Read Online Rigadoon by Louis-ferdinand & Manheim Celine - Free Book Online
Authors: Louis-ferdinand & Manheim Celine
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. Bébert?"
"Right here!"
We get out . . . so does Proseïdon . . . and his flock . . . they help each other down, they give each other their arms . . . where they're going? . . . it's all one to them . . .
"This way, colleague! this way!"
That voice! It's Harras! He's not alone, he's with Kracht° . . . both in full battle dress, chameleon designs . . . enormous boots, potato mashers, Mausers this big! I ask him:
'The Russians?"
"No! . . . but not far!"
"Okay, bring 'em on!"
"No need to! They'll get here on their own!"
Always a cheerful word! and obliging! he tells me he's been expecting us . . . he's had a corner of the waiting room rigged up for the four of us . . . Lili, me, Le Vig, and Proseïdon . . .
"Where are we going?"
"First some rest . . . could you sleep a little?"
"Yes! . . . yes! . . . definitely! . . ."
"And eat?"
"Yes!. . . yes! that too!"
"You'll have fish!"
Our two sentries haven't left the train, they're sitting in our places . . . they must be going to Berlin . . . they've neither eaten nor slept . . . duty! . . . duty! . . . and back again on the same fish train . . . except that things could change and there wouldn't be any train for Warnemünde . . . and no more fishing . . . verboten! . . . Harras knows more than we do . . . it seems the English had sent two big barges to Zoppot . . . to drop buoys? . . . or mines? . . . why not? there was something funny in the air! . . . and how about Oberarzt Haupt? what did he think of him? . . . wasn't he a number? . . . with his testing field? . . . his moribund workers? . . . Harras knew all about it . . .
"Oh, you know, he's doing his best . . . under the circumstances! of course he's demented . . . but in his place?"
The thermometer says 26 . . .
"It's not too cold . . . excellent, the fish train will stay here in the station . . . you'll take it . . . I'll tell you tomorrow . . ."
I wish he'd tell me right now . . . the waiting room . . . we go take a look . . . full of soldiers . . . stretched out . . . sleeping, I guess . . . all German railroad stations are the same, sleeping soldiers . . . some wounded . . . the right-hand corner is all ready for us, four messkits . . . cabbage soup . . . Le Vig and the Greek are done in . . . they don't touch their food, they drop off . . .
"Destouches! . . . Destouches! let me introduce Sister Félicie!"
Sister Félicie seems perfectly calm . . . not downcast at all . . . almost gay . . . young, about thirty . . .
"Ordre de la Sagesse! . . . practicing nurse! . . . the contagious section . . . at La Charité . . . you know, our big hospital! . . . Sister Félicie!"
"Yes! yes, Harras!"
I introduce her to Proseïdon . . . Proseïdon pulls himself out of his straw . . . bows very low . . . and apologizes . . .
"Sister Félicie!"
Harras explains that she's just arrived from Berlin . . . in a tank . . . direct . . . volunteered for the leper hospital . . . she'd taken care of the lepers in Berlin in the isolation ward . . . I see they're old friends, they embrace . . . first time I'd seen them looking cheerful . . . she'd been at La Charité for ten years . . . first a temporary assignment, just for the Catholic patients, and then she'd stayed on . . . they hadn't deported her . . . and she hadn't asked to leave . . . a lot of nuns like that, from all countries, at La Charité . . . even deaconesses . . . too busy to worry about politics . . . since the air raids, what with all the wounded, they'd put Sister Félicie in charge of all the contagious cases . . . and sent all the lepers to her department . . . these ten, maybe fifteen . . . and more were expected . . . seems there were still some in camps . . . the idea of the leper hospital came from the ministry, Conti's brainstorm . . . Sister Félicie was fully equipped, army shoes, musette bag, black bread . . . the lepers wanted her to attend to them right away, change their dressings . . . all right with her, but there weren't any
"Right here!"
We get out . . . so does Proseïdon . . . and his flock . . . they help each other down, they give each other their arms . . . where they're going? . . . it's all one to them . . .
"This way, colleague! this way!"
That voice! It's Harras! He's not alone, he's with Kracht° . . . both in full battle dress, chameleon designs . . . enormous boots, potato mashers, Mausers this big! I ask him:
'The Russians?"
"No! . . . but not far!"
"Okay, bring 'em on!"
"No need to! They'll get here on their own!"
Always a cheerful word! and obliging! he tells me he's been expecting us . . . he's had a corner of the waiting room rigged up for the four of us . . . Lili, me, Le Vig, and Proseïdon . . .
"Where are we going?"
"First some rest . . . could you sleep a little?"
"Yes! . . . yes! . . . definitely! . . ."
"And eat?"
"Yes!. . . yes! that too!"
"You'll have fish!"
Our two sentries haven't left the train, they're sitting in our places . . . they must be going to Berlin . . . they've neither eaten nor slept . . . duty! . . . duty! . . . and back again on the same fish train . . . except that things could change and there wouldn't be any train for Warnemünde . . . and no more fishing . . . verboten! . . . Harras knows more than we do . . . it seems the English had sent two big barges to Zoppot . . . to drop buoys? . . . or mines? . . . why not? there was something funny in the air! . . . and how about Oberarzt Haupt? what did he think of him? . . . wasn't he a number? . . . with his testing field? . . . his moribund workers? . . . Harras knew all about it . . .
"Oh, you know, he's doing his best . . . under the circumstances! of course he's demented . . . but in his place?"
The thermometer says 26 . . .
"It's not too cold . . . excellent, the fish train will stay here in the station . . . you'll take it . . . I'll tell you tomorrow . . ."
I wish he'd tell me right now . . . the waiting room . . . we go take a look . . . full of soldiers . . . stretched out . . . sleeping, I guess . . . all German railroad stations are the same, sleeping soldiers . . . some wounded . . . the right-hand corner is all ready for us, four messkits . . . cabbage soup . . . Le Vig and the Greek are done in . . . they don't touch their food, they drop off . . .
"Destouches! . . . Destouches! let me introduce Sister Félicie!"
Sister Félicie seems perfectly calm . . . not downcast at all . . . almost gay . . . young, about thirty . . .
"Ordre de la Sagesse! . . . practicing nurse! . . . the contagious section . . . at La Charité . . . you know, our big hospital! . . . Sister Félicie!"
"Yes! yes, Harras!"
I introduce her to Proseïdon . . . Proseïdon pulls himself out of his straw . . . bows very low . . . and apologizes . . .
"Sister Félicie!"
Harras explains that she's just arrived from Berlin . . . in a tank . . . direct . . . volunteered for the leper hospital . . . she'd taken care of the lepers in Berlin in the isolation ward . . . I see they're old friends, they embrace . . . first time I'd seen them looking cheerful . . . she'd been at La Charité for ten years . . . first a temporary assignment, just for the Catholic patients, and then she'd stayed on . . . they hadn't deported her . . . and she hadn't asked to leave . . . a lot of nuns like that, from all countries, at La Charité . . . even deaconesses . . . too busy to worry about politics . . . since the air raids, what with all the wounded, they'd put Sister Félicie in charge of all the contagious cases . . . and sent all the lepers to her department . . . these ten, maybe fifteen . . . and more were expected . . . seems there were still some in camps . . . the idea of the leper hospital came from the ministry, Conti's brainstorm . . . Sister Félicie was fully equipped, army shoes, musette bag, black bread . . . the lepers wanted her to attend to them right away, change their dressings . . . all right with her, but there weren't any
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