mething sympathetic in the tone of her
voice, and as she looked at him her eyes, which were often so cold,
seemed to promise him something.

[Pg 30]

He cracked his long whip and urged the horse on. "_Huj_, _het!_" If
only he were home again! But if she had the thing so much at heart he
could easily please her by driving to Gnesen. She was such a sweet
little woman, was his Sophia.

Mrs. Tiralla stood looking after her husband for a long while. For
the first time in fifteen years she felt something like affection for
him--affection and gratitude. Then she drew a long breath and went back
into the house.

It was very quiet, as quiet as if Mr. Tiralla had never filled it with
his loud voice and broad figure. The maidservant was in the field
fetching potatoes, the men were in the barn, Rosa was at school. She
was quite alone.

"Ah!" The woman raised her arms with a deep sigh and ran through the
room as if she were flying. How happy she felt--ah, how happy! She had
not felt so happy for years. She walked round the big room and examined
it. She would place a sofa there, where the big bed stood. It was the
biggest and best room in the house; she would make a drawing-room of
it. Or perhaps Mikolai would like to have it when he came home after
serving his three years in the army? She would not make a point of
having the room, she was quite satisfied with her own bedroom.

She sat down near the window and gazed dreamily into space. She could
generally see the village, with its sunken cottages and thatched roofs
all covered with moss, and the new brick walls of the fine-looking inn
through the open yard door as in a frame, but to-day there was nothing
to be seen. Everything was hidden by the driving snow-flakes. Oh, what
a storm, what a lot of snow! If that continued Mr. Tiralla would be
delayed on the way, he would not be able to come back [Pg 31] so soon.
Hark! was not that the sound of a bell--the bell on the horse that she
herself had harnessed? She jumped up, startled. Surely he would not
turn back on account of the storm without effecting his purpose?

She pressed both hands against her throbbing heart and listened. Then
she smiled reassuringly. Ah, that was no bell outside, that was
here--here, in both ears! Now it began to ring violently. All at once
her face was suffused with a burning blush, and she had to hold her
head with both hands in order to support it. Oh, how frightened she
felt. What had she done? What