“If he were a contrabandist?”
“It is possible he is a contrabandist,” said the good brother Gabriel.
“But no,” replied the old woman, “for to be a contrabandist, he should wear stuffs or jewelry, and he has nothing of these.”
“That is true, he cannot be a contrabandist,” affirmed brother Gabriel.
“See what are the titles of his books. Perhaps by that means we can discover what he is.”
The brother rose, took his horn spectacles, placed them on his nose, and the package of books in his hands, and approached the window which looked out on the grand court. His inspection of the books lasted a long time.
“Brother Gabriel,” asked the old woman, “have you forgotten to know how to read?”
“No—but I do not know these characters; I believe it is Hebrew.”
“Hebrew! Holy Virgin of Heaven, can he be a Jew?”
At that moment, Stein, awaking from a long lethargy, addressed him, and said in German: