"What are you going to do?"
"Transact important business."
"Then I will go too."
"David, you are too young; bring me the boots."
There was no help for it, David must bring them and put them on; Habermann took the old man firmly by the arm, Moses took his usual grip in his left coat-pocket, on account of the lacking suspender, and, leaning on Habermann's arm, hobbled slowly over to the Frau Pastorin's house.
As Habermann and old Moses crossed the Frau Pastorin's threshold, they made something of a noise, for Moses stumbled at the door, and came near falling. Frau Pastorin, of course, heard the commotion, as did the whole company with her; "Ah, there comes Habermann with poor Mining," said she, and running to the door put out her head; but when she expected to see Mining, though perhaps with a swelled cheek, there stood old Moses in his dressing-gown, and fur boots, with his old face full of wrinkles, and looking at her with his great black eyes:
"Good evening, Frau Pastorin!"
The little Frau Pastorin started back, almost to the middle of the room; "Preserve us!" cried she, "Habermann is carrying on all sorts of magic and unchristian preformances; now he is bringing his old Jew into the house, at midnight; is this on account of Mining's toothache?"
Frau Nüsssler felt as if she were standing in her kitchen, dressing fish, and had just taken hold of a great pike, and the creature had snapped at her thumb, and was pressing his teeth deeper and deeper into her flesh, and she must keep still, else he would tear open her whole thumb. What had possessed Frau Nüssler to tell a story, and such a story, which might come out any moment!
"Frau Pastorin," said Bräsig, "as for Moses, that was only an appearance; it could not have been himself, for I was there yesterday, and he told, me expressly, he was not able to go out any longer."