[Returns, changed somewhat by a fright which he has felt.] Somebody must be upstairs.
AUGUST
Marthel is just sayin' that Rose is there.
MARTHEL
I hear her. She's comin' down the stairs.
BERND
God forgive me the sin! I don't want to see her.
He sits down at the table, as before, holds his thumbs over his ears and bends his head deep over the Bible. ROSE appears in the door. She has her house skirt on and a loose bodice of cotton cloth. She keeps herself erect by sheer force of will. Her hair hangs down, partly loose, partly braided. There is in her face an expression of terrible, fatalistic calm and of bitter defiance. For several moments she lets her eyes wander over the room, over OLD BERND sitting there with his Bible, over AUGUST who has slowly turned from the door and pretends to be looking intently out of the window. Then, groping for some support, she begins to talk with desperate energy.
ROSE
Good-evenin' to all o' ye!—?—Good evenin'.