‘And what happened to your father and Chornotescu?’ he asked.

‘When I came out of the army, Chornotescu fell ill. As a young man he had contracted syphilis, which he was cured of at the time. But syphilis is a devilish thing. You can never be sure, never. It stays in the blood, without any external symptoms or pain, and when a man reaches fifty or thereabouts, it breaks out again, and that’s the end of him. Chornotescu was afflicted by what they call “general paralysis of the insane”, the final stage of the disease. He lay in the hospital for a few weeks, suffering the tortures of the damned, and then he died. And two years later my father died too. He left one ring, which I sold for three hundred kronen.’

Gurdweill was tired and fell asleep immediately, to dream wild dreams in which his neighbour played a large part, in different metamorphoses and strange guises. Suddenly he woke up in alarm. There was someone standing over his head. His mind cleared and he recognised his neighbour, dressed only in his shirt. Gurdweill sat up. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘My stomach is upset, Herr neighbour, a shocking attack of diarrhoea.’

‘So what are you waiting for? Go to the lavatory!’

And he reached out for his trousers, which he recognised in his neighbour’s hands. The latter handed them over as graciously as if he were making Gurdweill a present of them. ‘Here you are, mein Herr. Please don’t take it amiss.’

He turned back to his bed, pulled his own trousers out from underneath the blanket, and began to put them on.

For some reason Gurdweill felt a pang of conscience, and he said apologetically: ‘I … I need them myself, you know. They’re the only pair I’ve got …’

‘Of course, of course, I understand perfectly!’ said his neighbour, and went out into the passage.

Gurdweill checked his other garments and found them all where he had put them. He lay down again, but was unable to fall asleep. His neighbour came back presently and lay down on his bed.

‘What do you think the time is now?’ asked Gurdweill.

‘I’ve no idea,’ replied the latter curtly, in an offended tone, and turned his back on Gurdweill.