" Shema ! " shrieked the rabbi. " He is
drowned? Your son? How so — where —
176



A GOY IN THE GOOD PLACE

how did it happen? What a misfortune!
Come with me quick! Hm — hm — hm — ,"
and he hurriedly led the way into the
house.
" Sarah," he cried at the door, " bring a
little brandy, quick. What thinkest thou,
this poor man's son is drowned ! "

" Drowned ! " screamed the rabbi's fat
wife. " Wai geschrieen ! In the river, was
it not? I always knew it would happen —
wading and swimming — and God only
knows what else — wai, wai, wai — ."

" Get the brandy, Sarah Leben, and talk
later," cried the rabbi.
After they had urged the old man to
drink, and Sarah with one sweep had
cleared a chair of a bundle of soiled clothes,
a book, and a pan of potato parings, that
the old man might be seated, they plied
him with a hundred questions, through the
distractions of which Anton told his story
as best he could.
The rabbi grasped his beard, swayed
177



A RENEGADE AND OTHER TALES

himself from side to side, and at the pa-
thetic places murmured, " Hm — hm " and
" Wai, wai," while the more tender Sarah
wiped away her tears on a dirty silk apron.
" And now I've come to you to bury
him," was the end of Anton's tale.
