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toward Abahn, sleepy.
    â€œHe said, ‘We speak of the Jews who will be executed. Gringo has forbidden it. We don’t know why Gringo has forbidden it.’”
    Abahn is quiet. He walks away from David. Does David see him leave?
    â€œSabana,” David calls out again in his sleep.
    David sees no more, his gaze floats away.
    â€œSabana!” His body turns toward her, he straightens up, his eyes becoming cloudy as if waking. He takes his gun, points it.
    â€œWhere is Sabana?”
    He searches for her with his eyes.
    His wakefulness is so brief, he looks too quickly to see her there, in the shadows, next to the Jew.
    His hand releases the gun.
    He falls in one quick movement back into the chair.
    He sleeps.
    â€¢
    S abana leaves the Jew. She walks away from David to the table where the Jew sat.
    The Jew stands where she left him, looking out toward the park.
    Abahn walks once more between the rooms.
    Sabana looks around. Abahn is out of sight, the Jew on the other side of the room. David sleeps. She is quiet for a long time. Then she speaks:
    â€œHe won’t remember anything.”
    Her voice has changed, is low and brittle.
    â€œHe’ll remember a little,” says Abahn.
    Sabana does not move. She too seems as if asleep. She moves no more than does David.
    The Jew has turned. Abahn comes back. They look at her. She raises her eyes to them. Eyes like dark wounds.
    â€œGive us the dogs,” she says.
    â€¢
    â€œG ive your dogs to David,” says Sabana. “Your dirty dogs, your Jew dogs.”
    The Jew comes toward Sabana. She watches him approach. She says to him:
    â€œI’ll wake him. I’ll tell him you tried to run away. We’ll take off with the dogs.”
    The Jew sits at Sabana’s feet. He leans his head against her knees. He wraps his arms tightly around them.
    â€œYour millions of dogs, you should give them to him. Write it down: I leave my dogs to David.”
    The Jew doesn’t answer. His arms are locked around Sabana’s body.
    â€œYou understand. Your dogs, your dirty dogs, your Jewish dogs, you should give them to him.”
    She does not try to wrench free from the grip of the Jew. She speaks without looking at him.
    â€œThe dogs are already David’s. He gave them the Jew, so the dogs belong to him now.”
    Her voice is low and sleepy. She has the same blank stare as does David.
    Abahn returns from the other room. She sees him. She speaks to him:
    â€œI want the dogs of the Jew for David to go into the forest.”
    Abahn pauses in front of her and the Jew. He regards them both without responding.
    â€œYou brought these dogs with you and now they want to kill you. They want to get these dogs out of Staadt.”
    She pulls free from the Jew’s embrace. She rises.
    â€œYou should give them to David before you die. If you give them to David they will live. You understand?”
    She regards David.
    â€œDavid will keep them safe from Gringo. He’ll take them into the forest. They’ll live.”
    She falls silent. Then starts speaking again:
    â€œA kennel in the forest—he’ll sell puppies, neither seen nor found out by anyone, secret dogs—he’ll leave the mason work behind, goodbye to Gringo.”
    The Jew raises his head, he looks at her. He is listening with great attention. She begins to smile. There is a little spit on the corner of his lips. She addresses him:
    â€œMaybe you don’t understand? The dogs should be David’s.”
    She waits. The Jew is still looking at her. He says:
    â€œThe dogs are David’s. I’m giving them to him.”
    Sabana recoils. They look at one another.
    â€œYou will tell Gringo,” says Abahn. “Write, ‘The Jew has left his dogs to David.’”
    The Jew rises, goes to the table and takes a blank sheet of paper, writes.
    He finishes writing. He says:
    â€œThey will be happy.”
    She does not answer. Unmoving, she