i68
The curtain was hanging out of one of the windows
on the first floor, where the panes were broken, the
blind was flapping outside. Briemen's wife had seen
it at half-past six when she was opening her shop.
The window had been pushed out by the beam which
was still sticking through it, a cloud of dust had come
swirling out, and she had heard young Floris
screaming as he stood there in his nightshirt. She
had immediately rung the bell and a policeman
had come. The onlookers stayed for such a long
time that by the time the schools were open the
carts could hardly make their way through the
crowd. A good many people had thought for a
long time that something of the kind would be sure
to happen ; the house was so old and, except for
painting the outside, Werendonk had had no money
to spare for it. Now he would be involved in heavy
expenses, probably the whole ceiling of the first floor
would have to be renewed. In the shop, too, that
morning there was a rush of customers, who stayed
longer than usual to watch the carpenters with the
scaffolding. Werendonk, his arms crossed, calmly
talking to the foreman, said he thought it was not
as bad as it looked and that the ceiling didn't need
propping up, but he would leave it to him, since he
himself was no expert. Many of them thought he
was making too light of it, seeing there were cracks
through which you could see into the room above.
The injury Floris had received from the falling