Adolphus stood beside the Very Large Hole, looking into it, and whistling shrilly. Lucy sat in a crouch a half-dozen paces away from the lip. He hadn’t slept even momentarily all through the night and there was an insistent, throbbing discomfort in his skull. Kneading his temples with the tips of his fingers, he asked Adolphus to stop whistling, and Adolphus did stop. But now he’ll spit, thought Lucy, and this proved to be true. The soldier marked his spittle’s transit with interest.
“Well, boy, where’s Klara?” he asked.
“She’s coming.” There was something in Lucy’s voice, some inkling of worry or strife, that caught Adolphus’s ear; now he peered at Lucy in a sidelong manner. Lucy’s eyes were ringed with gray and blue, and his breathing was hurried and shallow.
Adolphus said, “I know what went on between you two, while I was away.”
Lucy said nothing. He had removed his pipe from his pocket and was tapping it against a rock.
“I want you to know that I don’t bear you any ill will because of it. Our desires get away from us, and there’s nothing to be done about that. I can’t say that I blame you, anyway. Her behavior is all the more baffling to me, but then Klara was never one to do the expected thing.” He spat a second time, then asked, “What’s the matter with you? You sick?”
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“I’m not sick.”
Adolphus shifted. “But why did she send you to fetch me? And why did she wish to meet here, of all places? It doesn’t make sense.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
Lucy only stared. Adolphus made a scornful sound at him, and resumed gazing into the hole. “I don’t like it here,” he admitted.
If he spits once more, then, thought Lucy. Adolphus spat; Lucy set his pipe on the ground and stood.
“I’m sorry,” he said again. He drew a breath and lunged at Adolphus, his hands outstretched, arms locked straight at the elbows. But Adolphus had been put on his guard by the eerie light in Lucy’s eyes, and so was ready for an untoward occurrence. He spun away and to the side, and Lucy rushed past him, disappearing into the Very Large Hole, headfirst, and quite neatly.
Adolphus looked at the hole awhile, then shook his head and went away. It was odd that Lucy had made no sound when he fell. He was happy, at any rate, that the boy was gone, and so the foolishness with Klara could rest. Only the night before, and she had admitted to loving that runt more than she loved him, if such a thing could be believed. Perhaps she was only cultivating an argument; her father was the same way. Well, now she would once again be contented, which meant that Adolphus could focus his attentions on the area war, which was his pre-eminent concern, his primary source of happiness.