Once or twice the lawyer looked up and asked a question of Szedvilas; the other did not know a word that he was saying, but his eyes were fixed upon the lawyer’s face, striving in an agony of dread to read his mind.  He saw the lawyer look up and laugh, and he gave a gasp; the man said something to Szedvilas, and Jurgis turned upon his friend, his heart almost stopping.

“Well?” he panted.

“He says it is all right,” said Szedvilas.

“All right!”

“Yes, he says it is just as it should be.”  And Jurgis, in his relief, sank down into a chair.

“Are you sure of it?” he gasped, and made Szedvilas translate question after question.  He could not hear it often enough; he could not ask with enough variations.  Yes, they had bought the house, they had really bought it.  It belonged to them, they had only to pay the money and it would be all right.  Then Jurgis covered his face with his hands, for there were tears in his eyes, and he felt like a fool.  But he had had such a horrible fright; strong man as he was, it left him almost too weak to stand up.

The lawyer explained that the rental was a form—­the property was said to be merely rented until the last payment had been made, the purpose being to make it easier to turn the party out if he did not make the payments.  So long as they paid, however, they had nothing to fear, the house was all theirs.

Jurgis was so grateful that he paid the half dollar the lawyer asked without winking an eyelash, and then rushed home to tell the news to the family.  He found Ona in a faint and the babies screaming, and the whole house in an uproar—­for it had been believed by all that he had gone to murder the agent.  It was hours before the excitement could be calmed; and all through that cruel night Jurgis would wake up now and then and hear Ona and her stepmother in the next room, sobbing softly to themselves.

Chapter 5

They had bought their home.  It was hard for them to realize that the wonderful house was theirs to move into whenever they chose.  They spent all their time thinking about it, and what they were going to put into it.  As their week with Aniele was up in three days, they lost no time in getting ready.  They had to make some shift to furnish it, and every instant of their leisure was given to discussing this.

A person who had such a task before him would not need to look very far in Packingtown—­he had only to walk up the avenue and read the signs, or get into a streetcar, to obtain full information as to pretty much everything a human creature could need.  It was quite touching, the zeal of people to see that his health and happiness were provided for.  Did the person wish to smoke?  There was a little discourse about cigars, showing him exactly why the Thomas Jefferson Five-cent Perfecto was the only cigar worthy of the name.  Had he, on the