Page:Halek's Stories and Evensongs.pdf/142

 seeing that by so doing she alleviated the distress of her own son?

Sometimes it happened that grandfather did not see Uncle John for several days, so that he could not give him orders early as to how to arrange his work, and where to go in the field, and more than once grandfather had to look for his son in the field to consult with him about the farm. Once one of the servants was so ill-advised that one evening when grandfather inquired for uncle, the servant replied, “He! Why, he sleeps soundly at Kubista’s, to be sure.”

It was well that grandmother heard this. She scolded the servant thoroughly, and in order to prove to grandfather that the man had lied grossly, she led him to the summer-house where Uncle John now made his bed and had already gone to rest.

Grandfather bade grandmother leave him alone with their son. She immediately complied, but did not go far, for she dreaded lest grandfather should do some injury to his son.

But it was not so bad as that then.

Uncle John did indeed affect to be asleep, but when he heard that grandfather desired to speak with him he sat up and grandfather beside him.

“Listen John,” said grandfather, “to-morrow is the festival, do this for my sake, stop at home to-morrow for the festival that it may not appear to our guests, at least, that we cannot agree.”

Uncle John objected that really on the morrow he had settled with Betuska to go to church with her, and perhaps she would fall ill if he did not keep his word.

Whereupon grandfather said, “Oh! well, I shall see whether you have yet any affection left for me, for I shall not speak to you twice.”

Uncle John did not reply to this, and grandfather left him.

The next day was the festival about which I have narrated from the beginning.

BOUT a week after this they had just sat down to supper at grandfather’s, when a certain man entered having first knocked at the door. Uncle John was not at table.

A knocking at the door is almost an event at a farmhouse, all the more so at grandfather’s, because the village lay far from any