Sobbing heartily the girl fell first at her uncle's feet, then at the gospodarz's, and then escaped into the passage. She hugged herself and still emitted great sobs; but her eyes were dry. She began calling softly in a mournful voice: 'Pig! pig! pig!' But the pigs had turned in for the night. Instead Jendrek and Stasiek with the dog Burek emerged from the twilight. Jendrek wanted to push her over, but she gave him a punch in the eye. The boys seized her by the arms, Burek followed, and shrieking and barking and inextricably entwined so that one could not tell which was child and which was dog, all four melted into the mists that were hanging over the meadows. Sitting by the stove, the two gospodarze were talking. 'How is it you are getting rid of the cow?' 'You see, it's like this. That cow is not mine, it belongs to Magda, but my wife says she doesn't care about looking after somebody else's cow, and the shed is too small for ours as it is. I don't pay much attention to her usually, but it happens that there is a bit of land to be sold adjoining Magda's. Komara, to whom it belonged, has drunk himself to death. So I am thinking: I will sell the cow and buy the girl another acre--land is land.' 'That's true!' sighed Slimak. 'And as there will be new servituty, the girl will get even more.' 'How is that?' Slimak became interested. 'They will give you twice as much as you possess; I possess twenty-five acres, so I shall have fifty. How many have you got?' 'Ten.' 'Then you will have twenty, and Magda will get another two and a half with her own.' 'Is it certain about the servituty?' 'Who can tell? some say it is, others laugh about it. But I am thinking I will buy this land while there is the chance, especially as my wife does not wish it.' 'Then what is the good of buying the land if you will shortly get it for nothing?' 'The truth is, as it's not my money I don't care how I spend it. If I were you I shouldn't be in a hurry to rent from the manor either; there is no harm in waiting. The wise man is never in a hurry.' 'No, the wise man goes slowly,' Slimak deliberated. The gospodyni appeared at that moment with Maciek. They went into the alcove, drew two chairs and the cherrywood table into the middle of it, covered it with a cloth and placed a petroleum lamp without a chimney on it. 'Come, Soltys,' called the gospodyni,' you will have supper more comfortably in here.' Maciek, with a broad smile, retired awkwardly behind the stove as the two gospodarze went into the alcove. 'What a beautiful room,' said Grochowski, looking round, 'plenty of holy pictures on the walls, a painted bed, a wooden floor and flowers in the windows. That must be your doing, gospodyni?' 'Why, yes,' said the woman, pleased, 'he is always at the manor or in the town and doesn't care about his home; it was all I could do to make him lay the floor. Be so kind as to sit near the stove, neighbour, I'll get supper.'