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Fundamentals of Management, 9e (Robbins)
Chapter 10 Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams

1) A group consists of individuals who share specific goals.

Answer: TRUE
Explanation: A group is defined as a collection of interacting individuals who are dependent on
one another and share specific goals.
Diff: 1
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

2) Formal groups tend to form around friendships and common interests.

Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Informal, rather than formal, groups tend to form around common interests and
friendships. Formal groups are usually organized by an organization for a specific purpose.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

3) To be considered a group, a gathering must include at least five people.

Answer: FALSE
Explanation: The minimum number for a group is two. Any number of individuals two or
greater constitutes a group.
Diff: 1
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

4) Groups tend to go through five stages as they develop.

Answer: TRUE
Explanation: The five typical stages of development are forming, storming, norming,
performing, and adjourning.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

5) The forming stage of group development begins when members consider themselves a part of
the group.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: The forming stage ends, rather than begins, when members feel that they are a part
of the group.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

1
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
6) Managers should especially try to avoid conflict during the storming stage of group
development.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: During the storming stage of group development, managers should expect conflict,
rather than try to avoid it.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

7) In the norming stage of group development, the group becomes cohesive.

Answer: TRUE
Explanation: During the norming stage the group's identity increases and a common set of group
expectations is established.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

8) The group is likely to work on its primary task during the adjourning stage of group
development.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: The group works on its primary task during the performing, not the adjourning,
stage of group development. During the adjourning stage, the group prepares to disband.
Diff: 1
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

9) Group norms have little to do with how hard a group member works.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Group norms are the primary way in which the group enforces its standards on an
individual. How hard a group member works depends largely on the standards, or norms, set by
the group.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

10) The studies by Solomon Asch show that group norms are a powerful force.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Asch's studies show that group norms were strong enough to make people go along
with something that they knew was wrong.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

2
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
11) A group of five working collectively would be certain to outproduce five workers working
individually.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: In groups, individuals often work less hard and produce less than they would
working individually. So the group would not at all be certain to outproduce five individual
workers.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

12) As a group expands, individual productivity tends to decline.

Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Social loafing typically causes individual productivity to drop as individuals enter
a group. Within a group, individuals tend to hide behind the collective effort and get less done
individually.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

13) High cohesiveness always results in a productivity increase.

Answer: FALSE
Explanation: In a situation in which group goals are aligned with organizational goals,
productivity rises when groups are cohesive. However, when group goals conflict with
organization goals, productivity actually drops in cohesive groups.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

14) Approximately 80 percent of all Fortune 500 companies use teams.

Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Within those companies, 50 percent or more of employees are members of teams.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

15) Work teams and groups are the same thing.

Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Teams and groups are definitely not the same thing. Work groups typically do not
share a common specific goal, while work teams do share a goal.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

3
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
16) Accountability for a work team is strictly on an individual basis.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Within a team, accountability is both individual and shared with the team. Within a
group, on the other hand, accountability is strictly individual.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

17) The problem with many problem-solving teams is that they don't have the authority to act on
their decisions.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Problem-solving teams often come up with good ideas but lack the managerial
authority to implement their ideas. Many people feel that problem-solving teams don't allow
team members to make decisions that have impact.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

18) A self-managed team is responsible for both completing tasks and managing itself.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: A self-managed team is responsible for managing itself as well as carrying out the
tasks it has been given. Typically, no supervisor is assigned to oversee a self-managed team
because it supervises itself.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

19) A problem-solving team is likely not to have a supervising manager to oversee it.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: A self-managed team is likely not to have a supervisor, not a problem-solving
team.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

20) In an electronics company, a cross-functional team is likely to have an engineer, a designer, a

software specialist, and a marketing specialist all working on the same project.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: A cross-functional team brings together specialists with different skills who each
can contribute to the team effort.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

4
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
21) Members of a virtual team never actually communicate with one another.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Virtual team members communicate electronically. What they may not do is meet
on a personal basis.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

22) An effective team leader is often more of a coach than a manager.

Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Team leaders often have to focus on helping team members get the best out of
themselves with respect to performance. This puts them in the role that is similar to that of a
coach.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

23) Conscientiousness seems to be a key ingredient in successful teams.

Answer: TRUE
Explanation: When team members care about results, team performance typically rises.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

24) Disagreeable team members rarely decrease team performance.

Answer: FALSE
Explanation: One or more disagreeable team members are known to drag down the performance
of an entire team.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

25) On successful teams, individuals rarely play more than one role.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Nine roles have been identified for teams. Since teams often have fewer than nine
members, they frequently need to function with team members taking on multiple roles.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

5
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
26) Disruptive effects of diversity on team performance can decline over time.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Though initially performance can suffer when teams are formed with highly
diverse individuals, as time passes this disruptive effect lessens.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

27) The team role of linker initiates creative ideas in a team.

Answer: FALSE
Explanation: A linker coordinates and integrates the team. The creator-innovator is the one that
initiates creative ideas.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

28) A team's upholder-maintainer would likely submit the team's request for a large increase in
resources to top management.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: The upholder-maintainer represents the team and its interests to the outer world, so
he or she would be likely to take a request for more resources to top management.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

29) The "two pizza" rule states that the best teams should be small enough so that they can be
satisfied with no more than two pizzas.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Amazon follows the two-pizza rule, typically limiting team size to five to seven
team members.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

30) An effective team must have a whole and identifiable task.

Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Having a discrete task to perform increases team coherence and motivation, which
ultimately results in increased team effectiveness.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

6
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
31) Effective teams should avoid conflict at all costs.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Good teams usually thrive on conflict as long as it is not of a personal nature.
Conflict over tasks and goals tends to bring out the best arguments in people in supporting their
positions.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

32) There is no way to reduce social loafing within a team.

Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Social loafing probably cannot be eliminated, but it can be reduced by monitoring
team performance carefully and holding team members accountable—individually as well as
collectively—for their output.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

33) The behaviors required for successful team performance cannot be gained through training.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Over time, careful training does tend to produce successful team members. Some
team members cannot pick up necessary skills to function within the team, so those individuals
typically need to be dismissed.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

34) Selection is important in the success of a team.

Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Selecting the right employees to be members of a team often can determine how
successful the team will be. Teams that have been selected carefully with the right skills,
knowledge, and attitudes are highly likely to be successful.
Diff: 1
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

35) Rewards for team members should be distributed strictly on team performance.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Team performance should be an important element in rewarding team members.
However, the contributions of individuals should not be ignored.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

7
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
36) Asch's findings suggest that Chinese members of a global team might be expected to
conform easily to the team's norms.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: As a collectivist society, one would assume that Chinese team members would
pose no problem when it comes to conforming to team norms.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding
Objective: 10.4
Learning Outcome: Identify the fundamental concepts and issues of international business and
management

37) A Latin American team member would be more likely than a North American team member
to afford status to an individual who comes from a powerful family.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Latin American societies tend to place more importance on family and official
status than North Americans, so this statement is true.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Dynamics of the global economy
Objective: 10.4
Learning Outcome: Identify the fundamental concepts and issues of international business and
management

38) A Japanese manager with the biggest office is likely to have the most power within an
organization.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: In Japan, office size does not correlate to company prestige, so the person with the
largest office would not necessarily have the highest rank in an organization.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Dynamics of the global economy
Objective: 10.4
Learning Outcome: Identify the fundamental concepts and issues of international business and
management

39) Collectivist societies tend to have an enormous problem with social loafing.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Social loafing is less common in collectivist societies than individualistic societies,
so this statement is false.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities
Objective: 10.4
Learning Outcome: Identify the fundamental concepts and issues of international business and
management

8
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
40) Diversity within a group typically makes reaching consensus easier.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Diversity has many virtues, but it tends to make arriving at consensus harder, not
easier.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding
Objective: 10.4
Learning Outcome: Discuss different ways managers work with and promote diversity in
organizations

41) Some organizational tasks are better done individually than in a team or group.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: To find out whether a task is best performed by a group or an individual, three tests
are recommended, using the following questions: (1) Can the work be done better by a single
person? (2) Does the work include a common set of goals that a group can share? (3) Will the
tasks involved rely on interdependence among individuals?
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.4
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

42) Many managers in today's business world have restructured work ________.
A) around individuals rather than teams
B) around teams rather than individuals
C) around both individuals and teams.
D) around groups rather than teams
Answer: B
Explanation: B) The trend in today's dynamic global business environment is to focus work
around teams rather than hierarchies of individuals, making that the correct response. This shift
to teams has also served to make organizations more decentralized, since teams are often
decision-making entities, and more organic as teams take some authority away from the top
managers. Note that teams, rather than groups, are the trend, reflecting that teams are more task-
oriented.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

9
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
43) Of the following, which is NOT thought to be an advantage of teams within an organization?
A) increased organizational coherence
B) employee job satisfaction
C) more innovation
D) new products developed faster at lower costs
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Use of teams has definitely been associated with job satisfaction, innovation,
and faster turnaround in developing new products, eliminating these choices as correct responses.
Teams typically do not bring various organizational parts together, making "increased
organizational coherence" the only item that is not true and therefore causing it to be the correct
response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

44) Formal groups ________.

