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Meggie’s voice died away as if the wind had blown it froravel that covered the football pitch It grew taller, it stretched its ashen liht air suddenly stank of sulphur That stench burned Meggie’s eyes so that the letters blurred, but she rew taller and taller

‘Yet one night, a ht, the Shadow heard not Capricorn’s voice when it was called forth, but the voice of a girl, and when she called his name he remembered; he remembered all those frorief--’

The Magpie reached over Meggie’s shoulder ‘What’s this? What are you reading?’ But Meggie jumped up and backed away before the old woman could snatch the sheet of paper from her ‘He remembered,’ she read on in a loud, clear voice, ‘and he detered upon those ere the cause of all this misfortune, whose cruelty poisoned the whole world’

‘Make her stop!’

Was that Capricorn’s voice? Meggie almost fell off the rostrupie Darius stood there, staring at her in astonishment, the casket in his hands Then suddenly but deliberately, as if he had all the time in the world, he put down the casket and wrapped his thin aro, no ie read on as the Shadow stood, watching her The figure had no face, that was true, but it had eyes, terrible eyes, red as the embers of a hidden fire

‘Get the book away fro in front of his chair, bent double as if he feared his legs would refuse to obey him if he took so much as a step towards the Shadow ‘Get it away fro men moved, none of the boys and none of the wo but the Shadow as he stood there listening to Meggie’s voice, as if she were telling hiotten tale

‘Indeed, he wanted revenge,’ Meggie read on If only her voice weren’t shaking so oing to do it for her ‘So the Shadoent to his master, and reached out to him with ashen hands …’

How soundlessly it ie stared at Fenoglio’s next sentence And Capricorn fell down on his face, and his black heart stopped beating--She couldn’t say it She couldn’t It had all been in vain

Then, suddenly, so behind her She hadn’t even noticed hi up on to the rostruun ai there stirred No one so er to save Capricorn And Mo took the book frolio had added, and in a firm voice read to the end of what the old man had written

‘And Capricorn fell down on his face, and his black heart stopped beating, and all those who had gone burning andwith him disappeared – bloay like ashes in the wind’

57

A Deserted Village