The starost looked grave and troubled. That these wolves should have appeared after Radion's warning as to _liéshuie_ was curious. That they should have selected his cow would surely indicate a deliberate intention on the part of the spirits--if, indeed, the spirits were at the bottom of the trouble--to accentuate the significance of their action; for they had eaten Masha, and that cow represented the starost; therefore the _liéshuie_ had struck their blow at the starost, who, again, was the representative man of the community. This surely would mean that the spirits desired to demonstrate their displeasure with the community through their representative, the starost. A meeting of the Mir was held that very evening in order to discuss the situation, and a Soul was sent on horseback to the priest of the district, five miles away, to ask for guidance in the emergency which had arisen. Late at night the deputy returned to the village bearing a message from the priest. The message was extremely to the point, though very short, and ran thus: "Tell the starost and his moujiks and the pastuch that they are a set of drivelling fools. The only spirits they have to keep clear of are _vodka_ and cognac." This was encouraging, if somewhat lacking in courtesy. But a difficulty arose. The pastuch professed to be so terrified with his experiences of the preceding day that he really could not bring himself to enter the woods again unless the usual ceremonies were first performed to protect the herd from the perils of the forest. However, a _na chaiok_ of a rouble from the public funds proved a strong argument, and Radion was persuaded to convoy his cows as usual into their pastures. All went well on this occasion and the day after, but on the evening of the third day another catastrophe happened. Radion returned _minus_ two more of the cattle placed under his care--a second cow and the only bull of the herd. Radion himself was in a terrible state. He raved and laughed and cried and cursed like one demented. To the ordinary observer he would have appeared to be merely rather far gone in alcoholic poisoning; but this, of course, could not be the case: the _znaharka_, the wise woman of the village, said so. It was the simple and natural result of great terror, she explained. In all probability he had seen the _liéshuie_ or, at least, their wolf-slaves, and the terror of it had maddened him.