Editing Film (film) (section)

===Stairs===
The camera cuts to the [[Vestibule (Architecture)|vestibule]]. The viewer is directly behind O. Stairs lead up on the left, but O veers right and pauses, pulling himself together. He takes his [[pulse]] and E moves in. As soon as he becomes aware of E's presence he rushes down a couple of steps and cowers beside the wall until the camera retreats a little. When it does he reverses back up to street-level and then begins up the stairs.

A frail old woman is coming down. The camera gives us a brief close-up. "She carries a tray of flowers slung from her neck by a strap. She descends slowly and with fumbling feet."<ref>Beckett, S., ''Collected Shorter Plays of Samuel Beckett'' (London: Faber and Faber, 1984), p 166</ref> O backs up and hurries down the steps to the right again where he sits down on a step and presses his face against the [[baluster]]s. He glances up briefly to see where she is, then hides his head from view.

As the woman reaches the bottom of the stairs, she looks straight into the lens. The expression on her face changes to the one of wide-eyed horror that was displayed on the faces of the man and woman outside. She closes her eyes and collapses. E checks on where the man had been, but O has made his escape. His coat tails are seen flying up the stairs.

E chases after him and finds him at the top of the first flight. He looks around to see if there is anyone about. Satisfied, he turns left and, not without some difficulty, opens the door to a room and enters. E slips in unnoticed as O locks the door behind him and then takes his pulse once more.