"They're for you," said Ramsay. "Enjoy." She held a silver goblet out in front of me.

I looked around at each face and saw a small reflection of my own. Taking the wine, I drank it all to their cheers, before falling into the embraces and affections of the young girls.

1 This was written as bird of the cow (птица член крава) in the notebooks. There is no word for this in Bulgarian; the cowbird is found only in North America.

3rd NOTEBOOK

"If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my release should come."

Job 14:14

19

I awoke to the faint echoes of splashing water. The Gypsy girls were gone. Several semi-clothed men and women lay sleeping among the strewn pillows and toppled glasses. The torches flickered weakly as they burned the last of their fuel. I was the only thing moving, except for the splashing water.

I got to my feet, bracing myself against a column. My cane was nowhere in sight. I made my way over to the pool, limping from pillar to pillar. My head pounded unmercifully. I peered around the last column just as Clovis was climbing out. Tiny rivulets of water trickled off his grey beard onto the sagging skin of his naked body. His long hair lay close to his head like a wet blanket. He looked up at me and smiled, undeterred by his pathetic appearance.

"Welcome back Evan," he said, wiping beads of water off his face with a wrinkled hand.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked.

"A few hours."

I rubbed at my temples.

"How do you feel?"

"I've been better, I just can't remember when," I answered.

"You should eat. Are you hungry?"

I nodded gingerly.

"Good, so am I. We will have Diltz prepare something for us," he said covering himself with a thin robe. "Did you have a good time last night?"

I turned and looked at the motionless bodies littering the floor. "I think so. But I would probably get a more informative response if I asked that question of you."

He walked up and looked me square in the face. He was my height. His grey eyes penetrated me. "It seemed like you had the time of your life."

"That's good," I said looking away.

"Where is your cane?"

"I don't know."

"It should be here someplace. You had it last night. I will help you look for it. Can you walk without it?"

"I think so. I need the practice without it anyway." I followed him back over to where I'd slept, my limp becoming less pronounced with each step.

"Here it is on the stage. It seems to be none the worse for wear," he said, handing it to me.

"Thank you."

Clovis stood on the stage and looked down on the unconscious men and women lying randomly on the floor. "Look at all the fallen soldiers, the heroes of our times."