Chapter 21 Chapter 20 Lambert's Application

During the first few days of September Rambert worked very seriously with Rieux, and he only took one day off because he had to meet Gonzales and the two young men at the gate of the National Boys' High School. At noon that day, Gonzales and the reporter saw the two young men coming to the meeting place smiling.They said they had bad luck last time, but that's to be expected.In short, they are not on duty this week, so we have to wait patiently until next week, and then reschedule everything.Rambert said he thought so too.Gonzales suggested meeting again next Monday.This time, however, they will place Rambert with Marcel and Louis.Gonzales said: "Let's meet again. If I'm not there, you go directly to their house. Someone will give you their addresses." But at this time, Marcel and Louis One said that the easiest way would be to take the friend to them at once.If he wasn't fussy, there was enough for four of them.In this way, he will know the address.Gonzales thought it was a good idea, so they headed for the port.

Marcel and Louis live at the end of the naval quarter, near the checkpoint to the cliffs.It was a Spanish-style cottage, with thick walls and painted wood-panelled windows, and a few empty, dark rooms.The mother of the two boys was a smiling, wrinkled Spanish old lady.She serves her guests with rice.Gonzales expressed surprise because there was very little rice in the city.Marcel said: "You can always think of something if you live near the gate of the city." I have another week to stay here. In fact, he had to wait another two weeks, because the guard duty had been changed to every two weeks in order to reduce the number of shifts.During these two weeks, therefore, Rambert worked continuously, almost with his eyes closed, from dawn to night.He always went to bed late at night and slept deeply.The sudden transition from his previous life of idleness to his present exhausting work had almost robbed him of his illusions and energy.He said very little about his imminent escape from the city; only one incident was noteworthy: a week later, he privately told Dr. Rieux that he had been drunk for the first time the night before.As he walked out of the bar, he suddenly felt a severe swelling in his groin and difficulty moving his arms up and down.Now, he thought, he was infected with the plague.His only reaction at the time—a reaction he later agreed with Rieux to be unreasonable—was to run to the heights of the town where, from a narrow spot, a wider sky could be seen, but still There was no sea in sight, and he called his wife's name aloud, his roar echoing over the walls.When he returned home later, he found no signs of infection in himself, so he felt a little embarrassed by his sudden impulse.Rieux said that he understood very well that such a thing would be done under the circumstances. "Either way," he said, "it's likely that people will feel the need to do this under the circumstances."

When Rambert was taking his leave of Rieux, Rieux suddenly added: "Monsieur Othon told me about you this morning. He asked me if I knew you. He said to me: 'Persuade him not to talk to the smugglers. deal. He's got attention.'” "What does he mean by that?" "He meant to tell you to do it quickly." "Thank you," said Rambert, shaking the doctor's hand. He walked to the door and turned around suddenly.For the first time since the plague, Rieux saw Rambert laugh. "Then why don't you prevent me from leaving here? You can do it."

Rieux shook his head habitually and said that this was Rambert's own business. Rambert had made his choice and wanted happiness, so he, Rieux, had no reason to object.In this matter, he felt incapable of judging what was good and what was bad. "In this case, why do you urge me to hurry up?" Now it was Rieux's turn to laugh. "It may be that I want to contribute to happiness myself." The next day, the two of them didn't talk about anything again, just working together as usual.The next week Rambert finally took up residence in the Spanish cottage.The landlord made a bed for him in the shared room.Since the two young men didn't come back for dinner, and he was asked to go out as little as possible, he spent most of his time in the house alone or chatting with the old Spanish lady.The old lady was very thin, but she was quite energetic. She was dressed in black, and under Yu Jing's white hair was a brown face covered with wrinkles.She was quiet, and when she looked at Rambert, only her eyes were smiling.

Sometimes she asked him if he was afraid of infecting his wife with the plague.He thought there was a risk of contagion, but generally very small, but if he stayed in the city they would risk being separated forever. "Is she cute?" the old lady asked with a smile. "so cute." "is it beautiful?" "I think so." "Ah!" she said, "that's why." Rambert pondered for a moment.He thought maybe it was for that reason, but it couldn't be for that alone. The old lady who went to Mass every morning asked, "Don't you believe in a merciful God?"

