shadow of britain

Chapter 74 Who Killed the Mockingbird?
In the suburbs of London at night, a bright moon hangs in the sky. It wears thin clouds like tulle, and spreads light to the earth through thick gaps in the forest.

The lonely tower of the church in the forest, with its sharp Gothic spire as sharp as a sword, seems to pierce the chest of the moon.

At midnight, the night is getting dark, and it is the time when everything falls asleep.

But in the cemetery not far from the church, there was a busy black figure.

He had a shovel in his hand and a sack on his back.

One shovel and one shovel, sweating profusely.

He grinned and talked to himself as he worked.

"Acheson and Ackerman, those two idiots, they actually believed me when I told them I was going home to visit relatives.

Without the two of them splitting the bill, this cemetery that has not been robbed is all mine.The risk of killing is still too high, how can it compare to a stable graveyard?

As long as a fresh corpse can be dug up, it will cost ten pounds, and even a slightly rotten corpse can get half the price. "

The gravedigger held his sore waist and straightened his back. He raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, and then let out a long breath.

He took out the pipe from his pocket and lit it, took a sharp puff, then slowly exhaled the smoke ring, and began to think about the beautiful life in the future.

"If I can earn a few hundred pounds here, I can take a ship to North America, buy a farm there, get a few working slaves, and live a decent life from now on."

There was a gust of cold wind in the forest, and a ray of cold wind blew by, making the gravediggers shiver in the cold.

He lowered his head and looked at the half-planed tomb, feeling a little trembling in his heart, so he opened the white wax jug hanging on his belt and sprinkled a little on the ground.

"Okay, okay, I know I'm sorry for you. But there's no other way. If there are other ways to get money quickly, why should I kill people and steal corpses?"

As soon as he finished speaking, suddenly, there was a crisp and melodious music box melody in the woods.

Accompanied by the sound of howling wind in the forest, in the quiet environment, it sounds cold and weird.

The gravedigger's eyes widened in horror, his cloudy pupils swaying like the hazy moon in the night.

He saw countless ravens with red eyes standing on the treetops in the forest. They were tilting their heads and looking at the half-decomposed corpse he packed in a sack.

Scarlet saliva secreted from the crow's beak, bit by bit.

All the saliva fell into the soft soil, but it didn't penetrate.

Instead, it converged into a slowly flowing stream.

From the land in the woods to the feet of the gravediggers.

The gloomy nursery rhyme sounded quietly like a ghost, it sounded far away, but also seemed very close.

The hoarse voice sang the melody.

"Who Killed the Mockingbird?
It's me, said the sparrow,
with my bow and arrow,

I killed the mockingbird.

Who saw her die?

it's me, said the fly,

with my little eyes,

I saw her die.

Who took her blood?

it's me, said the fish,
with my little saucer,

I take her blood.

Who made her shroud?

it's me, said the beetle,

with my needle and thread,

I'll make the shroud.

Who will dig her grave?

it's me, said the owl,
With my chisel and shovel,

I'm going to dig the grave.

Who will be the pastor?

I, said the crow,

with my little notebook,

I'm going to be a pastor.

Who will be the deacon?

It is I, said Lark,
if not in the dark,

I will be a deacon.

Who will bear the torches?

It's me, said the cardinal,
I bring it right away.

I will carry the torch.

Who will be the officiant?

I, said the dove,

I mourn my love,
I will be officiant.

Who will carry the coffin?

It's me, said the kite,
If you don't walk at night,

I will come to carry the coffin.

Who will help the coffin?

It's us, said the wren,
We are a couple,
We will come to help the coffin.

Who will sing the hymns?

It's me, said the thrush,

standing on a bush,

I will sing hymns.

Who will ring the death knell?
it's me, said the bull,
Because I can pull a yak,

I have come to ring the death knell.

So, goodbye, Robin.

all the birds of the air,
all sighed and wept,

When they heard the knell,
Ring for poor mockingbird. "

At this point, the singing stopped suddenly.

The gravedigger sat on the ground with weak legs and dropped the tools at hand.

On his face, the light brought by the moonlight is gradually fading, replaced by a shadow that devours the light.

He wanted to yell, but found himself unable to make any sound out of fear.

He trembled all over, and raised his head tremblingly.

At the last moment of his life, he finally saw clearly what kind of object was standing in front of him.

It doesn't look like a human being, and it doesn't look like a God who sent down divine punishment.

It was just a stalwart figure wearing a crow mask as deep as the night, a black cloak as wide as the night, and a milky white coffin behind his back.

He gently tied the noose in his hand round and round the gravedigger's neck, and the crow mask's eye sockets emitted a dark red light.

In the silent and cold cemetery, the singing sounded again.

""notice"

inform everyone concerned,
This notice,

Next time in Bird Court,

The sparrow will be judged. "

There was only a hula, and the body of the gravedigger rose like a banner.

His body was hanging from the crooked neck tree, like a broken kite, wobbly.

However, the moonlight was too bright, so that the expression on the face of the gravedigger could not be seen clearly, only a card with a drawing on it could be vaguely seen in his pocket.

What was painted on the card was a small bird in a brown-green olive coat. The crimson feathers on the bird's chest were as scarlet as blood, as if someone had shot through the chest with a bow and arrow.

The card was marked with the bird's name, Robin.

Written Robin, pronounced Robin.

……

In the woods, Agares was still thinking about the melodious nursery rhyme just now.

He looked at the flickering red dot beside him. It was Arthur, who was smoking.

The Red Devil grinned and asked, "So, the sparrow killed the mockingbird?"

Arthur was silent for a while, and he didn't answer.

The Red Devil laughed and raised his eyebrows and said, "That's why the fly killed the mocking bird. After all, the fly knew that the sparrow killed, but it didn't report it."

Agares waited for a while, and seeing that Arthur still didn't answer, he asked again.

"That means the fish killed the mockingbird. After all, the fish enjoyed the blood of the mockingbird. He is even more hypocritical than a sparrow..."

Having said that, Agares suddenly paused: "Or..."

He picked up the flickering soul ball and aimed it at the moon in the sky, and the colorful light sprinkled on Agares' face, setting off his sharp fangs and the malice against the whole world.

"Obviously everyone participated in the killing of the mockingbird, and obviously everyone was an accomplice, but only the sparrow was judged. Arthur, is this the axiom you want, is this the justice you pursue?"

Agares was sitting next to the milky white coffin, smiling and rubbing the coffin's exterior, polishing it bright and clean.

The devil's moan rang in Arthur's ears.

"Arthur, the silence means, maybe, you killed the mockingbird too?"

(End of this chapter)