I searched its surface for an opening or a hatch, a "manhole," to use the official term; but the lines of rivets had been firmly driven into the sheet-iron joins and were straight and uniform.
Je cherchai à sa surface une ouverture, un panneau, « un trou d'homme », pour employer l'expression technique ; mais les lignes de boulons, solidement rabattues sur la jointure des tôles, étaient nettes et uniformes.