'No, I'm not lying!' she screamed, all reason for caution having deserted herquite unreasonably. 'You fat stinking pig! I've had a terrible time, I almostgot killed, and all you can think about is the jewel! Which probably doesn'texist! Benna was dying! He didn't know what he was talking about! I never sawthe jewel! And...'

Eevroen snarled, 'You tryna keep i' from me!' and he charged her.

She could easily have evaded him, but something swelled up in her and took over,and she seized a baked-clay water jug from a shelf and brought it down hard overhis head. The jug didn't break, but Eevroen did. He fell face forwards. Bloodwelled from his scalp; he snored.

By then the children were awake, sitting up, wide-eyed, but silent. Mazechildren learned at an early age not to cry easily.

Shaking, Masha got down on her knees and examined the wound. Then she rose andwent to the rag rack and returned with some dirty ones,/ no use wasting cleanones on him, and stanched the wound. She felt his pulse; it was beating steadilyenough for a drunkard who'd just been knocked out with a severe blow.

Wallu said, 'Is he dead?'

She wasn't concerned about him. She was worrying about herself, the children,and Masha. If her daughter should be executed for killing her husband, howeverjustified she was, then she and the girls would be without support.

'He'll have a hell of a headache in the morning,' Masha said. With somedifficulty, she rolled Eevroen over so that he would be face down, and sheturned his head sideways and then put some rags under the side of his head. Now,if he should vomit during the night, he wouldn't choke to death. For a momentshe was tempted to put him back as he had fallen. But the judge might think thatshe was responsible for his death.

'Let him lie there,' she said. 'I'm not going to break my back dragging him to