"Well," I said, "that's over."
My voice seemed to break the spell.
"Do you know what saved us?" demanded Nalte.
"Why, our disguises, of course," I replied.
"Yes," she admitted, "they helped, but our real salvation was the stupidity of the searchers. They scarcely looked at us. They were hunting for somebody who was hidden, and because we were not hiding they didn't give us a second thought."
"Do you think we might remove the paint now?" asked Duare. "It is very uncomfortable."
"I think we should not remove it at all," I replied. "As we know, they won't find us in this search; so Skor may order another search, and next time we may not have time to disguise ourselves even if we are lucky enough to get the materials again."
"I suppose you are right," said Duare, "and after all the discomfort is not much by comparison to what we have already gone through."
"The disguises have one advantage," said Nalte. "We can move about more freely without danger of detection. We won't have to sit in this stuffy little back room all the time, and I for one am going to the front of the house and get a breath of fresh air."
It was not a bad suggestion, and Duare and I joined Nalte while Kroona went about some household duties. The front room on the second floor, to which we went, overlooked the street. We could hear the searchers ransacking the house next door, and we could see the pedestrians shuffling along the dusty street.