A) meet at a regular time and place
B) are defined by an organization's structure
C) include people who share a common interest
D) include people who eat lunch together each day
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Formal groups are groups that are officially defined and recognized by the
organizational hierarchy, making that the correct response. The meeting time of a group does not
determine whether the group is formal or not, making that an incorrect choice. People who meet
for lunch or share a common interest are forming informal, not formal, groups.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

45) This kind of work group is brought together to accomplish a specific job or single activity,
such as the development of a new product.
A) command group
B) formal group
C) informal group
D) task group
Answer: D
Explanation: D) A group that is brought together for a specific task is called a task group,
making that the correct response. A command group refers to whether or not a work group has
been formed as a part of the company structure, ruling it out as a correct response. A task group
typically is a formal work group, but task groups are not defined by whether they are formal or
informal, eliminating "formal" and "informal groups" as correct responses.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

10
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
46) This kind of work group brings individuals together from different work disciplines with
different knowledge and skills.
A) formal group
B) cross-functional team
C) command group
D) self-managed team
Answer: B
Explanation: B) The key to a cross-functional team is not that it is formal, which it likely is, or a
type of command group, which means it is part of the organizational hierarchy, or that it
manages itself, making it a self-managed team. What defines a cross-functional team is that it
brings together workers with different skills and abilities to complement one another and work
on a single project or goal. This makes "cross-functional team" the best answer for this question
and eliminates the other three choices.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

47) The ________ stage of the group development process is complete when members begin to
think of themselves as part of a group.
A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) performing
Answer: A
Explanation: A) The forming stage of the group development process is the first stage of the
process. It begins with group members getting together to establish group goals, structure, and
purpose. The forming stage is considered complete when members feel like they are official
members of the group. This makes "forming" the correct response and rules out all other
responses.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

48) This stage involves the most conflict during the entire group development process.
A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) performing
Answer: B
Explanation: B) The storming, or second stage of the group development process, is
characterized by a struggle for control of the group and a search by members for their roles
within the group. When storming is complete, a fairly orderly hierarchy will be evident within
the group. These factors make "storming" the correct response and rule out all other responses.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization
11
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
49) Norming is a stage of group development that occurs when ________.
A) the group struggles for leadership
B) the group defines its purpose
C) the group develops cohesiveness
D) the group defines its goals
Answer: C
Explanation: C) The group defines its purpose and goals during the forming, not the norming,
stage, so the choices regarding purpose and goals are incorrect. Group members vie for
leadership during the storming, not the norming, stage, making the choice regarding leadership
incorrect. Norming is characterized by a strong sense of group cohesiveness, group identity, and
camaraderie, making the choice regarding cohesiveness the correct response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

50) In the group development process, the group carries out its primary work during this stage.
A) storming
B) forming
C) norming
D) performing
Answer: D
Explanation: D) Forming, storming, and norming are all preludes for the performing stage of the
group development process. The group forms, identifies its goals, figures out how it will operate,
and then it is finally ready for performing—to carry out the task it was created for, whether it is
developing a new product or achieving some other organizational goal. This makes "performing"
the correct response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

51) Permanent work groups are not likely to go through this stage.
A) storming
B) adjourning
C) forming
D) norming
Answer: B
Explanation: B) The adjourning stage of the group development process takes place only in
groups that are disbanding. That means that permanent work groups typically don't go through an
adjourning stage of the group development process, making that the correct response and
eliminating all other responses.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

12
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
52) During a recent meeting, a shouting match arose between a design manager and a marketing
representative about a marketing plan for a new product. This team seems to be at the ________
stage of group development.
A) conflict
B) forming
C) norming
D) storming
Answer: D
Explanation: D) This group appears to be in conflict for control and leadership, suggesting that
the group is in the storming stage of the group development process. Storming is the stage that is
most associated with conflict, making it the correct response and eliminating the other responses.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

53) During the storming stage of group development, high levels of conflict ________.
A) are necessary for group cohesiveness
B) increase group cohesiveness
C) can contribute to group effectiveness
D) are never a factor in group effectiveness
Answer: C
Explanation: C) Conflict is clearly a divisive factor and does increase group cohesiveness or
make group cohesiveness possible, eliminating those two choices. During the storming stage,
high levels of conflict can definitely contribute to group effectiveness, making that the best
answer for this question and eliminating the choice indicating conflict is never a factor since
conflict can clearly have influence on effectiveness.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

13
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
54) A group that has gone through the norming stage of the group development process
________.
A) never returns to the storming stage
B) always returns to the storming stage
C) never returns to the forming stage
D) may return to the forming or storming stage
Answer: D
Explanation: D) The group development process is not necessarily sequential. Groups can pass
through one stage, then return to that same stage, or an earlier stage, later on in their
development. This makes the choice regarding returning to the forming or storming stage the
correct response as it is the only response that indicates this flexibility in the group development
process.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.1
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

55) Individuals within a group ________.

A) never play more than one role
B) frequently play more than one role
C) always play more than one role
D) never play the same role for long
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Within a group, individuals are not limited to playing a single role only or
always playing multiple roles, eliminating those two choices as correct responses. Depending on
the group, an individual may play a single role or multiple roles, making "frequently play more
than one role" the correct answer. Switching roles is not a common aspect of groups, so "never
play the same role for long" is an incorrect response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

56) Al is given two different "top priorities" from two different managers. Al is experiencing
________.
A) role conflict
B) role reversal
C) efficiency conflict
D) personal conflict
Answer: A
Explanation: A) The conflict Al experiences comes from a work situation, so it is clearly not a
personal conflict. Nor is Al's situation a role reversal that would require him to assume the role
of someone else he is dealing with, eliminating "role reversal" as a correct choice. The conflict
Al is experiencing is role conflict, making it the correct choice and eliminating "efficiency
conflict" because the conflict has nothing to do with efficiency.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams
14
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
57) Most workers learn what is expected from them on the job from group ________.
A) roles
B) size
C) cohesiveness
D) norms
Answer: D
Explanation: D) Group size, cohesiveness, and roles that group members take on determine how
groups function collectively, but they do not establish standards for things like dress codes and
performance levels. Those standards are created by group norms, making that the correct
response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

58) Group norms typically are established ________.

A) by organizational leadership
B) formally by group leaders
C) informally by the entire group
D) in the official organizational bylaws
Answer: C
Explanation: C) Though some group norms can be formally established, such as official
company dress codes, norms typically are not set in any formal way, eliminating the three
choices that refer to formal or official establishment of norms. Instead, norms usually are
established over time by the entire group in a very organic and informal manner, indicating
which kinds of behaviors and efforts are acceptable and expected, and which are not, making
"informally by the entire group" the correct response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

59) This is a common and effective method of establishing group norms.

A) playing of board games
B) teasing
C) published lists of norms
D) group norm websites
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Since every group is different, generic websites or lists of norms are never used
in the establishment of group norms. Board games would have little relevance to work situations,
so that is also not a common way to establish norms. Surprisingly, teasing can help establish
norms as it can be a powerful way to inform newcomers about the values and mores of the
group, making it the correct response.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Communication abilities
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

15
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
60) Solomon Asch carried out pioneering studies in understanding ________.
A) group status
B) group roles
C) group size
D) group conformity
Answer: D
Explanation: D) Asch's studies explored how strong the tendency was for a group member to
conform to the values of other group members, even when those other members appeared to be
misguided. Asch's work had little to do with status, group roles, or group size, leaving
"conformity" as the correct response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

61) Asch was surprised most by finding that in some conditions, group members would provide
information that they knew to be ________.
A) slightly exaggerated
B) vague
C) wrong
D) not fully substantiated
Answer: C
Explanation: C) The surprising aspect of Asch's work is that people would give answers that
were not merely exaggerated, lacking in supportive evidence, or even dubious. Instead, these
group members would actually give wrong answers, fully knowing that their answers were
incorrect, making "wrong" the correct response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

62) Asch's subjects were seen to give incorrect answers that they knew were incorrect in
________ of his studies.
A) about half
B) more than half
C) about 35 percent
D) about 90 percent
Answer: C
Explanation: C) Asch's subjects gave answers that they knew to be erroneous in about 35
percent of the trials, making that the correct response and ruling out the other three choices as
being overestimates.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

16
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
63) Asch's results are attributed to the tendency of people in groups to ________.
A) try to distinguish themselves
B) go along with the pack
C) stand up for what they know is right
D) "swim against the current"
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Asch's results clearly indicate that people in groups have a strong tendency to
want to conform, or go along with the pack, even when they know the pack is misguided. This
makes "go along with the pack" the correct response. Distinguishing oneself, standing up for
what is correct, or swimming against the current are all examples of refusing to conform—
exactly what did not occur in Asch's studies—so those three choices are incorrect responses.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

64) Asch could feel fairly confident that his results were legitimate because ________ pressured
by the group.
A) 35 percent of respondents gave wrong answers when they were not
B) only 1 percent of respondents gave wrong answers when they were not
C) only 1 percent of respondents gave wrong answers when they were
D) 90 percent of respondents gave wrong answers when they were
Answer: B
Explanation: B) The key to Asch's results was that respondents made errors only 1 percent of the
time when no group pressure was applied. This indicates that the test was easy and that people
had no problem getting the correct answer as long as no group pressure was applied. This means
that "35 percent" must be eliminated as the correct response for this question and "only 1 percent
of respondents gave wrong answers when they were not" is the correct response. Both of the
remaining choices are incorrect responses for this question because they are factually incorrect—
much more than 1 percent and much less than 90 percent gave wrong answers in Asch's studies
when they did receive group pressure.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

17
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
65) Members of an organization typically ________ the status of other organizational members.
A) agree about
B) disagree about
C) cannot recognize
D) refuse to recognize
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Though typically informally gauged, most people can easily recognize and rank
the status of individuals in their organization and agree with one another with respect to this
ranking, making "agree about" the correct response and eliminating "disagree about" as a correct
response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

66) A low-ranking employee having the best parking space in the company parking lot is an
example of ________.
A) status congruence
B) status incongruence
C) a status category
D) a status level
Answer: B
Explanation: B) When a status symbol, such as a parking space, is "incorrectly" conferred upon
an employee with respect to the organizational hierarchy, employees tend to be confused and
even upset. This disruption in a status pattern is called status incongruence, making that the
correct response and ruling out "status congruence" as the correct response. "Status category"
and "status level" identify degrees or levels of status, not a disruption in a status hierarchy, so
neither is a correct response.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

18
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
67) Status incongruence can be upsetting to employees because it sends a signal that
organizational accomplishments ________.
A) are rewarded fairly and justly
B) are always rewarded
C) are never rewarded
D) are not always rewarded fairly and justly
Answer: D
Explanation: D) Status incongruity sends a signal to employees that the system of rewards
within the organization is not always fair and just, making that the correct response and
eliminating all other responses. Status incongruities cause employees to doubt whether their own
efforts will be properly noticed and appreciated. When high or low status is mistakenly conferred
upon the wrong person, employees tend to question whether the managerial administration is
competent, fair, and intelligent.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

68) Small groups appear to perform better when it comes to ________.

