rview had taken place; and Florian
strove to banish it from his own recollection.

11.
FLORIAN HELPS HIMSELF.

Autumn had come: the Feast of Tabernacles was over, and Betsy's wedding
once more brought back the spirit of fun and frolic to the village.
According to the Hebrew ritual, the marriage was performed on the
highroad, under a spreading baldachin. The fanners--always glad of an
excuse to be idle--gathered around with open mouths: Florian and
Schlunkel were both among them. The latter pulled his former comrade by
the sleeve, whispering that he had something important to tell him; and
when the ceremony was over he stole round the rear of the manor-house
into the vaulted springhouse. Florian followed after some time, he knew
not why.

Schlunkel came to meet him, saying, "Shake hands: we'll both be rich
to-morrow." Without understanding him, Florian took his hand, saying,
"How so?"

"Just this way," said Schlunkel, with a skip and a jump. "This morning
Mendle's Meyer came home from the horse-market, where he sold all his
horses. He must have brought at least seven or eight hundred florins
home with him. I saw the belt: it looked like a liver-pudding. You know
how to handle a liver-pudding, don't you? We'll slice this up tonight.
A week ago the fire-committee had Meyer's bake-oven pulled down,
because it was in the corner there. He had the hole walled up with
brick. I helped to do it; and I laid one of the bricks so that you can
just take it out with your hand. So to-night, when they're all at the
wedding, we'll slip in and fetch the Jew's sausage."

"Not I," said Florian.

"Just as you please: you can get the money the commune offered you, if
you like that better, and see how far it'll go."

"How do you know that?"

"I've got a little bird that told me: you fool, all the swallows in the
chimneys are talking of it."

Florian stamped and bit his mustache. If he could have set fire to the
village at that moment he would gladly have done so. He saw them all
laughing at him, pitying him: the goal of his ambition--the veneration
of the community--had fallen to ashes. At last he was ready for any
thing. The enormity of the crime proposed never occurred to him for a
moment. As honor was lost, he would go away laden with booty. Like one
awaking from sleep, he said,--

"I'm in for it. What time?"

"About eight o'clock, I guess."

After another shake