moment she felt quite
cold and the next her head burnt. Ugh! how dark it was. Just like a
grave! She felt icy cold right down her back. Ah, how dreadful to be
here in the dark, quite alone with _those_ thoughts.

"Marianna!" She cried so loudly that it echoed from the vaulted roof.
"Marianna, where are you?"

No answer.

"Marianna, I'll give you my silk apron which you like so much.
Marianna, but where are you?"

"Why, I'm here. I only went a couple of steps away from you. Here,
Pani, here." The girl's warm hand seized hold of her mistress's cold,
moist fingers, "So that Pani doesn't knock against anything," she
whispered in an ingratiating voice.

[Pg 4]

Thus hand-in-hand the two women groped their way in the dark, until
they came to the cellar steps.

"Praise be to the Holy Mother and all the saints!" lisped Mrs. Tiralla
as she felt the first step of the slippery stone stairs under her feet.
Fifteen steep steps more, and then, thank God, they would be at the
top. Then it would be light again. And the dark thoughts would remain
below in the darkness. She did not shudder now, when she was almost at
the top; on the contrary, she could hardly help laughing, for she had
at last succeeded in thoroughly frightening Marianna, who now firmly
believed in rats. So she made up her mind that she would not scold the
girl on account of the lamp. The thing was now to go on talking and
complaining a great, great deal about the rats, so that everybody would
soon say: "There are so many rats at Starydwor, in Anton Tiralla's
house, that they dance on his benches and tables, that they devour his
wheat on the barn floor whilst it's being thrashed, that they've
nibbled at the mistress's beautiful dress in her wardrobe--her blue
silk one, trimmed with lace." That would be splendid, splendid!

Mrs. Tiralla squeezed the girl's hand with a deep sigh of relief. "You
see now that there are rats, although you would never believe it
before; oh, ever so many."

"When Pani says there are rats, then there are rats," said the girl in
a submissive tone of voice.

Mrs. Tiralla did not notice the smile that made the big mouth under the
snub nose still bigger, nor the cunning, lurking gleam that flashed in
the small, deep-set eyes.

"Ha-ha!" laughed the maid to herself, "did the Pani really think she
was so stupid? Rats _had_ to be [Pg 5] here. The Pani wished rats to be
here; the Pani tried to make-believe that rats were here. Well, let
p