Page:The Knife.pdf/6

120 was a quantity of currants trampled upon the brick walk, "Somebody's pudding will be none the better for this; but it's a wonder the old woman has not been out broom in hand. I say, Dame Bird! you might sell your currants over again—none the worse for a little clean dirt." At this moment he started back, with open eyes and gaping mouth:—what an odd thing it is, that the indications of terror are usually ludicrous! A narrow crimson line, like the wriggling of a red snake, wound slowly towards him: it was blood! For the first time in his life, John Dodd dropped a parcel from his hand, and ran into the shop. The narrow line widened; large red spots grew frequent; the crimson pool splashed beneath his feet—it evidently flowed from behind the counter; and there lay the poor old woman, her face uppermost, and her throat literally cut from ear to ear. "Murder! thieves! Harriet Lynn, help!" cried the terrified carrier, rushing back to his cart and companion, as if even the girl and his horse were some security. Harriet Lynn, who had heard his voice, was at the gate as soon as himself. "What is the matter?" "Come away; we shall be murdered!" was the answer, made almost inaudible by dread. There is no denying the fact, that in all sudden emergencies a woman has ten times the presence of