"# They go away for a very long time, # in the mist or in the wind." "# Like the clouds, # they're going on a journey, # the sailors leave the port." "# I think that the sailors go away, # to listen to the song, # of the mermaid with long hair, # and I think that she sang for them." "Sébastien, you've known him for a long time, I've told you all about his life." "You'll recall he was born in the mountains, his mother died bringing him into the world, and it was an old shepherd who raised him, César." "You'll also remember his friendship with Belle, that big white dog that he'd never leave." "And then, when Sébastien was 9 years old," "I told you of his meeting with his father, a father he'd never known," "Pierre Maréchal, a race horse trainer." "Everything's fine now." "Pierre and Sylvia's marriage is very happy." "Everything is going so well that Sébastien didn't appreciate at all, the invitation of an unknown great-uncle, a certain Louis Maréchal, an invitation that forced him to leave Jonquières in the middle of the holidays." "In short, happy or not, Sébastien is on his the way there." "We've arrived." "Really?" "Thank you, sir." "Don't mention it." "Do you often travel alone?" "No, this is the first time." "But is someone waiting for you at the station?" "I think so." "I mean, I'm sure." "It's written in the letter from my great-uncle." "Then everything's fine, have a good holiday." "This isn't a holiday, it's a visit." "It doesn't seem to give you much pleasure this visit." "Enjoy your stay all the same." "You'll see, the country is beautiful." "Take it from me, I was born here, and still live here." "Tell me, sir... since you live here, do you know him perhaps?" "Who?" "Captain Maréchal." "Louis Maréchal, the shipowner?" "That's it." "Oh, I know him well, I'm treating him, at least, when he allows me to." "I didn't know he had a nephew." "And I didn't even know I had an uncle, I've never seen him." "Ah, yes, wait, I remember, you're Pierre Maréchal's son." "Yes, my name's Sébastien." "And I'm Grégoire Savel." "I'm a doctor." "I've known your great-uncle since childhood." "My mother knew your father's mother, you see... it's very distant but we're almost of the same family." "Well, give my regards to the Captain, and then... that I'll drop by one of these days to Morsan." "Is he sick?" "An attack of gout." "Yes, but it's painful." "I don't think that it's him who'll come to get you, it'll probably be..." "Clarisse or Jonathan, but with the cart." "A cart?" "He hasn't a car, my great uncle?" "No." "But I don't know how to drive, or Jonathan either." "Giddy up, Tiarko." "Is he very old?" "Oh, yes, poor Tiarko." "Come on, gee up!" "I meant the Captain." "Oh." "he's hardly changed in 25 years." "He handles his business or he's at sea when his knee isn't hurting too bad." "Is your name Clarisse?" "Yes." "Can I drive?" "Here." "Mind you don't take us in the ditch." "Not likely!" "Come on, Tiarko!" "Come on, let's go!" "Faster, Tiarko!" "Go on!" "My father told me that he's known all the seas of the world." "The Captain?" "Yes, and almost all the countries." "There are days when we wonder if he doesn't know hell." "Why does he want to see me?" "That, only he knows." "In my opinion, your father would have done better not to let you come." "That's what I told him." "He's not a bad man, your great-uncle." "Not as bad as people say." "The trouble comes from elsewhere." "What trouble?" "The old days." "The tragedy." "Come on, Tiarko, let's go!" "Come on!" "It's the soul of Joseph Théphanie that worries him." "What soul, and who's Joseph Théphanie?" "All horses are afraid of the cliffs, the wind upsets them, especially when there's a storm." "Those who are betrayed, wander endlessly after their death." "Is the house much further?" "No, very close." "Well, that's what's up with your horse, he smells the stable." "Come on." "As for Joseph Théphanie and his soul..." "This is where he died." "The cross that you see, it was his good-for-nothing son who put it there when he was barely 13 years old." "Why "good-for-nothing"?" "It's normal that he's planted a cross, if this is where his father died." "The devil take them, both of them." "Come on there!" "Giddy up!" "Come on, bed, bed." "Hello, my boy." "Hello, sir." "Call me Jonathan like everyone else." "We're glad to see you at Morsan, you know." "There's horses here?" "Yes, there's one in the meadow there, he's a fiery one." "But..." "Hey!" "He's a fiery one too." "Well..." "He's the devil, that beast there, no way to put him into the shafts." "Do you want to harness him?" "What else is a horse for, if not to pull something?" "I'll show you what use he is." "Hey there!" "The Captain first, and the horse after." "You're not very talkative, my boy." "Nor hungry either." "Does it taste bad?" "Oh no, not at all." "On the contrary, it's very good." "Not a reason to choke youself." "What were you told about me?" "Nothing." "That little." "No thank you." "Take some fruit." "No thank you." "I guess that crazy Clarisse has filled your head with silly stories." "Is she crazy?" "You have a good head, the head of a chap who has his heart in his boots, but... a good head." "How old are you exactly?" "Twelve." "Get down, Roxane!" "He doesn't bother me, I love dogs." "You too?" "It's Jonathan who likes them." "That one is his." "A dog belongs to nobody, it likes you or it doesn't like you, that's all." "Come over here a moment." "It's true what I told you." "Is it important that a dog likes you or doesn't like you?" "Yes." "How do you like Morsan?" "It's beautiful... it's large... but it isn't cheerful!" "Really?" "This