A) problem solving
B) getting diverse input into a problem
C) speed of performing tasks
D) finding facts
Answer: C
Explanation: C) Large groups are better than small groups when it comes to amassing data or
facts, general problem solving, or providing diverse input into a problem. What small groups
tend to excel at is speed at solving problems, even if the solution provided by a small group is
often not as comprehensive as one from a larger group.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

69) Large groups appear to perform better when the goal of the group is to ________.
A) find facts
B) create consensus on a new product
C) interpret facts
D) solve problems quickly
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Large groups seem to be inferior in performance when compared to small
groups when it comes to speed of solving problems, interpreting facts or data that has already
been collected, or coming to agreement about a topic, making all of those choices incorrect.
Large groups do seem to have a definite edge on small groups when the group goal is to amass
data and facts, making "find facts" the correct response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

19
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
70) Small groups appear to perform better when it comes to ________.
A) amassing meaningful data
B) being comprehensive
C) thoroughness
D) interpreting data productively
Answer: D
Explanation: D) Large groups are clearly superior to small groups when it comes to collecting
facts in a thorough and comprehensive manner. Where small groups excel is in finding
something useful and productive to do with facts and data that have already been collected,
making "interpreting data productively" the correct response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

71) As the size of a group increases, the output of ________.

A) each group member tends to increase
B) each group member tends to decrease
C) the group decreases
D) the group stays the same
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Because the size of a group can make individual group members feel
anonymous, the more the group increases in size, the less each group member tends to do with
respect to productivity. This makes "each group member tends to decrease" the correct response.
Output of the group itself usually increases as groups get larger, even when individual
productivity goes down, so both "the group decreases" and "the group stays the same" are
incorrect responses because they do not reflect this increase in group output.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

72) The primary reason for why social loafing occurs is that output contributions from ________
easily be measured.
A) the entire group can
B) the entire group cannot
C) individuals can
D) individuals cannot
Answer: D
Explanation: D) Output from the entire group is not hard to measure, so social loafing cannot be
attributed to ease or difficulty in measuring group outputs, making both choices regarding the
entire group incorrect answers. Output from individuals within a group are hard to measure,
making it easy for individuals to get a "free ride," making the choice indicating that output
contributions from individuals cannot easily be measured the correct response.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

20
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
73) The only effective way to guard against social loafing is for managers to make special efforts
to do this.
A) be fair to all group members
B) treat all group members equally
C) assess individual contributions of group members
D) assess the group as a whole exclusively
Answer: C
Explanation: C) Social loafing is not a question of fair treatment for all group members. Groups
can be treated with absolute fairness and still end up with a significant amount of social loafing.
Assessing the group as a whole is the opposite of what might combat social loafing as a group
assessment allows loafers greater, not less, opportunity to hide behind collective group
accomplishments, making "assess the group as a whole exclusively" an incorrect response. The
only real way to fight social loafing is to make group members responsible for both the group's
performance and their own individual performance, making "assess individual contributions of
group members" the correct response.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Discuss the factors that affect how individuals behave and learn within an
organization

74) Group cohesiveness is largely a measure of how ________.

A) clear the group's goals are
B) much individuals share the group's goals
C) attainable the group's goals are
D) much the group's goals match organizational goals
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Cohesiveness is a measure of how much attraction there is between group
members and the extent to which they share the group's goals, making the choice regarding
individuals sharing the group's goals the correct response. How clear, attainable, or well-matched
the group's goals are to the organization have little to do with group cohesion since none of these
factors has much influence over how strongly group members identify with the group and with
each other.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

21
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
75) High cohesiveness combined with a strong alignment between group goals and
organizational goals typically results in this.
A) strong productivity increase
B) strong productivity decrease
C) small productivity decrease
D) no productivity change
Answer: A
Explanation: A) A group that is cohesive with goals that align with organizational goals will
tend to be highly productive, making "strong productivity increase" the correct response. The
cohesiveness allows the group to work well together and produce an effective, coordinated,
collective effort. When this strong effort also aligns with organizational goals, the two work
synergistically, producing strong efforts in the right areas and resulting in dramatic productivity
increases.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

76) High cohesiveness combined with a very weak alignment between group goals and
organizational goals typically results in this.
A) a small productivity increase
B) a productivity decrease
C) a large productivity increase
D) no productivity change
Answer: B
Explanation: B) A group that is cohesive with goals that clearly do not align with organizational
goals will tend to show a significant decrease in productivity, making this the correct response.
The cohesiveness allows the group to produce an effective, coordinated, collective effort.
However, when group goals do not align with organizational goals, this strong effort ends up
being aimed in the wrong direction and promoting the wrong things, thereby detracting from
overall organizational goals and ultimately causing a productivity drop.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

22
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
77) Low cohesiveness combined with a strong alignment between group goals and organizational
goals typically results in this.
A) a small productivity increase
B) a productivity decrease
C) a moderate productivity increase
D) no productivity change
Answer: C
Explanation: C) A group that is not cohesive with goals that clearly align with overall
organizational goals will tend to show a moderate increase in productivity, making that the
correct response. The lack of cohesiveness causes the group to register a less than maximally
effective effort with respect to its own goals. However, if its own goals are very strongly aligned
with company goals, it means that whatever the group does manage to accomplish will be highly
"on-target" and therefore likely to result in small but measurable productivity gains.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.2
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

78) Teams are increasingly popular among successful organizations because they have been
found to ________.
A) match the performance of individuals in every kind of task
B) outperform individuals in many tasks
C) match the performance of individuals in many tasks
D) outperform individuals in every kind of task
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Teams are effective and have been found to exceed the performance of
individuals in many, but not all, types of organizational tasks. This makes "outperform
individuals in many tasks" the correct response. "Match the performance of individuals in every
kind of task" and "match the performance of individuals in many tasks" can be ruled out because
teams actually exceed, rather than match, the performance of individuals in many tasks.
"Outperform individuals in every kind of task" can be ruled out because it refers to every kind of
task when it is clear that teams outperform individuals only in some tasks.
Diff: 2
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

23
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
79) Which statement is true of Fortune 500 companies?
A) Half have 100 percent of their employees on teams.
B) 100 percent have half of their employees on teams.
C) 80 percent have half of their employees on teams.
D) Half have 80 percent of their employees on teams.
Answer: C
Explanation: C) About 80 percent of all Fortune 500 companies employ at least half of their
employees as members of teams, making "80 percent have half of their employees on teams" the
correct response and ruling out all other responses. This means that fewer than 20 percent of
these companies are made up mostly of non-team employees.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

80) Which of the following is NOT generally thought to be an advantage of teams over
traditional work arrangements?
A) Teams are flexible and responsive.
B) Teams are easy to assemble.
C) Teams are easy to disband.
D) Teams are highly mechanistic.
Answer: D
Explanation: D) Being flexible, easy to put together, and easy to dissolve when they have
finished their task are major advantages, not disadvantages, of teams, so they are incorrect
responses. Forming teams is a way of decentralizing an organization so it becomes much more
organic then mechanistic, making "teams are highly mechanistic" the correct answer because it is
a false statement and therefore not a valid advantage of teams.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

81) The main difference between work groups and work teams is that ________.
A) work teams have a common goal
B) work groups have a common goal
C) work teams share information
D) work groups share information
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Both work groups and work teams share information, which rules out work
teams and work groups sharing information as correct responses. The key difference between the
two is that work teams have a shared goal that they work together to accomplish while work
groups merely help group members accomplish their own separate goals. This makes "work
teams have a common goal" the correct response for this question and "work groups have a
common goal" incorrect.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

24
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
82) The use of work teams creates the potential for an organization to generate ________.
A) greater outputs with greater inputs
B) fewer outputs with fewer inputs
C) greater outputs with fewer inputs
D) fewer outputs with greater inputs
Answer: C
Explanation: C) The potential that causes managers to create work teams is that they increase
efficiency—providing greater outputs with fewer inputs, making that the correct response. All
other choices can be ruled out because they result in a decrease, rather than an increase, in
efficiency. Note that the efficiency boost is only a potential advantage—when done well, team
formation in organizations increases efficiency. When done poorly, team formation may not
increase efficiency and, in fact, may cause a decrease in efficiency.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

83) Which statement is true?

A) The main goal of work teams is to share information.
B) The main goal of work groups is collective performance.
C) The main goal of work teams is collective performance.
D) The main goal of work groups is synergy.
Answer: C
Explanation: C) The goals of work teams and work groups differ. Work groups seek to share
information only, while work teams typically work together on a common task, or collective
performance. This makes "goal of work teams is collective performance" the correct response
because it is the only choice that matches a group correctly with its goal. Work groups do not
have collective performance or synergy as any goal, much less a main goal, so those choices can
be ruled out. The remaining choice is wrong because sharing information is a minor, not a main,
goal of work teams.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

25
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
84) Which statement is true of accountability?
A) Work team members are individually accountable only.
B) Work team members are both individually and mutually accountable to one another.
C) Work group members are mutually accountable to one another.
D) Work group members are both individually and mutually accountable to one another.
Answer: B
Explanation: B) With respect to accountability, work groups are accountable only in an
individual sense while work teams have both group and individual accountability, making "work
team members are both individually and mutually accountable to one another" the correct
response. This is the only choice that matches a group correctly with its sense of accountability.
Both choices regarding work group members are incorrect because work group members are
accountable only in an individual, not in a mutual, sense. The remaining choice is incorrect
because work team members are accountable not just individually but also to the team.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

85) Which statement is true of the skills that members of work groups and work teams must
have?
A) Work group members need complementary skills.
B) Work team members need random skills.
C) Work team members need complementary skills.
D) Work group members need random skills.
Answer: C
Explanation: C) With respect to skills, work groups are not specific and will include members
with a wide variety of skills that are fairly random and not necessarily complementary. Work
teams, on the other hand, try to assemble workers whose skills complement one another and
work together to allow the team unit to accomplish its collective goal. This makes "work team
members need complementary skills" the correct response because it is the only choice that
matches a group correctly with its skill requirements.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

