“Right! Quite right! We come for that!” they all agreed, striking on the ground with their sticks. For the Germans, this was a thunderclap. “What says he? What would he have? We understand naught,” they stammered, thinking they had not heard aright. Roch therefore repeated his request, this time in German; and when he had done, Matthew burst out with the words: “And to take yourselves away—you and your long trousers—to all the devils!” At this, they jumped as though doused with boiling water. The quarrel then began and waxed furious, all the more embroiled by their fierce-sounding unintelligible jargon, as they stamped their feet and waved their arms; some of them, with lifted fists, making as if to rush at the peasants, who stood firm and immovable as a wall, eyeing them with bold looks and clenched teeth, while their hands twitched nervously upon their cudgels. “What, are ye all mad?” exclaimed the old man, with uplifted hands. “Would ye forbid us to purchase land? Wherefore? and by what right?” Roch calmly explained the whole situation in all its details; but the German, reddening with anger, cried out: “The land belongs to him that pays for it!” “We,” Roch replied gravely, “think otherwise: we think the land should belong to him that hath need of it.” “Belong? And how? Without payment, by robbery peradventure?” he cried with a sneer. “Our hands can give exceeding good payment,” Roch answered in the same tone. “Why shall we waste time bandying jests? We have bought Podlesie; it is ours, and ours it shall remain. And whoso likes not this, let him go his way, and not come near us!—Well, wherefore do ye wait?” “Wherefore?” Gregory exploded. “To tell you: ‘Hands off the land that’s ours!’” “Take yourselves off it, you!” Here someone called out: “Mark this: ours has been a neighbourly request ... so far!” “Ye threaten us? Then we’ll go to law! Oh, there are means to master you. Your term of jail for the forest brawl is not yet done: you will get some more, and do both terms together!” The old man attempted to laugh, but was too much upset, and his companions were exasperated. “Ye lousy devils!” “Thievish, stinking hounds!” they shouted in German, writhing about like snakes disturbed in their nest. “Dogs’ blood! be silent when men speak to you!” Matthew thundered at them; but they cared nothing for him, and began to come on in a body. Roch, fearing there would be violence, got his men together and urged them to be calm; but they were out of hand, each vociferating louder than the other. “A slap in the face to the first who comes near us!” “They want to have a little blood let!” “What, boys! shall we let them flout all our people thus?” “No, no! we must not—we must not!” cried the rest, pressing threateningly forward, till Matthew, setting Roch aside, pushed on to the Germans, showing his teeth like an angry wolf.