The women were furious. The Levaque, with her fists to her hips, was setting to with Philoméne, whom she accused of having laughed; Mouquette talked of attacking the gendarmes by kicking them somewhere; Mother Brulé, who had just slapped Lydie on finding her without either basket or salad, went on launching blows into space against all the masters whom she would like to have got at.
Les femmes s'enrageaient: la Levaque, les poings aux hanches, s'empoignait avec Philomene, qu'elle accusait d'avoir ri; la Mouquette parlait de démonter les gendarmes a coups de pied quelque part; la Brulé, qui venait de gifler Lydie, en la retrouvant sans panier ni salade, continuait d'allonger des claques dans le vide, pour tous les patrons qu'elle aurait voulu tenir.