histle. No bird screamed like that, and no
human being either. A shudder ran down his back; he was seized with a
superstitious fear, which he could not shake off again in spite of his
common sense and his education. That was the witch that whistled in the
pitch-dark Przykop.

And he made the sign of the cross as the peasants do when they hear the
witch whistling, and spat on the snow that gleamed in spite of the
darkness. When that's done, the witch has lost her power and you need
not follow her.

[Pg 81]

CHAPTER V

Rosa Tiralla had seen visions; but whether they were good or bad
visions nobody knew. Marianna ['S]roka cried loudly when she brought
the news to the village, and her lover, Jendrek, confirmed it with a
nod. The Paninka had seen something, the Paninka was bewitched.

Mr. Tiralla was deeply grieved about his Roeschen, as deeply grieved as
he could possibly be about anything. He had already been looking out
for a husband for his little daughter--she would be fourteen next
autumn, and a wife cannot be too young-and now she seemed only fit for
bed. The strong man had never suffered from nerves--didn't even know
what they were--but all sorts of things happened nowadays to alarm him.
Rosa was so irritable that she cried if anybody spoke crossly to her.
The doctor advised them not to treat her harshly, for she cried so
bitterly that she became quite hysterical. And after the attack was
over she was so feeble that she could not move a limb, and looked
exactly like somebody who was going to die; so that her father in his
terror used to say, "yes," and "my angel," "everything you like, my
angel."--nothing but "my angel."

And Roeschen imagined that she was always surrounded by angels. She
thought her father, Marianna, and Jendrek were angels, but especially
she thought her mother one. Pan Boehnke was also an angel. He [Pg 82]
often came to see her, and then he and her dear mother would sit by her
bedside and talk to each other, and their voices would sound so soft
and low that her eyes would close, and she would fall into a sweet
sleep.

Mrs. Tiralla had never imagined that she could feel so much love for
her daughter. She was really fond of her now. Marianna would on no
account sleep any longer in the same room as Rosa; she said that it was
impossible to close an eye the whole night through, and if she worked
so hard during the day she really must rest at night. The tr