The sleepy sound of the children's voices came to Joe's ears as she disappeared up the stairs, and they were cut off suddenly as she shut the door. He could hear the sound of their feet on the floor above as she marshalled them back to their beds.
Beside him the Devil stirred. "Ow," he groaned. "What was it she hit me with?"
"A snow shovel."
"Never had any use for snow shovels," said the Devil, struggling to a sitting position. The chain around his neck rattled and his eyes widened. He looked at the chain, and at the bolt that held it into the wall. He took the chain in both hands.
"Never saw a chiseling contractor's cement I couldn't pull a bolt out of," he said.
Joe picked up the snow shovel and stood watchfully waiting. The Devil tugged at the bolt, then yanked furiously. At length he leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily.
"No cheap contractor put that in," said Joe. "I did it myself."
"What were you building, a fortification?" snarled the Devil.
"Just made up my mind there wasn't going to be any plaster cracking in this house," said Joe.