Rambert confessed that he did not believe it, and the old lady added that he did it for that reason. "You should be with her. You are right. What else do you have to do?" During the rest of his free time, Rambert walked up and down the bare plastered walls, sometimes feeling for decorative fans nailed to the boards, or counting the wool hanging from the edge of a rug. small ball.In the evening, when the boys came back, they couldn't talk a few words, at most they said that they still had no chance today.After dinner, Marcel played the guitar, and everyone drank amaranth, and Rambert looked preoccupied.

On Wednesday, Marcel came back and told him: "You can leave at midnight tomorrow. You are ready." Two other people who were on duty with them, one of them was infected with the plague, and the other because he often stayed with the former. In a room, it has been isolated and observed.For two or three days, therefore, only Marcel and Louis were on duty.That night they will arrange the final details.The next day, it was possible to go.Rambert expressed his thanks.The old lady asked: "Are you happy?" He answered that he was happy, but he was thinking about another thing in his heart.

The next day, the air pressure was very low, and the weather was humid and hot, making it very uncomfortable.The news about the pandemic has been bad.However, the old Spanish lady was calm.She said: "The world is so sinful that it must be!" Like Marcel and Louis, Rambert was shirtless.But despite this, beads of sweat were breaking out from his shoulder blades and chest.In the darkened, shuttered room, their upper bodies looked as if they had been painted with brown paint.Rambert walked up and down in silence.At four o'clock in the afternoon he dressed suddenly and told them he was going out.

Marcel said to him: "Attention, we will start at midnight. Everything is ready." Rambert went to the doctor's house.Rieux's mother told Rambert that he could find her son in the hospital on the heights of the town.In front of the sentry post, there was always such a group of people milling around in place.A sergeant with goldfish eyes yelled, "Come on, the factory crowd has moved, but is still lingering around." The sergeant, whose coat was soaked in sweat, said to the crowd: "There is nothing to wait for." That was everyone's opinion, but they stayed there despite the scorching sun. Rambert showed the sergeant his pass, and the sergeant pointed him to Tarrou's office. The door of the office faced the courtyard. He met Father Paneloux just coming out of his office.

In a dirty white cabin that smelled of medicines and damp bedding, Tarrou sat behind a black wooden desk, rolled up his shirtsleeves, and wiped sweat on the crook of his arm with a handkerchief. "Are you still here?" Tarrou asked. "Yes, I would like to speak to Rieux." "He's in the hall. But if the problem can be solved without him, it's best not to look for him." "why?" "He's too tired. If I can do it myself, I won't go to him." Rambert looked at Tarrou.He was thinner, his eyes were dazzled by fatigue, his face was out of shape, and his broad shoulders slumped.Someone knocked on the door, and a male nurse in a white mask came in. He put a stack of medical records on Tarrou's desk, said "six" through the mask, and walked out. .Tarrou looked at the reporter and fanned out the medical records for Rambert to see.

