Translated by Michael Wooff.
a, now he grasped the glass in front of him, knocked back the hot, steaming mixture therein in one long swig and hissed through his teeth: "It's quite true nevertheless. I hate the moon. It's my deadliest enemy and I am eclipsed by it as it is eclipsed itself by that paraffin lamp swinging above us." I waved to the waitress, who understood my wave and put another steaming glass down right under my colleague's nose. "Thank you," said the judge. "And I have you to thank as well for, had I not fallen into the arms of yourself and your umbrella, I really don't know what would have become of me on that shadowless beach." "Colleague," I said, "I am a law-abiding man and have attended to my official duties for many years now to the satisfaction of my official subordinates and the powers that be. I keep my medal for services rendered at home in a filing cabinet and have never knowingly divulged any secret confided in me, scout's honour. Would you take it amiss, colleague, if I asked you to tell me how you came to qua
