“What’s been done?” inquired Wessel.
“Violence!” said the man with the wounded hand. Wessel noticed that his eyes were quite wild. “My own sister. Oh, Christ in heaven, give us this man!”
Wessel winced.
“Who is the man?”
“God’s word! We know not even that. What’s that trap up there?” he added suddenly.
“It’s nailed down. It’s not been used for years.” He thought of the pole in the corner and quailed in his belly, but the utter despair of the two men dulled their astuteness.
“It would take a ladder for any one not a tumbler,” said the wounded man listlessly.
His companion broke into hysterical laughter.
“A tumbler. Oh, a tumbler. Oh—”
Wessel stared at them in wonder.