Every ten metres, he feared they would come face to face with the wolf dog or the animals from the other evening. He said nothing to Lise, but he was keenly aware that they were entering enemy territory, being watched or tracked. He was not enjoying the trip. He and Lise were like two pet cats that had been released into the jungle for the first time. On the other hand, the walk was inducing a kind of concentration, a mental focus. Lise was no longer talking. She was probably nearing enlightenment, whilst he was mainly aware of his shortness of breath and the anger building inside him. Lise was savouring the moment, the landscape lifting her into a meditative weightlessness, as he was getting more and more tense. At the foot of the hill, Franck looked nostalgically up at the house right at the top, that cosy sanctuary with its shady ground floor, its thick breeze-block walls that kept it cool, and those tall trees surrounding it like a little island. From a distance, the house was simple but unusual, perfectly balanced atop its hill. Looking at it like this, he found he was almost falling in love with the house, built in such a strange place. Who would build a house so far away from anything else? What kind of person could have decided to settle there, and why? They had a good view of it from below. The top of the hill was covered in those large trees, a mass of vegetation like an oasis, with the water tank at its centre. The steep slope that led down from it was grassy and the house proudly presided over the surrounding countryside. They had closed the shutters when they left to stop the heat from coming in, and the car was parked on the other side. From here, the house looked abandoned.

After an hour of walking, Franck could go no further. The straps of his backpack were digging into his shoulders and it was becoming unbearable, yet the further they went, the more he felt grateful to Lise. Thanks to her, he was getting the measure of his vulnerability. He found a shady spot on the right, a sort of alcove surrounded by rocks, a haven of flat ground. It would be the ideal place to eat and have a rest. But Lise was already further ahead, and she signalled for him to continue. She was planning to tear down the second hill in order to tackle the third one, as she was sure that the third was higher than all the others. They would have an impressive view from up there, and they would be able to see the igue.