Stumm wouldn't be likely to have got on my tracks yet, I calculated, but there was always the chance that he had warned all the villages round by telephone and that they might be on the look-out for me.

But that risk had to be taken, for I must have food.
It was the day before Christmas, I remembered, and people would be holidaying.

The village was quite a big place, but at this hour--just after eight o'clock--there was nobody in the street except a wandering dog.

I chose the most unassuming shop I could find, where a little boy was taking down the shutters--one of those general stores where they sell everything.

The boy fetched a very old woman, who hobbled in from the back, fitting on her spectacles.
'Gruss Gott,' she said in a friendly voice, and I took off my cap.