Page:Georges Eekhoud - Escal Vigor, a novel.djvu/271



the afternoon, on that day of the year, the women of Smaragdis wander about in bands from booth to booth, from tavern to tavern, noisy, turbulent, provocative; and then tramp the high roads from early evening right into the depths of the night.

On their side, the young men also roam about in groups, arm in arm. The males make advances to the females, but the latter show themselves even more aggressive.

At the beginning of the campaign it is merely a mater of skirmishes, simple assaults with indecent words, nothing more than show off and bravado. On both sides they treat one another with insolence, challenge and warm up one another; fling out a thousand allurements. They provoke one another by word and even by libidinous gesture. Furtive squeezings, secret taps and indecent touches, subterfuges and feints; they allure and provoke demands but avoid payment of accounts.