THE STEEL FLEA
locked the door, closed the shutters over the windows, lighted the sacred lamp before the holy picture of Nikolai, and set to work.
One day, two days, three days they sat, and went out nowhere, but kept tapping away with their little hammers. They were forging something—but what they were forging, no one knew.
Every one was curious, but no one could find out, because the workers said nothing and did not show themselves out of doors. Divers persons went to the cottage, and knocked at the door, under various pretexts, to ask for fire or salt; but the three artist-smiths unbolted for no questions, and it was not even known on what food they subsisted. An attempt was made to frighten them, and they were told that a house in the vicinity was on fire—to see whether they would not run out in their alarm, and then
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