"That's nice to see, isn't it? Hey, it's not pretty. These are the medical records of a patient who just died last night." He wrinkled his forehead and refolded the cards. "Now the only thing left for us to do is to pay the bill." Tarrou got up, leaned against the table, and said: "Aren't you about to leave?" "In the middle of the night." Tarrou said he was glad to hear the news and told Rambert to take care of himself. "Are you telling the truth?" Tarrou shrugged his shoulders and replied: "At my age, you always speak the truth. Lying is exhausting." "Tarrou," said the reporter, "I want to see the doctor. Excuse me." "I know. He's more human than I am. Let's go." "That's not the case," Rambert said awkwardly.He stopped. Tarrou looked at him and suddenly smiled at him. They walked through a small hallway with walls painted a pale green that reflected light reminiscent of an aquarium.When they were about to walk in front of the two glass doors, they saw the shadows of several people swaying behind the doors, acting strangely.Tarrou let Rambert into a small room surrounded by closets.He opened a closet, took two gauze masks from the sterilizer, handed one to Rambert, and asked him to put it on immediately.When the reporter asked him if this would be of any use, Tarrou replied that it was not of any use, but merely to reassure others. They pushed open the glass door.It was a spacious hall, the windows of which were closed despite the heat.On the upper part of the wall, several air-conditioning devices hummed. The curved blades of the devices stirred the stale and hot air floating above the two rows of gray hospital beds.In all directions in the hall, only a monotonous whining sound could be heard, some people were moaning softly, and some people were yelling loudly.A strong light poured in from the tall windows with iron bars, and several men in white clothes moved slowly under the light.Rambert felt uncomfortably hot in this hall.Rieux was standing bent over a moaning invalid whom Rambert could hardly recognize.The doctor is cutting the patient's groin, and two female nurses are helping to separate the patient's lower limbs on both sides of the bed.When Rieux straightened up again, an assistant handed him a tray, into which he threw the surgical instruments, and then stood motionless for a moment, gazing at the patient being bandaged. As Tarrou approached, Rieux asked: "Any news?" "Paneloo agreed to replace Rambert in the isolation ward. He has already done a lot. All that remains is to reorganize the third investigation team after Lambert is gone." Rieux nodded. Tarrou went on: "Castel has produced the first preparations. He proposes to test them." "Ah! That's very good," said Rieux. "Besides, Rambert is here!" Rieux turned around.When he saw the reporter, his eyes exposed above the big mask narrowed, and he said, "What are you doing here? This is not where you came from." Tarrou said he was leaving at midnight to-day.Rambert added: "In principle it is." Whenever someone among them spoke, someone's gauze mask swelled up and became moist near the mouth, which seemed to make people feel that their conversation was not real, as if it were a statue talking. Rambert said: "I want to talk to you." "We will go out together, if you like. You will wait for me in Tarrou's office." Presently Rambert and Rieux were sitting in the back of the Rieux, Tarrou in front and driving. At the start, Tarrou said: "We're running out of gas. Tomorrow we'll have to walk." "Doctor," said Rambert, "I am not going away, I want to stay with you." Tarrou remained calm and continued driving.Rieux did not seem to have recovered from his fatigue. He asked in a low voice, "And what about her?" Rambert said that he had thought it over and that, although he had not changed his mind, he would be ashamed if he went away, and it would affect his love for the one who remained outside.But Rieux pulled himself together and said in a strong voice that it was stupid, and that there was nothing shameful in choosing happiness. Rambert said: "Yes, but it would be a shame to think only of one's own happiness." Tarrou, who had been silent until now, said without looking back that if Rambert wanted to share in other people's misfortunes, he would no longer have time for his own happiness.This is a choice. Rambert said: "That's not the problem. I always thought I was a stranger and I had nothing to do with you. But now that I've seen what I've seen, I understand that, whether I like it or not, I'm a people. It concerns us all." No one answered him, and Rambert seemed unable to bear it. "Besides, you all understand this very well, otherwise, what are you doing in this hospital? Have you made your own choices? Have you also given up your happiness?" Still neither Tarrou nor Rieux answered.There was a long silence, and it was not until the car approached the doctor's house that Rambert repeated his last question, more firmly.Then Rieux turned to look at Rambert by himself, straightened up with difficulty and said: "Forgive me, Rambert, I don't understand what you're talking about. If you want to, come with us." Leave." The car suddenly veered sideways, interrupting his words.Then he stared straight ahead, and continued: "There is nothing in the world that is worth giving up what you love. Yet, for some reason, I myself gave up what I loved, just like you." He let himself fall back on the cushions again. "It's just a fait accompli," he said wearily. "Let's write it down and live with the consequences." "What consequences?" Rambert asked. "Ah!" said Rieux, "we can't know the result while we are still treating people. Let us treat the patients as soon as possible! This is the top priority." While Tarrou and Rieux were drawing Rambert's map of the district he was in charge of investigating, Tarrou looked at his watch: it was already midnight.Tarrou looked up, and his eyes just met Rambert's. "Have you notified them?" The reporter avoided his gaze and said with difficulty: "Before I came to see you, I wrote a note to be delivered."