Then we change our possy and lie down again to play cards. We know how to do that: to play cards, to swear, and to fight. Not much for twenty years;⁠—and yet too much for twenty years.

Half an hour later Himmelstoss is back again. Nobody pays any attention to him. He asks for Tjaden. We shrug our shoulders.

“Then you’d better find him,” he persists. “Haven’t you been to look for him?”

Kropp lies back on the grass and says: “Have you ever been out here before?”

“That’s none of your business,” retorts Himmelstoss. “I expect an answer.”