26
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
86) Teams composed of individuals from the same department or functional area and are
involved in efforts to improve work activities are called ________.
A) cross-functional teams
B) self-managed work teams
C) problem-solving teams
D) virtual teams
Answer: C
Explanation: C) Problem-solving teams are teams with limited authority that are composed of
individuals from a single functional department, making it the correct response. A self-managed
work team is a team that functions without a supervisor and is responsible for managing itself so
it is not a correct response. A cross-functional team combines individuals with highly
complementary skills and functions, so it is not a correct response. A virtual team combines
individuals electronically rather than in-person, so it is an incorrect response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

87) Which type of team is rarely given the authority to unilaterally implement any of its
suggested actions?
A) cross-functional
B) problem-solving
C) self-managed
D) virtual
Answer: B
Explanation: B) Of the four types of work teams, problem-solving teams have the least amount
of authority, making it the correct response. Cross-functional and virtual teams are often versions
of self-managed teams that are provided with explicit authority to implement the decisions they
suggest.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

27
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
88) Teams composed of individuals with skills that are highly complementary to one another are
called ________.
A) cross-functional teams
B) self-managed work teams
C) problem-solving teams
D) virtual teams
Answer: A
Explanation: A) A cross-functional team selects individuals with highly complementary skills
and functions who work together on a project with a common goal, making it the correct
response. A self-managed work team functions without a supervisor and is responsible for
managing itself, so it is not a correct response. Problem-solving teams are teams with limited
authority that are composed of individuals from a single functional department, so it is not a
correct response. A virtual team combines individuals electronically, so it is not a correct
response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

89) Problem-solving teams usually ________.

A) have full authority to implement their decisions
B) lack the authority to implement their decisions
C) avoid making decisions
D) manage themselves and have no supervisor
Answer: B
Explanation: B) The flaw in problem-solving teams is that though they are productive in
reaching goals and making decisions, they lack the authority to have their decisions impact the
organization as a whole. For example, if a problem-solving team determines that its parent
company should buy carbon offset credits, the team lacks the power to enforce that decision.
These factors taken together make "lack the authority to implement their decisions" the correct
response and make "avoid making decisions" and "have full authority to implement their
decisions" incorrect responses. The remaining choice is an incorrect response because it
describes a self-managed work team, not a problem-solving team.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

28
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
90) Teams composed of individuals who have rarely actually met one another in person are
called ________.
A) cross-functional teams
B) self-managed work teams
C) problem-solving teams
D) virtual teams
Answer: D
Explanation: D) A virtual team combines individuals electronically rather than in-person,
making it the correct response. A self-managed work team functions without a supervisor and is
responsible for managing itself so it is not a correct response. A cross-functional team combines
individuals with highly complementary skills and functions, so it is not a correct response.
Problem-solving teams are teams with limited authority that are composed of individuals from a
single functional department, so it is not a correct response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

91) Teams composed of individuals who function without a supervisor are called ________.
A) cross-functional teams
B) self-managed work teams
C) problem-solving teams
D) virtual teams
Answer: B
Explanation: B) A self-managed work team functions without a supervisor and is responsible for
managing and evaluating itself and its own performance, making it the correct response. A
virtual team combines individuals electronically rather than in-person, so it is not a correct
response. Problem-solving teams are teams with limited authority that are composed of
individuals from a single functional department, so it is not a correct response. A cross-
functional team combines individuals with highly complementary skills and functions, so it is not
a correct response.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

29
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
92) A self-managed work team would be likely to have the authority to ________.
A) hire and fire top organizational managers
B) determine organization-wide pay scales for team employees
C) disband a competing work team
D) make schedules and plans
Answer: D
Explanation: D) A self-managed work team has the authority to run itself, plan, schedule, and
make decisions for its own team, making the choice regarding schedules and plans the correct
response. The authority of a self-managed work group would not extend beyond the scope of its
own immediate concerns to such things as hiring and firing managers, determining
organizational pay scales, or eliminating competing teams, so all of those choices would be
incorrect.
Diff: 2
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

93) Which of the following would a self-managed work team be LEAST likely to do?
A) select all projects it works on
B) make decisions
C) implement decisions it makes
D) assign tasks
Answer: A
Explanation: A) Self-managed work teams can make and implement decisions and assign tasks
within their own team structure. One thing a self-managed work team might not always have the
freedom and autonomy to do is to choose its projects, making "select all projects it works on" the
correct response. Most likely, the group would be given its assignment from management and
then be held responsible for its successful completion.
Diff: 3
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Objective: 10.3
Learning Outcome: Describe the best practices of groups and teams

