hour before the usual time. Jadvyga Marcinkus lived on
the other side of the yards, beyond Halsted Street, with
her mother and sisters, in a single basement room -- for
Mikolas had recently lost one hand from blood-poisoning,
and their marriage had been put off forever. The door of
the room was in the rear, reached by a narrow court, and
Jurgis saw a light in the window and heard something
frying as he passed; he knocked, half expecting that Ona
would answer.

Instead there was one of Jadvyga's little sisters, who
gazed at him through a crack in the door. "Where's
Ona?" he demanded; and the child looked at him in
perplexity. "Ona?" she said.

"Yes," said Jurgis, "isn't she here?"

"No," said the child, and Jurgis gave a start. A mo~
ment later came Jadvyga, peering over the child's head.
When she saw who it was, she slid around out of sight,
for she was not quite dressed. Jurgis must excuse her,
she began, her mother was very ill --

"Ona isn't here?" Jurgis demanded, too alarmed to
wait for her to finish.

"Why, no," said Jadvyga. "What made you think
she would be here? Had she said she was coming?"

"No," he answered. "But she hasn't come home --
and I thought she would be here the same as before."

"As before?" echoed Jadvyga, in perplexity.

"The time she spent the night here," said Jurgis.

"There must be some mistake," she answered, quickly.
"Ona has never spent the night here."

He was only half able to realize the words. "Why -- why
--" he exclaimed. "Two weeks ago, Jadvyga! She told
me so -- the night it snowed, and she could not get home."

"There must be some mistake," declared the girl, again;
"she didn't come here."

He steadied himself by the door-sill; and Jadvyga in
her anxiety -- for she was fond of Ona -- opened the door
wide, holding her jacket across her throat. "Are you
sure you didn't misunderstand her?" she cried. "She
must have meant somewhere else. She--"

[[172]]

p171 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p172w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p173

v?