Page 160 - Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

the crowd, flinging herself at his feet. She lifted her face
to his and smiled. "The sky is our canopy. God's can-
opy. The sky."
He bent down and kissed the top of her head as the
guns roared, a loud volley that drowned out birdsong
and wind and screams.
When it was silent at last, the commandant threw the
shoes on top of Fayge's body. "Let them all go up the
stack," he said. "Call the Kommandos. Schnell!"
The soldiers marched off to the side of the compound,
except for one, who opened the door into Lilith's Cave.
Out came ten men in green coveralls. Though she'd
heard of them, feared them, mourned them, Hannah
had never actually seen any of them before. One, hardly
more than a boy, put his fingers to his lips and a shrill
whistle pierced the air. The Kommandos lifted their
heads at the sound and in mocking parody of the sol-
diers marched over to the wall. They began to drag the
dead bodies back toward the gate.
The boy who had whistled stooped down and picked
up Fayge in his arms. His beardless face was grim, but
there was no sign of sorrow or horror there. Still he
carried Fayge as one might carry a loved one, with
conscious tenderness and pride.
Rivka whispered to no one in particular, "That one,
carrying Fayge, that is my brother, Wolfe."
The blokova came forward, a wooden spoon in her
hand with which she dealt out blows right and left.
"Schnell. Schnell. Scum. There is work to do, much
work." Her voice held a note of hysteria. The hand

153