"That suits me," said Seitzen. "Well... I'm going to bed."
Hiltsch nodded.
"I shall take a walk," he said, "rain or no rain. I need exercise, and I have some thinking to do. You will leave here, say the day after to-morrow, and I shall be with you three or four days after that. Be ready for that."
"All right," said Seitzen. "Good-night."
He went out. Hiltsch heard him walking up the stairs.
After a little while Hiltsch went into the hallway. He put on a raincoat and a soft hat. He opened the door and regarded the wet blackness without. The air smelt of rain. Ho opened his nostrils appreciatively.
He was thinking about Seitzen and the arrangements they had just concluded. Life was damned funny, thought Hiltsch.
He walked down the wet earthen pathway on to the dirt road. The mud squel
