صفحة 657 من 1294

Suddenly he heard a momentary sharp crack like the snapping of a

splinter and all was still again. A fly flew up suddenly and

struck the window pane with a plaintive buzz. At that moment he

noticed in the corner between the window and the little cupboard

something like a cloak hanging on the wall. "Why is that cloak

here?" he thought, "it wasn't there before...." He went up to it

quietly and felt that there was someone hiding behind it. He

cautiously moved the cloak and saw, sitting on a chair in the

corner, the old woman bent double so that he couldn't see her

face; but it was she. He stood over her. "She is afraid," he

thought. He stealthily took the axe from the noose and struck her

one blow, then another on the skull. But strange to say she did

not stir, as though she were made of wood. He was frightened,

bent down nearer and tried to look at her; but she, too, bent her

head lower.