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intentions until Thomas was right up against him, about to knock him out of the way in order to get past. At that point, he placed his hand on Thomas's arm in a timid gesture. They were so close to each other that it was impossible to tell them apart. Thomas was the taller of the two. The guardian, seen up close, appeared even more abject and debilitated. His eyes trembled. His suit had been pieced together from odds and ends, and despite the skillful stitching and the proper appearance of the whole outfit, it left a disturbing impression of poverty and negligence. It was impossible to see these rags as a real uniform. Thomas gently pulled himself away without meeting any resistance. The 4
    door was only half open. Through this opening he could see the first steps of a stairway leading down into a more shadowy region. One, two, three steps were dimly visible, but the light went no farther. Thomas took from his pocket a few coins, passed them from one hand to the other, and looked out of the corner of his eye to see if this offer would be well received. It was difficult to read the thoughts of the guardian. "Should I speak to him?" he wondered. But before he could open his mouth or do anything more than outline a friendly gesture, his interlocutor reached out forcefully, grabbed the coins, and threw them into the only pocket still intact on his vest, a very wide and deep pocket trimmed with dirty gold braids. Thomas was surprised but did not take the incident badly. He looked hurriedly for the latch in order to push the door all the way open. The guardian stood be fore him. Something in his attitude had changed, but what? It was hard to tell. He still had a ragged and even humble look; it seemed that his anxiety had become sheer distress, and his eyes flashed with a spark that comes from fear. And yet he barred Thomas's way. He did so without authority, without conviction, but he held himself quite firmly in the doorframe so that, in order to pass, it now became necessary to use force. "What a nui sance," thought Thomas. How had such a transformation taken place? It was as if the guardian had had nothing to guard until now, as if Thomas had suddenly created new duties for him by buying his complicity. This new obstacle was soon reduced to its proper proportions; the man still had the same modest attitude, and perhaps all he wanted was to be the first to walk the path they were about to take together. A word from Thomas cleared the way: "Is that," he said, "the stairway to the fourth floor?" The guardian, after reflecting a moment, responded with an evasive gesture, then turned around and, opening the door all the way, stepped through to the top of the stairway. Thomas was intrigued by the gesture. Its meaning was not very clear. Did the porter, this everlasting porter, mean to acknowledge that he knew nothing about the house, that he could not give the least information about anything? Was he attempting to evade his responsibilities? Or did he know so much about it that he could only wave away his thoughts with a gesture of doubt and indifference? Thomas de cided that his first duty, his only duty for now, was to get his companion to speak before it was too late. He called to him, and the other man took up his position again. He considered him anew. What could he expect from 5
    someone so wretched, so degraded? He was overcome with a feeling of solitude and by the anguish of his own destitution. "Are you the porter?" he asked the man. He answered yes with a nod. That was all. The response was definite, but it said nothing. Seeing what meager help he was receiving from the guardian, he took a step back and realized that he was right up against the door. This was a surprise. The door did not look the same as before. The sculptures and designs, which appeared to be set in wood, were made up of the heads of extremely long nails whose threatening points stuck out several inches on the other side. On the side of the door facing the