metre from one another, William was struck dumb. There was he himself standing face to face in front of him! The dark man opposite even had his peaked cap pulled down over his forehead like William and he also had the same rucksack on his back. The rucksack in which William was going to put the money. His face was the same as William’s, only it was pale like moonlight. But his body – what a nightmare! – was immaterial. It looked as if it had been drawn in black ink and cut out from paper. “Why do you have the rucksack on your back?” asked William after he’d got over the astonishment. “Surely you don’t need it for anything.” However, the person opposite just promptly repeated the same words and so both their voices nearly flowed into one another. ‘No, it’s really no use telling him anything,’ thought William and stepped forward on the path which was now lit up by the dim moonlight. He didn’t care for his shadow any more. The dark figure followed William going at the same pace for a while, and so they were almost walking beside one another. Then all of a sudden the shadowy man quickened his step and overtook William by a good twenty metres. William became nervous. ‘What if he’s the first to find the depot? He could take the money. Lojza would never forgive me for something like that!’ he thought and quickened his step as well. Then suddenly William saw something that took his breath away. Some little light started flickering in the distance of about fifteen metres before him. His shadow had struck a match! For the first time he did something of his own free will without William having given 98
Ukázka elektronické knihy, UID: KOS276453
him any impulse. The moon was on William’s side and lit the whole scene for him. William’s shadow came to a small iron door of a low wooden shack and pushed away a rusty latch with difficulty. Then he struck a match again and came in. “Just you dare to take the money! It’s mine!” shouted out William, irritated with his audacity. “Just you dare...” his shadow managed to repeat after him. Then there was a flash of lightning and a loud bang sounded. A cry of horror could be heard in the night silence. It were William and his shadow’s voices which merged into one heartrending yell. William stood silently watching the flames consuming the remains of the old depot, including his friend’s money. ‘Forgive me, Lojza,’ he apologized to his friend in spirit. At that moment, however, he realized that he’d just definitely and for ever stopped being in trouble with the police and the law. ‘Hope it was only my shadow, nobody else. It was he who saved me from death,’ thought William with relief.
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Ukázka elektronické knihy, UID: KOS276453
Vilémův stín Vilém se s požitkem zadíval do blankytně modré oblohy a zhluboka se nadechl. Právě za ním zaklapla těžká vězeňská brána a jeho životní obzor se náhle rozšířil do nekonečna. Po čtyřech letech strávených ve vězeňské cele si přísahal, že se tam už nikdy nevrátí. Proto slib daný spoluvězni Lojzovi, který si měl ve vězení odsedět další tři roky za těžké ublížení na zdraví, mu nedopřál klid. Neměl to srdce odepřít mu jistou službu, třebaže měla být v rozporu se zákonem. Avšak pevně se rozhodl, že to bude opravdu ten poslední přečin, kterého se dopustí. Lojza chtěl, aby vyzvedl pěknou sumu peněz, které si schoval v jedné staré boudě, když ho pronásledovali policisté poté, co vyloupil jedno starožitnictví. V tu chvíli zrovna neměl lepší nápad, kam lup ukrýt. Stará bouda bylo bývalé skladiště roznětek na okraji vytěženého lomu. Později ve vězení se Lojza neustále mučil představou, že by někdo mohl najít jeho tajnou skrýš a odnést si jeho ‚těžce vydělané‘ peníze. „Můžeš se na mě spolehnout, kamaráde. Hned jak mě propustí, půjdu tam, vezmu peníze a schovám je na tajném místě u sebe na půdě. A až to udělám, dám ti vědět, abys měl klid,“ slíboval Vilém svému kamarádovi den před propuštěním. Bylo mu ho líto. ‚Když už tady musí tvrdnout další tři roky, ať z toho něco má,‘ myslel si v duchu. Při jeho způsobu myšlení mu to přišlo naprosto poctivé. 100 Ukázka elektronické knihy