Page:Three stories by Vítězslav Hálek (1886).pdf/223

 bring that rosolek here, that they might have it ready against the funeral.”

The circumstances of the case so cohered together, that they only the more confirmed the general astonishment.

Then the Mayor said “The defunct has appointed me trustee, to look through his personal property in the presence of witnesses, and to take everything under my protection. Come, then, neighbours; if two of you are willing to offer yourselves to be witnesses we can go to the house of the defunct at once, and look over his personal effects.”

“Prythee, why not? prythee, why not?” answered the neighbours, and hurried into the courtyard of the Loyka’s, but instead of two, all pressed forward, just as they were. Each man thought to himself “Who knows whether the Mayor will not select me to be a witness, and if not, what matters it? I shall be a witness all the same.”

Even the neighbours’ wives hurried after the neighbours into the courtyard. Only that here in the courtyard the male element detached itself from the female; the neighbours following the Mayor up the staircase into the pension house, the neighbours’ wives remaining below in the courtyard.

In the meantime, that is to say, while Frank ran out on to the village green and the neighbours betook themselves to the pension house, Loyka’s son and Loyka’s son’s wife laid out the corpse of the