"Sandu," said the old lady, sighing heavily, "give her my thanks, tell her how I appreciate the honour she has done me, and that all my life I shall never forget that she received me as she should receive her mother. But listen to me; tell her, too, she may wait a long time before I cross her threshold again, and she need not send to me when she wants anything. Let her go to the gentleman, to the bankrupt Naraschievici."
And away went Mistress Veta's mother, so angry that she could not see where she was walking, while Sandu sat with drooping head.
In about half an hour Ana came. She was disappointed to hear her grandmother had gone, and wanted to know why.
Sandu did not like to tell her, and because his heart would not let him lie he said to her in a low voice:
"Well, she went because she could not stay."
Ana sat on the edge of the bed, and sympathizing with her brother, she asked him whether his head ached.
Gheorghitza had no time to answer; he shook his head and went on playing.
"Sandu, can you stay with him? You see, I must go up again. Gheorghitza dear, be good and play nicely."
Then she kissed him and went slowly away as though she were loth to go.
And with her went Sandu's heart and the joy which filled his soul when he saw her standing by her brother and kissing him so tenderly.
Mistress Veta was beside herself with pleasure that evening. She did not even ask when or why her mother had gone so suddenly. She told Sandu that he was not to dare to tell her what the old lady had said, but to go and get wood to make a fire to warm the supper. And once again she went over in her mind all that Mr. and Mrs. Naraschievici had said. She felt very flattered, and said she did not remember when she had spent such a pleasant day.
There was a heavy frost and the Timish was frozen. The tanners were obliged to have openings made in the ice to enable the rinsing of the skins to take place.
Sandu, shod in big working boots, made his way through the thick mist and came down to the Timish to rinse a set of skins. Behind him came the apprentice with a barrow containing the block of wood with its stand, the rinser and two hatchets for breaking the ice. They made the opening in the ice and Sandu remained alone. He fixed one end of the block on to a stake and arranged the stand firmly under the other, opened out two skins, placed them one over the other, on the block, and began to work.