a quarter of an hour, into a rage. I really did not conceive how I did arrive to this act of murder.
I stood still before the corpse, always silent.
The cracks of some whips and the creaks of a freight carriage which echoed through the woods, brought me back to reality. The country road was hardly a quarter of a mile away from where the murder took place. I had to think, now, about my safety.
Involuntarily, I lost myself deeper into the forest. On the way, I remembered that the victim had possessed a pocket watch. I needed money to reach the frontier; and hence, I felt the courage to return to the place where the murder occurred. At that moment, a thought about the devil and the almighty God frightened me. I summoned all my whole courage, decided to go through the whole hell and then, went back to the crime scene.
I found what I have expected, and even found money in a green purse, about a little over a Thaler in coins.
Precisely there, as I was about to take both loots with me, I suddenly halted for a moment and thought. It was not a result of shame, also not of fear which led me to worsen my crime with plundering. I believe, it was defiance; anyway, I threw the watch away and kept only half the money. I would be hold for a personal enemy of the murdered, but not for his robber.
Now, I was fleeing towards the woods. I knew that the woods stretched northward still four German miles further and headed towards the frontier. I ran breathlessly until midday. The deftness of my runaway had dispersed the fears in my conscience; however, they came back even more terribly, as my forces faded away progressively. Thousand atrocious images went on in my mind and were cutting my breast more sharply than knives would do.
A terrible choice was, now, left to me; I had to choose between a life full of restless fear of death and a violent suicide. I had not the heart to go through a suicide, and yet, was horrified by the perspective to stick with the other decision. Stuck between the certain torments of life and the uncertain terrors of eternity, almost incapable to live and to die, I brought the sixth hour of my runaway in that way, an hour, completely pressed by torments, from which no one in my knowledge has been through.
I gathered my senses and slowly, without knowing it, I have deeply pulled the hat down my face, as if it could have made me unrecognizable before the eye of the lifeless nature; I had also, unintentionally, followed a narrow lane which led me into the darkest thicket, when suddenly a rough, commanding voice shouted somewhere before me: “Stop!”. The voice was really close; fortunately, my disguise and the well pulled down hat have prevented me for being immediately recognized.
I opened my eyes and saw coming towards me a wild man who carried a large, curved stick. His face was Herculean – my first consternation, at least, had made me believe so – and the colour of his skin was of a yellowish, mulatto black, from which the white of the squinted eyes came out horribly.
He had, instead of a belt, worn a thick rope wrapped twice around a green woolen cloth from which a large battle-knife stuck out near a pistol.
The warning would be repeated, and then, a forceful arm grabbed me firmly. The presence of an honest man would have scared me to death; however, the view of a villain gave me courage. In my current situation, I had cause to tremble before any honest man; however, none more before a robber.
- “Who’s there?“ said the man to me.
- “Your equal!” was my answer, “If you are really like the person who appears to me now!”
- “There is no way further on. What are you looking for here?”
- “Why do you have to ask that?“ replied I defiantly.
The man observed me a second time from head to toe. It seemed as if he wanted to hold my face against his, and to substantiate my answers against my external look.
- “You speak brutally like a beggar!” he said finally.
- "That may be. I was still one yesterday!“
The man laughed.
- “One could be swearing about that!”, he said, “You are still not worth that much today!”
- “For someone worse then!?“ I pursued further.
- “Dear friend! What are you hunting, then? What are you wasting your time for?”
I took a moment to gather myself. I did not know how the following words came to my lips:
- “Life is short”, I said slowly, “and Hell goes on forever.”
He stared at me.
- “May I be damned”, he said finally, “Or you have been somehow condemned to the gallows in the past!?”
- "That may still be happening. Goodbye, comrade!”
- “Hold it, comrade!” shouted he, while reaching for a tin bottle in his hunting bag, then took a forceful gulp from it and handed it over to me.
Escape and apprehension have flattened my forces; and during this whole, dreadful day, I have still not had any refreshment. I have already feared to crave in this surrounding forest where, three miles around, there was not any ray of hope for me to find water. People can imagine how happy I was to thank this offered sip. New forces flowed into my bones and fresh courage into my heart, and also hope and love for life; with this refreshing drink, I began to believe that I, hence, was not really so miserable; the welcome drink did a lot of good to me.
Indeed, I had to recognize that my condition was again close to a happy one; for, finally, after thousand failed hopes, I have found a creature who seemed to be like me. In my dreadful condition, I would share the cup of friendship with an infernal spirit, and find, finally, a trustful person again. The man has, now, stretched himself on the grass, I did the same.
- “Your drink did me a lot of good!” I said, “We must get to know each other better!”
He lighted a match to smoke his pipe.
- “Do you carry this handwork already for long?”
He looked at me fixedly.
- “What do you mean by that?”
- “Has this knife always been bloody?”, while pulling the knife from his belt.
- "Who are you?“, he said fearfully while putting the pipe away.
- “A murderer like you, but only just a beginner!”
The man stared at me, then took his pipe again.
- “Are you not at home here?” he said finally.
- “Home is three miles away from here. I am the owner of “The Sun” in L…., if you have already heard about me.“
The man jumped as if possessed.
- “The wild, hunting Wolf?” he shouted hastily.
- “Namely!”
- “Welcome, comrade! Welcome!”, he said and shook my hand firmly. “It is good that I finally have you, Boss. I meant to get hold of you already for long. I know you very well. I know everything about you. I have for long counted
