Chapters 13-14 Summary

A census preliminary to a military draft offends the Muslims, whose leaders agree on "passive resistance." Austrian officials look the other way for two years before recruiting, and then deal with insurrection and banditry by assigning gendarmes to patrol the bridge around the clock. Later, these are replaced by streifkorps, handpicked mobile storm troops, including a gigantic, childlike Rusyn, Gregor Fedun. They are put on alert for a notorious and cunning brigand, Jakov Čekrlija, who is operating nearby. Suffering spring fever, Fedun is enthralled by a beautiful Turkish girl who, crossing and recrossing, begins to look at him while his partner, Stevan of Prača, sleeps. She tells Fedun that after seeing her grandmother across at dusk she will be alone, but never shows up. Instead, he is interrogated before Major Krčmar and hears from the girl, Jelenka, that he...