In the gray
light of the early morning it could be perceived that the poor old horse
still lay just as he had fallen; several crows were flitting about,
not yet venturing to attack the miserable carcass, peering at it
suspiciously from a respectful distance, as if they feared some hidden
snare. At last one, bolder than its fellows, alighted upon the poor
beast's head, and was just bending over that coveted dainty, the
eye--which was open and staring--when a heavy step, coming over the
snow, startled him. With a croak of disappointment he quitted his
post of vantage, rose heavily in the air, and flapped slowly off to
a neighbouring tree, followed by his companions, cawing and scolding
hoarsely. The figure of a man appeared, coming along the road at a brisk
pace, and carrying a large bundle in his arms, enveloped in his cloak.
This he put down upon the ground when he came up with the chariot,
standing directly in his way, and it proved to be a little girl about
twelve years old; a child with large, dark, liquid eyes that had a
feverish light in them--eyes exactly like Chiquita's. There was a string
of pearl beads round the slender neck, and an extraordinary combination
of rags and tatters, held together in some mysterious way, hung about
the thin, fragile little figure.
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