Then they left and I climbed back up to [27] my place. Soon the peasant arrived
and told me the whole story. “Those Jews have an orchard in another village.
There they heard that a young Jew had been wounded on the road, had been
hiding in a village under a stack of grain, and had gone off, no one knew
where. The news gave them no rest and they asked around and made enquiries
until they came to the village where you are now. I was standing with
a group of peasants when several Jews approached us and asked whether we
knew anything about a young Jew who had been wounded here. I understood
that they meant you, so I pressed down on the foot of one of them, as a signal
to keep quiet. They did so, and afterwards I told them where you were.”
The peasant left and I remained alone, deep in thoughts of the sudden
salvation at hand. “Is it true or a dream?” I asked myself. I couldn’t believe
what I had seen and heard. That night I couldn’t fall asleep. [28] I imagined it
was a dream and had never really happened. Different scenes passed before
my eyes, as if on a screen. I tossed and turned, trying to get to sleep, but the
thoughts nagged away at me, making sleep impossible. It went on like that all
night. I was in the same situation as a prisoner who doubts and cannot believe
he is going to be released. At dawn the peasant came up to me with tears in his
eyes and said, in a choking voice, “I saved you from certain death, protected
you from all harm. You found refuge with me, and now you are going home
to your parents. Will you remember me for the good? Will you write me a letter
and tell me how the journey went and what your parents say about me?”
And, at the same time, he said with a laugh, “How much will you pay me for
it?” I swore that I would never forget him, as long as I lived. He thanked me
and gave me his address. I had been asking for his address the whole time, [29]
but he had not wanted to divulge it or even tell me his name. I ate and drank.
Afterwards he took leave of me very warmly. He hugged and kissed me and
wept profusely. I gave him my heartfelt thanks, and he parted from me quietly
and left. Then his wife and son came, said goodbye to me and wished me
a safe return to my parents. They gave me milk for the journey.
After they left, the cart arrived. I climbed onto it, and the peasant, with
his wife and children, stood at a distance and watched me leave. As I left the
village, some peasants recognised me and wondered how I came to be there.
We set off on the road to P[ułtusk?]. There were groups of yevonim moving
along the road, but they paid me no attention. I was very frightened. I knew
only too well what they were capable of. My wounds were too fresh to forget.
