पृष्ठ 193 / 1294

He laid the axe on the ground near the dead body and felt at once

in her pocket (trying to avoid the streaming body)--the same

right-hand pocket from which she had taken the key on his last

visit. He was in full possession of his faculties, free from

confusion or giddiness, but his hands were still trembling. He

remembered afterwards that he had been particularly collected and

careful, trying all the time not to get smeared with blood.... He

pulled out the keys at once, they were all, as before, in one

bunch on a steel ring. He ran at once into the bedroom with them.

It was a very small room with a whole shrine of holy images.

Against the other wall stood a big bed, very clean and covered

with a silk patchwork wadded quilt. Against a third wall was a

chest of drawers. Strange to say, so soon as he began to fit the

keys into the chest, so soon as he heard their jingling, a

convulsive shudder passed over him. He suddenly felt tempted

again to give it all up and go away.