an, whose eyes shone like candles, to his breast?

He approached her full of fierce desire. Now that [Pg 132] the so
ardently longed-for moment had arrived all the scruples which had
hitherto deterred him had disappeared. Now, now!

He went up to her with outstretched arms, but she escaped from him as
she so often had escaped from her husband, and ran behind the table.
This was now between him and her. Her husband had always tried to catch
her on these occasions, and had run after her round the big table like
a boy playing at tig, but the schoolmaster did not do that. He did not
move; he had suddenly grown very pale and his outstretched arms had
sunk down. So she didn't want him to? It was a very keen
disappointment.

What on earth was the schoolmaster dreaming of? Mrs. Tiralla almost
flew into a passion. But then she noticed how dejected he looked, how
his eyes avoided hers, and a sudden fear befell her. What if he were to
be so angry with her now that he turned away from her, and she were to
be as lonely as she had been before? Oh, only not that, she must have
one helping hand. Wasn't he the helper, the friend whom the Holy Virgin
had sent her? She daren't let him go away like that, she would have to
grant him one favour, but only one. And she came from behind her
bulwark; she had no fear, for she felt that she had this man entirely
in her power. She went up to him, put her arms round his neck and
kissed him quickly on the cheek.

"Go now," she whispered, "go! It's late--midnight--what will Marianna
think? I shouldn't like people to talk about me. Go!"

She urged him to be gone and he obeyed her, for he had got a kiss, a
kiss from her. He thirsted for another one, but wasn't this a
beginning?

When Marianna lighted him to the road, he embraced [Pg 133] her with
such force that she let the lantern fall, she was so startled.

The sober man was quite changed. He stumbled across the fields as
though he were intoxicated, and everything seemed to swim before his
eyes. Starydwor lay behind him, Starydwor lay in front of him,
Starydwor lay to the right, Starydwor lay to the left. Starydwor was
everywhere.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The schoolmaster seemed almost as intoxicated as Mr. Tiralla was, as he
crossed the fields on his way home from the village some hours later.
But he did not see Starydwor everywhere, as the other man had done, for
it was quite impossible for him to fin