… rough roads, railway cinders, bad food, suspicious soldiers, passports, bribes on demand. The word emigrating had become not full of excitement and promise but empty and lonely. Ephraim yearned for a hot bath, clean white sheets, down-filled coverlets and family love. Jacob knocked again. Yes, a fine dinner of china with thin glassware and silver cutlery and candlelight would be paradise. The door opened. A tall, red-faced man in waistcoat and dark fitted jacket said, ‘Tradesmen to the lower entrance,’ and made to shut the door.

‘Who are you?’ exclaimed Uncle Jacob. ‘It is I, Jacob Finkelstein, and Ephraim, your mistress’s brother.’

In Chapter 3, The Perilous Journey by Land, Ephraim and funny, wise old Uncle Jacob have a brief respite, but a far more perilous journey is suddenly to begin…