Rivalry between men will never end, even when there are only two men left on earth. Now that La Bûche knew that the doctor would not be returning, he felt that it was his job to protect Joséphine. He thought he had rights over her. He was deluded enough to think that she desired him, that all she wanted was him. Every evening he made a tour of the village, casting a suspicious eye up at the mountain in the fading light. He could not hear the lions – because of his years hammering against his anvil, he was completely deaf in his right ear. But there was nothing wrong with his sight and it seemed to him that this evening the mountain was more prominent than ever, that its shadow was more dominant than usual; he felt as if it were coming down on him like the prow of a sinking ship. There was a feverish atmosphere this evening; dusk formed the sky into an alcove where everything seemed sensual. That evening he felt it: Joséphine was in the arms of the other man; they were making love at this very moment in the black skies above him. Yes, at that very moment they were up there, the two of them, entwined in the darkness, making love in the vicinity of the lions, and it had to stop! It was this evening that he would have to surprise them, this evening he would punish them. So he waited until everyone had gone to bed, and all the candles had been blown out, before leaving the village and going up the mountain by the rough path.

He walked with the aid of a pitchfork that he held the wrong way round, using the handle like a walking stick, knowing that once he got up there, he would have quite another use for the implement. He would use it to push back the lions and tigers should they try to get near him. He was sure he would be able to hold them off if they came at him when he opened the cages. Because that was what he intended to do. While the lovers were sleeping or making love on the first floor of the house, he would unlock the cages so that the wild cats escaped. Once free, the famished beasts would rush at the house and throw themselves at the lovers to devour them. Or they would scatter into the countryside and wake everyone up, spreading panic all over the region. Then there would be widespread and long-lasting fear because no one would know how to hunt lions. The lion tamer would be held responsible for the fear and carnage. One way or another, he would make the lion tamer disappear. Either he would end up eaten by his own beasts this evening or he would be hounded out tomorrow as the scourge of the region. Either way, he would be gone.