"Will he take me to Mendel?" asked the boy.
"Yes, he is going there now and will take you to all your friends."
The child wiped away his tears and a smile rippled over his face. He put his hand confidingly into that of the priest, and said:
"Come, I will go with you."
The priest, in spite of his fanaticism, took the poor Jew in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then setting him again upon his feet, he whispered:
"I shall take him to a kind and loving mother, one from whose embrace he will not care to flee—the Holy Mother of God."
Jacob entered the wagon with his new acquaintance, and in the belief that he was going direct to the home of his parents, he fell asleep. When he awoke, he found himself borne by strong arms into the convent, whose doors closed upon him, separating him forever from his home and his religion.