Чума
Part V
TheystarteddownastreetthattookthemroundthebackoftheblockofhousesoppositethebuildinginwhichGrandlived.Amomentlater,therewasakindofdisturbanceinthedoorwaysofthesehouses,whichonefeltratherthansaw.Thentheywaited.Thedogwasnotmoving,butwasnowlyinginadarkpool.
Suddenly,fromthewindowsofthehousesoccupiedbythegendarmes,therewasaburstofsub-machine-gunfire.Whilethefiringwasgoingontheshutter,whichwasstillthetarget,literallyfelltopiecesandrevealedablacksurfaceonwhichfromwheretheywerestandingRieuxandGrandcouldmakenothingout.Whenthefiringstopped,anothersub-machine-gunopenedupfromadifferentangle,inahousefurtheraway.Theshotsweresurelygoingintothewindow,sinceoneroundstruckoffasplinterofbrick.Atthesamemomentthreegendarmesranacrosstheroadanddisappearedintothefrontdoor.Almostimmediatelythreeothersfollowedthemandtheautomaticfirestopped.Anotherwait.Twodistantexplosionsrangoutinsidethebuilding.Thentherewasagrowingnoiseandoutofthehouse,carriedratherthandraggedalong,theysawalittlemaninshirtsleeves,givingoutacontinuouswail.Asthoughmiraculously,alltheclosedshuttersinthestreetopenedandthewindowsfilledwithcuriousonlookers,whileastreamofpeoplecameoutofthehousesandcrowdedbehindthebarriers.Foramomenttheycouldseethelittlemaninthemiddleoftheroad,hisfeetatlasttouchingthegroundandhisarmspinnedbackbythegendarmes.
