We thought we could follow in fancy these three aged
Hebrew truants wandering in and out on hilltop and in thicket, a
demon boy trotting far ahead, their will-o'-the-wisp conductor; and
at last about midnight, the wind still roaring in the darkness, we
had a vision of all three on their knees upon a mountain-top around
a glow-worm.
CHAPTER III. THE RETURN
Next morning we were up by half-past five, according to agreement,
and it was ten by the clock before our Jew boys returned to pick us
up. Kelmar, Mrs. Kelmar, and Abramina, all smiling from ear to
ear, and full of tales of the hospitality they had found on the
other side. It had not gone unrewarded; for I observed with
interest that the ship's kettles, all but one, had been "placed."
Three Lake County families, at least, endowed for life with a
ship's kettle. Come, this was no misspent Sunday. The absence of
the kettles told its own story: our Jews said nothing about them;
but, on the other hand, they said many kind and comely things about
the people they had met. The two women, in particular, had been
charmed out of themselves by the sight of a young girl surrounded
by her admirers; all evening, it appeared, they had been triumphing
together in the girl's innocent successes, and to this natural and
unselfish joy they gave expression in language that was beautiful
by its simplicity and truth.
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