and I held one out to him, and his hand came
slowly out to meet it, as though he could not keep it back.

His face wrinkled up into a horrible scowl, and what he was going to say
I don't know, but just then his hand clutched the horseshoe and he gave
a shout of pain, dropped the squirt and the horseshoe, whipped round as
quick as any young man could, and was off round the corner of the shed
before I had really taken in what was happening. Before I tried to see
what had become of him, I snatched up the squirt and the horseshoe, and
almost dropped them again. Both were pretty hot--the squirt much the
hotter of the two; but both of them cooled down in a few seconds. By
that time my old man was completely out of sight. And I should not
wonder if he was away some time; for perhaps you know, and perhaps you
don't know, the effect of an old horseshoe on that sort of people. Not
only is it of iron, which they can't abide, but when they see or, still
more, touch the shoe, they have to go over all the ground that the shoe
went over since it was last in the blacksmith's hands. Only I doubt if
the same shoe will work for more than one witch or wizard. Anyway, I put
that one aside when I went indoors. And then I sat and wondered what
would come next, and how I could best prepare for it. It occurred to me
that it would do no harm to put one of the shoes where it couldn't be
seen at once, and it also struck me that under the rug just inside the
bedroom door would not be a bad place. So there I put it, and then fell
to smoking and reading.

A knock at the door.

"Come in," said I, a little curious; but no, it was only the maid. As
she passed me (which she did quickly) I heard her mutter something about
"'ankerchieves for the wash," and I thought there was something not
quite usual about the voice. So I looked round. She was back to me, but
the dress and the height and the hair was what I was accustomed to see.
Into the bedroom she hurried, and the next thing was a scream like that
of at least two cats in agony! I could just see her leap into the air,
come down again on the rug, scream again, and then bundle, hopping,
limping--I don't know what--out of the room and down the stairs. I did
catch sight of her feet, though; they were bare, they were greenish, and
they were webbed, and I think there were some large white blisters on
the soles of them. You would have thought that the commotion would have
brought the household about my ears