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group, about fifty metres away, was coming along the pine-bordered path.
    "Do you mind if we put the light out?" he asked me.
    He went into the bungalow and the light went out, leaving us, her and me, in the semi-darkness. She put her hand on my wrist.
    "Now," she said, "we must talk very quietly."
    And she smiled at me. Behind us, he shut the sliding glass door slowly, so as not to make a noise, and came and sat down on the deck chair again. The others were very close now, just by the path leading to the bungalow. I heard one of them keep repeating in a husky voice:
    "But I swear I did! I swear I did …"
    "If they come right up to us, we'll just have to pretend to be asleep," he said.
    I thought of the curious sight we should present to them, asleep on our deck chairs in the dark.
    "And if they tap us on the shoulder to wake us up?" I asked. "Well, in that case we'll pretend to be dead," she said.
    But they left the bungalow path and went down the slope under the pines in the direction of the beach. In the moonlight, I could make out two men and three women.
    "The danger's over," he said. "We'd better stay in the dark. They might quite likely see the light from the beach."
    I didn't know whether it was a game or whether he was in earnest.
    "Does our attitude surprise you?" she asked me, in a gentle voice. "There are moments when we are incapable of exchanging a single word with anybody … It's beyond us …"
    Their silhouettes could be seen on the beach. They took off their clothes and put them down on a big tree trunk carved into the shape of a Polynesian totem pole, whose shadow gave you the impression of being on the shore of a lagoon, somewhere in the South Seas. The women, stark naked, ran down to the sea. The men pretended to chase them, uttering roars. Snatches of music and the hum of conversation came from the villa in the background.
    "It lasts until three in the morning," he said in a weary voice. "They dance and go for midnight bathes."
    For several moments we remained silent, in our deck chairs, in the dark, as if we were hiding.
    •
    It was she who woke me. When I opened my eyes I saw that pale blue or grey gaze fixed on me once again. She opened the sliding glass door of the bedroom and the morning sunshine dazzled me. We all three had breakfast outside. The scent of the pines was floating around us. Down below, the beach was deserted. No trace of their midnight bathes. Not a single article of clothing left behind on the Polynesian totem pole.
    "If you'd like to stay here for a few days, you can," he said. "You won't be in our way."
    I was tempted to say yes. Once again that tenderness, that feeling of exaltation swept over me, as it had when I was walking down the sloping street with her. To allow oneself to live from day to day. To stop asking oneself questions about the future. To be in the company of kindly people who help you to get over your difficulties, and give you gradual confidence in yourself.
    "I have to go back to Paris … For my work …"
    They offered to drive me to the station in Saint-Raphaël. No, it was no trouble. In any case, they had to visit the Les Issandres house again. This time he drove, and I got into the back.
    "I hope you won't be frightened," she said, turning towards me. "He drives even worse than we do."
    He drove too fast, and I often had to cling on to the seat at the bends. My hand finally strayed on to her shoulder, and just as I was about to take it away he braked violently because of another bend, which made her grip my wrist very hard.
    "He's going to kill us," she said.
    "No, no, don't worry. It won't be for this time."
    At the station in Saint-Raphaël he made his way rapidly to the booking office, while she kept me back at the bookstall. "Could you find me a detective story?" she asked.
    I looked through the shelves and chose a book in the Série Noire .
    "That'll do," she said.
    He joined us. He handed me a ticket.
    "I got you a first class one. It'll be more