home. Mr. Shimerda went with him. We sat
and watched the long bowed back under the
blue sheet, scarcely daring to breathe.

On the way home, when we were lying in
the straw, under the jolting and rattling An-
tonia told me as much of the story as she
could. What she did not tell me then, she
told later; we talked of nothing else for days
afterward.

When Pavel and Peter were young men,
living at home in Russia, they were asked to
be groomsmen for a friend who was to marry
the belle of another village. It was in the dead
of winter and the groom's party went over to
the wedding in sledges. Peter and Pavel drove
in the groom's sledge, and six sledges followed
with all his relatives and friends.

After the ceremony at the church, the party
went to a dinner given by the parents of the
bride. The dinner lasted all afternoon; then
it became a supper and continued far into the
night. There was much dancing and drinking.
At midnight the parents of the bride said
goodbye to her and blessed her. The groom
took her up in his arms and carried her out
to his sledge and tucked her under the blan-

[[63]]

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v?