Austria -- Fiction; Devil -- Fiction; Middle Ages -- Fiction
And so they went on chatting, and poor Marget forgot her sorrows for
one little while, anyway. It was probably the only really bright and
cheery hour she had known lately. I saw she liked Philip, and I knew
she would. And when he told her he was studying for the ministry I
could see that she liked him better than ever. And then, when he
promised to get her admitted to the jail so that she could see her
uncle, that was the capstone. He said he would give the guards a little
present, and she must always go in the evening after dark, and say
nothing, “but just show this paper and pass in, and show it again when
you come out”--and he scribbled some queer marks on the paper and gave
it to her, and she was ever so thankful, and right away was in a fever
for the sun to go down; for in that old, cruel time prisoners were not
allowed to see their friends, and sometimes they spent years in the
jails without ever seeing a friendly face. I judged that the marks on
the paper were an enchantment, and that the guards would not know what
they were doing, nor have any memory of it afterward; and that was
indeed the way of it. Ursula put her head in at the door now and said:
“Supper’s ready, miss.” Then she saw us and looked frightened, and
motioned me to come to her, which I did, and she asked if we had told
about the cat. I said no, and she was relieved, and said please don’t;
for if Miss Marget knew, she would think it was an unholy cat and would
send for a priest and have its gifts all purified out of it, and then
there wouldn’t be any more dividends. So I said we wouldn’t tell, and
she was satisfied. Then I was beginning to say good-by to Marget, but
Satan interrupted and said, ever so politely--well, I don’t remember
just the words, but anyway he as good as invited himself to supper, and
me, too. Of course Marget was miserably embarrassed, for she had no
reason to suppose there would be half enough for a sick bird. Ursula
heard him, and she came straight into the room, not a bit pleased. At
first she was astonished to see Marget looking so fresh and rosy, and
said so; then she spoke up in her native tongue, which was Bohemian,
and said--as I learned afterward--“Send him away, Miss Marget; there’s
not victuals enough.”
Before Marget could speak, Satan had the word, and was talking back at
Ursula in her own language--which was a surprise to her, and for her
mistress, too. He said, “Didn’t I see you down the road awhile ago?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Ah, that pleases me; I see you remember me.” He stepped to her and
whispered: “I told you it is a Lucky Cat. Don’t be troubled; it will
provide.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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