Blasi understood neither her words nor her anger.  He looked after her, shook his head rather sadly, and said to himself,

    “Women folk are a very foolish folk.”

Home sped the “foolish” Judith; put on her Sunday garments and started on her journey.  If ever she had a project in her head, she did not wait till to-morrow to put it into execution.  And to-day she was bent on giving the cattle dealer a piece of her mind.  She paused a moment when she came to Gertrude’s house, then went on her way, saying half aloud,

“No, I’ll say nothing to her, since she says nothing to me.  If ‘mum’s’ the word I can use it as well as she.”

Judith was pained that Gertrude had not from the beginning talked with her of her troubles, for Judith was one who liked to give and receive sympathy.  Veronica too was much too reticent to please her kind-hearted neighbor who could never get a word with her about what was going on.  Veronica and Gertrude were both very silent by nature, about anything that touched them deeply, especially in sorrow.  On the first day after the terrible blow that had befallen them, they talked it all over, and wept together, to ease their hearts of the first misery.  Then Gertrude said,

“Dietrich has sinned and he must make atonement, but he has not stolen; I am sure that my son is not a thief.”  And Veronica had responded promptly,

“If every one in the whole world said that he had stolen that money, I should not listen; for I know he is no thief.”

As soon as it became known that Dietrich was gone, letters and bills came pouring in upon the poor widow.  Her son had borrowed large sums of money and had lost even more at play.  She soon found that not only all her husband’s savings, but also the house and the business were deeply encumbered.  She talked things over with the workman who had been so many years in her employ and asked if he would help her carry on the business as he had done after her husband’s death while Dietrich was still a child.  The man was very angry with Dietrich for having thrown away the result of all those years of labor, and at first refused to have anything more to do with the business.  He yielded at last, however, to Gertrude’s urgent request, and consented to remain with her at least till the future prospects of the business could be decided upon; and Gertrude agreed that if it should prosper she would hand it over to him, in case Dietrich should not return within a certain time.

And so the mother set herself again to her task.  She worked early and late; she seemed to have gained new strength and courage instead of being crushed down by this new burden.