The violent and impulsive man broke off his sentence in the middle and remained open-mouthed, like one turned to stone.
He sat opposite the window, at which he stared fixedly with stupefied eyes.
"What is that?" he called out in a trembling voice:
"What is that?" said everybody; and all except Saul rose from their seats.
The room, which had been quite dark, became suddenly lighted up, as if by the reflection of thousands of torches from without; not only the house of Ezofowich, but the whole sky above was illuminated by a red glare.
The men and women stood spell-bound in the middle of the room, and looked silently at the fiery volumes, which rose higher and higher into the heavens above.
"How quickly he has done the deed!" said Abraham.
Nobody answered.
The little town, so quiet a moment before, became suddenly very noisy and tumultuous. No nation in the world is so easily carried away by sensations of any kind. This time the sensation was a powerful one.
It was aroused by the mighty element which carries destruction upon earth and lifts its blood-red banner up to the skies, The noise of thousands of running feet re-echoed in the streets like the rushing of many waters. The square was black with a dense crowd, which swiftly and noisily moved in one direction. Above the din of all the voices single words were heard now and then more distinctly.
"Kamionka! It is the Kamionka estate!" exclaimed those that knew the country.
"Hear! hear! it is Kamionka!" took up a chorus of voices.
"Ai! Ai! such a fine place! such a magnificent place!"
Those were the last words that reached the inmates of Ezofowich's house. The crowd streamed on, and the voices sounded faint and far off.
Then Saul rose from the sofa, and, his face turned towards the window, he stood silent and motionless.
Then he raised his trembling hands and said, in a faltering voice:
"In my father Hersh's time and in my own, such things did not happen, and sins like this were not in Israel. Our hands used to spread gold and silver over the land, but not fire and tears."
He paused a few moments, gazing thoughtfully at the window.
"My father Hersh and his grandfather lived in friendship; they often conversed together about important affairs, and the lord of Kamionka--he wore then a gold brocaded sash and a sword at his side--said to my father Hersh: 'Ezofowich, you are a large-hearted and a far-seeing man; if our side win we will make a nobleman of you at the Diet.' His son was not quite like his father, but he always spoke courteously to me, and I bought his corn for thirty years.
Whenever he wanted money I was always ready, because his estate brought much gain to me. The lady of Kamionka--she is still living--liked my mother Frieda very much; she used to say: 'Mistress Frieda has a great many diamonds and I have only one.' She called her son, who was as the apple of her eye, her diamond--the same son whose house is now in flames," and he pointed at the fiery columns with a silent gesture of grief and horror.
Then Raphael spoke.
"When I was last time at Kamionka, the old lady was sitting with her son upon the balcony, and when I began to speak about business, she said to him: 'Remember, Sigismond, never sell your corn to anybody but to an Ezofowich; they are amongst the Jews the most honest and friendly towards us.' And after that she began to ask whether old Frieda was still alive, and her son Saul, and if he had many grandchildren. Then she looked at her son and said to me: 'Raphael, I have no grandson!' And I bowed politely and said: 'May the gracious lady live a hundred years and see a great many grandsons of her own!'
I did not put a lie into her ear; I sincerely wished her well. Why should I not wish her well?"
Raphael left off speaking, and Saul, turning towards him, asked:
"Raphael, has he ever wronged you?"
Raphael thought a little and then replied:
"No. He has never done me the slightest wrong. He is a little proud, it is true, and does not look sharp after his business; he is fond of amusements, and when an Israelite bows to him he gives a careless nod and does not try to make a friend of him . . . but his heart is good, and his word is his bond, and in business he is more likely to wrong himself than anybody else."
Sarah, who stood near her husband, wrung her hands, and rocking her body gently, sighed mournfully:
"Ai! all such a handsome gentleman to have such a misfortune happen to him."
"Such a fine young man, and he was going to marry such a beautiful young lady," said the wife of Raphael.
"And how will he be able to marry now, when he is ruined?" said Saul, and he added in a lower voice:
"A great sin has been committed in Israel!"
"A great shame has fallen to-day on Israel's head," said Raphael.
From a corner of the room where the glare penetrated least, came or rather crept forth Abraham. Bent almost in two, and trembling in every limb, he kissed his father's hand.
"Father," he said, "I thank you that you saved me from it."
Saul raised his head. The colour came back to his face, and energy gleamed in his eyes.
"Abraham," he said, in a commanding tone, "have your horses ready at once, and drive as quickly as you can to the estate where the young lord is staying. He cannot see the conflagration from there; drive quickly and tell him to come and save his property and his mother."
"You, Raphael, go at once to the Jankiel's and Leisor's inns where the peasants are drinking. Tell them to drive home quickly to save their lord's property."
Obedient as two children, Saul's two sons left the room at once and the women went into the porch. Then Ber came close to Saul.
"Father! what do you think now of Meir? Was he not right to warn the lord of Kamionka?"
Saul bent his head, but did not answer.
"Father," said her, "save Meir! Go to the Rabbi, and to the judges, and elders; ask them not to bring him before their tribunal."
For a long while Saul did not answer.
"It is very difficult for me to go," he said at last. "The hardest task to humble my gray head before Todros," but he added after a pause, "I will go tomorrow--we must stand up for the child--though he be rash and does not pay due reverence to the faith and customs of his father."
While the foregoing took place in the house of Ezofowich, the little meadow close to the town was covered with a waving, murmuring and compact mass of people. From this spot, the terrible conflagration could be seen most distinctly; therefore the whole population, eager and greedy for sensation, congregated there.
The reflected light of the fire rose above the pine forest, which was enveloped in a ray light and so transparent that every branch and stem could be seen distinctly. The wide half-circle of the glare, dark red below, grew paler and paler above, till the golden yellow light lost itself in the pale blue sky. The stars twinkled with a feeble, uncertain light, and on the opposite side, beyond the birch wood, rose the red ball of the moon.
Among the population, sentences and words, quick and sharp, whizzed about like pistol shots. Somebody was telling that when Jankiel Kamionker heard about the fire, he had gone off to the estate tearing his hair like a madman, wailing and lamenting over the loss of the spirits which he had there in such quantities. Hearing this, many people smiled knowingly; others shook their heads compassionately at the supposed heavy losses of Jankiel; but the greater part of the people remained silent. They guessed the truth; here and there somebody knew about it; but nobody dared to meddle in a business so full of danger, even with an unwary word.
A full hour after the first gleam of the fire had been noticed a light carriage and four gray horses were seen in full gallop across the streets in the direction of the meadow.
It was not the regular road to Kamionka, in fact, there was no road at all; but by driving across the meadow, the young owner shortened his way considerably. He did not sit in the carriage, but stood straight up, holding on by the box, seat, and kept his eyes fixed upon the red glare of the flames, where his mother was, which was consuming the house of his fathers.
When the horses came to the meadow and he saw the crowd, he shouted to the coachman:
"Be careful; do not hurt the people."
"A good man," said one in the crowd; "at such a moment he still thinks of other people."