would strike up again, and Marija would return to her
place and take up her task.

She bore all the burden of the festivities now. Ona
was kept up by her excitement, but all of the women and
most of the men were tired -- the soul of Marija was alone
unconquered. She drove on the dancers -- what had once
been the ring had now the shape of a pear, with Marija at
the stem, pulling one way and pushing the other, shouting,
stamping, singing, a very volcano of energy. Now and
then someone coming in or out would leave the door open,
and the night air was chill; Marija as she passed would
stretch out her foot and kick the door-knob, and _slam_
would go the door! Once this procedure was the cause of
a calamity of which Sebastijonas Szedvilas was the hapless
victim. Little Sebastijonas, aged three, had been wander~
ing about oblivious to all things, holding turned up over
his mouth a bottle of liquid known as "pop," pink-
colored, ice-cold, and delicious. Passing through the
doorway the door smote him full, and the shriek which
followed brought the dancing to a halt. Marija, who
threatened horrid murder a hundred times a day, and
would weep over the injury of a fly, seized little Sebasti~
jonas in her arms and bid fair to smother him with kisses.
There was a long rest for the orchestra, and plenty of
refreshments, while Marija was making her peace with
her victim, seating him upon the bar, and standing beside
him and holding to his lips a foaming schooner of beer.

In the meantime there was going on in another corner
of the room an anxious conference between Teta Elzbieta
and Dede Antanas, and a few of the more intimate friends
of the family. A trouble was come upon them. The
_veselija_ is a compact, a compact not expressed, but there~
fore only the more binding upon all. Everyone's share
was different -- and yet everyone knew perfectly well
what his share was, and strove to give a little more. Now,
however, since they had come to the new country, all this
was changing; it seemed as if there must be some subtle
poison in the air that one breathed here -- it was affecting
all the young men at once. They would come in crowds

[[16]]

p015 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p016w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p017

v?