I saw from his insignia he was an engineer he must have been from the reserve staff he looked like an official with his steel-rimmed glasses, walking towards me as soon as he had stepped out of the cab furious feverish already shouting not listening to me and he repeating too What do you want what is it you want I tried to explain but he was still furious feverish constantly glancing over his shoulder in the direction they had come from holding his revolver first turning towards me then he forgot it waving it gesticulating holding me by a button of my jacket the work clothes the man had given me, shouting What are those clothes, again I tried to explain to him but he wasn’t listening constantly turning round to look at the turn in the road, nervous, I took out my military record my identity disc that I had kept but he kept looking over his shoulder then I said That way, pointing to the place where the little grey car had disappeared and he What? and I They just went by five minutes ago four of them in a little car, and he shouting What if I had you shot? I tried to begin explaining again but he let go of me heading for the truck again still glancing in the direction they had come from (I looked too almost expecting to see the little coffin-shaped car appear that meanwhile must have had time to get round the block of houses) then he went back inside sat down closed the door from the window frame the window was rolled down he was holding the revolver now the barrel aimed at me his thin greyish sweating face leaning forward still looking behind him his myopic eyes behind the glasses the truck started up

running behind: there were about ten of them under the canvas sitting on the two benches on each side, I hung on to the back flap running trying to get in but they pushed me back they looked drunk too I managed to get one leg in one of them tried to hit me with his gun butt he was probably too drunk the butt coming down next to my hand then I let go still having time to see one of them head thrown back drinking greedily out of a bottle then he aimed at me one eye closed and threw it but they were already too far away and it fell at least a yard in front of my feet broke there was still some wine in it that made a dark spot on the cobbles with tentacles splinters of greenish black glass scattered around then I heard a shot but not even the bullet passing, drunk as they were and shaken up jolted in that truck it wasn’t surprising then it disappeared