30
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
Other documents randomly have
different content
before her time. He occupied a small room right at the top of a great
house, to which he only ascended at night for the purpose of
sleeping. And he slept out twice a week, on the two nights he
passed at Havre, between the evening and morning express. On that
particular day, however, drenched with rain, broken down with
fatigue, he had gone there and thrown himself on his bed. So that
Séverine would perhaps have waited for him in vain, had not a
quarrel in an adjoining apartment, a husband brutalising his
shrieking wife, awakened him. He had washed and dressed in a very
bad humour, having recognised her below, on the pavement, while
looking out of his garret window.
"So it's you at last!" she exclaimed, when she saw him issue from
the front door. "I was afraid I had misunderstood. You really did tell
me at the corner of the Rue Saussure——"
And without awaiting his answer, raising her eyes to the house, she
remarked:
"So it's there you live?"
Without telling her, he had made the appointment before his own
door, because the depôt where they had to go together, was
opposite. But her question worried him. He imagined she was going
to take advantage of their good fellowship, to ask him to let her see
his room, which was so simply furnished, and in such disorder, that
he felt ashamed of it.
"Oh! I don't live there!" he replied; "I perch. Let us be quick, I am
afraid the chief may have already gone out!"
And so it happened, for when they presented themselves at the
small house which the latter occupied behind the depôt, within the
station walls, they did not find him. In vain they went from shed to
shed, everywhere they were told to return at about half-past four, if
they wished to be sure of catching him at the repairing workshops.
"Very well, we will return," said Séverine.
Then, when she was again outside, alone in the company of
Jacques, she remarked:
"If you are free, perhaps you will not mind if I remain and wait with
you?"
He could not refuse; and, moreover, notwithstanding the gloomy
anxiety she caused, she exercised such a great and ever-increasing
charm over him, that the sullen attitude he had made up his mind to
observe, vanished at her sweet glances. This one, with her long,
tender, timid face, must love like a faithful hound, whom one would
not even have the courage to thrash.
"Of course I shall not leave you," he answered, in a less surly tone;
"only we have more than an hour to get through. Would you like to
go to a café?"
She smiled, delighted to find him more cordial. Vivaciously she
protested:
"Oh! no, no; I don't want to shut myself up! I prefer walking on your
arm through the streets, anywhere you like."
And gracefully she took his arm of her own accord. Now that he was
free from the dirt of the journey, she thought him superior-looking,
in his attire of a clerk in easy circumstances, and with his
gentlemanly bearing, enhanced by a look of independent pride, due
to his life in the open air and the daily habit of facing danger. She
had never noticed so distinctly that he was handsome, with his
regular, round countenance, and his black moustache on a white
skin. His fleeting eyes, those eyes studded with golden sparks, which
turned away from her, alone continued to cause her distrust. If he
avoided looking her straight in the face, was it because he would not
bind himself to anything, because he wished to retain his freedom to
act as he pleased, even against her?
From that moment, in her uncertainty as to his intentions,
shuddering each time she thought of that study in the Rue du
Rocher where her life lay in the balance, she had but one aim—to
feel that this man, who gave her his arm, belonged to her entirely;
to obtain, that when she raised her head, his eyes should look
deeply into her own. Then he would be her property. She did not
love him; she did not even think of such a thing. She was simply
doing her utmost to make him her creature, so that she need fear
him no more.
They walked for a few minutes without speaking, amid the continual
stream of passers-by who obstruct this populous quarter. Ever and
anon they were compelled to leave the pavement; they crossed the
road among the vehicles. Then they found themselves at the Square
des Batignolles, which is almost deserted at this time of year. The
sky, cleansed by the deluge of the morning, wore a tint of very soft
blue, and the lilac-bushes were budding in the gentle March sun.
"Shall we go into the garden?" inquired Séverine. "All this crowd
makes me giddy."
Jacques had intended entering the enclosure of his own accord,
unconscious of his desire to have her more to himself, far from the
multitude of people.
"As you like," said he. "Let us go in."
Slowly they continued walking beside the grass, between the leafless
trees. A few women were out with babies in long clothes, and
persons were hurrying across the garden to make a short cut.
Jacques and Séverine took the brook at a stride, and ascended
among the rocks. Then, retracing their steps, not knowing where to
go, they passed through a cluster of pines, whose lasting dark green
foliage shone in the sun. And there, in this solitary corner, stood a
bench hidden from view. They sat down, without even consulting
one another this time, as if they had agreed to come to that spot.
"It is lovely weather," she remarked after a silence.
"Yes," he replied; "the sun has made its appearance again."
But their thoughts were elsewhere. He, who fled women, had been
reflecting on the events that had drawn him to this one. She sat
there, touching him, threatening to invade his existence, and he
experienced endless surprise. Since the last examination at Rouen,
he no longer had any doubt. This woman was an accomplice in the
murder at La Croix-de-Maufras. How was it? As the result of what
circumstances? Urged to the crime by what passion, or what
interest? He had asked himself these questions, without being able
to answer them clearly. Nevertheless, he had ended by arranging a
version: the husband, avaricious and violent, yearned to get
possession of the legacy; perhaps he feared the will might be altered
to their disadvantage; perhaps he wished to attach his wife to him
by a sanguinary bond. And he clung to this version. The obscure
parts of it interested him without him seeking to elucidate them.
The idea that it was his duty to unbosom himself to justice, had also
haunted him. It was this idea, indeed, that had been engaging his
attention since he had found himself seated on that bench close to
Séverine, so close that he could feel the warmth of her form against
his own.
"It's astonishing," he resumed, "to be able to remain out of doors
like this, in the month of March, just as in summer."
"Oh!" said she, "as soon as the sun ascends, it is delightful!"
And, on her side, she reflected that this man would have been an
idiot, had he not guessed them the culprits. They had been too
eager to force themselves on him, and at this very moment she
continued to press too close to him. And so, in the silence broken by
empty phrases, she followed his reflections.
Their eyes had met. She had just read in his, that he had come to
the point of inquiring of himself whether it was not she whom he
had seen, weighing with all her weight on the legs of the victim, like
a dark bundle. What could she do? what could she say, to bind him
to her by an inseverable bond?
"This morning," she remarked, "it was very cold at Havre."
"Without taking into account," said he, "all the rain that fell."
At that instant, Séverine had an abrupt inspiration. She did not
reason, she did not think the matter over; it came to her like an
instinctive impulsion from the obscure depths of her intelligence and
heart. Had she thought about it, she would have said nothing. She
simply felt the idea was good, and that by speaking she would
conquer him.
Gently she took his hand. She looked at him. The cluster of green
trees hid them from the pedestrians in the neighbouring streets.
They only heard a distant rumble of vehicles that came deadened to
this sunny solitude of the square. Alone, at the bend of the path, a
child played in silence, filling a small pail with sand with a wooden
spade. Without wavering in her idea, with all her soul, and in a low
voice she put this question to him:
"You believe me guilty?"
He slightly trembled, and looked into her eyes.
"Yes," he answered, in the same low, unsteady tone.
Then she pressed his hand, which she had retained, in a tighter
clasp. But she did not continue speaking at once. She felt their
feverish warmth mingling in one.
"You are mistaken," she resumed; "I am not guilty."
She did not say this to convince him, but simply to warn him that
she must be innocent in the eyes of others. It was the avowal of the
woman who says no, desiring it to be no, in spite of all, and always.
"I am not guilty," she added. "You will not continue to pain me by
believing I am guilty?"
And she was very happy to see his eyes gazing deeply into her own.
Without doubt what she had just said, was equivalent to selling
herself to him, for she gave herself away, and later on, if he claimed
her, she could not refuse. But the bond was tied between them, and
could not be severed. She absolutely defied him to speak now. He
belonged to her, as she belonged to him. The avowal had united
them.
"You will not cause me any more pain?" she asked. "You believe
me?"
"Yes, I believe you," he replied, smiling.
What need was there to force her to talk brutally of this frightful
event? Later on, she would tell him all about it, if she wished to do
so. This way of tranquillising herself by confessing to him, without
saying anything, touched him deeply, as a proof of infinite
tenderness. She was so confiding, so fragile, with her gentle blue
eyes. She appeared to him so womanly, devoted to man, ever ready
to submit to him so as to be happy. And what delighted him above
all else, while their hands remained joined and their eyes never
parted, was to find himself free from his disorder, the frightful shiver
that agitated him when beside a woman. Could he love this one,
without killing her?
"You know I am your friend, and that you have naught to fear from
me," he murmured in her ear. "I do not want to know your business.
It shall be as you please, you understand. Make any use of me you
like."
He had approached so close to her face that he felt her warm breath
in his moustache. That morning, even, he would have trembled at
such a thing, in the wild terror of an attack. What could be passing
within him, that he barely felt a thrill, attended by the pleasant
lassitude of convalescence? This idea that she had killed a fellow
creature, which had now become a certainty, made her appear
different in his eyes—greater, a person apart. Perhaps she had not
merely assisted, but had also struck. He felt convinced of it, without
the slightest proof. And, henceforth, she seemed sacred to him,
beyond all reasoning.
Both of them now chatted gaily, as a couple just met, with whom
love is commencing.
"You should give me your other hand," said he, "for me to warm it."
"Oh! no, not here," she protested. "We might be seen."
"Who by, as we are alone?" he inquired. "And, besides, there would
be no harm in it," he added.
She laughed frankly in her joy at being saved. She did not love this
