“On the floor, reverend sir,” she answered. “And the aches and pains are so strong that I can stand them no longer. It is certain that a devil possesses me and I would that you should pray him away.”
“Is the floor made of stones?”
“It is.”
“Are the stones ever wet?”
“No, reverend sir, except in spring.”
“Is the earth damp beneath the stones?”
“Why—yes—perhaps,” she said. “Sometimes when the well water is not much used it overflows, for there is a source there, and sometimes when they have been drawing water carelessly the overflow leaks down beneath the stones.”
“Then take heed to what I say and the aches and pains will pass. Take stones and build a low wall between the well and the side of your cottage. Make this waterproof and then dig a drain that will carry the water away from your house. Hang your bedclothes often in the sun and be sure that they are always dry. Change every week the boughs upon which you lie; thus will the pains go away.”
She kissed his hand and departed.
Then came a peasant who complained that worms were coming up from the ground and were destroying the young shoots of his plants.