. I felt her legs twining round mine, and my senses tingled.