On that first day Joachim left him to his rest, avoiding all discussion. He went two or three times tactfully into the sickroom, nodded to the patient, and inquired if he could do anything. It was easy for him to understand and respect Hans Castorp’s reserve⁠—the more in that he shared it, even feeling his own position to be more difficult than the other’s.

But on Sunday forenoon, when he came back from the walk which for the first time in weeks had been solitary, there was no putting it off any longer; they must take counsel together over the necessary next step.

He sat down by the bed and said, with a sigh: “Yes, it’s no good; we must act⁠—they are expecting you down home.”

“Not yet,” Hans Castorp answered.

“No, but inside the next few days, Wednesday or Thursday.”