hat had taken the milk from
Starydwor to Gradewitz early that morning. He shuddered as he wandered
through the enormous white fields. It was true they were no more
melancholy-looking at this time of the year than when full of turnips
and ripe corn; but their uniform whiteness seemed to give them a larger
and more desolate appearance. Even the hares, as they nibbled away at
the few stalks that were left, and the birds of prey, [Pg 69] as they
lazily flapped their wings in the direction of the Przykop, did not
enliven their desolation; for the sluggish inertness of their
movements, which enabled passers-by to approach them quite closely,
proved only too clearly how very rarely they were disturbed.

Was it because he was not warmly enough dressed that he trembled so?
Boehnke put his hands to his face--ugh! how cold it was. His top-coat
was certainly very thin, it was only meant for summer wear; but he
really couldn't have put on that thick, rough coat he wore every day
for school. He was wearing his best black coat and kid gloves; his
fingers were quite numb. He would have liked to run, in order to get
warm, but big lumps of snow clung to his boots like lumps of lead. When
he came in sight of the trees in the low-lying Przykop, it was as
though something were holding him back, and as though the wind were
pushing him back so as to prevent him from going any further. And he
was longing with all his heart to get to Starydwor as soon as possible.

To the left lay the settlement--the distillery chimney reared its head
in the air like a big white asparagus--and there Jokisch lived. But he
would not live there much longer. When the land had been parcelled out
and the settlers had come, he would go. Thank God! Boehnke was filled
with a vague jealousy; they were neighbours, he and she, and he
considered every neighbour dangerous. Jokisch was certainly a
fine-looking man, and Boehnke felt firmly convinced that he also found
Mrs. Tiralla very fascinating, in spite of all he had said to the
contrary, for who would not? Perhaps that was the very reason why he
had been so angry with her.

Then the schoolmaster began to run. Who would [Pg 70] hinder him in
getting to Starydwor as quickly as possible? There it lay.

The old farm, which had been in the hands of the Tirallas for over a
hundred years, had rather an imposing look in the distance. Not much
was to be seen of the farmhouse itself--it was very low, as though sunk
in the groun