Jerusalem, Via Dolorosa, Ninth Station (where Jesus fell the third time)
Scene 6
Thus prepared, Maille walked along the Via Dolorosa – from time to time he would overtake pilgrims traversing the Way of the Cross, escorted by either a priest or a monk, and stopping at every Station to say a prayer or sing or maintain a moment of silence with their eyes closed. Station 3: Here Jesus is said to have stumbled for the first time. Station 6: Here Veronica had wiped the sweat and blood, spit and mud off the face of Jesus with her veil – with so much verve that the imprint of the face of the Son of God is believed to have stayed in the fabric. Station 9: Here Jesus collapsed for the third time. As Maille saw the crosses leaning against the wall here, he was for some seconds engulfed by that peculiar feeling: Couldn't it well be that he, too, was destined for something higher than serving with the Deuxieme Bureau?