CHAPTER I
AT three o’clock in the afternoon, across the village green of Frishets went the sexton; he had in his hand a large key and directed his steps to the chapel.
Any of the villagers who were standing by the window and saw the sexton, at first only said to themselves, “Where, I wonder, is old Vanek going?” Afterwards they called to their wives, to the servants, or to any one who happened to be near at hand, “Look! look! Vanek is going to the chapel! Can there be a fire anywhere, or can any one be dead?”
“And where can there be a fire, and who can have died?” was the answer to these questions; but to every one it was apparent that one or other of these events must have taken place.
After this those who stood by the windows ran out in front of the gate, and cast a curious glance after Vanek to see whether he was not going into the chapel. At this moment his key rattled in the door, the door opened, and Vanek vanished within the chapel.
“What, I wonder, can Vanek want in the chapel?” thereupon inquired the neighbours one of another, on the village green; each took a few steps toward the middle of the green, and then replied to one another that no one could tell, because there was no fire in sight, and no one in the village had been seriously ill.
At that instant the funeral bell rang out. “The Lord God grant him heaven”, said the neighbours’ wives, crossed themselves and began to pray.
The men removed their pipes from their mouths, lifted their caps and crossed themselves from brow to breast. Every one was like a statue, only that his lips moved somewhat; in the village nothing stirred, the funeral bell swung to and fro and spoke to all, and yet no one knew for whom it was ringing.
All at once the funeral bell was silent and the neighbours and neighbours’ wives, just as they had at first trailed off from the windows on to the village green, so now they trailed over the village green toward the chapel, each one only saying, “The Lord God be with us! Who is it, I wonder?” Their impatience increased
