9
To his eyes, recently exposed to the burning sand, the interior of the hut lay in semi-darkness and felt cool and damp. The hot air had a stuffy, musty smell, quite different from the outside. But suddenly he was aware of what had to be a hallucination.
The woman was not there. For a moment he was startled. He had had enough of guessing games. But there was no riddle to be solved. She was there. She stood looking down, her back toward him, in front of the water jar by the sink.
She had finished dressing. He had no fault to find with her. The color of her matching bluish-green kimono and work trousers gave him a sense of mintlike freshness. Indeed, he was worrying too much. Between lack of sleep and the strange environment, he could scarcely help but have wild fancies.
The woman put one hand on the rim of the water jar and peered into it; with the tip of a finger she slowly stirred the surface of the water round and round. He vigorously swung his shirt in the air — it was heavy with the dampness of sweat and sand — and wound it firmly around his wrist.
She looked around apprehensively, and her features tensed. Her solicitous manner was so natural that one would have thought she had spent her whole life with such an expression on her face. He decided to behave as casually as possible.
«Hot, isn't it? Heavens, you can't wear a shirt when it's this hot!»
Yet she still appeared suspicious and looked dolefully at him. She gave a timid and artificial laugh, and spoke hesitantly.
«Yes, it really is. You'll get a sand rash right away if you leave your clothes on when you perspire.»
«A sand rash?»
«Yes. The skin festers, like after a burn, and then scales off.» «Hmm. I wonder if it really scales. It molders, I should say, with the humidity.»
«Yes… That's why…» Maybe she was beginning to relax at last, her tongue was loosening. «When we're likely to perspire, that's why we go around with no clothes as much as we can. After all, we live down in these holes, so we don't really have to worry about anybody seeing us.»
«Of course. Look, I don't want to put you to any trouble, but I would like to get this shirt washed.»
«Certainly, I'll be glad to. They'll be bringing our drum of water tomorrow.»
«Tomorrow? Tomorrow will be a problem,» he chuckled. Actually he had cleverly maneuvered the conversation to his subject. «Incidentally, when in heaven's name are they going to let me out of here? I'm going to be in a real fix. If a salaried worker like me breaks his schedule even by a half day, he stands to lose a lot. I don't want to waste a minute. There are a lot of coleoptera hopping around in sandy soil like this. I wonder if you know of any. I wanted to find a new species on this vacation.»
She moved her lips faintly. But no words came out. Perhaps she was just repeating the unaccustomed name. He realized that her mind was again closing. He went on instinctively.
«Say, I wonder if there isn't some way of getting in touch with the villagers, like beating on a kerosene can or something.»
But she made no answer. She again fell into her passive silence as quickly as a stone sinks into water.
«What's the matter with you? Damn it! Why don't you say anything?» Again his nerves were on edge, but he somehow stifled his desire to shout. «I don't get it. If there's some misunderstanding, all right! There's no use crying over spilt milk. This silence of yours is the worst thing. My pupils are always doing that, but I tell them that the most cowardly thing they can do is to clam up and pretend to take the blame themselves. If there's any explanation, out with it at once.»
«But…» Her eyes wavered toward her elbow, but in a surprisingly firm voice she said: «I think you already understand.»
«I understand…?» He gasped, unable to conceal his shock.
«Yes, you must have understood by now.»
«But, I don't understand!» he finally shouted. «How should I understand? You can't expect me to understand when you never say a word, can you?» «Well, life here is really too hard for a woman alone.» «What's that got to do with me?»
«It does have something to do with you. I'm afraid I've acted wrong toward you.»
«What do you mean, 'acted wrong'?» he said, stumbling over his words in his eagerness. «In other words, why the conspiracy? You baited the trap. You thought I'd spring at once if a woman was there, like some dog or cat.»
«It's getting to be the season now when the winds come from the north and we worry about the sand storms,» she said, glancing at the wooden door, which was standing open. There was a foolish confidence in her quiet, monotonous voice.
«It's no joke! There's a limit to absurdity. This is illegal detention pure and simple. A fine crime! You don't have to do such senseless things. Any number of men out of work would be glad of the chance for daily pay.»
«Maybe. But it would make trouble if they knew outside about things here.»
«And do you people think you're safe with me? Indeed you're not! You've made a real mistake if you think you are. I'm no tramp — unfortunately for you. I pay my taxes, and I'm a registered resident. There'll soon be a request out for an investigation, and then you'll see. Don't you people even understand that? Just how do you expect to justify yourselves? Now, go and call whoever's responsible. I'll tell him exactly what I think about this whole stupid situation.»
She lowered her eyes and sighed faintly. Her shoulders drooped, but she made no further attempt to move; she was like a dejected, unjustly abused puppy. Yet her attitude made him even more angry.
«What are you hesitating for? Come on, I'm not the only one concerned. You're as much the victim as I am, aren't you? Well, aren't you? You said yourself that if they knew on the outside about life here, there'd be trouble. That shows you yourself recognize how unreasonable this life of yours is. Stop being a mouthpiece; stop being treated like a slave. Nobody has the right to keep you shut up here. Go on and call somebody now. We're going to get out of here… Ah, so that's it. You're afraid, aren't you? But that's foolish! What's there to be afraid of? I'm here. And I've got friends who work for a newspaper. We'll give the story a social angle. What's wrong? Why don't you say something? I tell you there's nothing to be afraid of!»
After a moment the woman suddenly spoke, as if to console him.
«Shall I start fixing dinner?»
10
Out of the corner of his eye, he followed her figure as she began silently to peel some potatoes. Should he docilely accept the food she was preparing or not? His thoughts were completely taken up by the problem.
Now was the time to be calm and cool. Since her intentions were clear, it would be better to face the facts instead of shilly-shallying — better to lay some concrete plans for escape. He could call them to account for their unlawful treatment later. But his empty stomach weakened his will. He could not concentrate his faculties. But if he didn't want to recognize, officially, the predicament he was in, then he should probably refuse all food too. It would be ludicrous to eat the meal when he disapproved. Even a bristling dog will drop its tail as soon as it gets a bone.
But best not jump to conclusions. As long as he did not know just how far the woman would go, there was no need to be so passive. It was not a question of her doing something for nothing. He would certainly pay for his food. If he paid his money there would be no reason to feel indebted to her — not a bit. The announcers of boxing matches on television were always saying that attack was the best defense.
With this inspiration, he was relieved to have found a good excuse for not refusing the food. Suddenly his mind cleared and he saw everything. Only the sand was his enemy. Yes, that was it. There was no particular need to pose unreasonable problems, to be broken through like iron bars. They had taken away the rope ladder-¬very well, he would make a ladder of wood. If the sand wall were too steep, then he would make the incline more gentle by scraping away the sand. If he would only use his head a little, it would all be easy. The plan seemed overly simple, but as long as it fitted his purpose, the simpler it was the better. The best solution — take Columbus and his egg — is often ridiculously simple. If he did not mind the trouble, if he really would fight, well, the game was not over yet.