He was trembling, and he cursed himself heartily.
"Another fool's hour like this," he muttered, "and the fever will have me.

Come out of the shadows, you white-faced, skulking reptile, you--bah! what a blithering fool I am! There is no one there! How could there be any one ?" He listened intently.

From afar off came the faint moaning of the wind in the forest and the night sounds of restless animals.

Nearer there was no one--nothing stirred.

He laughed out loud and moved away to spend his last night in his little wooden home.