Page:Anthology of Modern Slavonic Literature in Prose and Verse by Paul Selver.djvu/201

Rh Dervish Pasha. His mother died soon afterwards.

In this fashion it had come about that the serdar's house, which was once so famous, had remained almost without male successors. Now all the old man's hopes were centred upon the five-year-old boy and a good husband for his daughter, if God willed it so.

Silence continued on all sides. The younger men were waiting for the serdar to speak, but he was gazing abstractedly at the light of his pipe.

Suddenly steps were heard in the distance. About twenty more members of the family now came up. They greeted each other and sat down, some on the flagstones, the others with their feet crossed upon the enclosure of the threshing-floor.

As there were also some older men among the new-comers, the conversation resumed its course. The serdar himself was now in the best of humours. He began to banter first one and then the other, in turn. This pleased them all very much, for he was a wit, the like of whom could not be found far and wide. He had just overwhelmed a distant relative with the whole power of his wit, when someone among those present exclaimed.

"Stop, stop, wedding guests are coming to us!"

Everyone turned round and general laughter ensued. About twenty of the more distant towns-