While the captain stepped into the guardroom, the soldier outside lost all interest in Oscar and wandered off to chat with his companion across the hallway, leaving Oscar completely unattended.
Oscar didn't waste the opportunity. He slipped into a small storage room adjacent to the guardroom. From there, through the thin wall, he could hear every word of the conversation inside.
"Sir, we need to halt the renovations," the captain said. "The soldiers are already irritated. It's making their work harder."
The lieutenant sounded impatient."We can't stop. This is for the security of the warehouse. And the place needs repairs. You saw how a stone fell on that soldier last week from the right-side wall."
"I understand," the captain replied, "but using that so-called Roman cement is risky. We don't even know how durable it is. Why can't we stick to our usual materials?"
