fathers, and reviewed us, his grandchildren. He who had a bruise concealed it; he who had lost sidled up to his father, and he who was safe and sound continued to play with Vorjech.
We distributed ourselves in the corners of the room and sat in silence. But even our fathers did not carry on the conversation, and grandfather, who was a confirmed smoker, continually puffed away at his pipe, and did not seem to wish to notice us. Grandmother hovered about the kitchen-range, plates and spoons jingled, and we increased the clatter with our forks. But she wouldn’t so much as smile at us. A child has an instinctive feeling about the sort of look she wore. He very soon discovers when it is in earnest and when it is feigned, and thus we children had no need to ask questions in order to discover that something very much out of the common was brewing at the old folks’.
After a short time grandfather said: “Come, set the dinner on the table.”
Grandfather, be it understood, always nagged at grandmother. Grandmother began to excuse herself, saying that dinner was not so easily served up as he seemed to think, that she had still this and that root to peel, and soon grandfather began to puff his meerschaum yet more frequently, and smoked until he almost vanished from our eyes in a cloud of tobacco.
Father was wont to say that this augured nothing good with him.
After this they began to talk about one thing and another, but through it all it was evident that they only talked for the sake of talking, and such conversation never succeeds, because it does not come from the heart. All of them had some topic continually in his mind, which he kept trying to lead up to, and on that account kept saying “yes”, and nodding and answering in a formal manner, until all again languished.
“What a piece of work the dinner takes to-day”, said grandfather again after a pause.
“You always have something to complain of”, answered grandmother, and kept bustling about the kitchen-grate.
“To be sure, let him learn to come in time”, said grandfather, and began again to smoke furiously.
“It is just to-day you are aware that he is not coming; on other occasions you scarcely trouble yourself about him”, answered grandmother.
