Page 152 - Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

"Never."
"You would not mean to, but it could slip out."
"Not even if afile . . ."
"Afile brenen un brutn . : . even if you should be
burned and roasted. Here that is not a proverb to be
spoken aloud."
Horrified at what she'd said, Hannah felt herself begin
to giggle. It was a hysterical reaction, but she couldn't
seem to control herself.
"Nevertheless," Gitl ended, "I will not tell you."
"When?" Hannah whispered.
"You will know."
The horn signaled morning roll call and Gitl rolled
off the shelf. Hannah followed, stood, and stared at
her.
"Is t . . . is it because of Reuven?" she asked qui-
i
etly.
"For Yitzchak it is. Who else does he have left, poor
man? He adored those children," Gitl said.
"But why you? Why Shmuel?"
"If not us, who? If not now, when?" Gitl smiled.
"I think I've heard those words before," Hannah said
slowly.
"You will hear them again," Gitl promised. "Now
we must not talk about this anymore."

And yet for all of Gitl's promises, nothing seemed to
happen. The days' routines were as before, the only
change being the constant redness of the sky as train-
loads of nameless zugangi were shipped along the rails
of death. Still the camp seemed curiously lightened be-

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