Marijka the Unfaithful

Lightning strikes a cottage owned by Petro Birčak. Petro, hardened by a rigorous life in the mountains, starts straightaway to build a new house with his wife Marijka. A Czech tourist tells the innkeeper Glück that the site on the crossroads which had been destroyed by fire, would be a good place for a pub. Petro, however, refuses to sell the land. He decides to go off into the mountains to collect wood to make some money and he invites the young Danilo to help him with the construction work. The lumberjacks set off for Černá Rika in the mountains at the beginning of spring, taking Birčak with them to assist them in their work. The men work hard in the forest but their boss Herzán cheats them of their pay and provisions. Furthermore, in an act of revenge, he turns them against Rosenthal who refused to offer his daughter in marriage. Left alone, Marijka becomes more intimate with Danilo. Petro's illiterate mother finds someone to write a letter in which she informs her son of his wife's infidelity, but Petro's love for Marijka prevents him from killing her. As the logs get sent down the river, Petro and Danilo find themselves on the same raft together. A scuffle ensues and Danilo is killed. There are no witnesses to this event, however, and so Petro returns home. Glück has meanwhile sold off Petro's land so he starts building a new house with his wife in the mountains.