Page:Selected Czech tales - 1925.djvu/44

 feast. As soon as his brother-in-law with the advent of twilight began to get ready to leave, he jumped up from his seat and, without minding the others, went with great strides into the hall to look for his sweetheart.

He ran up against a maid-servant, and asked after her. She opened her eyes wide in astonishment. Thinking that she might be deaf, he repeated his question. At last he got an answer.

‘She’s been off ever so long ago.’

‘Where to?’ asked Lukas who was as astonished at her answer as she had been at his question.

‘Where should she have gone?’ the maid sald, gaping, ‘where in the world but to your house? When I went for the beer, she was packing up her things in her bedroom, and when I came back I saw her close to your house.’

Who would doubt but that Lukas did not want to be outdone by Vendulka in proof of steadfast devotion? Shouting as he bounded along the road, he ran home, and entered the room quite out of breath. He found his sweetheart by the cradle of his motherless infant. Again she was weeping bitterly, as before, when his brother-in-law had led her to her