man, she thought she was quite sure of that; and, indeed, if she had
involved herself, she was already thinking of a way out of the
difficulty. He looked nice; he would not torment her; everything
could be arranged beautifully.
"We are comrades, that's settled," said she; "and neither my
husband nor anyone else shall interfere. Now, let go of my hand,
and do not keep on staring at me like that, because you will spoil
your eyes!"
But he detained her delicate fingers between his own, and very lowly
he stammered:
"You know I love you."
Sharply she freed herself with a slight jerk; and, standing before the
bench, where he remained seated, she exclaimed:
"What nonsense, indeed! Conduct yourself properly; someone is
coming!"
A wet-nurse appeared, with her baby asleep in her arms. Then a
young girl passed along in a great hurry. The sun was sinking,
disappearing on the horizon in a violescent mist, and its rays
vanished from the grass, dying away in golden dust beside the green
patch of pines. A sudden pause came in the continual rumble of
vehicles. Five o'clock was heard striking at a neighbouring clock.
"Good heavens!" exclaimed Séverine. "Five o'clock, and I have an
appointment in the Rue du Rocher!"
Her joy departed, back came the agony of the unknown awaiting her
there, and she remembered she was not yet saved. She turned quite
pale, and her lip quivered.
"But you have to see the chief of the depôt," said Jacques.
"It cannot be helped!" she replied; "I must pay him a visit another
time. Listen, my friend, I will not keep you any longer. Let me go
quickly on my errand. And thanks again, thanks from the bottom of
my heart."
She squeezed his hand, and hurried off.
"By-and-bye at the train," he called after her.
"Yes, by-and-bye," she answered.
She was already walking rapidly away, and soon disappeared among
the clusters of shrubs; whilst he proceeded leisurely, in the direction
of the Rue Cardinet.
M. Camy-Lamotte had just had a long interview in his study, with the
traffic-manager of the Western Railway Company. Summoned under
pretext of some other business, the latter had ended by admitting
that the company felt very much annoyed at this Grandmorin case.
First of all, came the complaints of the newspapers, in regard to the
little security enjoyed by first-class passengers. Then all the staff
were mixed up in the drama. Several of their servants were
suspected, without counting this Roubaud, who appeared the most
involved, and who might be arrested at any moment. The rumours
of the irregular mode of life of the President, who had a seat on the
board of directors, seemed to bespatter the whole board. And it was
thus that the presumed crime of an insignificant assistant station-
master, attributed to some shady, low, and nauseous intrigue,
threatened to disorganise the management of an important railway
enterprise.
The shock had even been felt in higher places. It had gained the
Ministry, menaced the State at a moment of political uneasiness. It
was a critical time, when the slightest effervescence might hasten
the downfall of the Empire.
So when M. Camy-Lamotte heard from his visitor, that the company
had that morning decided to dismiss Roubaud, he energetically
opposed the measure. No! no! nothing could be more clumsy! The
rumpus in the press would increase, should the writers take it into
their heads to set up the assistant station-master as a political
victim. Everything would be rent from top to bottom, and heaven
only knew what unpleasant revelations would be made about one
and another! The scandal had lasted too long, and must be put an
end to at once. And the traffic-manager, convinced, had undertaken
to maintain Roubaud in his post, and not even to remove him from
Havre. It would soon be seen that there were no disreputable people
on their staff. It was all over. The matter would be shelved.
When Séverine, out of breath, her heart beating violently, found
herself once more in the severe study in the Rue du Rocher, before
M. Camy-Lamotte, the latter contemplated her an instant in silence,
interested at the extraordinary effort she made to appear calm. He
certainly felt sympathy for this delicate criminal with the soft blue
eyes.
"Well, madam——" he began.
And he paused to enjoy her anxiety a few seconds longer. But her
look was so profound, he felt her casting herself before him in such
a burning desire to learn her fate that he had pity.
"Well, madam," he resumed, "I've seen the traffic-manager, and
have persuaded him not to dismiss your husband. The matter is
settled."
Then, in the flood of joy that overwhelmed her, she broke down. Her
eyes were full of tears; but she answered nothing. She only smiled.
He repeated what he had said, laying stress on the phrase, to
convey to her all its significance:
"The matter is settled; you can return in tranquillity to Havre!"
She heard well enough: he meant to say that they would not be
arrested, that they were pardoned. It was not merely the position
maintained, it was the horrible drama forgotten, buried. With an
instinctive caressing movement, like a pretty, domestic animal that
thanks and fawns, she bent over his hands, kissed them, kept them
pressed to her cheeks. And this time, very much troubled himself at
the tender charm of her gratitude, he did not withdraw them.
"Only," he continued, trying to resume his severity, "do not forget,
and behave properly."
"Oh! sir!" she exclaimed.
In the desire to have them both at his mercy, he alluded to the
letter.
"Remember that the papers remain there, and that at the least fault,
the matter will be brought up again. Above all, advise your husband
not to meddle in politics. On that point we shall be pitiless. I know
he has already given cause for complaint; they spoke to me of an
annoying quarrel with the sub-prefect. It seems that he passes for a
republican, which is detestable, is it not? Let him behave himself, or
we shall simply suppress him."
She was standing up, anxious now to be outside, to give room to the
joy she felt stifling her.
"Sir," she answered, "we shall obey you; we will do as you please;
no matter when, nor where. You have only to command."
He began to smile again, in his weary way, with just a tinge of that
disdain of a man who has taken a long draught at the cup of all
things, and drained it dry.
He opened the door of his study to her. On the landing, she turned
round twice, and with her visage beaming, thanked him again.
Once in the Rue du Rocher, Séverine walked along without giving a
thought to where she was going. All at once, she perceived she was
ascending the street to no purpose. Turning round, she descended
the slope, crossed the road with no object, at the risk of being
knocked down. She felt she wanted to move about, to gesticulate, to
shout. She already understood why they had been pardoned, and
she caught herself saying:
"Of course! They are afraid; there is no fear of them stirring up the
business. I was a great fool to give myself all that torture. It was
evident they would do nothing. Ah! what luck! Saved, saved for
good this time! But no matter, I mean to frighten my husband, so as
to make him keep quiet. Saved, saved! What luck!"
As she turned into the Rue St. Lazare, she saw by a clock at the
shop of a jeweller, that it wanted twenty minutes to six.
"By Jove! I'll stand myself a good dinner. I have time," said she to
herself.
Opposite the station she picked out the most luxurious-looking
restaurant; and, seated alone at a small table, with snow-white
cloth, against the undraped plate-glass window, intensely amused at
the movement in the street, she ordered a nice meal: oysters, filets-
de-sole, and the wing of a roast fowl. She was well entitled to make
up for a bad lunch. She ate with a first rate appetite, found the
bread, made of the finest flour—the pain-de-gruau—exquisite; and
she had some beignets soufflés prepared for her, by way of sweets.
Then, when she had taken her coffee, she hurried off, for she had
only a few minutes left to catch the express.
Jacques, on leaving her, after paying a visit to his room to put on his
working-garments, had at once made his way to the depôt, where,
as a rule, he never showed himself until half an hour before the
departure of his locomotive. He had got into the habit of relying on
Pecqueux to inspect the engine, notwithstanding that the latter was
in drink two days out of three. But on that particular evening, in his
tender emotion, he unconsciously felt a scruple. He wished to make
sure, with his own eyes, that all the parts of the engine were in
thorough working order; and the more so, as in the morning, on the
way from Havre, he fancied he had noticed an increased expenditure
of strength, for less work.
Among the other locomotives at rest in the vast engine-house, into
which daylight penetrated through tall, dusty windows, the one
driven by Jacques was already at the head of a line, and destined to
leave the first. A fireman belonging to the depôt, had just made up
the fire, and red-hot cinders were falling below into the ash-pit.
It was one of those express engines with double axle-trees coupled
together, of delicate elegance, and gigantic build; with its great, light
wheels united by steel arms, its broad chest, its elongated and
mighty loins, conceived with all that logic and all that certainty,
which make up the sovereign beauty of these metal beings—
precision with strength. Like the other locomotives of the Western
Company, this one bore the name of a railway-station as well as a
number, that of Lison, a town in lower Normandy. But Jacques, in
affection, had turned the word into a woman's name, by setting the
feminine article before it—La Lison, as he called it with caressing
gentleness.
And, in truth, he fondly loved his engine, which he had driven for
four years. He had been on others, some docile, some jibbers, some
courageous, and some lazy. He was well aware that each had its
peculiar character, and that some were not worth much. So that if he
was fond of this one, it was because it possessed rare qualities,
being gentle, obedient, easy to set in motion, and gifted with even
and lasting speed, thanks to its good vaporisation.
Some pretended that if this locomotive started off so easily, it was
due to its excellent tyres, and particularly to the perfect regulation of
its slide-valves; and that if a large quantity of steam could be
produced with little fuel, it was owing to the quality of the copper in
the tubes, and to the satisfactory arrangement of the boiler.
But he knew there was something else; for other engines, built
identically in the same way, put together with the same care,
displayed none of the qualities of this one. There was the soul, so to
say, to be taken into account, the mystery of the fabrication, that
peculiar something which the hazard of the hammer gives to the
metal, which the skill of the fitter conveys to the various pieces—the
personality of the engine, its life.
So he loved La Lison, which started quickly and stopped sharp, like a
vigorous and docile steed; he loved it because, apart from his fixed
wages, it earned him cash, thanks to the gratuities on the
consumption of fuel. Its excellent vaporisation effected, indeed,
considerable economy in coal. It merited but one reproach, that of
requiring too much oil. The cylinders, particularly, devoured
