Page 20

And is there plague in your village?’ ‘There was!’ he ferryman pointed to the silent figure in the bow. ‘That one had the shilling in the armpit all right.’

‘Why if he is still alive, he should thank God on every breath,’ I replied.

And the man spoke for the first time in a bitter voice. ‘Ah! God, yes. God! Yet I know who to thank too, separate from God!’