Or do you
think that the people who guard the secret of the Caballah will
bring it to you on a tray? As far as I am concerned, I shall
discover the secret, at any cost!'
"After reflecting a few minutes, the scientist came to a decision.
"'I shall go with you, come what may!'
"'Very well. Now we have agreed. Let us go,--there is no time to
lose.'"
* * * * *
"The tower clock of the town-hall struck eleven. At the first
stroke a key clicked in the lock of the cemetery gates. Then
followed profound silence which indicated that the cemetery was
open. The lights in the Jewish houses were gradually dying out, and
at the same time the sounds of the merry feasting also subsided.
"Mysterious silence reigned in that terrible place.
"The gates creaked softly; the rustling of long coats was heard,
touching the stones and shrubbery; finally a vague white figure
appeared and slipped by like a shadow along the pathways.
"This figure knelt before one of the tombstones; three times it
touched the stone with its forehead and softly whispered a prayer.
"Along the path leading from the gates came an old man, bent,
limping, sighing and coughing. He came over to the ancient
tombstone, and lowered himself on his knees near the white figure
that had entered before him, and he, too, whispered a prayer.
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