When they arrived back at the house (amid much loudly cheerful chatter from Cuthbert, who was even less willing to shut up than usual), Alain was in the front yard. He had been up for a while now, and had taken the time to wash his clothes; when they approached, he was just finishing hanging them out to dry. He had clearly managed to find the clothes Roland had been using, but what fitted Roland moderately well looked positively comical on Alain, who was far broader and shorter. He had had to roll up the jeans almost halfway, and they strained over his gut; the sleeves of his borrowed blue sweater were pushed up to the elbow, and forced his arms out at the sides.

He hurried to meet them at the gate, his eyes filled with concern, and only relaxed a little when he saw all of them there. "What happened?" he asked, looking between the four of them.