‘Well, that’s all for now.’

‘Right you are,’ says Stein.

Stein may be risking his life in doing this, and he must know that. Stig knows it too. But nothing is gained by going into it.

‘Give me the things then,’ says Stein curtly.

Stig goes to another recess in the wall but at a different place. He takes out a parcel which he handles cautiously and which Stein handles cautiously as he puts it into his large briefcase.

‘Fine stuff this!’ he says, with the reckless manner that Stig dislikes but which he has introduced and which will now remain linked with this place.

Stein is being studied as he stands there. He is exceptionally well qualified to pull off the task that has been assigned him, but he is not the right man. Stein’s feelings about it are wrong. Stig has a desire to quiet his wretched conscience and begins: ‘Do you think this is fun ?’

Stein nods. ‘Fun if we see ’em blown to blazes,’ he says. ‘They’re just ripe for it. It’ll make quite a bang, all this, won’t it?’

Stig is gnawed by shame. This is so far removed from what it should be. Quite a bang – that’s not what it’s all about.

The three other men are working and not listening to them. It’s a large cellar.

Stig says sadly, ‘That’s not what it’s all about.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s not “quite a bang”, as you call it. You mustn’t have that attitude. What we’re doing is serious. Even tragic.’

‘But you want me to do it,’ says Stein scornfully. ‘I suppose you want to get out of it.’

Stig cringes.

‘I don’t want any of your preaching,’ says Stein again. ‘Both of us know how this may turn out.’ He points at his heavy case. ‘I may very well go to blazes myself as well,’ he says with a grimace.

That’s true. But such phrases do not have much effect in this cellar. They have accustomed themselves to look on death as something to be reckoned with at short notice, or no notice at all. The fact that Stein has referred to it shows that he has not taken so much part in the ordinary drudgery as the others. He has been shunned.

‘We know that,’ answers Stig. ‘All I’m asking is that you shouldn’t do it for the sake of excitement and adventure. We often cause distress to those we wish well. But we must. We have to destroy what desires to destroy us, because we are in the right. Sometimes those we wish well have to pay with their lives and their health for what we set in train. But we have orders. I don’t know what will happen in this case, whether it will involve innocent lives or not. I don’t think so, but you never know. But it is forbidden to take pleasure in doing such things.’

Stein does not answer at once.

‘Will you think about it?’ asks Stig. ‘When you realize what it means you’ll see that it’s important.’