Then there was quite a block around a man who was bent in half,
twisted by paralysis to such a point that he had to be carried on a chair
with his head and feet hanging downward. It seemed as though hours would
be required to clear the platform.
The dismay therefore reached a climax when the station-master suddenly
rushed up shouting: "The Bayonne express is signalled. Make haste! make
haste! You have only three minutes left!"
Father Fourcade, who had remained in the midst of the throng, leaning on
Doctor Bonamy's arm, and gaily encouraging the more stricken of the
sufferers, beckoned to Berthaud and said to him: "Finish taking them out
of the train; you will be able to clear the platform afterwards!"
The advice was very sensible, and in accordance with it they finished
placing the sufferers on the platform. In Madame de Jonquiere's carriage
Marie now alone remained, waiting patiently. M. de Guersaint and Pierre
had at last returned to her, bringing the two pairs of wheels by means of
which the box in which she lay was rolled about. And with Gerard's
assistance Pierre in all haste removed the girl from the train. She was
as light as a poor shivering bird, and it was only the box that gave them
any trouble. However, they soon placed it on the wheels and made the
latter fast, and then Pierre might have rolled Marie away had it not been
for the crowd which hampered him.
"Make haste! make haste!" furiously repeated the station-master.
He himself lent a hand, taking hold of a sick man by the feet in order to
remove him from the compartment more speedily.
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