578
PARTISAN REVIEW
would find on Pigalle Square the human beings whose presence he
craved. Several times he thought he heard voices, but coming out
on the square it looked moon-whitened and empty. There was no one
but a German soldier hurrying along the pavement. Martin ran a
few steps behind him. Uneasy, the soldier stopped and asked:
"Do you have something to say to me?"
Martin stopped, then stepped off the sidewalk and walked away.
The soldier followed him with his eyes for a moment, muttering:
"Verruckt) der Mann.»
Under the moon, the Place was desperately bare. The railing
of the underground, the pavements, the circle, its fountain gone dry
and its basin empty, were thrown into harsh relief by the cold bril–
liance and the deep shadows. At the center of all the lifeless streets
which radiate from it, the Place seemed to disseminate emptiness and
silence in all directions, without limits. Martin tramped along hope–
lessly, but suddenly, as he neared the mound, he felt certain that
he heard the sound of a voice that seemed to come from Pigalle
Street. He quickened his pace. The street was dark. At the edge of
the shadow he noticed a man in a black overcoat in conversation with
other persons who remained hidden. When he was distant from the
group by a few yards, the unknown men ceased speaking, and two
policemen emerged from the shadow.
"What are you doing here?" asked one of them.
"I'm going home. You see, I was caught by the alert. I was
visiting friends, and was just getting ready to leave.... "
Martin spoke glibly, with the animation, almost gaiety, of a
man just delivered from intolerable strain.
"The alert ended at twelve twenty. It's now two o'clock."
"Sure, I know it. Just let me explain.... "
The man in civilian clothes had not intervened. He was looking
at Martin and drew near to see him more clearly.
"Run him in," he said to the policeman.
Martin protested, and, his sole desire being to pass the night
at the police station, he had the presence of mind to make a display
of insolence. The policemen surrounded him, striking his sides with
thrusts of their elbows which they delivered with a short sharp move–
ment, their fists pressed close to their hips. The group fell into step in
the dark, and descended Pigalle Street. From a night club, all its
