In the first rank Maheu felt a fierce joy possess him, as if the teeth of the file would deliver them from misfortune by eating into the cable of one of these dens of wretchedness, into which they would never descend again.
Au premier rang, Maheu se sentait gagner d'une joie farouche, comme si les dents de la lime les eussent délivrés du malheur, en mangeant le câble d'un de ces trous de misere, ou l'on ne descendrait plus.