“‘“Here,” she said, pointing a finger of scorn at me, “here is my sister who is supposed to know German and doesn’t. She’ll tell you how you can help us out.”
“‘The man, who wore a Thomas Cook and Son hat, was very polite after he had recovered from his surprise. I explained the difficulty we were in as quickly as possible, and he, in turn, said that second-class tickets to Berlin cost in the neighborhood of four dollars, that the train left in seven minutes, and that if we would give him the money he would gladly make the purchase. 82
“‘“Four dollars!” gasped Anne. “Apiece, you mean, or together?”
“‘“Apiece,” said the man.
“‘“Then we can’t go,” said Anne. “I knew it all the time.” And she dropped in a limp little heap on the bench near by just as though she never could get up.
“‘“Why, what’s the matter?” asked the man. “Out of money?”
“‘Then Jess, who was really to blame, felt called upon to explain.
“‘“Yes, sir, we are,” she said, “all but eight dollars and fifty cents. You see, we experienced a severe shock in seeing G—— Miss Green, an old teacher of ours, by the drinking-fountain, when we thought she was in Athens. We didn’t feel as though we could speak to her until—until we had washed and brushed up a little, and so we—well, we ran, and somehow I lost our family purse.”
“‘“I see,” said the man.
“‘He seemed very interested all of a sudden, and said we needn’t worry at all if we had eight 83 dollars and a half. There was another train leaving an hour later, he said—a train which carried third-class carriages. We would be quite safe in traveling that way, and he would personally see us on board, if we wished. At that Anne and her spirits arose.