tted figure sprawled in solitary gloom along a caneless
chair, reading a newspaper by the twinkle of a rushlight. Nehemiah
sprang up with a bark of joy, making his gigantic shadow bow to the
visitor. From chimney-pot to coat-tail he stretched unchanged, and the
same celestial rapture illumined his gaunt visage.

But Barstein drew back his own coat-tail from the attempted kiss.

'Where is the gas?' he asked drily.

'Alas, the company removed the meter.'

'But the gas-brackets?'

'What else had we to eat?' said Nehemiah simply.

Barstein in sudden suspicion raised his eyes to the ceiling. But a
fragment of gaspipe certainly came through it. He could not, however,
recall whether the pipe had been there before or not.

'So the young men would not come?' he said.

'Oh yes, they came, and they read, and they ate. Only they did not
pay.'

'You should have made it a rule--cash down.'

Again a fine shade of rebuke and astonishment crossed his lean and
melancholy visage.

'And could I oppress a brother-in-Israel? Where had those young men to
turn but to me?'

Again Barstein felt his angelic reputation imperilled. He hastened to
change the conversation.

'And why do you want to go to Bursia?' he said.

'Why shall I want to go to Bursia?' Nehemiah replied.

'You said so.' Barstein showed him the letter.

'Ah, I said I shall sooner go to Bursia than to Russia. Always Sir
Asher Aaronsberg speaks of sending us back to Russia.'

'He would,' said Barstein grimly. 'But where is Bursia?'

Nehemiah shrugged his shoulders. 'Shall I know? My little Rebeccah was
drawing a map thereof; she won a prize of five pounds with which we
lived two months. A genial child is my Rebeccah.'

'Ah, then, the Almighty did send you something.'

'And do I not trust Him?' said Nehemiah fervently. 'Otherwise,
burdened down as I am with a multitude of children----'

'You made your own burden,' Barstein could not help pointing out.

Again that look of pain, as if Nehemiah had caught sight of feet of
clay beneath Barstein's shining boots.

'"Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth,"' Nehemiah quoted in
Hebrew. 'Is not that the very first commandment in the Bible?'

'Well, then, you want to go to Turkey,' said the sculptor evasively.
'I suppose you mean Palestine?'

'No, Turkey. It is to Turkey we Zionists should ought to go, there to
work for Palestine. Are not many of the Sultan's own officials Jews?
If we can make of _them_ hot