Page 282 - The Book Thief

kicked in the shins and left by the wayside. It worked. She detested them.

They scouted the street and crossed the yard silently.

Now they were crouched beneath the slit in the window on the ground floor. The
sound of their breathing amplified.

Here, Rudy said, give me your shoes. Youll be quieter.

Without complaint, Liesel undid the worn black laces and left the shoes on the
ground. She rose up and Rudy gently opened the window just wide enough for
Liesel to climb through. The noise of it passed overhead, like a low-flying plane.

Liesel heaved herself onto the ledge and tussled her way inside. Taking off her
shoes, she realized, was a brilliant idea, as she landed much heavier on the
wooden floor than shed anticipated. The soles of her feet expanded in that
painful way, rising to the inside edges of her socks.

The room itself was as it always was.

Liesel, in the dusty dimness, shrugged off her feelings of nostalgia. She crept
forward and allowed her eyes to adjust.

Whats going on? Rudy whispered sharply from outside, but she waved him a
backhander that meant Halts Maul. Keep quiet.

The food, he reminded her. Find the food. And cigarettes, if you can.

Both items, however, were the last things on her mind. She was home, among
the mayors books of every color and description, with their silver and gold

lettering. She could smell the pages. She could almost taste the words as they
stacked up around her. Her feet took her to the right-hand wall. She knew the
one she wantedthe exact positionbut when she made it to The Whistlers usual
place on the shelf, it was not there. A slight gap was in its place.

From above, she heard footsteps.

The light! Rudy whispered. The words were shoved through the open window.
Its out!