LESLIE EPSTEIN
53
" He's non-Poli sh born !"
"Wha t about women? Wha t happens to them during this fire?
What about the chil dren who don 't know how to sw im?"
"The offi cial poli cy of the Judenra t is
Cooperation and Produc–
tion.
Urin stein is taking an ill egal line!"
T he Mini ster of Security waved hi s hand for sil ence, which he
received. " No body here heard a word on the subj ect of sw imming in
ri vers. No one said a thin g about fires. Am I not ri ght, Minister
Urinstei n? It is your duty to report it if you come across such a
punishabl e offense."
Urinstein , instead of respond in g, hung hi s head.
Mordechai Kl een, one of the cigar smokers, now ground ou t his
stu b. "Wh a t," he demanded, "are we go ing to do?"
Margoli es: " Listen ! We onl y have to hold out a little lon ger! Kiev
is a fortress! Ameri ca will enter the war !"
Phil osoff was standing a t the side of the tabl e. T he mop-s trings of
his beard shook and shook.
" J
can ' t stand it ! It's too much of a strain !
Why didn 't I cho ke on th e bone?" And he sta rted to bea t his own head
through hi s ha t. Everyone wanted to stop him, and yet everyone,
whether in or out o f hi s chair, suddenl y froze.
For thi s reason : the door had opened and standing in side it was the
Zaddik of Pshi skhe's descendant, accompani ed by Rabbi s Wo lf-Kitzes,
Korni schoner, and Lunt.
It
was not their sudden a rri va l th at astounded
the Council of Elders; they had been, after all , expected .
It
was wh at
they looked like. One sleeve of Lunt's sportcoat was mi ss ing and bo th
his eyes were swoll en shu t. Kanal, the descendant, had onl y half of a
beard, no t to menti on the cut on the bri dge of hi s nose. Something had
happened to Korni schoner's neck tha t caused him to keep his chin
down, the way a violin p layer ho lds hi s violin . As for poor littl e Wolf–
Kitzes, he had no coat, he had no trousers, and someone had ta ken hi s
shoes.
"They beat me," said Kornischoner.
T he Pshi skher Descenda nt said, "They pull ed my beard ."
Popower, the Mini ster of Finance, thumped the table. " It 's an
outrage! Wha t in tolerable beh aviou r! T hey have gone too far at las t!"
Baggelman : " Members o f the Judenrat, I give you my resignation .
I am no longer the Mini ster o f Industry and Labor."
Schpitalnik : "Then I res ign, too."
"Tha t's it! It 's the soluti on! " Pa radyz shout ed. "We' ll res ign from
the Council !"
All members, together: " Yes, yes! Why di dn 't we think of it
before?" T hey p ut on their ha ts and headed for the door.
