"The cadaver goes to the dissecting-rooms, Miss."
For a time the two stood speechless—completely dismayed and horrified. They had not thought of that possibility—they were not prepared for such a thing. They both felt it unbearably gruesome, now that they faced the fact, and were without advice.
"Is there no help for it, Sister?" asked Johannes, stammering in his confusion. "Can it not ... can it not ... from the poor fund...?"
He comprehended that it would be a question of money, but he could see no relief.
More practical, Marjon immediately asked, "What would it cost, Sister?"
"I am sorry, Miss," replied the nurse, her feelings now really touched for them, "but I fear you have come too late. You ought to have asked about that in advance. The professor has given express orders."
"Twenty-five gulden, Sister? Would that be enough?" asked Marjon, perseveringly.
The Sister shrugged her shoulders.
"Possibly, if you ask the professor, and if you can prove that you belong to the family. But I am afraid it is too late." The two turned away in silence.