When they search for Trubbklo they hear cats say the same thing as about Trubbklo as about Stortass, that he since a while has kept to being indoors - even become something of a sissy. They call for Trubbklo but Trubbklo just says something about being busy and disappears indoors.
Some cats appear to think that Skarpöra is cool cat, a little harsh but fair (but that mostly cats without real territories, mostly cats with small apartment territories within bigger territories). They seem to think that there were a lot fussin' and yappin' before but that's gone now. Some seems to have come to an agreement with Skarpöra, to Skarpöra's benefit. None of them are especially willing to discuss Skarpöra in details although both Tryggtass and Grå tries to get them do exactly that.
Gast sneaks back home since he knows that it's food time although he knows that he's not so welcome at home since the "accident" with the master's important box. As he comes back he catches the last part of a quarrel between two of the slaves over whether Gast should have some fresh fish or not. After a short while one of them returns quickly and puts a small dish with a small fresh fish filet with some garum in Gast's hideout and then he returns with the usual plate at the usual place but with unusually old and crappy meat-something. Gast pretends to eat a little, messes a little with the food as a cover-up for not eating. Gast notice which slave it was and sneaks into his hideout and enjoys the delicacy and then decides to go out to complement with a freshly killed mouse. Before he is finished master and mistress of the house appears and sits down at the small bench at the other end of the very small garden (but still a garden).
Gast pricks up his ears. They're talking quite low for being humans and seem very serious and concerned and maybe not totally agreed upon some important matter. It shows to be The Big Debt that the husband has kept secret for his wife. She is hurt that he didn't tell him. They usually share all important parts of private and official business, both her doings and his doings, and sometime help each other. He is sad and tries to convince her that he was going to fix it and she never needed to know about it. Gast don't think he sounds very convincing and his wife doesn't seem to really buy it either. "It was just this thing..." he tries. "I'll fix it" he says and his wife look at him with mixed feelings and beliefs showing in her face. It's like either he didn't tell about something important, the debt, or he didn't tell about something important, the resources that can solve this. Gast thinks that he should stop trying to dig himself out of the hole he's in. The mistress of the house turns to her husband and ends the discussion with "...and don't try anything stupid like your cousin who burnt the debt paper, there's another copy at the lender's place". Now the master of the house gets hurt and almost a little angry "My dropped behind a wagon cousin?!? You think I would do something like him?!?" Gast thinks that maybe, maybe if both copies burned, maybe everything would be solved... The pair returns inside for lunch. Gast walks out to the old food so that mistress of the house notice him and the old food. She looks at him with mixed emotions, a little like if she's angry for the broken ornamented box but on the other hand, hadn't the box broke she wouldn't have known that they risk having to sell the house and move to, gasp, an apartment. Gast returns to a comfortably sunny spot on the street roof.
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