At two o'clock nothing had moved, M. Hennebeau, Négrel, and other engineers who had hastened up, formed a group in black coats and hats standing in front of the crowd; and they, too, did not move away, though their legs were aching with fatigue, and they were feverish and ill at their impotence in the face of such a disaster, only whispering occasional words as though at a dying person's bedside.
A deux heures, rien n'avait bougé. M. Hennebeau, Négrel, d'autres ingénieurs accourus, formaient un groupe de redingotes et de chapeaux noirs, en avant du monde; et eux non plus ne s'éloignaient pas, les jambes rompues de fatigue, fiévreux, malades d'assister impuissants a un pareil désastre, ne chuchotant que de rares paroles, comme au chevet d'un moribond.