Page 283 - The Book Thief

Scheisse.

Theyre coming downstairs.

There was a giant length of a moment then, the eternity of split-second decision.
Her eyes scanned the room and she could see The Whistler, sitting patiently on
the mayors desk.

Hurry up, Rudy warned her. But very calmly and cleanly, Liesel walked over,
picked up the book, and made her way cautiously out. Headfirst, she climbed
from the window, managing to land on her feet again, feeling the pang of pain
once more, this time in her ankles.

Come on, Rudy implored her. Run, run. Schnell!

Once around the corner, on the road back down to the river and Munich Street,

she stopped to bend over and recover. Her body was folded in the middle, the air
half frozen in her mouth, her heart tolling in her ears.

Rudy was the same.

When he looked over, he saw the book under her arm. He struggled to speak.
Whatshe grappled with the wordswith the book?

The darkness was filling up truly now. Liesel panted, the air in her throat
defrosting. It was all I could find.

Unfortunately, Rudy could smell it. The lie. He cocked his head and told her
what he felt was a fact. You didnt go in for food, did you? You got what you

wanted. . . .

Liesel straightened then and was overcome with the sickness of another
realization.

The shoes.

She looked at Rudys feet, then at his hands, and at the ground all around him.