unreasonable quantities of this liquid. They had a constant appetite
which nothing could appease. In vain had he sought to moderate it.
The engine lost breath at once. Its constitution required all this
nourishment. Ultimately, he had made up his mind to tolerate the
gluttonous passion, just as the eyes are closed to a vice in people,
who, in other respects, are full of qualities.
Whilst the fire roared, and La Lison was gradually getting up steam,
Jacques walked round and round the engine, inspecting it in all its
parts, endeavouring to discover why, in the morning, it should have
put away more oil than usual. And he found nothing amiss. The
locomotive was bright and clean, presenting that delightful
appearance which indicates the good, tender care of the driver. He
could be seen wiping, and furbishing the metal incessantly,
particularly at the end of a journey, in the same manner as smoking
steeds are whisked down after a long run. He rubbed it vigorously,
taking advantage of its being warm, to remove stains and foam
more perfectly.
He never played tricks with his locomotive, but kept it at an even
pace, avoiding getting late, which would necessitate disagreeable
leaps of speed. And the two had gone on so well together, that not
once in four years had he lodged a complaint in the register at the
depôt, where drivers book their requests for repairs—the bad
drivers, drunkards or idlers, who are ever at variance with their
engines. But truly, on this particular evening, he had the
consumption of oil at heart; and there was also another feeling,
something vague and profound, which he had not hitherto
experienced—anxiety, distrust, as if he could not rely on his engine,
and wanted to make sure that it was not going to behave badly on
the journey.
Pecqueux was not there, and when he at length appeared, with
flushed countenance, after lunching with a friend, Jacques flew into
a rage. Habitually the two men agreed very well, in that long
companionship, extending from one end of the line to the other,
jolted side by side, silent, united by the same labour and the same
dangers.
Although Jacques was the junior of the other man by more than a
decade, he showed himself paternal for his fireman, shielding his
vices, allowing him to sleep for an hour when too far gone in drink;
and the latter repaid him for this kindness with canine devotedness.
Apart from his drunkenness, he was an excellent workman,
thoroughly broken to his calling. It must be said, that he also loved
La Lison, which sufficed for a good understanding between the two.
And Pecqueux, taken aback at being so roughly welcomed, looked at
Jacques with increased surprise, when he heard him grumbling his
doubts about the engine.
"What is the matter? Why, it goes beautifully!" said the fireman.
"No, no," answered Jacques; "I am uneasy."
And, notwithstanding each part of the locomotive being in good
condition, he continued to toss his head. He turned the handles,
assured himself that the safety-valve worked well, got on to the
frame-plate, and attended to the grease-boxes of the cylinders
himself; while the fireman wiped the dome, where a few slight
traces of rust remained. Nothing was wrong with the sand-rod. All
this should have set his mind at ease.
The fact was, that La Lison no longer stood alone in his heart.
Another tenderness was growing there for that slim, and very fragile
creature, whom he continued to see beside him on the bench in the
garden of the square. A girl so gentle, so caressing, so weak in
character, and who needed love and protection. Never, when some
involuntary cause had put him behind time, and he had sent his
engine along at a speed of sixty miles an hour, never had he thought
of the danger the passengers might be incurring. And, now, the
mere idea of taking this woman back to Havre, this woman whom he
almost detested in the morning, whom he brought up with
annoyance, caused him great anxiety, and made him dread an
accident, in which he imagined her wounded by his fault, and dying
in his arms. The distrusted La Lison would do well to behave
properly, if it wished to maintain the reputation of making good
speed.
It struck six. Jacques and Pecqueux climbed up to the foot-plate,
and the latter, opening the exhaust-pipe at a sign from his chief, a
coil of white steam filled the black engine-house. Then, responding
to the handle of the regulator which the driver slowly turned, La
Lison began to move, left the depôt, and whistled for the line to be
opened. Almost immediately the engine was able to enter the
Batignolles tunnel, but at the Pont de l'Europe it had to wait; and it
was not until the regulation time that the pointsman sent it on to the
6.30 express, to which a couple of porters firmly secured it.
The train was about to leave; it wanted but five minutes to the time,
and Jacques leant over the side, surprised at not perceiving Séverine
among the swarm of passengers. He felt certain she would not seat
herself without first of all coming to the engine. At last she
appeared, behind time, almost running. And, as he had foreseen,
she passed all along the train and only stopped when beside the
locomotive, her face crimson, exulting with joy.
Her little feet went on tiptoe, her face rose up, laughing.
"Do not be alarmed!" she exclaimed. "Here I am."
He also laughed, happy to see her there, and answered:
"Ah! very good! That's all right."
But she went on tiptoe again, and resumed, in a lower tone:
"My friend, I am pleased, very pleased. I have had a great piece of
luck. All that I desired."
He understood perfectly, and experienced great pleasure. Then, as
she was running off, she turned round to add, in fun:
"I say, don't you smash me up, now."
And he gaily retorted:
"Oh! what next? No fear!"
But the carriage doors were being slammed. Séverine had only just
time to get in. Jacques, at a signal from the chiefguard, blew the
whistle, and then opened the regulator. They were off. The
departure took place at the same time as that of the tragic train in
February, amidst the same activity in the station, the same sounds,
the same smoke. Only it was still daylight now, a clear crepuscule,
infinitely soft. Séverine, with her head at the window of the door,
looked out.
Jacques, standing to the right on La Lison, warmly clothed in
woollen trousers and vest, wearing spectacles with cloth sides,
fastened behind his head under his cap, henceforth never took his
eyes off the line, leaning at every minute outside the cab so as to
see better. Roughly shaken by the vibration, of which he was not
even conscious, his right hand rested on the reversing-wheel, like
that of a pilot on the wheel of the helm; and he manœuvred it with
a movement that was imperceptible and continuous, moderating,
accelerating the rapidity; while, with his left hand, he never ceased
sounding the whistle, for the exit from Paris is difficult, and beset
with pitfalls.
He whistled at the level crossings, at the stations, at the great
curves. A red light having appeared in the distance, as daylight
vanished, he for a long time inquired if the road was free, and then
passed like lightning. It was only from time to time that he cast a
glance at the steam-gauge, turning the injector-wheel as soon as
the pressure reached ten kilogrammes. But it was always to the
permanent way that his eyes returned, bent on observing its
smallest peculiarities, and with such attention, that he saw nothing
else, and did not even feel the wind blowing a tempest. The steam-
gauge falling, he opened the door of the fire-box, raising the bars;
and Pecqueux, accustomed to a gesture, understood at once. He
broke up coal with his hammer, and with his shovel put on an even
layer. The scorching heat burnt the legs of both of them. Then, the
door once closed again, they had to face the current of icy air.
When night closed in, Jacques became doubly prudent. Rarely had
he found La Lison so obedient. He handled the engine as he
pleased, with the absolute will of the master; and yet he did not
relax his severity, but treated it as a tamed animal that must always
be distrusted.
There, behind his back, in the train, whirling along at express speed,
he saw a delicate, confiding, smiling face. He felt a slight shiver.
With a firmer hand he grasped the reversing-wheel, piercing the
increasing darkness with fixed eyes, in search of red lights. After the
embranchments at Asnières and Colombes, he breathed a little. As
far as Mantes all went well, the line was as a sheet of glass, and the
train rolled along at ease.
After Mantes he had to urge La Lison on, so that it might ascend a
rather steep incline, almost half a league long. Then, without
slackening speed, he ran down the gentle slope to the Rolleboise
tunnel, just about two miles in length, which he negotiated in barely
three minutes. There remained but one more tunnel, that of La
Roule, near Gaillon, before the station of Sotteville—a spot to be
feared, for the complication of the lines, the continual shunting
proceeding there, and the constant obstruction, made it exceedingly
dangerous. All the strength of his being lay in his eyes which
watched, in his hand which drove; and La Lison, whistling and
smoking, dashed through Sotteville at full steam, only to stop at
Rouen, whence it again set out, a trifle calmer, ascending more
slowly the incline that extends as far as Malaunay.
A very clear moon had risen, shedding a white light, by which
Jacques was able to distinguish the smallest bushes, and even the
stones on the roads, in their rapid flight. As he cast a glance to the
right, on leaving the tunnel of Malaunay, disturbed at the shadow
cast across the line by a great tree, he recognised the out-of-the-
way corner, the field full of bushes, whence he had witnessed the
murder. The wild, deserted country flew past, with its continuous
hills, its raw black patches of copses, its ravaged desolation. Next, at
La Croix-de-Maufras, beneath the motionless moon, abruptly
appeared the vision of the atrociously melancholy house set down
aslant in its abandonment and distress, with its shutters everlastingly
closed. And without understanding why, Jacques, this time again,
and more vigorously than on previous occasions, felt a tightening at
the heart as if he was passing before his doom.
But immediately afterwards, his eyes carried another image away.
Near the house of the Misards, against the gate at the level crossing,
stood Flore. He now saw her at this spot at each of his journeys,
awaiting, on the watch for him. She did not move, she simply turned
her head so as to be able to get a longer view of him in the flash
that bore him away. Her tall silhouette stood out in black, against
the white light, her golden locks alone being illumined by the pale
gold of the celestial body.
And Jacques, having urged on La Lison, to make it scale the ascent
at Motteville, allowed the engine breathing time across the plateau
of Bolbec. But he finally sent it on again, from Saint-Romain to
Harfleur, down the longest incline on the line, a matter of three
leagues, which the engines devour at the gallop of mad cattle
sniffing the stable. And he was broken down with fatigue at Havre,
when, beneath the iron marquee, full of the uproar and smoke at
the arrival, Séverine, before going up to her rooms, ran to say to
him, in her gay and tender manner:
"Thanks. We may see one another to-morrow."

