As quickly as possible Bradley dragged the dead Wieroo through the
doorway and closed the door; then he looked about for a place to
conceal the corpse. One of the chests was large enough to hold the
body if the knees were bent well up, and with this idea in view Bradley
approached the chest to open it. The lid was made in two pieces, each
being hinged at an opposite end of the chest and joining nicely where
they met in the center of the chest, making a snug, well-fitting joint.
There was no lock. Bradley raised one half the cover and looked in.
With a smothered "By Jove!" he bent closer to examine the contents--the
chest was about half filled with an assortment of golden trinkets.
There were what appeared to be bracelets, anklets and brooches of
virgin gold.
Realizing that there was no room in the chest for the body of the
Wieroo, Bradley turned to seek another means of concealing the evidence
of his crime. There was a space between the chests and the wall, and
into this he forced the corpse, piling the discarded robes upon it
until it was entirely hidden from sight; but now how was he to make
good his escape in the bright glare of that early Spring day?
He walked to the door at the far end of the apartment and cautiously
opened it an inch. Before him and about two feet away was the blank
wall of another building. Bradley opened the door a little farther and
looked in both directions. There was no one in sight to the left over
a considerable expanse of roof-top, and to the right another building
shut off his line of vision at about twenty feet. Slipping out, he
turned to the right and in a few steps found a narrow passageway
between two buildings. Turning into this he passed about half its
length when he saw a Wieroo appear at the opposite end and halt. The
creature was not looking down the passageway; but at any moment it
might turn its eyes toward him, when he would be immediately discovered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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