"For God's sake! What do you say? How? What has happened to her?"
But the boy looked at him with his beautiful blue eyes and smiled.
"What are you prating about?"
But at this moment, the Bohemian and the other boy also burst out laughing.
"You see!" exclaimed the disguised boy. "Who could recognize me. You even have failed to recognize me!"
Then Macko looked at the lovely figure carefully and exclaimed: "In the name of the Father and Son! It is a true carnival! You also here, croaking thing. Why?"
"Yes! Why? Those who are on the road have no time to lose."
"Is it not to-morrow at dawn, that you were to leave?"
"Certainly! to-morrow at dawn, so that all may know. To-morrow they will think at Zgorzelice that I am your guest, and they will not notice it till the day after to-morrow. Sieciechowa and Jasiek know it. But Jasko promised, upon knightly honor, that he will tell only then, when the people begin to be restless. How is it you did not recognize me?"
Now it was Macko's turn to laugh.
"Let me have a good look at you; you are an excessively fine boy!... and singularly so. From such one might expect to raise a good breed.... I justly declare, if this fellow were, (pointing at himself) were not old,--well! But, even thus I tell you, keep off, girl, from creeping under my eyes, stand back!..."
And he began to threaten her with his finger, but looked at her with much pleasure. Because such a girl he never saw before. Upon her head she had a silken red net, and a yellow jacket upon her body and the breeches ample round her hips and tighter above them, of which one little leg was of the same color as the cap (net) upon her head, the other had longwise stripes, with a richly covered little sword at her side, smiling and bright like the dawn. Her face was so exquisite that he could not take his eyes off her.
"My God!" said the overjoyed Macko. "She looks like some marvelous young lady or like a flower, or something else!"
"And this one here--I am sure it must also be somebody in disguise?"
"This is Sieciechowa," answered Jagienka. "It would be improper for me to be alone among you. How could I? Therefore I have taken Anulka[111] with me so that two courageous women will be of help and service. Her also, nobody can recognize."