CHAPTER VI

A month passed, and great tranquillity again pervaded the lodging

occupied by the Roubauds, on the first floor of the railway station,
over the waiting-rooms. With them, with their neighbours in the
corridor, with all this little crowd of public servants subjected to an
existence regulated by the clock, life had resumed its monotony. And
it seemed as if nothing violent or abnormal had taken place.
The noisy and scandalous Grandmorin case was quietly being
forgotten, was about to be shelved, owing to the apparent inability
of the authorities to discover the criminal. After Cabuche had been
locked up a fortnight, the examining-magistrate, Denizet, had
ordered his discharge, on the ground that there was not sufficient
evidence against him. And a romantic fable was now being arranged
by the police: that of an unknown murderer on whom it was
impossible to lay hands, a criminal adventurer, who was everywhere
at the same time, who was accused of all the murders, and who
vanished in smoke, at the mere sight of the officers.
It was now only at long intervals that a few jokes about this fabulous
murderer were revived in the opposition press, which became
intensely excited as the general elections drew near. The pressure of
the government, the violence of the prefects, every day furnished
other subjects for indignant articles; and the newspapers were so
busy with these matters that they gave no further attention to the
case. It had ceased to interest the public, who no longer even spoke
on the subject.
What had completed the tranquillity of the Roubauds was the happy
way in which the other difficulty, connected with the will of President
Grandmorin, had been smoothed over.
On the advice of Madame Bonnehon, the Lachesnayes had at last
consented to accept the will, partly because they did not wish to
revive the scandal, and also because they were very uncertain as to
the result of an action. And the Roubauds, placed in possession of
their legacy, had for the past week been the owners of La Croix-de-
Maufras, house and garden, estimated to be worth about 40,000
frcs., a matter of £1,600.
They had immediately decided on selling the place, which haunted
them like a nightmare, and on selling it in a lump, with the furniture,
just as it stood, without repairing it, and without even sweeping out
the dust. But, as it would not have fetched anything like its value at
an auction, there being few purchasers who would consent to retire
to such solitude, they had resolved to await an amateur, and had
nailed up an immense board on the front of the house, setting forth
that it was for sale, which could easily be read by persons in the
frequent trains that passed.
This notice in great letters, this desolation to be disposed of, added
to the sadness of the closed shutters, and of the garden invaded
with briars. Roubaud, having absolutely refused to go there, even to
take a look round, and make certain necessary arrangements,
Séverine had paid a visit to the house one afternoon, and had left
the keys with the Misards, telling them to show any possible
purchasers who might make inquiries, over the property. Possession
could be arranged in a couple of hours, for there was even linen in
the cupboards.
And from that moment, there being nothing further to trouble the
Roubauds, they passed each day in blissful expectation of the
morrow. The house would end by being sold, they would invest the
money, and everything would go on very well. Besides, they forgot
all about it, living as if they were never going to quit the three rooms
they occupied: the dining-room, with the door opening on the
corridor; the bedroom, fairly large, on the right; the small, stuffy
kitchen on the left.
Even the roofing over the platforms, before their windows, that zinc
slope shutting out the view like the wall of a prison, instead of
exasperating them, as formerly, seemed to bring calm, increasing
that sensation of infinite repose, of recomforting peace, wherein
they felt secure. In any case, the neighbours could not see them,
there were no prying eyes always in front of them peering into their
home; and, spring having set in, they now only complained of the
stifling heat, of the blinding reflex from the zinc, fired by the first
rays of the sun.
After that frightful shock, which for two months had caused them to
live in a constant tremble, they enjoyed this reaction of absorbing
insensibility, in perfect bliss. They only desired never to move again,
happy to be simply alive, without trembling and without suffering.
Never had Roubaud been so exact and conscientious. During the
week of day duty, he was on the platform at five in the morning. He
did not go up to breakfast until ten, and came down again an hour
later, remaining there until five in the evening—eleven hours full of
work. During the week of night duty, he had not even the brief rest
afforded by a meal at home, for he supped in his office. He bore this
hard servitude with a sort of satisfaction, seeming to take pleasure
in it, entering into details, wishing to see to everything, to do
everything, as if he found oblivion in fatigue; the return of a well-
balanced, normal life.
Séverine, for her part, almost always alone, a widow one week out
of two, and who during the other week, only saw her husband at
luncheon and dinner-time, displayed all the energy of a good
housewife. She had been in the habit of sitting down to embroidery,
detesting to put her hand to household work, which an old woman,
called Mother Simon, came to do, from nine to twelve. But since she
had recovered tranquillity at home, and felt certain of remaining
there, she had been occupied with ideas of cleaning and arranging
things; and she now only seated herself, after rummaging
everywhere in the apartment. Both slept soundly. In their rare
conversations at meal-times, as on the nights which they passed
together, they never once alluded to the case, considering it at an
end, and buried.
For Séverine, particularly, life once more became extremely pleasant.
Her idleness returned. Again she abandoned the housework to
Mother Simon, like a young lady brought up for no greater exertion
than fine needlework. She had commenced an interminable task,
consisting in embroidering an entire bedcover, which threatened to
occupy her to the end of her days. She rose rather late, delighted to
remain alone in bed, rocked by the trains leaving and coming in,
which told her how the hours fled, as exactly as if her eyes had been
on a clock.
In the early days of her married life, these violent sounds in the
station—the whistling, the shocks of turn-tables, the rolls of thunder,
the abrupt oscillations, like earthquakes, which made both her and
the furniture totter—had driven her half crazy. Then, by degrees, she
had become accustomed to them; the sonorous and vibrating
railway station formed part of her existence; and, now, she liked it,
finding tranquillity in all this bustle and uproar.
Until lunch-time, she went from one room to another, talking to the
charwoman, with her hands idle. Then, she passed the long
afternoons, seated before the dining-room window, with her work
generally on her lap, delighted at doing nothing. During the weeks
when her husband came up at daylight, to go to bed, she heard him
snoring until dark; and these had become her good weeks—those
during which she lived as formerly, before her marriage, having the
whole bed to herself, enjoying her time after rising, as she thought
proper, with the entire day before her, to do as she liked.
She rarely went out. All she could see of Havre, was the smoke of
the neighbouring factories, whose great turbillions of black stained
the sky above the zinc roof, which shut out the view at a few yards
from her eyes.
The city was there, behind this perpetual wall; she always felt its
presence, and her annoyance at being unable to see it had, in the
end, subsided. Five or six pots of wallflowers and verbenas, which
she cultivated in the gutter, gave her a small garden to enliven her
solitude. At times she spoke of herself as of a recluse in the depths
of a wood. Roubaud, in his moments of idleness, would get out of
the window, then, passing to the end of the gutter, would ascend
the zinc slope, seating himself on the top of the gable, overlooking
the Cours Napoléon. There he smoked his pipe, in the open air,
towering above the city that lay spread out at his feet, above the
docks planted with tall masts, and the pale green sea, expanding as
far as the eye could roam.
It seemed that the same somnolence had gained the other
households, near the Roubauds. This corridor, where generally
whistled such a terrible gale of gossip, was also wrapt in slumber.
When Philomène paid a visit to Madame Lebleu, barely a slight
murmur could be heard. Both of them, surprised at the turn matters
had taken, now spoke of the assistant station-master with disdainful
commiseration, convinced that his wife, to keep him in his post, had
been up to her games at Paris.
He was now a man with a slur upon him, who would never free
himself of certain suspicions. And, as the wife of the cashier felt
convinced that, henceforth, her neighbours would not have the
power to take her lodging from her, she simply treated them with
contempt, stiffening herself when she passed them, and neglecting
to bow. This behaviour even estranged Philomène, who called on her
less and less frequently. She considered her too proud, and no
longer found amusement in her company.
Madame Lebleu, in order to have something to occupy her,
continued to watch the intrigue between Mademoiselle Guichon and
the station-master, M. Dabadie, but without ever surprising them.
The almost imperceptible brush of his felt slippers along the corridor,
could alone be heard. Everything having thus settled down, a month
of supreme peacefulness ensued, similar to the great calm that
follows great catastrophes.
But one painful, anxious matter remained, to occasionally worry the
Roubauds. There was a particular part of the parquetry in the
dining-room, whereon their eyes never chanced to rest, without an
uncomfortable feeling again troubling them. This spot was to the left
of the window. There they had taken up and put in place again, a
piece of the pattern in the oak flooring, to hide beneath it the watch,
and the 10,000 frcs. (£400) which they had taken from the body of
Grandmorin, as well as a purse containing about 300 frcs. (£12) in
gold. Roubaud had only drawn the watch and money from the
pockets of the victim, to convey the impression that the motive of
the crime was robbery.
He was not a thief. He would sooner die of hunger within arms'
reach of the treasure, as he said, than profit by a centime, or sell the
watch. The money of this old man, to whom he had dealt out justice
—money, stained with infamy and blood? No! no! it was not clean
enough for an honest man to finger. And he did not even give a
thought to the house at La Croix-de-Maufras, which he had accepted
as a present. The act of plundering the victim, of carrying off those
notes in the abomination of murder, alone revolted him and aroused
his conscience to the pitch of making him start back in fright at the
idea of touching the ill-gotten gain.
Nevertheless, he had not had the courage to burn the notes; and
then, one night, to go and cast watch and purse in the sea. If simple
prudence urged him to act thus, inexorable instinct protested against
the destruction. Unconsciously, he felt respect for such a large sum
of money, and he could never have made up his mind to annihilate
it. At the commencement, on the first night, he had thrust it under
his pillow, considering no other place sufficiently secure. On the
following days, he had exerted his ingenuity to discover hiding-
places, changing them each morning, agitated at the least sound, in
fear of the police arriving with a search-warrant. Never had he
displayed so much imagination.
At last, at the end of artifices, weary of trembling, he one day had
the coolness to take the money and watch, hidden the previous
evening under the parquetry; and, now, for nothing in the world
would he put his hand there. It was like a charnel house, a hole
pregnant with terror and death, where spectres awaited him. He
even avoided, when moving about the room, to place his feet on
that part of the floor. The idea of doing so, caused him an
unpleasant sensation, made him fancy he would receive a slight
shock in the legs.
When Séverine sat down before the window in the afternoon, she
would draw back her chair so as not to be exactly over this skeleton
which they kept under their floor. They never spoke of the matter to
one another, endeavouring to think they would get accustomed to it;
and, at length, they became irritable at remembering the thing
again, at feeling it there at every hour, more and more importunate,
beneath the soles of their boots. And this uncomfortable sensation
was all the more singular, as they in no way suffered from the knife,
the beautiful new knife purchased by the wife, and which the
husband had stuck into the throat of the sweetheart. It had been
simply washed, and lay in a drawer. Sometimes Mother Simon used
it to cut the bread.
Amidst the peacefulness in which they were living, Roubaud had just
introduced another cause of trouble, which was slowly gaining
ground, by forcing Jacques to visit them. The duties of the engine-
driver brought him three times a week to Havre. On Monday, from
10.35 in the morning, to 6.20 at night. On Thursday and Saturday,
from 11.05 at night, to 6.40 in the morning. And on the first Monday
after the journey Séverine had made to Paris, the assistant station-
master displayed effusive affability towards him.
"Come, comrade," said he, "you cannot refuse to have a snack with
us. The deuce! you were very obliging to my wife, and I owe you
some thanks!"
Twice in a month, Jacques had thus accepted an invitation to lunch.
It seemed that Roubaud, inconvenienced at the long silence that
now prevailed when he met his wife at table, felt a relief as soon as
he could place a guest between them. He at once recalled amusing
anecdotes, chatted and joked.
"Come as often as possible," said he; "you can see you are not in
the way."
One Thursday night, as Jacques, who had washed himself, was
thinking of going off to bed, he met the assistant station-master
strolling round the depôt; and, notwithstanding the late hour, the
latter, disinclined to walk back alone, persuaded the young man to
accompany him to the station. Once there he insisted on taking him
to his rooms. Séverine was still up, and reading. They drank a glass
or two together, and played cards until after midnight.
Henceforth the luncheons on Monday, and the little evening parties
on Thursday and Saturday, became a habit. It was Roubaud, himself,
when the comrade once missed a day, who kept a look-out for him,
and brought him home, reproaching him with his neglect. But he
became more and more gloomy, and it was only in the company of
his new friend that he was really in good spirits. This man, who had
first of all so cruelly alarmed him, whom he should now have held in
execration as the witness—the living vision of things he wished to
forget—had, on the contrary, become necessary to him, perhaps for
the simple reason that he knew what had occurred, and had not
spoken. This position took the form of a powerful bond, a sort of
complicity between them. The assistant station-master had often
looked at the other in a knowing way, pressing his hand with a
sudden burst of feeling, and with a violence that surpassed the
simple expression of good fellowship.
But it was particularly at home that Jacques became a source of
diversion. There, Séverine also welcomed him with gaiety, uttering
an exclamation as soon as he entered, like a woman bestirred by a
thrill of pleasure. She put aside everything—her embroidery, her
book, escaping from the gloomy somnolence, in which she passed
her time, in a torrent of words and laughter.
"Ah! how nice of you to have come! I heard the express, and
thought of you," she would say.
When he lunched there, it was a fête. She had already learnt his
tastes, and went out herself for fresh eggs. And she did this in a
very nice way, like a good housewife who welcomes the friend of the
family, without giving him any cause to attribute her actions to aught
else than a desire to be agreeable, and divert herself.
"Come again on Monday, you know," said she. "We shall have
cream."
Only, when at the end of the month, he had made himself at home
there, the separation between the Roubauds became more
pronounced. Jacques certainly assisted to bring about this informal
divorce by his presence, which drew them from the gloom into which
they had fallen. He delivered both of them.
Roubaud had no remorse. He had only been afraid of the
consequences, before the case was shelved, and his greatest anxiety
had been the dread of losing his place. At present, he felt no regret.
Perhaps, though, had he to do the business over again, he would
not make his wife take a part in it. Women lose their spirit at once.
His wife was escaping from him, because he had placed on her
shoulders, a load too heavy to bear. He would have remained the
master, had he not descended with her to the terrifying and
quarrelsome comradeship of crime.
But this was how things were, and it became imperative to put up
with them; the more so, as he had to make a regular effort, to place
himself again in the same frame of mind, as when, after the
confession, he had considered the murder necessary to his
existence. It seemed to him, at that time, that if he had not killed
this man, he would not have been able to live. At present, his
jealous flame having died out, himself freed from the intolerable
burn, assailed by a feeling of torpidity, as if the blood of his heart
had become thickened by all the blood he had spilt, the necessity for
the murder did not appear to him so evident.
He had come to the pass of inquiring of himself, whether killing was
really worth the trouble. This was not repentance; it was at most a
disillusion, the idea that people often do things they would not own
to, in order to become happy, without being any the more so. He,
usually so talkative, fell into prolonged spells of silence, into
confused reflections, from which he issued more gloomy than
before. Every day, now, to avoid remaining face to face with his wife,
after the meals, he went on the roof and seated himself on the
gable. There, in the breeze from the offing, soothing himself in
vague dreams, he smoked his pipe, gazing beyond the city at the
steamers disappearing on the horizon, bound to distant seas.
But one evening, Roubaud felt a revival of that savage jealousy of
former times. He had been to find Jacques at the depôt, and was
bringing him up to his rooms to take a dram, when he met Henri
Dauvergne, the headguard, coming down the staircase. The latter
appeared confused, and explained that he had been to see Madame
Roubaud on an errand confided to him by his sisters. The truth was
that for some time past, he had been running after Séverine, to
make love to her.
The assistant station-master violently addressed his wife at the door.
"What did that fellow come up again about?" he roughly inquired.
"You know that he plagues me!"
"But, my dear, it was for a pattern of embroidery," she answered.
"Embroidery, indeed!" he rejoined. "I'll give him embroidery! Do you
think I'm such a fool as not to understand what he comes here for?
And as to you, take care!"
He advanced towards her, his fists clenched, and she stepped back,
white as a sheet, astonished at the violence of this anger, in the
state of calm indifference for one another, in which they lived. But
he was already recovering his self-possession, and, addressing his
companion, he said:
"Whoever heard of such a thing? Fellows who tumble into your
home with the idea that your wife will immediately fall into their
arms, and that the husband, very much flattered, will shut his eyes!
It makes my blood boil. Look here, if such a thing did happen, I
would strangle my wife, oh! on the spot! And this young gentleman
had better not show his face here again, or I'll settle his business for
him. Isn't it disgusting?"
Jacques, who felt very uncomfortable at the scene, hardly knew how
to look. Was this exaggerated anger intended for him? Was the
husband giving him a warning? He felt more at ease when the latter
gaily resumed:
"As to you, I know you would very soon fling him out at the door. No
matter. Séverine, bring us something to drink out of. Jacques, touch
glasses with us."
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