"Oi, Lord of the World, help!" came of its own accord to his lips. Then he felt ashamed, and caught himself up, "Ett, nonsense!" As he pushed the door open, the "prayer" escaped him once more, "Help, mighty God! or it will be the death of me!" * * * * * Loibe-Baeres was seated at a large table covered with a clean white table-cloth, and drinking while he talked cheerfully with his household. "There's a Jew come, Tate!" called out a boy of twelve, on seeing Chayyim standing by the door. "So there is!" called out a second little boy, still more merrily, fixing Chayyim with his large, black, mischievous eyes. All the rest of those at table began looking at Chayyim, and he thought every moment that he must fall of a heap onto the floor. "It will look very bad if I fall," he said to himself, made a step forward, and, without saying good evening, stammered out: "I just happened to be passing, you understand, and I saw you sitting--so I knew you were at home--well, I thought one ought to call--neighbors--" "Well, welcome, welcome!" said Loibe-Baeres, smiling. "You've come at the right moment. Sit down." A stone rolled off Chayyim's heart at this reply, and, with a glance at the two little boys, he quietly took a seat. "Leah, give Reb Chayyim a glass of tea," commanded Loibe-Baeres. "Quite a kind man!" thought Chayyim. "May the Almighty come to his aid!" He gave his host a grateful look, and would gladly have fallen onto the Gevir's thick neck, and kissed him. "Well, and what are you about?" inquired his host. "Thanks be to God, one lives!" The maid handed him a glass of tea. He said, "Thank you," and then was sorry: it is not the proper thing to thank a servant. He grew red and bit his lips. "Have some jelly with it!" Loibe-Baeres suggested. "An excellent man, an excellent man!" thought Chayyim, astonished. "He is sure to lend." "You deal in something?" asked Loibe-Baeres. "Why, yes," answered Chayyim. "One's little bit of business, thank Heaven, is no worse than other people's!" "What price are oats fetching now?" it occurred to the Gevir to ask. Oats had fallen of late, but it seemed better to Chayyim to say that they had risen. "They have risen very much!" he declared in a mercantile tone of voice. "Well, and have you some oats ready?" inquired the Gevir further. "I've got a nice lot of oats, and they didn't cost me much, either. I got them quite cheap," replied Chayyim, with more warmth, forgetting, while he spoke, that he hadn't had an ear of oats in his granary for weeks. "And you are thinking of doing a little speculating?" asked Loibe-Baeres. "Are you not in need of any money?" "Thanks be to God," replied Chayyim, proudly, "I have never yet been in need of money." "Why did I say that?" he thought then, in terror at his own words. "How am I going to ask for a loan now?" and Chayyim wanted to back the cart a little, only Loibe-Baeres prevented him by saying: