Hecountedouttoherthepriceofallherjunk，grudgingeachpieceofmoneyasifithadbeenthebloodofhisveins。Theaffairwasconcluded。
ButZerkowstillhadsomethingtosay。AsMariafoldedupthepillow-caseandrosetogo，theoldJewsaid：
“Well，seehereaminute，we’ll——you’llhaveadrinkbeforeyougo，won’tyou？Justtoshowthatit’sallrightbetweenus。“Mariasatdownagain。
“Yes，IguessI’llhaveadrink，“sheanswered。
Zerkowtookdownawhiskeybottleandaredglasstumblerwithabrokenbasefromacupboardonthewall。Thetwodranktogether，Zerkowfromthebottle，Mariafromthebrokentumbler。Theywipedtheirlipsslowly，drawingbreathagain。Therewasamoment’ssilence。