03-01-07-神秘及幻想故事集 [7]
，and，as time passed，I began to hate it．I did not hurt it in any way，but I always tried to keep as far away from it as possible．
I knew one reason why I hated this cat so much．Oh the morning after I had brought it home，I saw that，like Pluto，it had lost one of its eyes．My wife，who was the kind，gentle per－son that I had once been，only loved the cat more because of this．But the cat didn't like my wife．It loved me alone．
Every time I sat down，it used to jump onto my knees．When I went out of a room，it used to run out in front of me and get between my feet，or climb up my legs．At these times，I wanted to kill it．But I didn't，because I was too afraid-afraid of the cat，and even more afraid of the white mark on its chest．
I have already mentioned this mark．At first，there was nothing strange about it．It was just a white mark．But slowly this mark grew and changed until it had the clear shape of a terrible，a horrible thing-I find it difficult，here in my prison，to write the word．It was the shape of the GALLOWS！Yes，those horrible wooden posts from which they hang men by a rope around the neck！
As each day passed，my fear grew and grew．I，a man，a strong man，had become afraid of a cat！Why was I so fright－ened，so worried by a stupid animal？Day and night，I could get no rest．I had the most terrible dreams，and my mind turned to dark，evil thoughts．I hated everything，everybody-and life itself．
One day my wife and I needed to get something from the cellar underneath the house．The cat followed us down the steps and threw itself in front of me．I almost fell on my face and，mad with anger，I took hold of an axe and tried to kill the animal．But my wife caught my arm to stop me，and then anger exploded in my mind．I turned and drove the axe deep into her head．She fell dead on the floor，without a sound．
After this horrible murder，I calmly made plans to hide the body．I knew I couldn't take it out of the house，either by day or night，because the neighbours would see me．So I had to think of other ways… I could cut the body up into very small pieces and then burn them in a fire．I could hide the body under the floor．Or I could put the body in a box and then ask someone to carry the box away… Finally，I thought of a better idea．I decided to hide the body behind the walls of the cellar．
I knew immediately which wall to choose．There was a wall in the cellar round the bottom of an old chimney，which was no longer used．This wall had bricks in the front and back but was empty in the middle．I started work at once． I took out some of the bricks from the front wall and carefully put the body against the back wall．Then I put back the bricks and covered them with plaster．I made sure that the plaster did not look new，and soon the wall looked just the same as all the other walls．When I had finished my work，I looked at the plaster．‘I've never done a better piece of work！’I said to myself happily．
I then looked around for the cat，to kill it．It had brought too much unhappiness into my life，and so it，too，must now die．I looked for it everywhere，but it had disappeared．I was free at last！That night I had a deep，peaceful sleep-I，who had just killed my wife，slept well！
Three days passed and still the cat did not appear．I was now a happy man，happier than I had been for a long time．I wasn't worried by what I had done．People had asked a few questions and the police had visited my house，but they had found nothing．
On the fourth day the police visited again and began to search the house．They looked into all the rooms and then went down into the cellar．I went with them，feeling calm and safe．I watched them as they looked everywhere．They seemed quite happy that there was nothing there and they got ready to leave．I was very happy．I was sure that I was safe，but I wanted to say something，just a word or two，to show how unworried I was．
‘Gentlemen，’I said，‘I'm pleased that you've found nothing here，and that you are now leaving this house…But let me show you something，gentlemen．Do you see how well built this house is？These walls，you will notice，are very strong．’As I said these words
I knew one reason why I hated this cat so much．Oh the morning after I had brought it home，I saw that，like Pluto，it had lost one of its eyes．My wife，who was the kind，gentle per－son that I had once been，only loved the cat more because of this．But the cat didn't like my wife．It loved me alone．
Every time I sat down，it used to jump onto my knees．When I went out of a room，it used to run out in front of me and get between my feet，or climb up my legs．At these times，I wanted to kill it．But I didn't，because I was too afraid-afraid of the cat，and even more afraid of the white mark on its chest．
I have already mentioned this mark．At first，there was nothing strange about it．It was just a white mark．But slowly this mark grew and changed until it had the clear shape of a terrible，a horrible thing-I find it difficult，here in my prison，to write the word．It was the shape of the GALLOWS！Yes，those horrible wooden posts from which they hang men by a rope around the neck！
As each day passed，my fear grew and grew．I，a man，a strong man，had become afraid of a cat！Why was I so fright－ened，so worried by a stupid animal？Day and night，I could get no rest．I had the most terrible dreams，and my mind turned to dark，evil thoughts．I hated everything，everybody-and life itself．
One day my wife and I needed to get something from the cellar underneath the house．The cat followed us down the steps and threw itself in front of me．I almost fell on my face and，mad with anger，I took hold of an axe and tried to kill the animal．But my wife caught my arm to stop me，and then anger exploded in my mind．I turned and drove the axe deep into her head．She fell dead on the floor，without a sound．
After this horrible murder，I calmly made plans to hide the body．I knew I couldn't take it out of the house，either by day or night，because the neighbours would see me．So I had to think of other ways… I could cut the body up into very small pieces and then burn them in a fire．I could hide the body under the floor．Or I could put the body in a box and then ask someone to carry the box away… Finally，I thought of a better idea．I decided to hide the body behind the walls of the cellar．
I knew immediately which wall to choose．There was a wall in the cellar round the bottom of an old chimney，which was no longer used．This wall had bricks in the front and back but was empty in the middle．I started work at once． I took out some of the bricks from the front wall and carefully put the body against the back wall．Then I put back the bricks and covered them with plaster．I made sure that the plaster did not look new，and soon the wall looked just the same as all the other walls．When I had finished my work，I looked at the plaster．‘I've never done a better piece of work！’I said to myself happily．
I then looked around for the cat，to kill it．It had brought too much unhappiness into my life，and so it，too，must now die．I looked for it everywhere，but it had disappeared．I was free at last！That night I had a deep，peaceful sleep-I，who had just killed my wife，slept well！
Three days passed and still the cat did not appear．I was now a happy man，happier than I had been for a long time．I wasn't worried by what I had done．People had asked a few questions and the police had visited my house，but they had found nothing．
On the fourth day the police visited again and began to search the house．They looked into all the rooms and then went down into the cellar．I went with them，feeling calm and safe．I watched them as they looked everywhere．They seemed quite happy that there was nothing there and they got ready to leave．I was very happy．I was sure that I was safe，but I wanted to say something，just a word or two，to show how unworried I was．
‘Gentlemen，’I said，‘I'm pleased that you've found nothing here，and that you are now leaving this house…But let me show you something，gentlemen．Do you see how well built this house is？These walls，you will notice，are very strong．’As I said these words