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 112 taken. He rushed on and plunged headlong into the river, hoping by meeting death himself to drown the Plague also, and thus to save the country from further desolation.

The unhappy peasant perished in the waters, but the Plague, as a spirit, could not be drowned. Overcome, however, by this courageous act, she fled away in terror and hid herself among the mountains. Thus the peasant not only saved his village and all those who were dear to him, but also that part of his native land into which the Plague had not been carried.