The lad collapsed onto a chair as if he were exhausted. His mother, who was sitting next to him, stroked his head.

‘I’m so glad to see you, darling. Are you hungry?’

Johann shook his head.

‘But you’ll have a cup of coffee? I’ll go and get it right away. Just imagine: we were talking about you this very minute. The minute before you came in. What a shame that you didn’t bring Mitzi. Herr Gurdweill could have met her too. You haven’t met her yet, have you, Herr Gurdweill?’

‘Who?’ asked Gurdweill absent-mindedly. He was busy scrutinising Johann, whose angry expression, for some reason unknown even to himself, interested him keenly.

‘My daughter-in-law! Mitzi.’

‘No, not yet.’

‘Mitzi went to the pictures,’ repeated Johann mechanically, looking down at the table. ‘She wanted to go to the pictures, but I didn’t feel like it.’

His mother’s caresses appeared to be having a soothing influence on him. He bowed his head and seemed on the verge of falling asleep.

‘I’ll bring your coffee in a minute,’ she said, and left the room.

Vrubiczek stood leaning against the cupboard and smoking silently. He seemed deep in thought. From time to time he let out a long curl of smoke, which was almost the same colour as his moustache and seemed like some kind of extension of it. Now he said firmly, like a judge pronouncing sentence: ‘See here, Johann, a woman can’t go out by herself! If her husband neglects her, she’ll look for another man in the end … And that’s all I have to say on the matter.’

Johann stared coldly at his father for a moment as if wondering what business it was of his. Then he apparently came to his senses and said, ‘Of course. But she wanted to go to the pictures … and I couldn’t go with her … Let me have a cigarette too, Father!’

His mother came in with the coffee. ‘Take off your coat, Johann. Otherwise you’ll catch cold when you go out.’

‘Yes, yes!’ said Johann with a sudden spurt of activity. ‘But I have to go right away. I only came for a minute. I have to get up early for work. It must already be late. What’s the time, Herr Gurdweill? Ten o’clock?’

‘Ten o’clock exactly.’

‘Then I must be off! I have to meet Mitzi outside the cinema too. I’ll just drink my coffee and then I’ll go. You put in too much sugar again, Mother — you know I can’t stand such sweet coffee! One lump is always enough for me. And you, Herr Gurdweill, will you stay or leave with me? Oh yes, I forgot to tell you: my boss raised my salary. From now on I’ll be getting seventy schillings a week — what do you say to that? Beginning this week.’