Then suddenly the whisper ceased. The young man sitting at her feet pressed his hands convulsively together and asked again:
"Bobe! where is the writing of the Senior?"
The old woman gently swayed her head, and her lips moved.
"He asked: 'Where is the writing of the Senior? Did the Senior bury it in the ground? No! he could not have buried it, as dampness and worms would have destroyed it. Did he hide it in the walls? No! he knew that fire might destroy the walls. Where did he hide it?' Thus asked Hersh, and his wife Freida pondered over his words and then pointed at the bookcase where the Senior's old books were preserved, and said: 'Hersh my Hersh! the writing is there.' When Freida said that, Hersh rejoiced and said: 'You, Freida, have a wise head, and your soul is as beautiful as your eyes.'"
And smiling at the dim pictures of her youthful days, she whispered:
"Then he said: 'A virtuous woman is far above rubies and her husband doth trust her!'"
The young man looked at her with entreating eyes, and again asked:
"Bobe! what did Hersh do with the writing?"
The old woman did not answer at once, but her lips moved silently as if she spoke with an invisible being, and then took up the thread of her tale again:
"Hersh came back from a long journey, deeply grieved, and said to Freida: 'Everything is lost. We must bide the Senior's writing again; it is no use now.' Freida asked: 'Hersh! where will you hide the writing?' Hersh replied: 'I will hide it where it was before, and you alone, Freida, will know the secret.'"