I went straight to the point, there was no object in prevaricating. Naming the town from which the warden was operating, I asked if it was possible for me to get there. 'No. Fighting is going on in the area, night raids on the town. No foreigners allowed in.' 'No exceptions?' He shook his head. 'Anyway, there's no transport except for official personnel.' After all these negative statements, I could only say: 'Then you advise me to give up the idea?' 'Officially speaking, yes.' He looked at me slyly. 'But not necessarily.' His expression was more encouraging. 'There's just a chance I may be able to help you. Anyway, I'll see what can be done. But don't count on it. It will probably be a few days before I have anything to report.' I thanked him. We stood up and shook hands. He promised to notify me immediately he had any news.
I felt bored and restless. I had nothing to do. On the surface, the life of the town appeared normal, but underneath it was coming gradually to a standstill. The news from the north was scanty, confused, frightening. I realized that the destruction must have been on a gigantic scale. Little could have survived. The local broadcasters were cheerfully reassuring. It was the official policy, the population had to be kept calm. But these men actually seemed to believe their country would escape the cataclysm. I knew no country was safe, no matter how far removed from the present devastation, which would spread and spread, and ultimately cover the entire planet. Meanwhile, universal unrest was inevitable. It was the worst possible sign that war had already started, even though on a minor scale. That the more responsible governments were doing their utmost to pacify the belligerents only stressed the explosive nature of the situation, and the ominous threat of all-out warfare augmenting the present catastrophe. My anxiety about the girl, which had subsided slightly, revived again. She had gained nothing by escaping the destruction of one country, if she had gone to another about to engage in a full scale war. I tried to believe the warden had sent her to safety, but knew too much about him to feel sure of that. It was absolutely essential for me to see him; otherwise I would never find out what had happened to her. I spent the evening in different bars, listening to the talk. His name was often mentioned, occasionally as a traitor to his own people, more frequently as a new, powerful, unknown influence on the war issue, a significant figure, a man to watch.
First thing in the morning the telephone rang in my room: someone wanted to see me. I said the person was to come up, hoping for a message from the official. 'Hullo.' The flower girl entered, smiling and unselfconscious. She saw my surprise. 'Forgotten me already?' I said I had not expected her here.
I invited her to dinner that evening. Her manners were charming, she acted in her usual engaging, unaffected way. Later we went to two night clubs, danced. She was a delightful partner, seemed relaxed and talked freely, but told me nothing I did not already know. I took her back to the hotel with me; the porter looked the other way when we came in together. I was rather drunk. Her full skirt fell in a shining ring on the floor of my room. Very early in the morning, while I was still asleep, she left to go to the flower market; was back at breakfast time with a fresh carnation, bright-eyed, cheerful, and full of life, more attractive than she had been in the dark. I wanted to keep her with me, to anchor myself in the present through her. But she said: 'No, I must go now, I have my work to do;' then smiled in the friendliest way and promised to dance with me in the evening. I never saw her again.
The official sent for me while I was reading the papers. I hurried round to his office. He greeted me with a mysterious, conspiratorial air. 'I've been able to arrange that matter for you. It'll be a bit of a rush.' He grinned, pleased with himself, pleased to show me how he could manipulate events. I was surprised and excited. He went on: 'A lorry happens to be leaving today with important replacements for the new transmitter that's going up on our side of the frontier. It's quite near the town you want. I've got you signed on as a foreign consultant. You can do your homework on the way. It's all in here.' He handed me a thick folder full of papers, a travel permit on top, told me to be at the main post office in half an hour.
