"You know that I am in partnership with my father."
"He and you are happy to be so placed together. But if your father can spare me five minutes, I will take it from him as a favour."
Then, with apparent reluctance, Ziska came down from his seat and went into the inner room. There he remained some time, while Trendellsohn was standing, hat in hand, in the outer office. If the changes which he hoped to effect among his brethren could be made, a Jew in Prague should, before long, be asked to sit down as readily as a Christian.
But he had not been asked to sit, and he therefore stood holding his hat in his hand during the ten minutes that Ziska was away. At last young Zamenoy returned, and, opening the door, signified to the Jew that his father would see him at once if he would enter. Nothing more had been said about the lady, and there, when Trendellsohn went into the room, he found the lady, who was no other than Madame Zamenoy herself. A little family council had been held, and it had been settled among them that the Jew should be seen and heard.
"So, sir, you are Anton Trendellsohn," began Madame Zamenoy, as soon as Ziska was gone--for Ziska had been told to go--and the door was shut.
"Yes, madame; I am Anton Trendellsohn. I had not expected the honour of seeing you, but I wish to say a few words on business to your husband."
"There he is; you can speak to him."
"Anything that I can do, I shall be very happy," said Karil Zamenoy, who had risen from his chair to prevent the necessity of having to ask the Jew to sit down.
"Herr Zamenoy," began the Jew, "you are, I think, aware that my father has purchased from your friend and brother-in-law, Josef Balatka, certain houses in the Kleinseite, in one of which the old man still lives."
"Upon my word, I know nothing about it," said Zamenoy--"nothing, that is to say, in the way of business;" and the man of business laughed.
"Mind I do not at all deny that you did so--you or your father, or the two together. Your people are getting into their hands lots of houses all over the town; but how they do it n.o.body knows. They are not bought in fair open market."
"This purchase was made by contract, and the price was paid in full before the houses were put into our hands."
"They are not in your hands now, as far as I know."
"Not the one, certainly, in which Balatka lives. Motives of friendship--"
"Friendship!" said Madame Zamenoy, with a sneer.
"And now motives of love," continued Anton, "have induced us to leave the use of that house with Josef Balatka."
"Love!" said Madame Zamenoy, springing from her chair; love indeed! "Do not talk to me of love for a Jew."
"My dear, my dear!" said her husband, expostulating.
"How dares he come here to talk of his love? It is filthy--it is worse than filthy--it is profane."
"I came here, madame," continued Anton, "not to talk of my love, but of certain doc.u.ments or t.i.tle-deeds respecting those houses, which should be at present in my father"s custody. I am told that your husband has them in his safe custody."
"My husband has them not," said Madame Zamenoy.
"Stop, my dear--stop," said the husband.
"Not that he would be bound to give them up to you if he had got them, or that he would do so; but he has them not."
"In whose hands are they then?"
"That is for you to find out, not for us to tell you."
"Why should not all the world be told, so that the proper owner may have his own?"
"It is not always so easy to find out who is the proper owner," said Zamenoy the elder.
"You have seen this contract before, I think, said Trendellsohn, bringing forth a written paper.
"I will not look at it now at any rate. I have nothing to do with it, and I will have nothing to do with it. You have heard Madame Zamenoy declare that the deed which you seek is not here. I cannot say whether it is here or no. I do not say--as you will be pleased to remember. If it were here it would be in safe keeping for my brother-in-law, and only to him could it be given."
"But will you not say whether it is in your hands? You know well that Josef Balatka is ill, and cannot attend to such matters."
"And who has made him ill, and what has made him ill?" said Madame Zamenoy. "Ill! of course he is ill. Is it not enough to make any man ill to be told that his daughter is to marry a Jew?"
"I have not come hither to speak of that," said Trendellsohn.
"But I speak of it; and I tell you this, Anton Trendellsohn--you shall never marry that girl."
"Be it so; but let me at any rate have that which is my own."
"Will you give her up if it is given to you?"
"It is here then?"
"No; it is not here. But will you abandon this mad thought if I tell you where it is?"
"No; certainly not."
"What a fool the man is!" said Madame Zamenoy. "He comes to us for what he calls his property because he wants to marry the girl, and she is deceiving him all the while. Go to Nina Balatka, Trendellsohn, and she will tell you who has the doc.u.ment. She will tell you where it is, if it suits her to do so."
"She has told me, and she knows that it is here."
"She knows nothing of the kind, and she has lied. She has lied in order that she may rob you. Jew as you are, she will be too many for you. She will rob you, with all her seeming simplicity."
"I trust her as I do my own soul," said Trendellsohn.
"Very well; I tell you that she, and she only, knows where these papers are. For aught I know, she has them herself. I believe that she has them. Ziska," said Madame Zamenoy, calling aloud--"Ziska, come hither;" and Ziska entered the room. "Ziska, who has the t.i.tle-deeds of your uncle"s houses in the Kleinseite?" Ziska hesitated a moment without answering. "You know, if anybody does," said his mother; "tell this man, since he is so anxious, who has got them."
"I do not know why I should tell him my cousin"s secrets."
"Tell him, I say. It is well that he should know."
"Nina has them, as I believe," said Ziska, still hesitating.
"Nina has them!" said Trendellsohn.
"Yes; Nina Balatka," said Madame Zamenoy. "We tell you, to the best of our knowledge at least. At any rate, they are not here."
"It is impossible that Nina should have them," said Trendellsohn. "How should she have got them?"
"That is nothing to us," said Madame Zamenoy. "The whole thing is nothing to us. You have heard all that we can tell you, and you had better go."
"You have heard more than I would have told you myself," said Ziska, "had I been left to my opinion."