'I came to ask whether the gentlemen wanted any barley or lard?'
'My dear man,' said the Jew, 'we have our regular contractors; a nice mess we should be in, if we had to buy every sack of barley from the peasants!'
'They must be great people,' thought Slimak, 'they won't buy from the peasants, they must be buying from the gentry.'
So he bowed to the ground before the Jew, who was on the point of walking away.
'I entreat the favour of being allowed to cart for the gentlemen.'
This humility pleased the Jew.
'Go over there, my dear fellow,' he said, 'perhaps they will take you on.'
Slimak bowed again and made his way through the crowd with difficulty.
Among other carts he saw those of the settlers.
Fritz Hamer came forward to meet him; he seemed to be in a position of some authority there.
'What do you want?' he asked.