Suddenly he saw, a long way before him, a black clump and a couple
of lanterns. The clump was in motion, and the lanterns swung as
though carried by men walking. It was a patrol. And though it was
merely crossing his line of march, he judged it wiser to get out of
eyeshot as speedily as he could. He was not in the humour to be
challenged, and he was conscious of making a very conspicuous mark
upon the snow. Just on his left hand there stood a great hotel,
with some turrets and a large porch before the door; it was half-
ruinous, he remembered, and had long stood empty; and so he made
three steps of it and jumped into the shelter of the porch. It was
pretty dark inside, after the glimmer of the snowy streets, and he
was groping forward with outspread hands, when he stumbled over
some substance which offered an indescribable mixture of
resistances, hard and soft, firm and loose. His heart gave a leap,
and he sprang two steps back and stared dreadfully at the obstacle.
Then he gave a little laugh of relief. It was only a woman, and
she dead. He knelt beside her to make sure upon this latter point.
She was freezing cold, and rigid like a stick. A little ragged
finery fluttered in the wind about her hair, and her cheeks had
been heavily rouged that same afternoon. Her pockets were quite
empty; but in her stocking, underneath the garter, Villon found two
of the small coins that went by the name of whites.
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