may be because of the storm." "Yes, probably." "Your father must have been surprised when he received a letter from me?" "Oh yeah!" "And me especially!" "I didn't even know you existed." "Pierre never talks about his uncle?" "No." "He told me that... he'd only seen you twice in his life, so that's not much to talk about someone." "He told me that if I wanted details, I had only to ask you for them." "And with that, he sent you." "As you say." "He just told me that you did great things during the war," "I don't even know which war." "And then..." "And then... that I was responsible for the death of my wife and my son?" "Oh no, he didn't tell me that." "He just told me they were dead, that's all." "Except, on arriving in Paris to change trains." "I met M. Biard on the platform, you know, the lawyer." "He told me that it was better not to speak about it, so, I apologize for having spoken about it." "That's it." "You feel sorry for the old crocodile." "According to M. Biard, you would be rather a bear than a crocodile." "Really?" "Oh, he said it very nicely." "I'll be sure to thank him when I see him." "You know a bear is much better than a crocodile." "If I were you, I would talk about something else." "Give me my stick, will you?" "Shall I serve coffee in the lounge?" "No, here, next door." "You are strong it seems." "I do riding and judo." "If you want you can lean on me, it's okay." "Is this heavy?" "No, it's nothing, go right ahead." "Pehaps the child should go to bed after his long journey." "No, I still have a couple of words to say to him." "He might sleep better." "Hey, give me my pipe there." "So your father threw you into the bears paws?" "Under what pretext?" "I don't know." "A mystery." "Ah." "Listen a while." "The first time I went to sea, I was 14." "and since that time, the Maréchal's no longer mattered to me, than if they'd never existed." "I had no further interest for them." "I've received heaps of invitations to weddings, and funerals," "I've never responded." "One surprised me: the one where your father informed me at the same time, of your existence and his marriage, with a certain..." "Sylvia." "Yes." "Is she nice?" "Very nice." "So much the better." "I had no reason to respond to your father, any more than the others." "At that point , I met the lawyer, the famous M. Biard, the one who does me the kindness to call me a bear." "And he told me about you." "What he said, interested me." "If I like you, I'm willing to leave you... everything that I own." "Is that the reason you sent for me?" "Yes, this is my way to reconnect with my family." "Did my father know that it was for that?" "He must have suspected it." "Surely not." "It's not his style to think such things." "So much the better." "You always say "So much the better", but that doesn't help matters!" "In short, this is about an inheritance." "As you say." "It's disgusting." "No more than anything else." "And if you don't like me?" "I'll send you back where you came from." "Then I can leave now." "You could?" "I'm free?" "Yes." "Right, I'm going." "Hey!" "And if man to man, I ask you to stay?" "Well... we can always give it a try." "It may be fine tomorrow." "The wind has shifted." "Isn't there any electricity at Morsan?" "Yes, but there are often power failures, the stormy nights." "Wires that are touching." "It doesn't last very long." "I haven't touched your suitcase." "I thought you'd prefer to put your things away yourself." "Can I call you Clarisse?" ""Can I call you Clarisse?"" "That's what Gilles said to me the first time I saw him." "It was funny, because he was so small." "And I was a year younger than him." "I hope you won't get cold." "Here, the sheets are still damp." "Even in summer." "Aren't you going to unpack your case?" "Is that your father?" "Yes." "With Sylvia." "This is François, my little brother." "That was Belle." "She died 3 months ago." "We were both born on the same day." "She was exactly my age." "You wouldn't have any tacks, please?" "Jonathan has a box, I think." "I like to have them all with me." "César, I'll put him there." "And Celestine here." "At the moment, they're at La Grande Bastide." "If you knew how pretty it is." "I was born there." "It's in the mountains." "Gilles loved only the sea." "Sébastien, if you hear a noise tonight, above you, don't be afraid... it's Gilles." "He so loves to walk in the attic." "His books and toys are up there." "And sometimes... sometimes he comes back to get them." "But... who is Gilles?" "Gilles Maréchal... the Captain's son." "The one..." "who died 25 years ago?" "Dead?" "Who dares to say that he died?" "They took him." "With his mother." "There was a storm." "Like today." "And it was Winter." "And it was cold." "So cold." "Don't disturb him when he returns." "He doesn't like to be disturbed." "Don't be afraid." "He's gentle as a lamb." "Like his mother." "Gentle as a lamb." "I, who knew him well," "I can tell." "Gentle as a lamb." "Gentle as a lamb." "Dear papa, dear..." "Sylvia." "I've just arrived at Morsan, and I hurry to write to you before becoming completely crazy, because here, really, it's a madhouse." "Clarisse talks about ghosts and she seems to believe in them." "My great uncle..." "well, I can't tell you." "He seems normal, but all the same... there's something strange about his eyes." "# I think that the sailors go away, # to listen to the song, # of the mermaid with long hair, # and I think that she sang for them." "# However, if I were a sailor, # maybe one fine morning, # on lifting the trawl net, # like you don't see anymore," "# I would catch the mermaid, # the mermaid with long hair."