Her mistress raised her hand again but one of her sisters pulled her back.
“Find the money first,” she said. “What do you gain by beating her?”
“You are right. If she has it on her, I will find it.”
And the woman went down on her knees and felt over Mattina, pulling her frock roughly about. In a moment she found the pins that closed the opening of the pocket, and dragged them out, thrusting her hand inside.
“Here it is!” she screamed triumphantly. “See! I have it!” and she waved the folded note which she pulled out of the pocket. But as soon as she looked at it, her tone changed to one of bitter disappointment.
“She has changed it, the shameless one, and this is all that remains!”
Mattina tried to snatch it from her.
“That is mine! That is mine! That is not yours! It is five drachmæ. Give it to me! It is mine I tell you.”
Her mistress laughed aloud.
“She told Taki here that she had not a ‘lepton’ of her own.”