In the meanwhile Saul bent before the guest his grave and reverent head. Everyone present followed his example.
"He who greets a sage greets the Eternal," said he.
"He who greets a sage . . ." the choir of male and female voices began to repeat after Saul, but at that moment Isaak Todros raised his index finger, looked around with his fiery eyes, and said:
"Sh-a-a-a!"
In the room there was the silence of the tomb.
The finger of the guest made a large circle, taking in the row of people standing near the wall.
"Weg!" (get out) shouted he.
Within the room the rustling of dresses and the sound of swift steps were heard; faces grew frightened and sorrowful, and crowding together the inmates squeezed through the door leading to the interior of the house, and disappeared.
In the larger room only two men remained—the silver-haired, broad-shouldered patriarch, and the thin, fiery-looking sage.
When the Rabbi imperatively drove out his host's family—the gray-headed sons, dignified matrons, and beautiful girls, Saul's gray eyebrows quivered and bristled for a moment. Evidently his pride rose within him.