United States or France ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Now the Surveillant returned and made a speech, to the effect that he had received independently of each other the stories of four men, that by all counts le negre was absolutely to blame, that le negre had caused an inexcusable trouble to the authorities and to his fellow-prisoners by this wholly unjustified conflict, and that as a punishment the negre would now suffer the consequences of his guilt in the cabinot.
A planton, I was also told, made it his business, by keeping les femmes out of this corner of their cour at the point of the bayonet to deprive them of the sight of their admirers. In addition, it was dry bread or cabinot for any of either sex who were caught communicating with each other.
Finally I interrupted my speaker to ask what on earth was the matter in the cabinot? "C'est la femme allemande qui s'appelle Lily," Afrique briefly answered. A little later BANG went the cabinot door, and ROAR went the familiar coarse voice of the Directeur. "It disturbs him, the noise," Afrique said. The cabinot door slammed. There was silence. Heavily steps ascended.
Twice the door SLAMMED open, and Monsieur le Directeur bounced out, frothing at the mouth and threatening everyone with infinite cabinot, on the ground that everyone's deportment or lack of it was menacing the aplomb of the commissioners.
They took the lacings out of his shoes for fear he would use them to strangle himself. They stood him up in an angle between two walls in the cabinot. They left him there for an hour. He was supposed to have been in there all night; but the Surveillant knew that he would have died, for he was almost naked, and vous savez, Monsieur Jean, it was cold in there. And damp.
"That Pompom, the little Belgian feller was just here, he's a great one for the girls. He and Harree. Always getting cabinot. I got it twice myself since I been here." All this time the enormous room was filling gradually with dirty light. In the further end six figures were brooming furiously, yelling to each other in the dust like demons.
Satisfied, he went on; his good hand grasping the pipe between its index and second fingers and resting on one little knee, his legs crossed, his small body hunched forward, wee unshaven face close to mine went on in the confidential tone of one who relates an unbelievable miracle to a couple of intimate friends: "Monsieur Jean, I followed. They got him to the cabinot. The door stood open.
B. knew all about them from Harree and Pompom, who spent nearly all their time in the cabinot. They were rooms about nine feet square and six feet high. The occupant on entering was searched for tobacco, deprived of his or her mattress and blanket, and invited to sleep on the ground on some planks.
Word Of The Day