Malcolm looked again at the chair. The enormous rat was no longer there. It had disappeared. Malcolm sat down again at the table and began to study. He worked for about an hour. As usual, the other rats ran round the room over and under the furniture. Malcolm listened to their squeaking and scratching. Then suddenly, the noise stopped. Malcolm listened. The room was silent. The rats had disappeared. But outside, the wind was blowing more and more strongly. The rain was beating against the windows Malcolm looked at the fire. It was nearly out. The room was cold I must put more wood on the fire, he said to himself. He stood up and suddenly he stopped. He had heard a noise in the room. It was a very quiet scratching noise. Malcolm looked round the room. He saw nothing. Then he looked up at the hangman's rope. Malcolm was horrified. In the dim light of the lamp, Malcolm saw the enormous rat. It was holding on to the rope. It was about halfway between the high ceiling and the floor. And it was biting at the rope with its sharp, cruel teeth. It was slowly biting through the rope. Malcolm watched in horror. As he watched, the rat went on biting the rope. Suddenly the bottom half of the rope fell on to the floor. The rat had bitten right through it. Now the rat was holding on to the top end of the rope. Malcolm picked up a book and threw at the rat. book nearly hit the rat. The rat dropped from the rope and landed on the floor. Then it ran away into the darkest corner of the room Malcolm was now terribly afraid If I am in trouble, I will not be able to ring the alarm bell, he thought to himself. If anything happens to me, I will not be able to call for help. Malcolm sat down at the table, but he was not able to read his books. The room was still silent. He looked up again at the painting. He shut his eyes and rubbed them. Then he looked at the painting once again. "It can't be true,' he shouted out loudly in the empty room. He looked at the painting. The fireplace and the rope were still there. And the high-backed chair was in the painting too. But the high-backed chair in the painting was empty. There was no one sitting in it. The judge in the painting had disappeared. Malcolm slowly moved his eyes from the chair in the painting to the real chair in the room. His heart stopped beating for a few moments. His whole body felt like ice. The judge was sitting in the big, wooden high-backed chair. The judge's eyes were evil and his mouth was cruel. His eyes were looking straight at Malcolm. A clock somewhere in the house struck twelve. It was midnight. Slowly the judge stood and picked up the rope from the floor. He held the soft, strong rope in his hands. Slowly he twisted the rope into a noose. He started to walk towards Malcolm.The judge came slowly nearer. Malcolm moved backwards. Suddenly the judge tried to throw the noose over Malcolm's head. Malcolm moved his head to one side. The noose missed Malcolm and the rope fell to the floor. The judge slowly pulled the rope back. He picked it up. Once again, the noose was in his hands.
Suddenly Malcolm heard a noise. It was the alarm bell on the roof of the house. It was beginning to ring. But it was not ringing loudly. Malcolm looked up. The end of the rope which was hanging from the high ceiling was covered with rats. More and more rats were coming out of a hole in the ceiling. They were climbing down the rope. The rats were trying to help Malcolm. They were trying to make the alarm bell ring. But it was not yet ringing loudly. The judge heard the alarm bell. His face twisted with anger. He came nearer to Malcolm. His eyes were looking straight at Malcolm. Malcolm's body felt like ice. He was unable to move. The judge slowly came up to Malcolm. He put the noose over Malcolm's head and round his neck. He pulled the noose tighter and tighter. The judge carried Malcolm to the-high backed chair He stood Malcolm on the chair. Then the judge disappeared. The enormous rat suddenly appeared once again. The rat picked up the end of the rope on the floor. It ran up the wall holding the rope with its teeth. It jumped from the wall to the other end of the rope. The rats on the top end of the rope fled away in terror. They disappeared through the hole in the ceiling. The enormous rat tied the two ends of the rope together Then it jumped from the rope to the painting. It disappeared into the hole in the corner of the painting. The judge appeared once again. He stood beside Malcolm. Malcolm was now standing on the chair with the noose tightly round his neck The rope went from Malcolm's neck right up to the ceiling. The judge knocked the chair away from under Malcolm's feet. Malcolm's body swung from the end of the rope. The alarm bell began to ring. It rang louder and louder. The alarm bell rang out loudly over the small town of Benchurch. The noise woke the people up. They came running to the Judge's House. They knocked loudly on the door. But no one opened it. Then they knocked the door down and went into the house. They found Malcolm in the dining-room. His body was hanging from the end of the alarm bell rope. A man pointed up at the painting on the wall. It had not been cleaned for many years. For the first time, they were able to see the painting clearly. "Look,' the man cried. "It's a painting of the judge. They all stood and looked at the painting. The judge in the painting was sitting in the big, wooden high-backed chair beside the fire. There was a smile on the judge's face. It was an evil smile.