Jean-Marie Le Clézio - The Flood

Oradi took to his heels because the bandit was running after him. The bandit threw a stone at him wich landed in the mud and stuck ther, he cort his foot on it and stumbeld and overturnd the cart and Oradi straind both his legs. The captin cort the pirat agen, he came back and saw Oradi lying on the ground. He said to the bandit Im going to take you to north Africa and drown you. He tide him up firmly to a tree and went off to find his fore black frends like Oradi. He said to them, cut me some long bamboos and make too holes in them. Then you must thred twisted stror thro the holes so we can put Oradi on it. — B-but, but, said all the negroes at once, straw, straw, thats going to brake! — If you plat it strong it wont. The fore set to work. They took fore nales, stuck them in the bamboo and threded the stror. They put Oradi on it and lifted him up saying oop-ah, oop-ah. They carid him as far as a rest house and here they put him down on a bed made of iron and wood. He had to stay in bed six days.

Chapter Five Rescue and Sinking

Three days later they ran into the Clafte which was a bote very like the Gland Duke which was there bote, the too botes met near America, the Clafte rose up and fell back so hevily this time that the wave past over her. But not only had the Gland Duke sunk too and the litle rescue botes were bobing about but the Grelon which was a German submarine was sinking the canoes one by one, there were at least twenty of them. This took place at 150. The submarine missd first time and dived back to the bottom to recharge. Then Oradi grabd his chance and tride to jump into the comander’s bote. He misd his footing and fell in the water, luckily he mannagd to hang on to the side of the canoe. The captin pulld him out and brort him back, he took a nale and hamered it thro too compresd air tanks. The Grelon’s bows came at them. Oradi and the captin rode as hard as they coud. He shouted to the comander ahoy there ahoy were going to be sunk by the Grelot! Quick! He ran out the rope lader and said clime up quick! — Yes but get the lader a bit closer, thats right. — The Grelot’s rite into your canoe! — So what let it sink, Oradi and I are out of it. — But dont you think — Dont we think what? — Well um ah — The hell with you were coming up. The comander went away and let go the windlas. — Come back quick the windlas is running out well be drownd in the bottom of the sea. Before the comander coud get back to the side all the rope lader had run out of the windlas. He called the cabin-boy and lots more of the crew to wind it up again, there were at lest eiteen of them counting the captin but seventeen without him.

The captin and Oradi made noises like glug glug, shouting Hel glug slurp, glelp, glug. You coud here the tackle creking and hel glug helslurp noises. The captin said what a row there making, yes shouted all the others at once. Oradi climed up again, phew he said and took sevral deep breths, in out in out phew. The captin and Oradi went back to the Clafte. Whats this sir havnt I got a cabin? — Im sorry no III give you a tent its all Ive got, all the cabins are full including mine. — What about a table and chares? — Im sory there all taken. — In that case what can we do? — You can sleep on a mat and sit on cushons. — Will they be properly stuffd? — Yes with kapok. — But itll all come out! — Not if there properly sone up. — Come on then get this canvas redy and quick about it. — What for? — You mene you dont know? — No I havnt the fogiest. — To make the tent. — And the cushons. — Wate a moment wile I look for them. — Sir! — Yes what is it? — May I take one of these cushons? — Yes take as many as you like. — Eight then? — More if you want. — What I reckon is Ill take eight for them. — Go on then take them. — Here they are. Now if I look in this corner Ill find some more canvas. Too bad if theres scorpions lerking there. Whats this it feels like an armchare when I tuch it its cold, dont bother looking there it isnt anything interesting. Oh but look here whats this underneath when I lift it up, this wite contrap-shun, lets try a bit futher down, all right, why its a super icebox that shoud fix them. Oops, thats got it clere, keep it rite way up its got some bred and wine and a glas inside it. Bang, thud, now weve got it standing on its legs. — Lets sit down said the captin theres sure to be somthing good inside now Ill open it ooh ah its wine just look at this lovely wine.

At midday Oradi went to the ships cook and said in Inglish Im hungri. — Eh whats that? The captin hurrid in and said to the cook dont you understand. — No. — Well in that case you cant understand inglish. — No I dont. — He says hes hungri. — All rite said the cook if your hungri Ill give you a cat. — What, to eat? — Eh, no, just to show frendly. Oradi went off furius.

Saying Goodbye

Oradi said goodbye to his friends and went abord the Triglant. The siren blew and they left, Oradi lowerd a canoe into the sea with himself in it, he made a runing bowline and tied the canoe to the bote. He stade at sea 29 days. And when he got to north Africa he told them all his advenchers.

When he had finished reading, Besson dropped the small yellowing exercise-book back on the table, amid a muddle of papers and old pencil-stubs. Then his gaze lost itself in the soft shadows that filled the room, and he began to dream a whole series of minuscule adventures. Without stirring a muscle, in a mood close to tender compassion, he sat and watched every object rise and move in unison, miraculously freed from their ancient lethargy. The furniture acquired the texture of rubber, or marshmallow, and melted slowly across the floor. Grass sprouted, green and fresh, the walls silently contracted, sheets of paper covered themselves with signs and symbols. Fabrics blossomed in a flash with strange incongruous flowers, their tremulous petals spreading across the material like so many blots. An imperceptible breeze passed through the room, blowing the curtains out horizontally. Everything was floating, in suspension. At peace with himself now, all fear gone, having passed far beyond the roads that lead to life or death, François Besson similarly surrendered himself to the wind, let it bear him up and away. He felt the wings of the elements caress and sustain him. The earth in this moment was no longer viscous, no longer needed to engulf beasts and men. Its voracious belly was full to satiety. A few more hours, a few more years perhaps, and it might be possible to break loose from it like this, easily, without effort or suffering, one jump with feet together — So that day, having conquered the force of gravity, Besson spent a long time as he floated in air observing the reddish surface of the floor, seeing it swim up towards him, swollen and angry as an incoming tide.

Meeting with the redheaded woman — Besson tells her fortune — Brief discussion with a child of four and a half called Lucas — A respectable man — How François Besson and the redheaded woman found themselves lying on the linoleum floor of the kitchen — Another night

ON the sixth day François Besson met the redheaded woman. She was a tall girl, five foot eight or thereabouts, pale-complexioned, and her great brown eyes had dark smudges under them. Her figure, and the absence of lines on her face, suggested an age somewhere between twenty-five and thirty, though she could have been younger — or, indeed, older. She was sitting in the bar where Besson had gone to have a beer, staring into space, doing nothing. When Besson sat down next to her she gave him one quick glance and looked away again. Besson lit a cigarette and began to talk to her. She answered him easily and calmly, just as though they had been sharing a compartment on a train journey. Besson offered her a cigarette: she took it with her left hand, and two silver bracelets jangled together on her arm as she did so. She smoked in an unhurried fashion, occasionally flicking her ash over the edge of the table, since the ashtray (an advertising handout) was stuffed with sugar-lump wrapping-papers. It also contained a long drinking-straw made out of pink plastic, bent into three and bearing traces of lipstick at one end. There was an endless stream of people in and out of the bar, all talking, laughing, downing their drinks. The waiters shouted their orders right across the room—‘One pint of draught beer!’ ‘Two espressos and a plate of ham!’