Скачать книгу

eaten.

      And as he thought of those cobwebs and of all the dangers he had been through, and the manner in which he had been preserved that day, his hand sought a little reliquary that hung about his neck, and he clasped it for a moment with heartfelt gratitude. As he did so his eyes went across the valley.

      “I was hot with passion,” he said, “and now she has met her reward. They also, no doubt — ”

      And behold! Far away out of the wooded slopes across the valley, but in the clearness of the sunset distinct and unmistakable, he saw a little spire of smoke.

      At that his expression of serene resignation changed to an amazed anger. Smoke? He turned the head of the white horse about, and hesitated. And as he did so a little rustle of air went through the grass about him. Far away upon some reeds swayed a tattered sheet of grey. He looked at the cobwebs; he looked at the smoke.

      “Perhaps, after all, it is not them,” he said at last.

      But he knew better.

      After he had stared at the smoke for some time, he mounted the white horse.

      As he rode, he picked his way amidst stranded masses of web. For some reason there were many dead spiders on the ground, and those that lived feasted guiltily on their fellows. At the sound of his horse’s hoofs they fled.

      Their time had passed. From the ground without either a wind to carry them or a winding sheet ready, these things, for all their poison, could do him little evil. He flicked with his belt at those he fancied came too near. Once, where a number ran together over a bare place, he was minded to dismount and trample them with his boots, but this impulse he overcame. Ever and again he turned in his saddle, and looked back at the smoke.

      “Spiders,” he muttered over and over again. “Spiders! Well, well… . The next time I must spin a web.”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4Re2RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgADAEAAAMAAAABB9AAAAEBAAMAAAABDIAAAAECAAMAAAADAAAA ngEGAAMAAAABAAIAAAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEVAAMAAAABAAMAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAApAEbAAUAAAAB AAAArAEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAfAAAAtAEyAAIAAAAUAAAA04dpAAQAAAABAAAA6AAAASAA CAAIAAgACvyAAAAnEAAK/IAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENDIChNYWNpbnRvc2gpADIwMTc6 MTA6MjUgMjA6NTg6MzQAAAAEkAAABwAAAAQwMjIxoAEAAwAAAAEAAQAAoAIABAAAAAEAAAOEoAMA BAAAAAEAAAWgAAAAAAAAAAYBAwADAAAAAQAGAAABGgAFAAAAAQAAAW4BGwAFAAAAAQAAAXYBKAAD AAAAAQACAAACAQAEAAAAAQAAAX4CAgAEAAAAAQAAFjAAAAAAAAAASAAAAAEAAABIAAAAAf/Y/+0A DEFkb2JlX0NNAAH/7gAOQWRvYmUAZIAAAAAB/9sAhAAMCAgICQgMCQkMEQsKCxEVDwwMDxUYExMV ExMYEQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMAQ0LCw0ODRAODhAUDg4OFBQO Dg4OFBEMDAwMDBERDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAz/wAARCACgAGQD ASIAAhEBAxEB/90ABAAH/8QBPwAAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAwABAgQFBgcICQoLAQABBQEBAQEB AQAAAAAAAAABAAIDBAUGBwgJCgsQAAEEAQMCBAIFBwYIBQMMMwEAAhEDBCESMQVBUWETInGBMgYU kaGxQiMkFVLBYjM0coLRQwclklPw4fFjczUWorKDJkSTVGRFwqN0NhfSVeJl8rOEw9N14/NGJ5Sk hbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2N0dXZ3eHl6e3x9fn9xEAAgIBAgQEAwQFBgcHBgU1AQAC EQMhMRIEQVFhcSITBTKBkRShsUIjwVLR8DMkYuFygpJDUxVjczTxJQYWorKDByY1wtJEk1SjF2RF VTZ0ZeLys4TD03Xj80aUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9ic3R1dnd4eXp7fH/9oADAMB AAIRAxEAPwCoktR31U67YSK/s4APJtP/AKTTD6m/WA/SdjgeVp/8gobHdkouPVXYLX2OdIdwPIcK Tpc74cT4rQH1W64xzqgaXuB7WagH+xtVuv6n9bDRIon/AI3/ANRpWO6qLTHS3VdHr6jv9ji1jWQO TZkUH3bt3t+y+p/N/wCF/wCDVbO6dfRiUZgfvGU2TWWFrWkt9VjWZAc71PZ/Os2V/wDB+oxbrfq9 9Y20/Zw7HNIG0ML2kRNtn51J+i/Kve3+v/IrSf8AV76xvx2Yz347qamllbC9pIBj8/0fU3N27K37 99df6Kv9G9Kwii12fVc1MpsdlF4yGF7NtbQS1tVuVDRZeypu5lLf5y1jP0384qduE1lNtvre2qrE ulzY0zNfdtc/+jt/d3+otgdJ+tZrqrNtDq6Gltdb3Mc0NNf2VzHMfQW2Ndj/AKL9Im/Yn1n2envx dpYyrmudtf8AMe70N27H/wC09n85T/g0biqi4mdjsxcp9FdhuYyC2wt27gRua9sOsY+p7f0lVrLP fWgLdyfq59Ycq31sh2PZYQGz6gaABw1rK6mMZ/Zah/8ANLrXhR/27/6jQsKouMktn/ml1rwx/wDt 3/1Gl/zS614Y/wD27/6jSsd1U4vZJbX/ADR614Uf9u/+o0krHdVP/9DvD6zCdr

Скачать книгу