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.It had been a bad night.I hadstarted with a determinedly stout heart, but in spite of my resolutionsit weakened somewhat when dark-ness fell.I had never before spenta night anywhere but in my own room at home.There, everything was familiar,but the Wenders' empty house seemed full of queer sounds.I managed to findsome candles and light them, and when I had blown up the fire and put somemore wood on, that, too, helped to make the place less lonely - but only alittle less.Odd noises kept on occurring inside and outside the house.For a long time I sat on a stool, pressing my back against the wall so thatnothing should approach me unaware.More than once my courage all but gave out.I wanted painfully to run away.Ilike to think it was my promise and the thought of Sophie's safety that keptme there; but I do remember also how black it looked outside, and howfull of inexplicable sounds and movements the darkness seemed to be.The night stretched out before me in a prospect of terrors, yet nothingactually happened.The sounds like creeping foot-steps never broughtanything into view, the tapping was no prelude to anything at all,nor were the occasional dragging noises; they were beyond explanation, butalso, luckily, appar-ently beyond manifestation, too, and at length, inspite of them all I found my eyes blinking as I swayed on my stool.Isum-moned up courage and dared to move, very cautiously, across to the bed.I scrambled across it, and very thankfully got my back to a wall again.For a time I lay watching the candles and the uneasy shadows theycast in the corners of the room, and wondering what I should do whenthey were gone, when, all of a sudden, they were gone  and the sun wasshining in.I had found some bread for my breakfast in the Wenders' house, but I washungry again by the time I reached home.That, however, could wait.My firstintention was to get to my room unseen, with the very thin hope that myabsence might not have been noticed, so that I would be able to pretend that Ihad merely overslept, but my luck was not running: Mary caught sight of methrough the kitchen window as I was slipping across the yard.She called out:' You come here at once.Everybody's been looking all over for you.Where'veyou been?' And then, without waiting for an answer, she added: 'Father's onthe rampage.Better go to him before he gets worse.'My father and the inspector were in the seldom-used, rather formal room at thefront.I seemed to arrive at a crucial time.The inspector looked much asusual, but my father was thunderous.' Come here!' he snapped, as soon as I appeared in the door-way.I went nearer, reluctantly.' Where've you been?' he demanded.'You've been out all night.Where?'I did not answer.He fired half a dozen questions at me, looking fierier every second when I didnot answer them.' Come on now.Sullenness isn't going to help you.Who was this child  thisBlasphemy  you were with yesterday?' he shouted.I still did not reply.He glared at me.I had never seen him angrier.I feltsick with fright.The inspector intervened then.In a quiet, ordinary voice he said to me:' You know, David, concealment of a Blasphemy  not re-porting a humandeviation  is a very, very serious thing.People go to prison for it.It iseverybody's duty to report any kind of Offence to me  even if they aren'tsure so that I can decide.It's always important, and very important indeed if itis a Blasphemy.And in this case there doesn't seem to be any doubt about it unless young Ervin was mistaken.Now he says this child you were with hassix toes.Is that true?'Page 25ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html'No,' I told him.'He's lying,' said my father.'I see,' said the inspector calmly.'Well, then if it isn't true, it can'tmatter if we know who she is, can it?' he went on in a reasonable tone.I made no reply to that.It seemed the safest way.We looked at one another.' Surely, you see that's so? If it is not true  ' he was going onpersuasively, but my father cut him short.' I'll deal with this.The boy's lying.' To me he added: 'Go to your room.'I hesitated.I knew well enough what that meant, but I knew, too, that withmy father in his present mood it would happen whether I told or not.Iset my jaw, and turned to go.My father followed, picking up a whip from thetable as he came.'That,' said the inspector curtly, 'is my whip.'My father seemed not to hear him.The inspector stood up [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]