There was a limit to what an old woman could be expected to stand. They would learn, all of them, what—
The door opened.
Marya Proderenska said: "Yes? You are early."
"I am in a hurry. Terrible things have occurred."
The gypsy woman sighed and stepped aside. "Come in, then," she said, and Mrs. Wladek entered slowly, peering round the front room.
"Come in the back," the gypsy woman said. "I have been preparing to help you. But more is required."
It was Mrs. Wladek's turn to sigh. She reached into her purse and found a fifty-cent piece, which she handed over very slowly.
"More is required," the gypsy woman said, looking at the coin in her hand as if, Mrs. Wladek thought, it was less than a penny. Did not the woman realize that fifty cents was a great deal of money for a poor old woman?
