Page 171 of 1294

He folded this strip in two, took off his wide, strong summer

overcoat of some stout cotton material (his only outer garment)

and began sewing the two ends of the rag on the inside, under the

left armhole. His hands shook as he sewed, but he did it

successfully so that nothing showed outside when he put the coat

on again. The needle and thread he had got ready long before and

they lay on his table in a piece of paper. As for the noose, it

was a very ingenious device of his own; the noose was intended

for the axe. It was impossible for him to carry the axe through

the street in his hands. And if hidden under his coat he would

still have had to support it with his hand, which would have been

noticeable. Now he had only to put the head of the axe in the

noose, and it would hang quietly under his arm on the inside.