XI
Original
Literary translation
§ 11.1
, .
They wandered through the city like two tourists with nothing to do and not a care in the world, at least until lunchtime.
§ 11.2
, , .
It was obvious that from noon onward, perhaps even sooner, new problems would begin to stir in their stomachs.
§ 11.3
, .
For the moment, none of that was an issue yet.
§ 11.4
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Time really is something that has no fixed measure.
§ 11.5
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Three days of breathing space, even three hours, are an eternity to people accustomed to the hardy life of making do, while the comfortably off man living on his investments, having inherited his wealth without lifting a finger, watches in terror for a moment ten years away when a fall in prices might alter his position.
§ 11.6
: , , .
The sign reading “Employment Agency,” glimpsed as they rounded a street corner, did not cause Mr. Planchet so much as a start.
§ 11.7
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And yet he was certain that it meant salvation for them.
§ 11.8
, , .
But he sometimes considered Providence to be at his service, and was not surprised when, properly trained, it appeared at just the right moment to get him out of trouble.
§ 11.9
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The woman who ran the agency seemed, judging by her age and proportions, to belong to the remote age of the mammoths.
§ 11.10
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She must have been placed between that wall and that cutaway table long before she had finished growing, and had no doubt grown there, like those pears that grow inside bottles they could never otherwise have fitted into, given their size and the narrowness of the neck.
§ 11.11
, .
As the newcomers entered, the woman laboriously raised the lighter of her two eyelids.
§ 11.12
, .
An asthmatic rumble made itself heard inside her, as in a half-active volcano.
§ 11.13
, …
Then from her lips came an unexpected little voice, lively and very youthful…
§ 11.14
- ?
What on earth was that little voice doing in a body like that?
§ 11.15
— ?
You won’t believe me?
§ 11.16
, , — , — .
But just now, not ten minutes ago, someone asked me for two people for the same household.
§ 11.17
, , : , - ?
A gentleman, on returning from a trip, threw out an English governess and a valet: he had found them both blind drunk, can you imagine?
§ 11.18
, , .
And at eight o’clock in the morning, the gentleman looked around his wine cellar and found his racks considerably depleted.
§ 11.19
— — .
He worked out, and it was not hard to work out, where his bottles had gone.
§ 11.20
, …
He promptly gave me a call…
§ 11.21
- ?
Do you think the two of you will fit the bill?
§ 11.22
— - ? .
“Wouldn’t these people prefer a chambermaid and a private tutor?” young Planchet was about to say.
§ 11.23
, « » .
But he held his tongue so as not to miss this opportunity.
§ 11.24
, , ; .
Catherine, beginning to grasp what was expected of her, turned a frightened eye toward her companion; but Mr. Planchet looked at her with such authority that he brought her back to unquestioning submission.
§ 11.25
— — , .
Mr. Planchet’s new rule of conduct, at least for the last twenty-four hours, was that one must not argue with Fate, but take it at its word whenever it is in the mood to offer you something.
§ 11.26
, , — — : …
He also wondered, for life kept teaching him new lessons, how another important question would be settled: the matter of references…
§ 11.27
…
It would be wiser to forestall the issue…
§ 11.28
— , - , …
“I must warn you straight away,” he said to Fate’s representative, “that we have no references…”
§ 11.29
— ! ! ?
“Oh! Oh! No references?”
§ 11.30
— …
“Here’s why…”
§ 11.31
, , … …
“This young lady here has always lived with her family… studying for her examinations…”
§ 11.32
…
“It’s the first time she’s sought a position…”
§ 11.33
— , …
“Perhaps that’s all the better,” said the enormous woman…
§ 11.34
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She hasn’t had time to pick up bad habits.
§ 11.35
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But as for the valet, the lack of references is more of a problem…”
§ 11.36
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Mr. Planchet did not for a moment consider naming the firm of Lenormand fils et Normand as a source of references, since they could hardly have praised anything except his skill at organizing snail races.
§ 11.37
, , , …
But he had firmly resolved to lie, and it is astonishing how useful lying can be in life once one has completed a little apprenticeship…
§ 11.38
— … … .
“I served for three years in the household of the marquis… the Marquis de Saint-Nicolas.
§ 11.39
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My master was very pleased with me, and he would have kept me in his service until his death.
§ 11.40
.
But he was appointed consul in South America.
§ 11.41
, …
He promised me a good reference, which he no doubt forgot to send me amid the rush of his departure…
§ 11.42
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I shall certainly receive it any day now.”
§ 11.43
.
The employment agent remained silent for a few moments.
§ 11.44
— , -, …
“If you were a pair of impostors,” she said, “you would probably have perfectly proper references…”
§ 11.45
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“I have encountered that before.”
§ 11.46
, , …
“But, young man, I trust you…”
§ 11.47
, …
It was the first time Mr. Planchet had received such a friendly expression of confidence, and it happened on the very day he had told the first serious lie of his life…