“Are you preparing for the Day of Warning and the Untersuchung, Hans Peter?” Everett asked.
The village fool shook his head.
“Thou forgettest that Hans Peter is one whom the Lord hath forgotten,” he said. “The Almighty taketh no account of the sayings and doings of the simple one.”
The simple one took into his hand a gourd which bore but one or two deep cuts dried into its hardened surface.
“This Hans Peter had in his pocket on the day that he carried the carpet-bag of the stranger,” he said.
“What do the marks stand for, Hans Peter? I hope they do not mean anything uncomplimentary.”
The simple one said that he did not understand, and Everett explained.
“This meaneth that the stranger in Zanah bringeth trouble,” the village fool answered.
Everett paced up and down the sanded floor for a few moments.
“You are not a prophet, Hans Peter,” he said, stopping to pull the village fool’s ear. “Have I done any harm in Zanah?”