they accented the name thus, strongly, when
they spoke to her -- was still prettier. I re-
membered what the conductor had said about
her eyes. They were big and warm and full
of light, like the sun shining on brown pools
in the wood. Her skin was brown, too, and
in her cheeks she had a glow of rich, dark
color. Her brown hair was curly and wild-
looking. The little sister, whom they called
Yulka (Julka), was fair, and seemed mild and
obedient. While I stood awkwardly confront-
ing the two girls, Krajiek came up from the
barn to see what was going on. With him was
another Shimerda son. Even from a distance
one could see that there was something strange
about this boy. As he approached us, he began
to make uncouth noises, and held up his hands
to show us his fingers, which were webbed to
the first knuckle, like a duck's foot. When he
saw me draw back, he began to crow delight-
edly, "Hoo, hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo!" like a rooster.
His mother scowled and said sternly, "Ma-
rek!" then spoke rapidly to Krajiek in Bo-
hemian.

"She wants me to tell you he won't hurt
nobody, Mrs. Burden. He was born like that.
The others are smart. Ambrosch, he make

[[26]]

p025 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p026w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p027

v?