Page:Three stories by Vítězslav Hálek (1886).pdf/385

 Joseph. Perhaps, even in any case, he would have looked at him as he passed, but, at any other time, Joseph would have scarcely heeded him, under present circumstances the man’s look galled him.

And thus he saw and heard mockery everywhere, whereever he showed himself. Moreover, his evil destiny contrived that a kalounkar should come about this time to Frishetts, who, not daring to put up at the Loyka’s, spread out his wares on the village green. Hereupon, when most of the people had formed a circle round him came Vena and said, “How dare you venture with your tapes and ribbons on to our village green when we have our own kalounkar in the village?”

Those who stood in the circle greeted these words with boisterous merriment, indeed, with acclamations; the children ran about the green squeaking “kalendarkalounkar [sic],” in shrill trebles, and the boldest of them, went before the Loyka’s farm-house and yelled “the Kalounkar is here, we ourselves are playing at kalounkar,” and every brat wanted to be a kalounkar.

This affair, apparently so trivial, reached such a head, that Joseph no longer cared to leave his house and, in fact, never left it. Vena, standing on the village green, cried to all newcomers who went past Loyka’s farmstead, “None are allowed to enter there, and the peasant proprietor daren’t venture out—just come here—here are nice ribbands for you.”