Page:The Czechoslovak Review, vol3, 1919.djvu/145

 twelve months; no, she didn’t say a single word to them.

“Why have you come here, and what are you looking for?” asked Great January crossly.

“Why do you want to know, you old fool? It’s no business of yours,” replied Holena angrily, and she turned away from the fire and went into the forest.

Great January frowned and swung the club over his head. The sky grew dark in a moment, the fire burned low, the snow began to fall as thick as if the feathers had been shaken out of a down quilt, and an icy wind began to blow through the forest. Holena couldn’t see one step in front of her; she lost her way altogether, and several times she fell into snowdrifts. Then her limbs grew weak and began slowly to stiffen. The snow kept on falling and the icy wind blew more icily than ever. Holena began to curse Maruša and the Lord God. Her limbs began to freeze, despite her fur coat.

Her mother was waiting for Holena; she kept on looking out for her, first at the window then outside the door, but all in vain.

‘Does she like the apples so much that she can’t leave them, or what it the matter? I must see for myself where she is,” decided the stepmother at last. So she put on her fur coat, she wrapped a shawl round her head, and went out to look for Holena. The snow was lying deep; there wasn’t a human footprint to be seen, the snow fell fast, and the icy wind was blowing through the forest.

Maruša had cooked the dinner, she had seen to the cow, and yet Holena and her mother did not come back. “Where are they staying so long?” thought Maruša, as she sat down to work at the distaff. The spindle was full already and it was quite dark in the room, and yet Holena and the stepmother had not come back.

“Alas, Lord! what has come to them?” cried Maruša, peering anxiously through the window. The sky was bright and the earth was all glittering, but there wasn’t a human soul to be seen Sadly she shut the window; she crossed herself, and prayed for her sister and her mother In the morning she waited with breakfast, she waited with dinner; but however much she waited, it was no good. Neither her mother nor her sister ever came back. Both of them were frozen to death in the forest.

So good Maruša inherited the cottage, a piece of ploughland and the cow. She married a kind husband, and they both lived happily ever after.

The first full meeting of the American Czechoslovak Board since its selection at the Cleveland Conference last October, was held March 14th, in the Hollenden Hotel, Cleveland. The following members of the board were present: Prof. B. Shimek, Dr. Joseph P. Pecival, Vojta Beneš, Joseph Martinek, Rev. Innocent Kestl, Rev. J. Hroch, in place of Rev. Oldřich Zlámal, and John Straka for the Czechs. Albert Mamatey, Andrew Schustek, Revs. J. Kubášek, L. Karlovský, J. Murgas, Jan Pankuch, and Miss E. Cablk for the Slovaks. In addition there were present Major J. Šípek, secretary of the Czechoslovak Legation at Washington, F. Kopecký, Czechoslovak Counsel General at New York, Mrs. Libuše Moták in charge of the relief work of the board and Dr. J. F. Smetanka, director of the Washington office of the board.

Reports were rendered by Secretary Beneš and heads of the various departments. Mr. Kopecký made his final report of the recruiting activities in the United States for the Czechoslovak army. It was decided to close the work of the Information Bureau at Washington at the end of April. The greatest amount of time was taken up by discussing the relief activities of the Czech and Slovak organizations in America and complaints were voiced that by reason of lack of news from the old country it was difficult to plan and execute an effective campaign, although everyone realizes that help is urgently needed by the poor people of the Czechoslovak Republic and that Czechoslovaks in this country are ready to give generously. It was decided that for the present the relief work would be centered on gathering old clothing and supplementing this by purchases and by sewing and knitting of women affiliated with the Bohemian National Alliance and the Slovak League. It was further voted to send Vojta Beneš and Rev. L. Kubášek to Bohemia and Slovakia to report on what has been accomplished here and to prepare detailed plans for a nation-wide relief campaign in this country. The delegates are expected to go immediately and return as soon as possible; it is expected that their personal accounts of conditions in the old country will greatly increase the amount of gifts. In connection with this it may be noted that the Bohemian National Alliance has already organized its own relief branch of which Jas. F. Stepina is chairman.

The accounts of the various offices of the board were examined by an auditing committee and found correct. The conference adjourned at midnight on Friday, after sending a telegram of loyalty to Vice-President Marshall and adopting a resolution in favor of the League of Nations.

Leaders of the American Czechs and Slovaks were pleasantly surprised at their meeting in Cleveland, when Consul Kopecký came in with an