"
She did not believe him of course. He said that whoever he was, to test
her, to tempt her to give herself away. But she was too clever for them.
She turned back and faced them, and then saw, to the accompaniment of an
amazement that seemed like thunder in her ears, that the cupboard was
indeed empty.
"There is nobody," said the black-bearded soldier.
The student looked rather ashamed of himself. The white clothes, the
skirts, and the blouses in the cupboard reproached him.
"You will of course understand, Madame," he said stiffly, "that the
search was inevitable. Regrettable but necessary. I'm sure you will see
that for your own satisfaction...."
"You are assured now that there is no one here?" Vera interrupted him
coldly.
"Assured," he answered.
But where was the man? She felt as though she were in some fantastic
nightmare in which nothing was as it seemed. The cupboard was not a
cupboard, the policeman not a policeman....
"There is the kitchen," she said.
In the kitchen of course they found nothing. There was a large cupboard
in one corner but they did not look there. They had had enough.
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