"I don'tthink I understand, " I said.

"Stricklandcan't work with anyone else in the studio. "

"Damn itall, it's your studio. That's his lookout. "

He looked at mepitifully. His lips were trembling.

"Whathappened?" I asked, rather sharply.

He hesitatedand flushed. He glanced unhappily at one of the pictures on the wall.

"Hewouldn't let me go on painting. He told me to get out. "

"But whydidn't you tell him to go to hell?"

"He turnedme out. I couldn't very well struggle with him. He threw my hat after me, andlocked the door. "

I was furiouswith Strickland, and was indignant with myself, because Dirk Stroeve cut suchan absurd figure that I felt inclined to laugh.

"But whatdid your wife say?"

"She'dgone out to do the marketing. "

"Is hegoing to let her in?"

"I don'tknow. "

I gazed atStroeve with perplexity. He stood like a schoolboy with whom a master isfinding fault.

"Shall Iget rid of Strickland for you?" I asked.

He gave alittle start, and his shining face grew very red.

"No. You'dbetter not do anything. "

He nodded to meand walked away. It was clear that for some reason he did not want to discussthe matter. I did not understand.

“我不懂你说的话，”我说。

“思特里克兰德身边有人的时候不能工作。”

“去他妈的，那是你的画室啊。他应该自己想办法。”

他凄凄惨惨地看着我，嘴唇抖个不停。

“出了什么事了？”我问，语气很不客气。

他吞吞吐吐地半天没说话，脸涨得通红。他看了看墙上挂的一张画，脸色非常痛苦。

“他不让我画下去。他叫我到外边去。”

“你为什么不叫他滚蛋呢？”

“他把我赶出来了。我不能同他动手打架呀。他把我的帽子随后也扔了出来，把门锁上了。”

思特里克兰德的做法使我气得要命，但是我也挺生自己的气，因为戴尔克·施特略夫扮演了这样一个滑稽角色，我居然憋不住想笑出来。

“你的妻子说什么了？”

“她出去买东西去了。”

“他会不会也不让她进去？”

“我不知道。”

我不解地看着施特略夫。他站在那里，象一个正挨老师训的小学生。

“我去替你把思特里克兰德赶走怎么样？”我问。

他的身体抖动了一下，一张闪闪发光的面孔涨得通红。

“不要。你最好什么也不要做。”

他向我点了点头，便走开了。非常清楚，由于某种原因他不想同我讨论这件事。我不懂他为什么要这样。