Part II
Synopsis: The family has taken in a stranger for overnight
and in the morning, $300 is missing. The year is 1936, when
money is very hard come by and is worth many times that
amount in today's configuration.
He groaned. He groaned for them both because her throat was a
parched desert and no sound would come out. Then her feet
were out of bed; she grabbed her robe and ran to her sons'
room, threw open the door and stood looking at the empty cot,
and the chair, empty now of the stranger's clothes. The boys,
who usually slept through everything, sat up in alarm,
feeling this dread thick in the air.
"Pa collected $300 yesterday and it has been stolen," she
said, the words barely making it past the terrible dryness of
her mouth.
They gathered in the kitchen, pooling every bit of
information that they could remember of the little bit Mr.
Freeman had said about himself. Yes, Harry had told the man
about collecting the old debt. Who could think...?
"That's why he was so silent," said one of the boarders. "He
was planning this, the miserable dog!"
Then, as he had done his whole lifetime, in every crisis,
Harry began to think if anything could be done. "I'm going to
call the chief rabbi of Philadelphia," he said. "I'll
describe this thief and maybe, with the help of our good G-d,
he'll know something about him."
They gathered around him as he placed the call. Someone
shivered in the hallway and Eva remembered lowering the
thermostat the day before. "No one has even noticed," she
thought, and shook herself, realizing that she might have
saved about a dollar, but might never see the $300 again. She
tried to tell herself it wasn't their first nor would it be
their last loss, but the fist clenched around her heart
wouldn't let go. She was glad that Mother Bessie was still
asleep; perhaps she need never know.
Standing there while Harry talked to the rabbi, all of them
were nodding as he described Mr. Freeman and told of his
disappearance that morning, long before time to go to
shul for morning prayers.
"All right. I'll be there before noon," said Harry, and hung
up. Unshed tears reddened his eyes, but his voice was clear
as he told them, "The rabbi said there is a possibility that
he knows the man. I'm to be there at his house this morning
and he'll have the man there as well."
Eva choked and her eyes overflowed, easing the fist at her
heart, bringing hope that perhaps all was not lost. Harry
dressed hastily, saying, "I won't be back after prayers. I
wouldn't be able to eat breakfast anyway. I'll go right to
the train from shul."
"May you be lucky," whispered Eva.
It was the longest day of their lives, all the family said
later. Harry came in late in the afternoon, waving a deposit
slip. Eva refrained from asking why he hadn't called to tell
her he had recovered the money. Long distance calls were made
only in dire emergencies and Harry must have reasoned that
she would know soon enough. Everyone sat there waiting until
he finished his first meal of the day, waiting for him to
tell them everything, in the dramatic way that they loved so
much.
"I got to Rabbi Palkinson's house just before noon, and my
heart was knocking louder than my fist on that door. There
was a bell, but I didn't even see it. The rabbi himself
answered the door and very kindly invited me into his study
and asked me to sit down. You may believe me that I wasn't in
the mood for polite talk, and words trembled on my lips. But
the rabbi held up his hand, showing me that he had something
to say first.
"`My dear Mr. Stein,' he said softly. `I am sure this is the
man of whom you spoke to me,' and showed me a picture cut
from a newspaper. Sure enough, there he was, that thief, that
no-good, that devil! I told the rabbi that the picture was
indeed that of the man who had slept at our house. Again the
rabbi held up his palm, calming me.
"`He's an unfortunate man,' he said, `and needs help. I will
call him. He lives nearby and since he has no job now, I am
certain he will be at home.' He dialed a number and when the
phone was answered, the rabbi said softly, `Mr. Freeman,
someone is here from Baltimore. He has come to get what you
took from his house last night. Please come and bring it with
you now.' How could so soft a voice hold so much iron?
"Then the rabbi turned to me and said, `I want you to stay in
the next room until I talk to him. If I need you, I'll call
you.' I wanted to stay; I wanted to tear that man limb from
limb, but if the rabbi says go, you must go! In a little
while, the man came. When I heard his voice, my nails cut
into my palms. I could hear voices, but no words. I did hear
a cry, a cry that I admit made me pity the poor man, but
somehow, I didn't doubt for a moment that we had found our
thief and would recover the money. It never occurred to me
that he might already have spent all the money. No, no, G-d
has protected me so many times, I was sure the money would
soon be in my hands.
"And so it was. In a short while, I heard the front door
close and the rabbi came to me and asked that I come back to
his study. There on the desk was the money plus the cost of
my round trip train ticket. `Here you are, Mr. Stein.' said
the rabbi in his quiet, sorrowful voice. `Mr. Freeman is
sorry for the pain he caused you. Go in peace.' I thanked him
with all my heart."
Then the questions came pouring out, just as he had expected,
and he answered. You know we are forbidden to embarrass
anyone. Causing someone to redden with shame is sometimes
likened to murder. So the rabbi decided that he would try to
leave that man some shred of dignity, something on which he
could build a new start in life. I understood that Mr.
Freeman's penalty would be some kind of public service. The
train fare came from the rabbi's charity fund, and will be
repaid by Mr. Freeman a little at a time from his wages.
"Yes, yes. He has a temporary job until he's called back to
his regular job. He's going to be janitor, that is,
caretaker, in the rabbi's shul."
With that, Harry relaxed in his chair. Eve looked at him and
smiled. "Why don't you go upstairs and tell Mom all about it?
She will just love this story!"
With a spring, Harry rose and went whistling into his
mother's room, ignoring Bessie's chiding cry, "Only hooligans
whistle in the house!"
