The weight of water - Anita Shreve [75]
“As soon as I heard her haloo out, John killed me, I jumped up out of bed, and tried to open my bed-room door. I tried to get it open but could not, it was fastened.”
“Go on.”
“He kept on striking her there, and I tried to get the door open, but I could not, the door was fastened. She fell down on the floor underneath the table, then the door was left open for me to go in.”
“What next?”
“When I got the door open I looked out and saw a fellow standing right alongside of the window. I saw it was a great tall man. He grabbed a chair with both hands, a chair standing alongside of him. I hurried up to take Karen, my sister, and held one hand on to the door, and took her with my other arm, and carried her in as quick as I could. When I was standing there, he struck me twice, and I held on to the door. I told my sister Karen to hold on to the door, when I opened the window and we were trying to get out.”
“Which window was that?”
“My bed-room window, and she said no, I can’t do it, I am too tired. She laid on the floor with her knees, and hanging her arms upon the bed. I told Anethe to come up and open the window, and to run out and to take some clothes on her, to run and hide herself away.”
“Where was Anethe when you told her that?”
“In my bed-room.”
“Well.”
“She opened the window.”
“Who opened the window?”
“Anethe opened the window, and left the window open and run out. I told her to run out.”
“Where did she run out?”
“Out of the window, jumped out of the window.”
“Go on.”
“I told her to run, and she said I can’t run. I said you haloo, might somebody hear from the other islands. She said, I cannot haloo. When I was standing there at the door, he was trying to get in three times, knocked at the door three times when I was standing at the door.”
“What door?”
“My bed-room door. When he found he could not get in that way, he went outside, and Anethe saw him on the corner of the house. She next halooed, Louis, Louis, Louis, a good many times, and I jumped to the window and looked out, and when he got a little further I saw him out the window, and he stopped a moment out there.”
“How far from the window was he when he stopped?”
“He was not far from the window; he could have laid his elbow right that way on the window. Maren then illustrated this gesture for the court.
Yeaton asked: “Who was that man?”
“Louis Wagner.”
“Go on. What else took place?”
“And he turned around again, and when Anethe saw him coming from the corner of the house, back again with a big axe, she halooed out, Louis, Louis, again, good many times she hallooed out Louis, till be struck her. He struck her with a great big axe.”
“Did you see that part of her person the blow took effect?”
“He hit her on the head. He struck her once, and she fell down. After she fell down, he struck her twice.”
“Well.”
“And back he went on the corner again, and I jumped out, and told my sister to come, but she said, I am so tired I can’t go.”
“Which sister was that?”
“Karen. I told Karen to come; she said, I am so tired I can’t.”
“You jumped out where?”
“Out through my bed-room window, and I ran down to the hen-house where I had my hens, and opened the door and thought of hiding away in the cellar. I saw the little dog coming, and I was afraid to hide away there because he would look around, and I was afraid the dog would bark, and out I went again. I thought I would run down to the landing-place, and see if he had dory there, and I would take the dory and draw to some island. I looked down the dock, but I did not find any boat there, so I went around. I got a little ways out from the house, and I saw he had a light in the house.”
“Go on, and state what you saw or heard.”
“He had hauled the window curtains down too. I did not haul them down, but he had them hauled down before I got into the kitchen. I forgot to state that. I went down on the island, ran a little ways, and heard my sister haloo again. I heard her so plain I thought she was outside of the house. I ran to find myself away underneath the rocks on the island.”
“How long did you remain