He stood aside,
and she entered another court full of trees and a basket-work hut. She
passed through the lower story, which was full of grain, and ascended
into a beautiful room with a seat built all round it.
It was entirely furnished with carpets. He waved his hand to the seat,
called to his wives much as a sportsman summons his dogs, and left.
They came in, three women, simply dressed in chemise and flowered cotton
bloomers. Their voices were shaking with excitement, and they were
fearfully upset because Jo got up to shake hands with them.
They only spoke Albanian, and a few words of Serb. One had been very
beautiful, but her teeth were decayed, another was a healthy-looking
young woman, and the third was frankly hideous.
They brought coffee, the chief wife presenting it with her hand across
her chest--a polite way of saying--
"I am your slave."
Jo spoke Serb, and they clearly said in Albanian--
"If only we could tell what you are saying."
After which every one sat and beamed, and they kept calling for
somebody.
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