rob a Jew, and I do not altogether
blame them. They believe that we would rob them, and many of us do so.
We are very sharp, each on the other, dealing against each other always
in hatred, never in love--never even in friendship."

"But, for all that, my father has never wronged you."

"He should not do so, for I am endeavouring to be kind to him. For your
sake, Nina, I would treat him as though he were a Jew himself."

"He has never wronged you; I am sure that he has never wronged you."

"Nina, you are more to me than you are to him."

"Yes. I am--I am your own; but yet I will declare that he has never
wronged you."

"And I should be more to you than he is."

"You are more--you are everything to me; but, still, I know that he has
never wronged you."

Then the Jew paused again, still walking onwards through the dark
colonnade with her hand upon his arm. They walked in silence the whole
side of the large square. Nina waiting patiently to hear what would
come next, and Trendellsohn considering what words he would use. He did
suspect her father, and it was needful to his purpose that he should
tell her so; and it was needful also, as he thought, that she should be
made to understand that in her loyalty and truth to him she must give
up her father, or even suspect her father, if his purpose required that
she should do so. Though she were still a Christian herself, she must
teach herself to look at other Christians, even at those belonging to
herself, with Jewish eyes. Unless she could do so she would not be true
and loyal to him with that troth and loyalty which he required. Poor
Nina! It was the dearest wish of her heart to be true and loyal to him
in all things; but it might be possible to put too hard a strain even
upon such love as hers. "Nina," the Jew said, "I fear your father. I
think that he is deceiving us."

"No, Anton, no! he is not deceiving you. My aunt and uncle and Ziska
are deceiving you."

"They are trying to deceive me, no doubt; but as far as I can judge
from their own words and looks, they do believe that at this moment the
document which I want is in your father's house. As far as I can judge
their thoughts from their words, they think that it is there."

"It is not there," said Nina, positively.

"That is what we must find out. Your uncle was silent. He said nothing,
or next to nothing."

"He is the best of the three, by far," said Nina.

"Your aunt is a clever woman in spite her blun