Chapter 5
CONTAINS CERTAIN CONFIDENCESAs I dashed forward to the gap in the boundary wall of the wood,
I nearly stumbled over a form lying across the narrow path.
So dark was it beneath the trees that at first I could not
plainly make out what it was until I bent and my hands touched the
garments of a woman. Her hat had fallen off, for I felt it beneath
my feet, while the cloak was a thick woolen one.
Was she dead, I wondered? That cry—that single word of
reproach—sounded in my ears, and it seemed plain that she had been
struck down ruthlessly after an exchange of angry words.
I felt in my pocket for my vestas, but unfortunately my box was
empty. Yet just at that moment my strained ears caught a sound—the
sound of someone moving stealthily among the fallen leaves. Seizing
my g
