But Enok was desperately ill at ease; he looked round anxiously for
Levion, and answered at random.
“Do not give way so,” said the priest. “Pull yourself together, and be
a man. We must get the fire under.” And he took Enok by the arm.
Some of the men had already moved forward towards the fire, and were
digging across its path. Levion was still in his old place, breathing
hard; he kicked at a flat stone that lay in under the rock. “He won’t
have hidden anything here,” thought Levion to himself. “It was just a
lie.” But he looked down again, and, kicking away some of the earth, he
came upon a kerchief. One of Enok’s kerchiefs it was--a quondam bandage
for the earache. Levion picked it up; there was something wrapped in
it. He unfastened it, and there was money--paper money--notes, and many
of them. Furthermore, there was a document, a big white sheet. Levion
was full of curiosity. He thought at once, “Stolen money!” And he
unfolded the document and began to spell it through.
Then it was that Enok caught sight of him, and gave a hoarse cry;
breaking away from the priest, he rushed back towards Levion, knife in
hand.
“Enok, Enok!” cried the priest, making after him.
“Here is the thief!” cried Levion, as they came up.
The priest fancied Enok must have gone suddenly demented at sight of
the fire. “Put up your knife!” he called out.
Levion went on, “Here’s the burglar that stole Mack’s money.”
“What’s that you say?” asked the priest uncomprehendingly.
Enok makes a dash at his opponent, and tries to snatch the packet away.
“Get out! I’m going to hand it over to the priest,” cries Levion. “And
he can see for himself the sort of helper he’s got now.”
Enok staggered to a tree; his face was grey. The priest looks blankly
at the paper, the kerchief, and the notes; he can make nothing of it
all.
“I found it there,” says Levion, shaking all over. “He’d hidden it
under a stone. There’s Mack’s name on the paper, you can see.”
The priest examined it, growing more and more astounded as he read.
“This must be the insurance policy Mack said he had lost, surely?”
“And the money he lost as well,” said Levion.
Enok pulled himself together. “Then you must have put it there,” he
said.
The roar of the forest fire came nearer, the air was growing hotter and
hotter about them, but the three men stood still.
“I know nothing about it,” said Enok again. “It’s just a trick of
Levion’s, to do me harm.”
Said Levion, “Here’s two hundred _Daler_. Have I ever had two hundred
_Daler_ in my life? And isn’t this your kerchief? Isn’t it one you’ve
worn over your ears?”
“Yes, isn’t that so?” seconded the priest.
Enok was silent.
The priest was counting over the notes. “There are not two hundred
_Daler_ here,” he said.
“He’s spent some of it, of course,” said Levion.
But Enok stood breathing heavily. “I know nothing about it,” he said.
“But as for you, Levion, you see if I don’t remember you for this!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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