The student halted. He looked wary, ready to run. “The truth of what’s happening should be spread all across the country,” Eloise said. “Can you put me in contact with your editor? I can help. I was a journalist in Belgium.”

He looked all around before saying, “Go to the Leiden Observatory tomorrow morning at nine. If he agrees to meet with you, he’ll be there.”

“Eloise, are you sure about this?” Ans asked.

“How can any decent person stand by and allow this to happen?” she asked.

“Let’s go home,” Ans said. They started walking again.

“When this started happening in Germany, there weren’t many people who were brave enough to stand up for us,” Miriam said. “The Nazis had already created such a climate of terror and hatred that everyone was afraid of them. Thank you for helping us.”

“I can’t promise it will do any good,” Eloise said, “but I’m going to try.”

Miriam was able to breathe again by the time she reached her apartment. It helped to know that her friends and others at the university were standing up for Abba. She told him so as soon as he arrived home. “Don’t be angry with me, Abba, but I went to the university this morning with Mrs. Huizenga and Ans. We heard the law professor’s speech. People are going to support you. They won’t let you be fired. I heard them calling for a strike.” He started shaking his head before Miriam even finished.

“The strike won’t do any good. The Gestapo arrested Professor Cleveringa right after he finished his speech. They’ve closed the university.”

“So Professor Huizenga is out of a job too?”

“It would seem so.”

Avi took the news very hard when he returned home. He had taken off his coat and hat, but he put them back on again right away. “Come, Abba,” he said. “Let’s go to the synagogue for evening prayers.”

CHAPTER 22

Ans grew more and more concerned for Eloise’s state of mind after returning from the protest. Trying to calm her seemed hopeless. Eloise paced through the town house, ranting nonstop about the Nazis and their unfair treatment of the Jews. She was waiting to speak with her husband the moment he came home from work, which was earlier than usual.

“I know all about what happened at the university this morning,” she told him without a word of greeting. “Come and sit down, Herman. There’s something I need to tell you.” Ans tried to excuse herself so they could have privacy, but Eloise insisted she stay. “We’re all in this together, Ans.”

The professor sank down on the sofa, his long legs outstretched, his body limp. He ran his hand over his face. “Go ahead and tell me, Eloise. This day couldn’t possibly get any worse.”

“I was there,” she said. “I heard Professor Cleveringa’s speech. It was brilliant.”