All this, or similar observations, formed the substance of the confused conversations of the crowd.
The captain of the Shealtiel, who had been a pilot, summed up the views of all by exclaiming aloud:—
“No; it is all over. The man does not exist who could go there and rescue the machinery of the Durande.”
“If I don’t go,” said Imbrancam, “it is because nobody could do it.”
The captain of the Shealtiel shook his left hand in the air with that sudden movement which expresses a conviction that a thing is impossible.
“If he existed—” continued the captain.
Déruchette turned her head impulsively, and interrupted.
“I would marry him,” she said, innocently.
There was a pause.
A man made his way out of the crowd, and standing before her, pale and anxious, said: