The girl paused. Wolf noticed that her eyes had grown liquid and soft. A feeling of undeniable discomfort rose up within him. “What a superstitious idiot I am!” he thought. “The automatic young lady has taken a fancy to me, that’s all it is! This is her way of starting an intimacy.”

“Well, Miss Round,” he said gravely, “I think it’s very nice of you to be so concerned about me. But you can set your mind at rest. All villages have these legends. Besides⁠ ⁠… who knows?⁠ ⁠… I may be such a crafty scapegoat that I’ll bear the burden without turning a hair!”

She opened her mouth; she opened her blue eyes wide; she distended her little round nostrils.