### 122

The guard checks that there is nobody hiding in the closet and then he shuts the door. It is too dark for him to see anything more than this. His comrade enters the parlour from an adjoining room and he takes a tinderbox from his pocket with which he relights the candles.

‘There’s nothing here,’ he says to his comrade. ‘Let’s be on our way. We’ve other places to check before dawn.’

The two guards call off their search and leave, dragging their yelping dog behind them. Delissa stays in the yard and waits until they have all gone; then she quickly returns to the parlour and locks the door behind her.

Turn to 10.