Then a characteristic thing occurred. Apparently Nicholas's inventions--his little pieces of wood and bark and cloth, his glass bottles, and tubes--seemed to them highly suspicious. There was laughter at first, and then sudden silence. Nina could see part of the room through the open door and she watched them as they gathered round the little table, talking together in excited whispers. The tall, rough-looking fellow who had frightened her before picked up one of the tubes, and then, whether by accident or intention, let it fall, and the tinkling smash of the glass frightened them all so precipitately that they came tumbling out into the larger room. The big fellow whispered something to the student, who at once became more self-important than ever, and said very seriously to Vera: "That is your husband's room, Madame, I understand?" "Yes," said Vera quietly, "he does his work in there." "What kind of work?" "He is an inventor." "An inventor of what?" "Various things.... He is working at present on something to do with the making of cloth." Unfortunately this serious view of Nicholas's inventions suddenly seemed to Nina so ridiculous that she tittered. She could have done nothing more regrettable. The student obviously felt that his dignity was threatened. He looked at her very severely: "This is no laughing matter," he said. He himself then got up and went into the inner room. He was there for some time, and they could hear him fingering the tubes and treading on the broken glass. He came out again at last. He was seriously offended. "You should have told us your husband was an inventor." "I didn't think it was of importance," said Vera. "Everything is of importance," he answered. The atmosphere was now entirely changed. The soldiers were angry--they had, it seemed, been deceived and treated like children. The melancholy fellow with the black beard looked at Vera with eyes of deep reproach. "When will your husband return?" asked the student. "I am afraid I don't know," said Vera. She realised that the situation was now serious, but she could not keep her mind upon it. In that house on the Quay what was happening? What had, perhaps, already happened?... "Where has he gone?" "I don't know." "Why didn't he tell you where he was going?" "He often does not tell me." "Ah, that is wrong. In these days one should always say where one is going." He stood up very stiff and straight. "Search the house," he said to his men. Suddenly then Vera's mind concentrated. It was as though, she told me "I came back into the room and saw for the first time what was happening." "There is no one in the rest of the flat," she said, "and nothing that can interest you." "That is for me to judge," said the little officer grimly. "But I assure you there is nothing," she went on eagerly. "There is only the kitchen and the bath-room and the five bedrooms." "Whose bedrooms?" said the officer.