"Begin then! Lisita doesn't need any urging. Do as she does, and I trust
you will eat with a good appetite."

Paula looked at us, one after the other, and then looked at Teresa as if
she would say something. As Teresa remained, looking on in an astonished
manner, Paula got down from her chair and stood in front of her now cooling
cup of hot milk. She placed her hands together, closing her eyes and
bending her head a little, she said slowly and deliberately in a low voice,
"The food which we receive, O Lord, may it be blessed, in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen!"



CHAPTER FOUR

PAULA'S TREASURES

Naturally, on awakening the next morning, after Paula's arrival, it was
"Paula, Paula, Paula," that occupied my every thought. I found she was
still sleeping. How I did wish to wake her up! But Teresa had cautioned me
to let her sleep as long as she wished on account of her long journey of
the day before. So I simply half-opened the curtains of her bed and closed
the window to warm up the room.

I had no idea what hour it was. Teresa had the watch under her pillow, and
I could never tell the time by the sun, like Louis and Rosa, but I could
tell it was very early, for almost every door and window of the red houses
across the street, were still closed. Once in a while, I saw a factory hand
passing with his lunch under his arm, on his way to work. Among these, I
noticed one whom we called the "Breton," a terrific drunkard of whom I was