But his wife's satisfaction did not completely reassure Slimak; he was wretchedly in doubt. His dinner gave him no pleasure, and he strolled about the house without knowing what to do. When his irritation had reached its climax, a happy thought struck him. 'Come here, Jendrek,' he said, unbuckling his belt. 'Oh, daddy, don't,' wailed the boy, although he had been prepared for the last two hours. 'You won't escape it this time; lie down on the bench. You've been laughing at the young gentleman and even making fun of the squire.' Stasiek, in tears, embraced his father's knees, Magda ran out of the room, Jendrek howled. 'I tell you, lie down! I'll teach you to run about with that scoundrel of a Jasiek!' At that moment Slimakowa tapped at the window. 'Josef, come quick, something has happened to the new cow, she's staggering.' Slimak let go of Jendrek and ran to the cowshed. The three cows were standing quietly chewing the cud. 'It has passed off,' said the woman; 'but I tell you a minute ago she was staggering worse than you did yesterday.' He examined the cow carefully, but could find nothing wrong with her. Jendrek had meanwhile slipped away, his father's temper had cooled, and the matter ended as usual on these occasions. CHAPTER V It was the height of summer. The squire and his wife had gone away, and the villagers had forgotten all about them. New wool had begun to grow on the shorn sheep. The sun was so hot that the clouds fled from the sky into the woods, and the ground protected itself with what it could find; with dust on the highroads, grass in the meadows, and heavy crops in the fields. But human beings had to toil their hardest at this time. At the manor they were cutting clover and hoeing turnips; in the cottages the women were piling up the potatoes, while the old women were gathering mallows for cooling drinks and lime-blossoms against the ague. The priest spent all his days tracking and taking swarms of bees; Josel, the innkeeper, was making vinegar. The woods resounded with the voices of children picking berries. The corn was getting ripe, and Slimak began to cut the rye the day after the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was in a hurry to get the work done in two or three days, lest the corn should drop out in the great heat, and also because he wanted to help with the harvesting at the manor. Usually he, Maciek, and Jendrek worked together, alternately cutting and binding the sheaves. Slimakowa and Magda helped in the early morning and in the afternoon. On the first day, while the five were working together, and had reached the top of the hill, Magda noticed some men showing against the dark background of the wood, and drew Slimakowa's attention to them. They all stopped work and looked. 'They must be peasants,' Maciek said; 'they are wearing white smocks.' 'They do not walk like peasants,' said Slimakowa. 'But they are wearing boots up to their knees,' said Slimak.