Page:Halek's Stories and Evensongs.pdf/132

 After we had been seated thus about half an hour at table Uncle John entered the room.

All rose and greeted him in a friendly manner, but everything was carried on constrainedly, or rather with a kind of indescribable fear as if behind each greeting lurked a dagger. Only formal inquiries were made as to how he was, what he was doing, and so forth. Uncle John answered drily; on his brow was something like spite, and he fixed his eyes on the ground, and would not look at us. And then when we children greeted him he made no response to our salutation, and it never occurred to us that we could possibly have got from him any coppers for goodies.

He sat at table. Grandmother gave him soup on a plate, but Uncle John did not touch it.

“Lord save us,” said grandfather, with the short laugh which was natural to him, “and welladay! When a man cuts his mutton elsewhere he looses his appetite for what he gets at home.”

“Particularly with the seasoning one gets at home”, answered Uncle John, and leant his head on his hands.

Grandfather after that was silent, but his hands trembled. Indeed, he cut some meat and the knife slipped on the plate.

Grandfather certainly did not look at uncle, but all the same he saw what uncle was doing.

“Did you learn to sit slouching thus at Kubista’s?” he said after a while, as if indifferently.

“I cannot always be here merely to be stared at by you”, said Uncle John, as he got up from the table and left the room.

It was well that he left the room, and happy for him that grandfather hobbled on one foot. Grandfather was not aware certainly that he held a knife in his hand, but sure enough he would have hurried after Uncle John with the first thing he got hold of. And perhaps he would actually have run after him had not the by-standers withheld him.

Grandmother trembled all over, but she saw that speaking would be of no avail. But for us children the sitting was over so to say, just as if the word had been passed round, we dispersed in flight to the farmyard, and troubled our heads no further about what was doing in the dining-hall.

We just caught a glimpse of Uncle John as he passed out by the gate.

In the afternoon we went to spend the coppers we had collected from our uncles at the hostinets k poutavé babê [hostelry-sign of the Pilgrim Grandmothers]. Boys with plenty of goodies trouble