Samuel improvised his own laboratory, using a corner of the stable in which Ferd was kept.
He grew a culture of diphtheria germs in a dish of rich broth. When the broth turned cloudy, he removed some of it to another container and then weakened it, first by diluting the broth, then by heating it slightly. He filled a hypodermic needle with it and approached Ferd. "Remember what I told you?" Samuel whispered. "Well, this is your big day."
Samuel plunged the contents of the hypodermic into the loose skin of the horse's shoulder, as he had seen Dr. Wal do. Ferd turned to look at him reproachfully, and sprayed him with urine.
Samuel estimated that it would take about seventy-two hours for the culture to develop in Ferd. At the end of that time Samuel would give her a larger dose. Then another. If the antibody theory was right, each dose would build up a stronger blood resistance to the disease. Samuel would have his vaccine. Later, he would have to find a human being to test it on, of course, but that should not be difficult. A victim of the dread disease should be only too happy to try something that might save his life.
For the next two days Samuel spent almost every waking moment with Ferd.
"I've never seen anyone love an animal so much," his father said. "You can't keep away from her, can you?"
Samuel mumbled an inaudible reply. He felt a sense of guilt about what he was doing, but he knew what would happen if he even mentioned it to his father. However, there was no need for his father to know. All Samuel had to do was extract enough blood from Ferd to make up a vial or two of serum, and no one would ever be the wiser.
On the morning of the third and crucial day, Samuel was awakened by the sound of his father's voice from in front of the house. Samuel got out of bed, hurried to the window and looked out. His father was standing in the street with his cart, bellowing at the top of his lungs. There was no sign of Ferd. Samuel threw on some clothes and raced outside.
"Momser!" his father was yelling. "Cheater! Liar! Thief!"
Samuel pushed past the crowd that was beginning to gather around his father.
"Where's Ferd?" Samuel demanded.
"I'm glad you asked me," his father moaned. "She's dead. She died in the streets like a dog."
Samuel's heart sank.
"We're going along as nice as you please. I'm tending to business, not rushing her, you understand, not whipping her, or pushing her like some of the other peddlers I could name. And how does she show her appreciation? She drops dead. When I catch that gonif who sold her to me, I'll kill him!"
Samuel turned away, sick at heart. More than Ferd had passed away. Samuel's dreams had died. With Ferd went the escape from the ghetto, the freedom, the beautiful house for Terenia and their children.
But a greater disaster was to befall.
The day after Ferd died, Samuel learned that Dr. Wal and his wife had arranged for Terenia to marry a rabbi. Samuel could not believe it. Terenia belonged to him! Samuel raced over to the Wal house. He found Dr. and Mrs. Wal in the parlor. He walked up to them, took a deep breath and announced, "There's been a mistake, Terenia's mistake, Terenia's going to marry me."
They stared at him in astonishment.
"I know I'm not good enough for her," Samuel hurried on, "but she won't be happy married to anyone but me. The rabbi's too old for - "
"Nebbich! Out! Out!" Terenia's mother was apoplectic.
Sixty seconds later Samuel found himself standing out in the street, forbidden ever to enter the Wal house again.
In the middle of the night Samuel had a long talk with God.
"What do you want from me? If I can't have Terenia, why did you make me love her? Haven't you any feelings?" He raised his voice in frustration and yelled, "Can you hear me?"
And the others in the crowded little house yelled back, "We can all hear you, Samuel. For God's sake, shut up and let us get some sleep!"
The following afternoon Dr. Wal sent for Samuel. He was ushered into the parlor, where Dr. and Mrs. Wal and Terenia were gathered.
"It seems we have a problem," Dr. Wal began. "Our daughter can be quite a stubborn young lady. For some reason she's taken a fancy to you. I cannot call it love, Samuel, because I don't believe that young girls know what love is. However, she has refused to marry Rabbi Rabinowitz. She thinks she wants to marry you."
Samuel sneaked a glance at Terenia, and she smiled at him and he almost burst with joy. It was short-lived.
Dr. Wal was going on. "You said that you love my daughter."
"Y - y - yes, sir," Samuel stammered. He tried it again, his voice stronger. "Yes, sir."
"Then let me ask you something, Samuel Would you like Terenia to spend the rest of her life married to a peddler?"
Samuel instantly saw the trap, but there was no way out of it. He looked at Terenia again and said slowly, "No, sir."
"Ah. Then you see the problem. None of us wants Terenia to marry a peddler. And you're a peddler, Samuel."
"I won't always be, Dr. Wal." Samuel's voice was strong and sure.
"And what will you be?" Mrs. Wal snapped. "You come from a family of peddlers, you'll remain a family of peddlers. I will not allow my daughter to marry one."
Samuel looked at the three of them, his mind filled with confusion. He had come here with trepidation and despair, had been lifted to the heights of joy, and now he had been plunged into a black abyss again. What did they want from him?
"We've agreed on a compromise," Dr. Wal said. "We're going to give you six months to prove that you're more than just a peddler. If, by the end of that time, you cannot offer Terenia the kind of life she is accustomed to, then she is going to marry Rabbi Rabinowitz."