How did the children feel about the burgomaster?

The children explain their presence and their journey, and Edek assures him they will work for their lodging. The farmer gruffly accepts and says that if they do not do a good job, he will hand them over to the Burgomaster. The children do not know this term, and the farmer explains. The Burgomaster is the man tasked by the Military Government with the job of rounding up all the Poles in the area to send them back to Poland; everyone is frightened of him and despises him for this. The children shudder, and Edek says that nothing on earth could send him back to Poland.