"Yes; that was rather clever of him. And don't you think it's clever of me to save appearances?" "It'll be terrible for mother!" said Salvina hotly. "Didn't you think of that?" "She won't have to talk to him. He'll only hang round. Nobody will notice." "It would have been better to tell the truth," cried Salvina, "or even a lie. This is only acting a lie. And it must be as painful for him as for us." "Serve him right--the old furniture-sneak!" "It was a mistake," Salvina persisted. "Hush, hush, Salvina!" said Mrs. Brill. "Don't disturb your brother's festival." "He has disturbed it himself," said Salvina, bursting into tears. "I wish, mother, we had not come." "Here, here! This is a pretty wedding," said Lazarus. "Hush, Salvina, hush!" said Mrs. Brill. "What does it matter to us if a dog creeps into synagogue?" At this point the cab stopped. "We're not there!" cried Mrs. Brill. "No," Lazarus explained; "but we pick up father here. We must appear to arrive together." Ere the horrified pair could protest, he opened the door, sprang out, and pushed inside a stout, rubicund man with a festal rose in his holiday coat, but a miserable, shamefaced look in his eyes. Lazarus took his seat ere a word could be spoken. The cab rolled on. "Good-morning, Esther," he muttered. "I offered you _Get_." "Silence!" cried Salvina, as if she had been talking to the little girls. "How dare you speak to her?" She held her mother's hand and felt the pulse beating madly. "You old serpent--" began Mrs. Brill hotly. "Mother!" pleaded Salvina; "not a word; he doesn't deserve it." "In Jerusalem I could have two wives," he muttered. But no one replied. The four human beings sat in painful silence, their knees touching. The culprit shot uneasy, surreptitious glances at his wife, so radiant in jewels and finery and with so Kitty-like a complexion. It was as if he saw her freshly, or as if he were shocked--even startled--by her retaining so much joy of life despite his desertion of her. Fortunately the strange drive only lasted a few minutes. The bridegroom's wedding-party passed into the synagogue through an avenue of sympathetic observers.