"Of course this was the work of Lottchen. When he left the house, he took
with him the key of a small private door, which was so seldom used that,
while it remained closed, the key would not be missed, perhaps for many
months. Watching the windows, he had chosen a safe time to enter, and had
been hard at work all night on these alterations. Teufelsbuerst attributed
them to the vampire, and left the picture as he found it, not daring to
put brush to it again.
"The next night was passed much after the same fashion. But the fear had
begun to die away a little in the hearts of the women, who did not know
what had taken place in the studio on the previous night. It burrowed,
however, with gathered force in the vitals of Teufelsbuerst. But this night
likewise passed in peace; and before it was over, the old woman had taken
to speculating in her own mind as to the best way of disposing of the
body, seeing it was not at all likely to be troublesome. But when the
painter entered his studio in trepidation the next morning, he found that
the form of the lovely Lilith was painted out of every picture in the
room.
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