Page 422 - The Book Thief
P. 422
What is it? one of the other men asked.
Hans could only point.
Oh. A hand pulled him away. Get used to it, Hubermann.
For the rest of the shift, he threw himself into duty. He tried to ignore the distant
echoes of calling people.
After perhaps two hours, he rushed from a building with the sergeant and two
other men. He didnt watch the ground and tripped. Only when he returned to his
haunches and saw the others looking in distress at the obstacle did he realize.
The corpse was facedown.
It lay in a blanket of powder and dust, and it was holding its ears.
It was a boy.
Perhaps eleven or twelve years old.
Not far away, as they progressed along the street, they found a woman calling
the name Rudolf. She was drawn to the four men and met them in the mist. Her
body was frail and bent with worry.
Have you seen my boy?
How old is he? the sergeant asked.
Twelve.
Oh, Christ. Oh, crucified Christ.
They all thought it, but the sergeant could not bring himself to tell her or point
the way.
As the woman tried to push past, Boris Schipper held her back. Weve just come
from that street, he assured her. You wont find him down there.
